The Aftermath (The Hurricane, #2)(23)
“What’s up, bitches?” Tommy shouted as he parted the crowd like Moses at the Red Sea. There aren’t words to describe what he did on the dance floor. The cheesier the song, the more outlandishly he danced, and the girls loved him for it. Only when he was creeping out of their bed the next morning did they realize what kind of a player he really was.
Watching Nikki, Albie, Ryan, and the others flood the dance floor was my first warning that I was about to lose my excuse to hold Em close. When the opening bars of “We are Family” by Sister Sledge sounded, the DJ took to the mike. “Yo, ladies and gentleman. Let’s give it up for Em out celebrating her twenty-first birthday.” We whooped and hollered as Em reddened like a tomato. “Join her and her friends on the dance floor, and if you’ve got it, shake it.”
The music blared, and I rolled my eyes knowing that this was Kieran’s doing. Usually when Tom got going, I ran for cover, but as I watched Em’s face light up with happiness, I figured if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, and shook my arse so bad I gave even Tommy a run for his money. By the time the song ended, we were all hot, sweaty, and laughing our arses off. One song morphed into another but no one was in a hurry to leave. Tommy had already caught the eye of some girl, and by the way he danced, with her between his legs and pressed up against his chest, it wasn’t hard to imagine how the night would end for both of them.
“What the f*ck…?” said a voice to my left. I turned to see Earnshaw staring daggers at Tom.
“She your girl?” I asked.
“My sister,” he answered through clenched teeth. Kieran, who’d been eavesdropping on our conversation, sniggered while I winced. Monday morning at the gym was going to be pretty interesting if Tom humped and dumped Earnshaw’s sister. Kier and I both turned to look at her. She was quite pretty, really. Long, tanned legs, nice, curvy figure, and straight brown hair. Em would probably call it some weird shade but as far as I was concerned, women’s hair came in six colors: black, brown, blond, red, white, and gray. Hers was brown.
“Amy, can we have a word please?” Earnshaw asked, and it amused me to see the tick in the side of his jaw. Fair play to the bloke. If Tom was rubbing up like that against my sister, I’d smack him first and ask questions later. His sister looked pissed to be pulled away from Tom’s wandering hands, but to her credit, she did what he asked without making a fuss. Me and Kier were like old women when it came to gossip, so we were all ears when he pulled her to the side of us.
“Look, Amy, I’m really pleased you decided to come out but I have to work with these guys so I don’t want one of them hooking up with my sister,” he reasoned.
“Jesus, you worry far too much. We’re all adults here. Who’s going to be bothered if Tommy and I have a little fun?” she answered.
“I’ll be f*cking bothered!” he told her, losing his temper. “You don’t think I won’t get a detailed and graphic account of what you two did?”
“Don’t be such a f*cking drama queen. If you had your way, I’d never date anyone,” she complained.
“Dating, yes! Dry humping on the dance floor with people I work with, no!”
Amy crossed her arms and stared at him. I half expected one of them to start growling. It was Earnshaw who broke the standoff first, his frown morphing into a mischievous smile.
“Fine. Dry hump away, but if you leave the club with anyone but me, I’m phoning Dad to tell him that you’ve gone off with a man you’ve just met.”
“You’d slut shame me?” she shrieked.
“In a heartbeat,” he answered, grinning away like he knew he’d won.
“You really are a dick, you know that?” she told him.
“Yeah, but I’m a dick who loves you.”
She elbowed him in the stomach on her way back to Tommy, which made him grunt. She went straight back to dancing up close and personal with our very own slut bag. Shit, if they got any closer, she’d be pregnant by osmosis. Amy was obviously showing her brother she wouldn’t be pushed around, but I’d bet good money she’d be sleeping alone tonight.
“I’m so fecking glad I don’t have a sister,” Kieran said to us both. Earnshaw’s once smug face now looked ashen as he loitered awkwardly, not dancing but trying hard to look anywhere but at his sister. Taking pity on him, I nudged his shoulder to get his attention.
“Come on. I’ll buy you a pint while your sister lets off some steam.” He nodded gratefully, and I turned toward Em who was still kicking it with Nikki.
“If you’re going to the bar, can you get me a lemonade?” she asked, “I’m going to stay and dance.”
“You had enough to drink, baby?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m happy to stick to soft drinks now that I’ve danced all the tequila out of me.”
Leaving her with Nikki, Earnshaw, Kieran, and I headed to the bar. The barman slid three pints and a lemonade across on a tray and I handed him a note.
Walking back toward Em, Earnshaw frowned, looking confused. “We’re going back on the dance floor?” he asked Kieran. I placed our drinks down at a tall table that overlooked the lower dance floor.
“Em’s been drinking, so we stand somewhere he can keep watch over her,” Kieran explained. Earnshaw looked at me like I was some kind of freak with three heads, which made me laugh.