JOHN PAUL

I walk out to the living room, where the group of us going out is waiting for the girls to finish getting ready.

Vince is sitting on a lounge chair looking at his phone, and I decide to move towards the other men, not trusting myself to be around him at the moment.

Even though Joey, Damien, and I aren't working, we each make sure to come prepared and carry our guns on us; I watch as Damien checks his gun before slipping inside his suit jacket.

Three of the guys are staying behind as they will have the morning shift, and the other three, Tobias, Marcus, and Lucas, will be coming with us.

"For fuck's sakes! Seriously, what could be taking so long?" Joey complains. He checks the time on his phone for the hundredth time, it seems, while pacing the entire living room area.

"Why are you in such a hurry? You're going to wear out the rug, with all your pacing, man." I joke while walking towards him.

He looks up at me. "They've been getting ready for hours, I just don't und—" He stops mid-sentence, and his eyes bug out, staring behind me.

I turn around, and my jaw drops.

The girls walk into the living room looking amazing, but my eyes focus only on Charmaine. My eyes start at the gold heels she's wearing and travel up her firm, toned legs and the dress that hugs every delicious curve of her body and finally land on her face.

She's wearing more makeup than I'm used to seeing on her, but it's not overdone; it only enhances her natural beauty. Her hair is in soft curls and the urge to run my fingers to run through it is overwhelming.

"Fuck me." I hear Joey behind me. He walks up to me, putting his arm around my shoulders, and lifts my jaw with his other hand. "Oh yeah, this is going to be a great night."

I shrug him off, scowling at him, and look back at Charmaine, who is now talking to fucking Vince. I watch as his eyes travel down her body when she turns to speak to Annalisa, and it takes everything in me to not pull her away from him so that I can tear him apart.

Damien walks up to my other side, interrupting my violent thoughts. "Damn, I'm so glad we're not working this weekend." 

I nod my head in agreement, focused on the only girl who takes my breath away.

"Let's head out," Tobias calls out, and we all make our way out of the penthouse. I make it a point to sit next to her in the car.

"You look amazing," I tell Charmaine as she buckles herself in. She looks at me before looking down, smiling as she tucks a strand of her behind her ear, thanking me.

"You always look good," She says, but the smile on her face gives me butterflies. I leave my arm around the back of the seat casually—well, I thought it was casual until I catch Joey rolling his eyes at me.

STELLA/CHARMAINE

The loud bass of the music vibrates through my body as we enter the slightly smoke-hazed club. The lighting is kept low, except for the center of the main room is lit up with the circular bar.

Annalisa tells us we have a private booth reserved that overlooks the entire club.

We sit on the soft plush couches, and a waitress comes to take our orders. I decided to research some drinks on my phone while Annalisa finished getting ready and settled on trying a SideCar.

"What the hell is that?" Joey asks from across the booth. I realize he's talking to me and notice most of the guys are looking at me, and I fidget under all the attention.

"It's a classy drink for a classy lady," Vince speaks up, smiling at me, but we all hear as Joey mutters, "Douchebag," walking to the railing, overlooking the club. I look over and smile at Vince, thanking him.

"Let's go dance!" Elena says to us over the music and pulls us up from the couch; feeling somewhat daring after all the drinks I've had so far, I grab JP's hand as I walk past him, and pull him behind me.

The music gets louder as we reach the dance floor. It feels warmer on the dance floor, probably due to the number of people in one area.

It's crowded but not to the point where we are bumping into each other.

JP steers me towards the middle of the floor, and we start moving to the music.

Maybe its the drinks I have had so far, but I feel so relaxed, and I enjoy the way we are moving to the music together. Normally, I wouldn't be dancing so close with anyone, but I like it as JP places his hands on my hips and he moves his hips into mine; and I like how he guides us to the music together.

We've been to a few school dances together, so I know that he can dance, and I've always envied how fluid he moves to the music. I get lost in the music and our movements, swaying my arms above my head, moving my hips and head side to side with the music.

Elena is dancing with Damian, but I'm shocked when I see Annalisa grinding against Joey. She usually can't stand to be around him, but I know her moves, and she's definitely putting them on show right now.

Vince is dancing with a beautiful girl who moves smoothly and sensually next to him.

The next song is slower, and I assume we are done dancing, but then JP holds me close, my back is up against him, and he moves slower to match the music, guiding me in how I move with him. He brings my hand up so it rests on his neck and his other hand holds my other hand over my stomach.

I lean back into him, savoring the feeling of being in his strong arms. I notice as he dips his head down and runs his nose down my neck, and he brushes his lips lightly on my skin, giving me chills, and that familiar tightness in my stomach begins; my heart starts beating faster.

Without thinking, I press myself into him and let out a soft moan. I don't understand why my body reacts this way to his touch. Before long, however, the song is over, and Annalisa walks up to us, grabbing me by the arm, pulling me away from JP.

The warmth I felt being in his arms vanishes; I'm left feeling a heady fogginess in my head. I shake it off as we walk back to our booths; our drinks are waiting for us at the table.

