"Ooohh! This is a good song! Who's gonna dance with me?" I asked, trying not to slur my words. "Paul?"

Paul held a hand up and smirked. "Don't look at me."

"Oh come on..."

"Why'd you let her drink so much?" Jacob scowled from the other side of the counter.

"I'm right here. Why do you insist on talking about me like I'm not here?"

"I let her drink as much as she wants, because I know what Rachel does when she drinks too much," Paul whispered before taking a long pull of his beer, his eyes never leaving mine.

I licked my lips and sucked in a sharp breath. The night I had too many margaritas and called Paul for phone sex started to replay in my mind. With the way he was staring, I knew that night was on his mind too. "Well I gotta find someone to dance with me..."

I glanced at Embry and noticed his attention was elsewhere. He was staring over my shoulder toward a group of girls in the far corner. I moved around to stand next to him, wedging myself between Quil and Embry. "Who are we looking at?"

"That girl he likes is here," Quil stated matter-of-factly and earning him a pop in the back of the head from Embry.

"You got a big mouth, Quil," Embry grumbled.

"Which one is she?"

Embry slid his arm around my waist and replied, "The one in the red."

"What's her name again?"

"Kristen," Quil answered quickly, now earning a dirty look from both of us.

"You should talk to her," I urged.

"No!" Embry argued, pulling his gaze away from her. "I can't do that."

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and raised my eyebrows. "Let's go get her then."

"You're not gonna talk to her, are you?" Embry whined as I pulled him out to dance with me.

"Nope. She's gonna talk to you," I assured him.

Paul scowled at me as I passed him by. "What about me?"

"You didn't want to dance with me," I teased, letting my tongue peek out from between my teeth. "I'll be back."

When I got out where everyone was dancing and close enough to where Kristen could see and hear us, I turned to Embry and wrapped my arms around his neck. He glanced around nervously as I began to sway a little bit. I grabbed his hands and placed them on my hips, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Rachel..." he began. "Paul is gonna beat my ass if you don't stop this."

I looked over at Paul and noted that he did indeed looked pissed. I shook my head at him, silently willing him not to interrupt. "I'll deal with him later. He won't hurt you."

"I could probably take him," he said, but we both laughed, knowing it wasn't true.

I slid my hands up Embry's arms and turned us a little. "Can you see her from here?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, here's the deal...a couple things. Don't smile at me. Just look like you don't want to be here."

"Well..." he replied with a frown.

"And keep looking over at her, just little glances, nothing too stalkerish."

"I still don't see..."

"Hush!" I scold. "This will work if you listen to me."

"Alright," he agreed, glancing at Kristen again. "I hope this works. She looks kinda mad."

"That's perfect," I told him, leaning toward his ear. "Now I'm gonna try to kiss you...just back away and look at me like I'm crazy."

"You are crazy," he whispered back, trying not to smile.

"Are you ready?"

"I guess," he replied uneasily.

I leaned back, searching his eyes, running my hands up to the sides of his face. I took a deep breath before angling my face toward his. He let go of me and shook his head, backing away slightly.

"What the hell, Embry?" I shouted, planting my hands on my hips.

He furrowed his brow in confusion and looked at Kristen once again. I continued to lay it on thick, "What is it...I'm not good enough for you?"

I reached for him again, this time my fingers pushed through his shoulder length hair, but he twisted away, looking more confused than ever. I glanced over my shoulder at Kristen, shooting her a particularly dirty look when her eyes caught mine. "That's who you want?" I accused, motioning to Kristen.

Embry gave her the tiniest smile, so I grabbed him by the chin. "Look at me, you bastard. You could have been honest with me!" I tried to sound more hurt than pissed and since I couldn't see her face, I wondered if it was working.

I lowered my voice now, instructing Embry. "I'm gonna take off now, don't follow me. Just keep standing here, looking pathetic."

He nodded almost almost imperceptibly. I turned to fully face Kristen. "He's all yours, sweetheart!" I scowled at her for effect.

I swung around to face Embry and I gave him a hateful gaze. "Dickhead!" I punctuated that with shove and then I pushed past him, stomping directly over to where Paul and the others were watching. Paul looked mildly entertained.

I returned to my spot at the end of the counter as the other guys joined me. I reached for the shot Jared had poured himself and threw it back. I smiled at them as they stared at me incredulously. "What did you do to Embry?" Quil accused.

I reached for a pretzel and smiled wider. "Just wait."

"Holy shit," Jacob gasped after a few minutes passed by.

"What?" Jared questioned, craning his neck to see what was going on with Embry.

"She just walked up to him," Quil reported. A few more minutes passed by.

"And they're laughing together." Josh added. Another couple minutes passed.

"And...they're dancing," Paul declared, giving me a look that showed how proud he was.

"How the fuck did you do that?" Jared exclaimed.

I just smiled and started bouncing quarters again. "It wasn't that hard."

They looked at Paul, but he only shrugged and pulled me close to him. "As long as she's only using her powers for good and not evil, I'm fine with it."

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

"That was pretty cool...what you did for Embry earlier."

I looked over at Jacob, who was now standing next to me, resting on the counter with his forearms. Embry was still dancing with Kristen. I shot Embry a glance and he gave me a grateful smile. "It was no big deal, Jake."

