Hanging On (Jessica Brodie Diaries #2)(43)

“Eche, the line sucks,” Lump said, fixing her shoe. “Can we try to flash our boobs to get in faster or something?”

Without even looking over, I sauntered up to the very front, all hip and cle**age. I was sure the girls were following suit. They knew the drill.

“Jessica Brodie,” I announced to the stern faced bouncer with massive arms.

His eyes scanned me, resting on my br**sts for a second, before flicking back to those around me. His eyes started to shine.

He quickly scanned his page and made an “X” next to my name.

It was good to be “On the List.”

“Savage!” Claire said as we made our way around the barrier of muscle and into the bar.

“Shots!” Lump yelled, grabbing me by the wrist and yanking toward the bar.

“Shouldn’t we have a beer first?” I asked timidly.

She looked at me askew. Shit! We were going to get loaded tonight. I would be lucky to remember half of the reunion.

I had to remember to tell William to watch me like a hawk to keep me from getting in trouble.

That was another sobering thought. He’d never seen me over-the-top, wildly drunk. Mr. Hyde would take out a notepad and pen when I lost control. I hoped to God William still loved me after tonight.

We did Red Headed Sluts, which were fairly easy for the first shot of the night. At least there was that.

Champagne cocktails in hand, I stepped away from the bar, my “important” mask settling firmly over my face. It was like we were in L.A. at a hotspot. The girls flocked around me, ready to strut our entrance.

The bar went quiet.

“What’d we do wrong?” Jane whispered.

The whole bar, men and women both, looked at us like they were scientists watching little green men walk into the room. Some even had their drinks paused halfway to their lips.

“What’s the matter, ain’t y’all seen girls lookin’ to have fun?” Flem yelled in an overly Southern accent.

We all started laughing and strutted toward the dance floor. If we had feather boas, we would have flung them over our shoulders as we passed. The “A” list had arrived, ladies and gentlemen; let’s get the party started!

As we cleared the wide, but low, doorway into the dance area, all the girls slowed down.

“Holy f**k, this place if fecking massive, lads!” Claire said, staring at the distant stage.

“Does it get busy? What time is it?” Lump asked, checking an empty wrist.

“It will,” I assured them. “We’re still fairly early.”

As we sauntered past the currently empty dance floor, the DJ, who was setting up his equipment, stopped what he was doing. As we neared he yelled out: “Y’all dancin’ tonight?”

“That depends,” Flem yelled back. “You spinin’ something worth dancing too?”

He smirked. “All night long, darlin’. All night.”

“Oh no,” Jane said, looking up the ledge of stairs. “These shoes, this drink, and that mountain do not go together.”

“So, no VIP area for us?” I asked in a light tone, hesitating.

Jane was the first one to reach for the banister. That’s what I thought.

We handled it like ditsy blonds, which was to say we held onto each other and onto the banister, giggled and laughed at ourselves, and finally made it to the top with more than a few hair flicks.

My favorite bouncer met us.

“Oh now,” he said as we crested the top, “am I gonna be taxiing you all up and down these stairs all night?”

“You know you love it!” I said back sassily.

He just smiled and shook his head. “They’re all down at the end.”

I nodded and continued on, the harem at my heels, the lights dimming even as we made our way back. The DJ was going to start soon. Butterflies tickled my stomach for the night to come.

I sincerely hoped I didn’t make an ass of myself.

As we neared the back, I saw William at the far corner, watching the progression. I thought he would be looking over all the girls indiscreetly, but instead he only had eyes for me. My heart surged, still affected. I smiled with elation as I met his eyes. He smiled back and winked.

The last time I was here—the night of the dance off—William’s party was in the same stop, but only occupied one large booth and a few outlying tables. Tonight the whole back area was roped off, encompassing four booths and more than a few people I had rarely seen out. As I figured, William had done it up big. Absolutely no one could show up to Froggy’s for the rest of the night, and we’d still have a great party.

I couldn’t help but notice, as we passed the last bouncer before we were in our designated zone, that William was leaning against a bar in the corner. It looked like it was set up for our personal use. Which meant we didn’t even have to walk or wait on a waitress to get alcohol.

We were going to get so shit-faced. I was actually getting a little nervous about it.

Adam was by the railing with a few guys I didn’t know. They were watching us walk through like a bunch of kids looking at Playboy for the first time.

“Jessica,” Lump said in my ear, “these guys are hot!”

Easily the prettiest of us, and the one that usually could get any guy she was after, at least for a little while, she was often the hardest to please. Nearly impossible in fact.