Chapter 9

"Wet pussies! Yew!" Emily screamed as she raised her hands above her head and gave a little shimmy.

No, she wasn't drunk. In fact, she hadn't even finished her first drink. The night was just beginning, and apparently, a tray full of wet pussy shots was the trigger that got her started.

"Thanks Isaac," she cooed to the guy who placed the shots in front of us.

Isaac, who smiled widely behind his beard, nodded to the guy next to him. "Thank Benji," he said. "He's feeling generous tonight."

Benji looked almost exactly the same as Isaac. They were both brunette with hipster length beards and wore plaid shirts. Where Isaac wore a drooping beanie, Benji opted for a single, small hoop earring as an accessory.

Who were these guys? I glanced sideways at Sascha hoping she'd have some insight, but she seemed just as confused as I was.

Emily noticed our look and interjected. "Oh, sorry," she apologised, raising her voice to be heard over Dream of Darcy playing on the stage nearby. "Sass and Ellie, this is Isaac and Benji. Isaac is Darcy's boyfriend."

Was it just me or did I hear an air of annoyance lace her tone? Wasn't she just thanking him? And since when did Darcy have a boyfriend?!

If Sascha was surprised, she wasn't showing it. Granted, she'd been hanging around Dale's friends for weeks before dragging me along. It had only been two since my first adventure to Uni Bar. But to have not heard about Darcy having a boyfriend in that time, on top of an overnight trip? Was that normal?

Benji leaned his elbows on the bar table and pointed a finger at Sascha. "Now, you I've seen here before. Sass with the attitude to match." She shrugged one shoulder, not denying the assumption. Benji turned his attention, and his finger, to me. "But you, you're new." He held his hand out for a shake.

I took it and introduced myself. "Ellie."

He held onto my hand longer than appropriate and looked me directly in the eye. "Well, Ellie, can I offer you a wet pussy?"

I couldn't hold it in and snorted.

Sascha cracked it and even Emily had a giggle. I put my free hand over my mouth to suppress my own. "I'm sorry," I said, trying to straighten my face. Wow! How did he manage that with such a straight face? "Has that line ever gotten you into bed?"

"Bed?" he questioned, eyebrows furrowing in mock confusion. "You dirty girl! I was simply offering you a drink." Benji finally let go of my hand to push forward the wet pussy shots on the table. "But if it's another kind you're after, I'd be happy to oblige."

My giggle finally escaped. Under the table, I felt a tap on my leg. Glancing down discreetly, I saw Emily's hand making a no way, don't do it sign, one usually made at neck level. What was that about? Whatever it was, if Emily of all people was sending me negative signs, she must be serious. So, I humoured her.

"Thank you for the shot." I made my tone very clear as I turned back to him. He seemed to get the message.

"Your loss, gorgeous," he conceded and straightened up. Isaac clapped him on the shoulder, clearly amused by his mate's rejection.

"Shall we, ladies?" Isaac offered the shots to us again and we each took one.

We held the small glasses to our lips and Emily counted down from three. The vodka burned going down my throat and my head shook involuntarily. I wasn't a great fan of shots, having had one too many on more than one occasion. But this was vodka, not tequila. I had a tumultuous relationship with tequila.

"Woo!" cheered Emily. "I love a wet pussy!"

I wasn't too distracted by the burning to miss the scoff and glare that Isaac gave her. Was there something else I didn't know?

Sascha picked up on the drama as well and engaged Isaac in conversation. "So, Isaac, how long have you and Darcy been together?"

He never looked away from his girlfriend, who was killing it on stage, when he answered. "About two years now. How long have you and Dale been going out?"

Sascha smiled, "about two weeks." She continued with her small talk, and I did everything I could to avoid Benji. He kept smiling at me. When he thought I was looking at him, he even winked. That was when I decided chatting with Emily was the better option.

But her better option was to down her vodka cranberry in one go.

"Something you need to talk about?" I asked carefully.

Emily let out the breath she was holding in. "Nope!" she said, popping the p. "I want another drink. Do you want another one?"

I gestured to my full glass. I'd only taken a few sips.

"Right, well hurry up then." She picked up my glass and handed it to me expectantly. I took a few sips and then put it down. I wasn't drunk enough to scull an entire drink. I wasn't even tipsy. Emily wasn't satisfied with that and stole the drink to down it herself. "Let's dance!"

She took my hand and pulled me from my stool. I had no idea what was going on with her but was quick enough to grab Sascha's wrist and pull her along. I could not deal with whichever Emily this was. She usually ignored me and now she wanted to drink and dance together? Something was definitely going on. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining. It was kind of refreshing, her not glaring at me.

Emily led us to the front of the dance floor. There were already a few people there moving with the music. Darcy waved to us from her place at centre stage and kept up her energetic performance.

