165We got to the club a little after 10.30pm and met Josh and Sandra near the entrance. I hated to say it, but Sandra looked good. Her lilac top just about covered her ample assets and her honey coloured hair had been curled lightly so that it sat in soft waves around her shoulders. She looked sweet and yet naughty at the same time and Josh could hardly take his eyes of her but then, neither could any other man for that matter. Compared to that, I felt dull in my dark tank top and denim skirt.
Nevertheless, I squared my shoulders and forged my way forward towards the entrance of the club, managing to dodge the air kisses Sandra was bestowing onto everyone. Josh caught up with me, throwing an arm around my shoulders, and for a moment, it felt like old times when Josh and I used to hang out together.
"You look nice," Josh commented off-handedly. "Is that a new top?"
Unconsciously, I smoothed down the invisible wrinkles my shirt. "Yeah, it is," I nodded, smiling. It impressed me that he noticed. Then, playfully tugging at his tattered-looking t-shirt, I said. "You look nice too. What is this, hobo chic?"
"Hey, it's supposed to be vintage," Josh defended.
"Yeah, whatever," I rolled my eyes. "That's just another way of saying its old."
Josh laughed. "But then what do you know about fashion, M? You think wearing anything with colour makes you look like a piece of candy."
"Because it does," I insisted.
"You should try it sometime," Josh winked. "I remember that you used to look cute in pink."
Josh turned to join the others, which was a good thing as I was sure my cheeks had bloomed with colour at his comment. We managed to get in without much fuss since Walt often DJ-ed here and it wasn't long before Sandra heard her favourite song of the moment come on. Squealing, she dragged Josh away from me and onto the dance floor with her.
Honestly, this irked me but only because we were supposed to be hanging out as a group. Those two were so wrapped up in each other that they may as well have not been here. In fact, the more I thought of it, the more it occurred to me that this had been the case ever since Sandra had appeared in Josh's life. Josh and I hardly hung out anymore other than at poker and even that had been ruined when Sandra had accompanied him there last week.
"Give them a break Maddie," Ben's voice said mildly from behind me. I didn't think anyone had been watching me and my face flushed at the realisation. I turned around to face him, expecting to see an infuriating smirk on his face but he looked serene.
"It's not what you think," I muttered but Ben was standing close enough to hear it despite the thumping music.
"I think you are jealous that Sandra is monopolising Josh," Ben said anyway. I stared at the blond man, unable to deny the truth in his words but what got me more was that this wasn't the first time he'd read me like an open book.
Determined to prove otherwise, I dismissed him immediately. "Of course not; that's just silly."
"Is it?" Ben raised his pierced eyebrow. I opened my mouth to reply but came up short. A grin finally appeared on his face and Ben placed his hands on my shoulders, slowly steering me towards the dance floor. "Dance with me."
"I don't feel like dancing," I folded my arms across my chest and planted my feet firmly on the ground.
"It'll help you take your mind of Munroe," Ben suggested.
"I'd rather have a drink," I told him and turned towards the bar but was stopped as he reached out for my arm.
"We all know what happened the last time you got drunk," he said teasingly. I opened my mouth to retort but Ben spoke first. "Come one, it'll be fun. Unless you can't handle it, that is."
Despite my better judgement, my competitiveness got the better of me. Taking his hand, I let him lead me to the fringes of the dance floor where one of my favorite songs of the moment had just started playing. David Guetta's Sexy Bitch blared over the speakers and it really wasn't difficult to let myself get lost in its rhythms.
Ben and I danced as one easily, reminding me of the first time we'd met. I turned around so that my back was against his chest and his hands slid around my waist. Grinding my hips against him, I was rewarded when Ben inhaled sharply. Turning back so that I could face him, I grinned, "Question is, can you handle it?"
The corner of his lips tugged upwards. "Try me."
"I thought you made it abundantly clear you're not interested in me," I pointed out but was enjoying myself nonetheless.
"No, I made it clear that I don't appreciate being used," he corrected. "But there are no hard feelings. I'd probably have done the same."
I stopped dancing for a second and stared at him incredulously, unsure of how someone could be so easy-going after everything that had happened. "Are you serious?"
"Sure."
"I thought you'd hate me for it," I said quietly.
"So did I," he replied, looking away from me. His words struck me but before I could respond to them, he spoke again. "You know, if you really cared for Josh, you would just let him go and be happy that he's happy."
"And how would you know that he's happy," I wondered aloud.
"I asked him."
"Was this when you were quizzing him for information about me?"
"Contrary to popular belief Goldie, the world does not revolve around you. I'm not friends with the guys just because I'm out to get you," he said patronisingly as he spun me around. Catching me again, he continued, "No, I just asked Josh how things were with Sandra and the guy wouldn't shut up about it. He was worse than a girl," Ben added under his breath.
"Well what did he say?" I wanted to know, not caring to hide my interest.
"Just that he never felt such a connection with a girl before and crap like that. I asked him if she was just a good lay but he said it wasn't just about that," Ben informed me.
"I bet that's all it is," I grumbled.