"Still," he sighed. "Most people wouldn't have helped him like that."

"Well, I'm not most people. And I am pretty cool...for a girl."

He chuckled and nodded. "Still."

"What about you? Are there any girls here that you like?"

Jacob stood up taller and scanned the room. "Not really," he answered quickly.

"Still hung up on Bella?"

Jacob started to walk away, but I grabbed his shirt. "I know it's hopeless, but don't tease me about it, Rachel."

"I'm not...I was just asking. Sorry."

He moved back to his spot on the counter and shrugged. "What about you and Paul? Are you getting more serious?"

I twisted his long black hair in my hands and I nodded a little, trying to hide my smile. "You could say that."

"Well, I'm glad you're happy...even if it is with him."

I leaned over to bump shoulders with him. "He's really good to me, Jake. I know people don't see that side of him, but he's sweet to me."

"I believe you," he replied. "And maybe if Bella ever comes back, you can give me some advice on how to win her over?"

"You got it, little brother."

I watched as Jacob crossed the room and joined Quil and Embry. It looked like Embry was introducing Kristen to his friends. Embry glanced at me again, but when Kristen looked too, I gave them both a dirty look and laughed to myself.

I hadn't seen Paul or his friends in a little while, so I began to wander through the house to find them. I noticed Paul leaning on the wall outside the bathroom, talking to Jared. I was about to approach them when I saw a busty blonde sidle up to Paul and hug him from behind. He looked down at her as she ducked under his arm. It was obvious they knew each other, they seemed comfortable together. My stomach turned when she leaned up to whisper in his ear. That was enough for me.

The front door was behind him, so I turned back to the kitchen. I stood at the end of the counter, gripping it tightly while trying to control my breathing. I was torn between ripping her head off, ripping Paul a new one, or just running away.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped back. "You okay?" Josh asked.

I was shaking and he noticed. I glanced past him and he followed my gaze. Josh nodded. "I get it now. Paul's being Paul. He's got a reputation, ya know?"

I furrowed my brow, his words barely registering. I could see that Paul and the bimbo were arguing now. A lover's spat?

"Come on."

I looked up to see Josh's hand held out to me. "Where are we going?"

"Let's dance," he replied with a devilish grin.

"I don't..." I weakly argued as he pulled on my hand roughly.

"Dontcha wanna make him jealous?" Josh asked as he winked at me.

"I should just go..."

Josh pulled me into his arms and smiled wider. "Relax, you're not doing anything wrong, Rachel."

I felt Josh's hands tighten around my waist, his fingers brushing against my skin. And suddenly everything felt very wrong. "I think I'm just gonna go home," I told him as I started to back away.

"Oh come on," he smarmed. "Just one dance." Josh held me against him and my skin began to crawl.

When he leaned forward and pressed his lips to my neck, I jerked my knee up sharply, crushing his groin and sending him crumpling to the floor. "You bitch!" he screamed.

I felt Paul's hand curl around my waist, pulling me away from Josh. "Stay down, asshole," Paul seethed.

"She's fucking with your head, man! Can't you see that? She dragged me out here to make you jealous. She came onto me! You saw what she did with Embry..." Josh choked out.

"You're lying!" I countered, trying to kick him while he was still writhing on the floor.

Paul gently pushed me toward Jacob and gave him a knowing look. "Get up, you piece of shit." Paul yanked Josh up by his arm and shoved him back.

Josh blew out a deep breath and finally stood up straight. "I was just trying to show you what she's really like. You talk about Rachel like she's this perfect angel, but she's not! She's nothing but a fucking slut..."

As soon as those words left his mouth, I pulled out of Jacob's grasp and threw a punch, landing squarely in the center of Josh's throat. It knocked the wind out of him and he stumbled back, falling to the floor.

"Damn!"

Paul pulled me close to him, held my right hand in his and inspected my fist, which was now throbbing in pain. I winced when he touched my knuckles. "You okay?" he breathed, his eyes darting back and forth, searching my gaze.

"I'm fine," I grimaced. When he glanced back to see where Josh was, I bolted for the door, grabbing my coat as I fled.

Paul was hot on my heels by the time I reached his car. His arms encircled me and he pulled my back against his chest. "Where are you going?" he gasped into my hair.

I twisted out of his arms and turned to face him. "I just made an ass out of myself and I had to get out of there."

Paul slid his hands behind my head and pulled me close. I reached up to grab his wrists as he leaned into me. "You can't fix everything this way, Paul."

He pressed his forehead to mine and sighed. "I know you're mad. But I just had to tell you how badass you were in there."

"You're not mad?"

"Mad?" he echoed, licking his lips. "Not hardly."

I heard his breathing speed up. He pressed his hips forward, pinning me against his car. I gazed up at him, his desire mirrored my own. I jumped when fireworks exploded over our heads. We heard the partygoers chanting, "5...4...3...2...1...Happy New Year!"

I watched Paul's face light up as the explosions painted the sky. He lowered his gaze and beamed down at me. "Happy New Year, Rachel," he murmured.

......
A/N: leave a comment and let me know what you think. This was my favorite chapter so far.