We sit, talking and laughing, enjoying the atmosphere. Then, I order another Side Car and need to use the restroom before the waitress returns. Annalisa and Elena join me, I'm not sure why we girls tend to go to the bathroom in groups, but we do.

As I'm washing my hands, Elena and Annalisa are both reapplying their lipstick. "So...you and JP were having your own version of Dirty Dancing on the dance floor. The guy can move Char, but you two looked like you wanted to jump each other's bones, right there on the dance floor." Annalisa looks at me through the mirror, smirking.

"We were just dancing." I can't stop the heat rising on my face as I remember his hands on me, gripping me tightly, and I loved the feeling of him holding me so close.

I should probably slow down on the drinks; I'm not thinking clearly.

"Oh, please, Annalisa. If anyone were going to jump anyone, it would be you with Joey Salvatore, of all people. What was up with that? You were putting your moves on him." Elena turns the attention on Annalisa, raising an eyebrow.

Annalisa shrugs back in response while adjusting her dress. "What can I say? I love a good beat, and I can't control myself when a guy can dance." She winks at us and turns to walk out of the bathroom.

Elena and I look at each other and laugh, following her out the door.

I follow behind Elena as Annalisa leads us back to the private booth. The club is getting more crowded, and I'm glad we have a private booth.

As we make our way up the stairs, I scan the room, and every corner of the club is packed with people. "What the fuck?" I hear Annalisa hiss.

Elena follows up, "Figures, that was fast, even for them."

I watch as Elena squints her eyes in disgust. "Why does Damien go through the trouble of making eyes at me all night, asking me to dance with him, only to now have girls hanging all over him. Does he think I'm going to get jealous? What a fucking idiot."

I step up next to her at the top of the stairs, near the entrance of the private booth. I look at where she's staring and see not just Damien but Joey and JP, each with a girl hanging all over them.

I feel a ping of jealousy as I watch a tall, beautiful brunette lean over and whisper something into JP's ear while trailing her hand down his arm and then places it back up to his chest.

The ping of jealously is now a full-blown tsunami.

JP looks over at me, and I turn away, not wanting him to catch me staring at them. It's not the first time I've seen girls hanging off of him, and I don't know why it bothers me so much right now.

I see my drink on the table and down it, welcoming the burn it gives me to focus on something else.

We all move to sit on one of the sofas, but I notice Annalisa herself is scowling as she watches Joey, kissing the neck of one of the girls he's with now.

I nudge her shoulder, and she turns to me and gives me a small smile. Then, she orders me another drink, telling me to enjoy myself for my birthday weekend.

When it arrives, I take a sip of it and immediately love the dark rich flavor. It doesn't burn like the other drinks I've had, but the alcohol is just as strong though. I ask Annalisa what it's called, and she tells me it's a White Russian; I'm pretty sure it's my new favorite drink.

"Are you having a good time?" Vince whispers into my ear. I turn too quickly and nearly collide with his face, not realizing how close he was sitting next to me.

I laugh loudly, and he chuckles as well. I tell him I am and when I look back JP is sitting across from me now, watching us.

Well, that is until the tall brunette walks over to the sofa. "John, baby, don't you want to dance with me?"

John? Baby?

JP shakes his head at her, saying something I can't hear. I watch as she places herself on his lap, grabbing his hand and placing it up, high on her outer thigh, so it's practically on her ass.

JP's eyes are on me, but she turns his face towards hers and starts to kiss him. My mind immediately reminds me of what his lips feel like, and now they are on someone else.

I grit my teeth and can feel my nails digging into my palms as I squeeze my hands into fists.

I suddenly have the urge to rip her off of him and don't hear Vince asking me something, so he puts his hand on my knee, grabbing my attention. I tear my eyes away from John Paul and the brunette.

Vince asks if I want to dance as he stands, holding his hand out to me. I take it and follow him, not looking back.

There's a Latin hip-hop song playing, and we start dancing once we reach the dance floor. The song is quick and fun; as I turn around, I feel him come up behind me, and he puts his hands on my hips. He pulls me close and guides us to the music.

He's a good dancer, too, and moves easily with the music. I keep swaying, slightly bumping into him but in rhythm. Then he turns me around, so I'm straddling one of his legs as he pulls me closer to him.

He leans down when the next song starts. "I'll be back. I'm going to the restroom. Do you want to wait here?" I nod at him, and he tells me that he'll be back soon. So I keep dancing by myself, enjoying the music, moving my arms and hips. I smile to myself getting lost in the ambiance of the club.

As another song begins, I feel hands come around my hips, and I lean back. I move my arms up and lean my head on Vince's chest and wrap my arm around his neck, closing my eyes. We keep dancing, and he pulls back closer against him.

His hands start moving up, and then I feel him cup my breasts, squeezing them. My eyes snap open, and I move forward immediately, snapping out of my dancing trance and turn around, only to discover I'm not dancing with Vince.

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