"Why? Reckon you could give her a run for her money?" he smirked, hugging me a little closer. "I doubt your techniques are vastly better."
"That's not what I meant," I glared at him as I pushed away slightly but his hand remained on my hips, holding me in place.
"You know, my ex-girlfriend broke up with me after reading this book called 'He's just not that into you'. I finally get why that book was written," Ben remarked.
"To save us from assholes like you?" I quirked an eyebrow.
"No, actually it's for girls like you who can't understand that he's just not that into you. You're wasting your energies on Munroe when I can think of a much better use for it," he murmured salaciously, licking his bottom lip.
"I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this," I said with a sudden realisation and stopped dancing. "It's none of your business anyway."
"Then consider this a personal favour," Ben said, looking me straight in the eye. "He's not into you."
"Maybe if he knew how I felt about him, he'd change his mind."
"So why haven't you told him?"
"I guess I'm just scared," I found myself saying. "I don't want to scare him away."
"So you'd rather sit here pathetically and pine after him while he's enjoying himself with another woman?" Ben pointed out, making me wince. "Doesn't sound like a great plan to me."
"Well, no one asked you," I pouted immaturely.
Ben shrugged his shoulders, and continued to dance with me. He turned me around, so that my back was against his chest while still holding me close. For an instant, I let myself get lost in the moment and simply enjoy the feeling of Ben's body moving in time with mine to the music. I could feel his breath at the back of my neck as he dipped his head low and then, in tune with the music, he growled sexily in my ear, "Damn you's a sexy bitch."
I felt a wave of pleasurable tingles course through my body. Instinctively, I reached up to run my hand through his hair but then stopped when I remembered where I was and who I was dancing with. I spun around to face Ben and caught the unmistakable look in his eyes. It was the same look I'd seen the last time things had gotten out of control with us. I knew I had to get out of there fast or risk waking up in his bed again.
"I'm going to get a drink and find the guys," I said loudly.
Ben was still regarding me with a strange expression. Finally, he said, "You're hot Madison and if he were into you at all, you guys wouldn't be just friends right now."
"You think I'm hot?"
"You know you're not ugly."
"Yes but, you think I'm hot?" My amusement was growing.
"I think you're a sexy bitch," his eyes twinkled with mirth. He pulled me closer again and I didn't resist. He
leaned in so that he was speaking directly in my ear, his lips brushing against my lobe. "But you need to wake up and smell the roses and get over Munroe. In the mean time, there's a very cute Asian chick checking me out. I'm going to go say hello and leave you to pine by yourself."
With that, Ben pulled away from me and walked away. Normally, I would have been annoyed with such a brush off but following the direction that Ben had gone towards, I spotted Soo Min dancing with one of her friends. I couldn't help but smile to myself when I saw Ben make a beeline towards her. Satisfied that he would be taken care of, I pushed my way through the crowd so that I could get to the bar, determined to ignore what Ben had said.
"So, find out anything interesting?" I leaned forward in my seat. I was having lunch with Soo Min the next day and grilling her on the events of the night before.
The girl slowly speared her lettuce with her fork. "Well," she hesitated. "Not really."
My shoulders sagged. "What do you mean? There had to be something."
"Well, there was some stuff lying around about his election campaign but there wasn't anything juicy," she admitted.
"Ok, just tell me everything that happened," I suggested. For all I knew, an irrelevant detail to Soo Min could actually be a crucial one to me.
Between bites, she described how he'd approached her at the club, bought her a couple of drinks and danced with her until she kissed him and suggested going to his place. My eyes widened—I certainly hadn't expected such a brazen act from my usually reserved friend and apparently Ben had been taken aback by it too but agreed to her idea all the same. The man-whore.
She went on to describe his apartment in lurid detail and I nodded, taking in the information but it wasn't particularly helpful. There wasn't anything I hadn't already seen before so I tried a different tactic. "What did you guys talk about?"
Soo Min frowned delicately. "Well, not very much. Just about school mostly. He mentioned he was going for President but didn't say when I asked him what ideas he had. I tried to ask him about other stuff but he was very vague. Then, when he went to make coffee, I tried looking around but he came back while I was looking at his desk and I had to pretend I was just looking for some paper so I could write down my phone number."
"Did he believe you?"
"I think so," Soo Min said. "He didn't seem suspicious."
"Then what happened?"
Soo Min hesitated and only continued when I prompted her. She seemed to be unable to meet my eye. "We kissed for awhile."
I swallowed uneasily at her words. I couldn't help it when my over active imagination started to picture Soo Min with Ben and I felt a stab of nausea at the idea. I forced it aside though, reminding myself that there was an objective at hand. "And then?"
"And then he just asked me leave. Nicely, of course," Soo Min said. "He said he had to wake up early today."
"Well that was anti-climatic," I slumped in my seat. "So we have nothing."
"I'm sorry," Soo Min looked dejected.
I felt bad for my friend, especially after what she had done for me. I mustered a warm smile. "It's ok. I'm sure we'll think of something else."
And I sincerely hoped I did. Soon.
AN: I know its been a long while :( I'm sorry to everyone who has been left hanging.