I stole a glance at Justin as I smiled back at her. His eyes were closed but he didn't miss a beat. He wore a tank that exposed he arms and shoulders, as well as the top of his shining chest and that elusive tattoo. With bottom lip pulled between his teeth, he was looking really good.

"So, what's the go with Isaac?" Sascha asked, pulling my attention away from Justin. "You don't like him?"

We continued dancing as Emily rolled her eyes. "He's a dick. She deserves so much better."

Thankfully, the music was too loud for Darcy to overhear. Did she know her best friend and boyfriend disliked each other?

"What about Benji?" I yelled over the sound. I remembered her reaction from earlier. "You don't like him either?"

This time, Emily laughed. "Also a dick, and he puts it in everything. Trust me, you don't want to go there."

I wasn't planning on it, but her words piqued my curiosity. "Have you been there?"

She laughed again. "Once," she admitted with a sour expression.

"And?" Sascha prompted.

"Let's just say his ego makes up for his..." she pushed her pointer fingers close together, implying what could only be his length. Sascha and I giggled. That made perfect sense. Emily touched my arm. "Nothing like Justin, hey?"

That pulled me up straight. "What?"

Now she looked confused. "In the tent? You guys didn't?"

I shook my head. No words were needed to prove that Justin and I had not done anything in that tent. I'm sure my shocked expression said it all.

"Oh, well, trust me," she continued with a wink. "You won't be disappointed." She then used her pointer fingers to show just how... fulfilling he apparently could be.

Her words sparked a heat in my chest. How did she know that?

Sascha was the one who formed the words. "Wait, have you guys?" she asked. Was she surprised or curious? I know I was suddenly desperate to find out.

Emily didn't say no. Instead, she showed us with a tongue in her cheek exactly how she knew.

Sascha's eyes bulged. "You gave him a blowie?" she giggled.

My expression must have shown my astonishment. "Don't worry," Emily told me, placing a hand on my shoulder and looking sincere. That was almost as surprising as knowing she and Justin had a history. "It was last year and we were both blind drunk. You have nothing to worry about."

What? Why would I be worried? I forced a smile, not sure why it wasn't coming naturally.

We stopped dancing and turned towards the stage. All eyes were on Justin as we stood there gawking at the drummer. The looks of appreciation on Sascha and Emily's faces showed they were imagining his manhood. But all I could see was Emily on her knees, and Justin's smirk as he let her pleasure him.

That's when the drummer himself turned in our direction. We instantly went back to dancing, hoping he didn't notice us staring at him. The heat in my chest was burning strongly and I was relieved when Darcy stepped down from the stage with her microphone to join our little group. It was a welcomed distraction.

Unlike Benji, who suddenly appeared, wiggling his hips in the centre of our circle. Now that I knew a certain something about Benji, I found it difficult to keep a straight face around him. Every wink, smirk, and hip thrust had me giggling. I'm sure he was taking it the wrong way, too, because he kept trying to dance with me.

Eventually, I couldn't deal anymore, and asked if anyone wanted a shot. Benji, thankfully, wasn't interested in wet pussies—the vodka kind at least—and went back to the table.

And that's how the night went. We danced a little, enjoyed the music, had another drink, and then did it all over again. Benji liked to join us on the dance floor, but I managed to keep away from him by dancing with Sascha.

When we sat back at the table as the band finished up on stage, I wedged myself between Sascha and Emily with the hopes they'd provide a barrier. Justin, Darcy and Ryan joined us a short while later and more drinks arrived.

Justin sat next to me when Sascha left to see Dale at the side of the stage. He now wore a leather jacket. How annoying. I couldn't see his tattoo anymore. What was it? Ugh!

And how did he smell so good after an hour of sweating on stage?

"There's been a lot of giggling tonight," he said, raising a brow and looking between me and Emily. "Something I should know about?" Was he worried that we'd become friends? Would he care if he knew that I knew that he and Emily had fooled around?

My cheeks instantly warmed. He'd caught us staring at him earlier. Maybe he did know that I knew. Emily didn't seem at all fazed by this.

"Ellie was just telling me about the stunning dress she's wearing to some fancy party next week," she said with an innocent smile.

Thank God. What would he say if he knew we were talking about how big he was?

"Oh yeah? What's the fancy party for?" He looked to me for the answer.

It hadn't occurred to me until this moment that he should know all about it. "It's the HM Awards," I admitted carefully.

His face revealed that he did indeed know about the awards night. "You're going, too? Is your dad's hotel a finalist?"

I shook my head. "Not this year." My mind was stuck on 'too'. "Are you going? Surely one of your dad's resorts is nominated."

"Yeah, the one on the Gold Coast is. I'll be there, too." Justin nodded, still looking surprised. "Is your father taking you?"

I froze. No, my father wasn't taking me. Sawyer was. And that meant Justin and Sawyer were going to be in the same place, at the same time. And I would be there, right in the middle. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and spoke in a small voice. "No, no, Dad's not going this year. The executive manager will be there, though."

I couldn't bring myself to say Sawyer's name.

"Well, it looks like I'll be lucky enough to see this stunning dress of yours." Justin's eyes scanned my body as he sipped his beer. And then he licked his lips.

Oh, that was hot.

But oh, I shouldn't be thinking that.

My chest flushed and the room was suddenly very warm. I grabbed my drink—it was mostly ice, but there was vodka and lemonade in there as well—and downed it in two gulps.

I was very aware of Justin watching me, and it was about time I caught him staring. I just wished it was at a less embarrassing time.

He wanted to see me in the dress.

It was a nice dress.

I needed another drink.

In the background, Emily giggled again. This was totally her fault. "We should dance," I told her as I pulled her off her stool. "Dale's starting."

I tried very hard to ignore Justin's eyes. I could feel them watching me as I walked away from him.

Was I being rude? I didn't want to be rude. But I also needed to get out of there before I said something stupid.

As our little group grew on the dance floor, I let myself enjoy the moment. Sascha came to dance with us, as did Benji. Then came Darcy and Isaac, who seemed to forget other people existed around them. Gross.

The only person who didn't join us was Justin.

It took everything within me not to look around for him. Why didn't he want to dance with us? Was it because I was rude to him?

Eventually I had to use the ladies room and I left them all on the dance floor. Sitting in the cubicle was always an adventure when alcohol was involved. The four blue walls swirled in front of me. Or was I swaying? I rested my head in my hands and sat there for a few minutes.

I was so tipsy.

No, I was double tipsy!

I shouldn't have had four wet pussy shots. They didn't sound too potent, but they were secretly deadly, especially when taken in a short period of time.

The damn wet pussies!

After cleaning up, I left the bathroom wondering if I should have another one. They were pretty good.

I was so lost in my mind that I ran into a guy near the exit. It took me a moment to recognise Benji, but when I did, I had something to say.

"You're onto something with this wet pussy thing you know."

He took a step forward and smirked. "Oh yeah, how's that?"

I leaned back against the nearby wall. "I didn't know I liked wet pussies before tonight."

"Is that so?" he laughed deeply. "You want another one?"

"Are you talking about a shot or something else?"

"That's up to you."

Emily's earlier warning was somewhere in the back of my mind, but I couldn't help the giggle that escaped. He was so persistent.

Before I could respond, Justin appeared behind Benji, interrupting my train of thought. "Oh hey." He was so much taller than Benji, and so much hotter. That smile made me weak at the knees. And his hair was a little out of place. So hot.

"Hey, there you are," he said, coming to stand beside me. He placed his arm on the wall above my head and turned to Benji. "Hey, man." Then I watched his hand as it came up towards my face and tucked some loose strands behind my ear.

Justin was touching me! How did he leave tingles like that?

I can't remember how Benji responded because I was no longer paying attention to him. Justin was so close I could smell that sweet cologne. Or was it just him? And his chest was right in front of my face. If I pushed open his jacket, would I be able to see his tattoo? I really wanted to see his tattoo.

When he looked back down at me, he asked, "are you okay?"

I poked him in the chest. "You just cock-blocked your mate."

His eyes flicked down to my hand. "Oh, is that what that was? I thought of it more as saving you."

"Saving me? I don't need saving. I have everything under control." I stood up straight to prove my point, but that was a mistake. I swayed a little and grabbed hold of him to keep myself steady.

My hands were on his hips. I couldn't tear my eyes away from where they grasped at his shirt. What would happen if I just ducked a hand underneath and...

"You're so drunk," he chuckled.

"No," I argued, looking back up at him. Justin wore that all-knowing smirk. He thought he knew everything. "I'm just double tipsy."

He laughed outright this time. "If that's what you want to call it, sure."

"I had a lot of wet pussies tonight."

"I know."

He was looking at me funny. Why was he looking at me like that? And why hadn't I put my hands under his shirt yet?

That smirk of his was out in full force. What would it be like to touch them? They looked really good. What if I kissed them? No, I couldn't do that. That would be bad.

"We're headed back to the house soon. I think Sass is coming. Will you be joining us?"

I sucked in a deep breath. Go back to Justin's house? That was as bad an idea as kissing him. But if Sascha was there, nothing bad would happen, would it?

"I don't know if I should," I finally admitted. Bad. Bad, bad bad.

"I can also drive you home," he offered sombrely. "If that's what you want."

Did I want to go home? I shrugged. Party at Justin's house or go home? Maybe he had vodka and could make more wet pussies.

Justin put an arm around my shoulders and led me away. "Tell you what. Let's get you a tall glass of water and you can think about it while you sober up a little. Okay?"

I leaned into him and nodded. "Okay."