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My last update of 2016! What a wild ride... But remember! I've got new stories launching on January 1st! Thanks so much for sticking with me everyone!

Highest rank on the hot list over the last two weeks - #346 in Chick Lit

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© 2016 Shay Spencer. All rights reserved.

Something Real

[ Chapter 8 ] Loosen Up, Blaine

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As I stood here in this loud, crowded club, my mind fell back to my last day in my apartment. That had been my last day of freedom.

"Does he look creepy to you?" Hayden mused. The man was mixing his drink with the small, thin black straw it had come with.

"Sure," I muttered absentmindedly.

I still missed my apartment, I missed the silence and solitude that I had while there. Now, for the last week, it seemed as though my life had been put on fast forward. The most serene moment I had encountered over the past week had been just a few hours before. When I was writing in that stupid journal, it gave me an escape, one that I definitely wasn't finding here at this club.

"He's probably going to stab you later. He looks like the kind that wouldn't be aloud to buy a gun."

I nodded along, "yeah."

Now with the Pennington's, I hadn't had a moment alone. Hayden had a way of dragging me into different situations without even trying. Tonight was meant to be a girls night between myself and my best friend; and although I was glad to have someone by my side while Wren was glued to some guy across the club, it didn't mean I specifically wanted Hayden here.

"He's probably just got bodies stock piled in his apartment," Hayden continued before taking a sip of his drink.

"Mhmm." I could feel my eyes zoning in and out on one spot behind the bar. The pattern on the wall had suddenly become the most intriguing thing.

Hayden set down his drink, loudly enough to catch my attention. I glanced back at him to see he was obviously annoyed with me at the monument. "Are you even listening to me? I've been calling your little crush a murderer for like three minutes, and you haven't cut my head off for it yet."

"Why would you accuse him of being a murderer?" I asked, feeling my face scrunch up with confusion.

"To see if you were listening, obviously," Hayden said. "But also, the dude looks kind of shifty."

"He looks fine, Hayden," I snapped. I whirled around on my chair, setting my sights on one man in particular.

My little crush, as Hayden would say, was still standing near the DJ's turn tables. He wore a light orange button up, and set of tan dress pants. The bright lights that were swirling around the club reflected nicely off his black dress shoes. He looked put together, like he had his life figured out.

I honestly couldn't explain why Hayden thought he looked shifty. If anything, Hayden was the shifty one with the off-putting bad boy persona and the weird facial hair.

"I lied before," Hayden said, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"About your little mystery man being on the football team with Jay. I just thought that would scare you off from him. You don't seem like the type to go after jocks."

I frowned back at him, this, only eliciting a smirk back from Hayden.

"Why would you lie about that?"

"I thought he had a girlfriend. I thought maybe he'd cheat on her with you. But I found out he broke up with her a few weeks ago." Hayden spoke calmly despite the loud music blaring about the club.

"Is that why you thought he was shifty?" I laughed before spinning back around to face the bar. Hayden simply shrugged his shoulders up and down once more.

"Not exactly. He's just got that rich guy look about him. I've known enough of Elias' business associates to know when one of them is putting on a front. I hate when I can't tell what someone's game is."

"Well what kind of front is he putting on now?"

"I don't know," Hayden shook his head. He tossed his head back a bit to get a better look at the guy, to which, I reached out and gripped onto his hand.

"Would you quit looking back at him?" I hissed.

Hayden laughed, "you're the one who was full on staring at him five minutes ago."

"What are you, a clock?" I mocked. He'd managed to refer to the passing of time twice during our conversation.

"No, but I do know how to read one." Hayden quickly shoved his phone into my face, causing me to slap my hands in his direction to get him to stop.

"Okay!" I whined. Hayden smiled and pushed his phone back into his pocket. "So how do I get his attention? Do I just got up to him and say hi?"

Hayden merely shook his head and leaned in a bit, making sure to place his hand over the small of my back while doing so.

"Dance with me," Hayden whispered huskily against my ear.

"Why, exactly?" I asked, my voice raising in octave along with my nerves.
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Hayden rolled his eyes, "because, stupid. Mystery man over there looks like the jealous type. If he see's you grinding up on me-"
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"Woah," I stopped him. "No one said anything about grinding."

"I did," Hayden corrected. There was a sort of urgency to his voice as he grasped my hand and nodded off towards my best friend. "Wren wants to grind, with me. So if you don't step up, she will."

A look of fear flashed over his eyes for only a second before he regained his composure. I had to stop myself from laughing. Wren had come on a lot stronger than I'd thought.

"Okay," I sighed. "But keep your hands to yourself."

"Wasn't planning on it, Blaine." Hayden's words ghosted gently against my ear.

We silently made our way onto the dance floor, a dance floor that was lit up in the typical sense. The colors flashed on and off underneath the transparent tiles, and the sound of people dancing was barely audible with the speakers being just next to us. The lights dimmed a bit more as the DJ stopped to grab the microphone.

"This next one goes out to the beautiful brunette in black," the DJ spoke smoothly before sending Wren a wink. I rolled my eyes as the slow song began to play. The DJ here had always had a think for Wren.

Hayden leaned in once more and grabbed onto my right hand. I instinctively placed my hands on his chest, watching as he sent me a look.

"Do I have permission to grab your ass, sexy?" Hayden teased. My face wrinkled in disgust as I shook my head.

"Gross," I muttered. Hayden smiled and let his right hand rest on my back once more before he pulled me in. His body was pressed tightly up against my own when he began to sway us back and forth.

"Ease up, Blaine," Hayden whispered. "You always look so tense."

I frowned, "you've known me a week. How would you know that I look tense all the time?"

"Because I've known you a week." Hayden's left eyebrow popped up suggestively. He then pressed his forehead against my own. "So listen when I say to loosen up a little. Mystery man might think we're faking this."

"Oh what a shame that would be," I sighed dramatically.

Hayden rolled his eyes, "you want him, don't you? You want him to notice you and get jealous that you're with another guy?"

I nodded for him to continue.

"Then loosen the fuck up, Blaine. I want a dance partner, not a mannequin."

I held back the snide remark, instead deciding to wrap my arms around his neck. Hayden gave me a small smile as he somehow brought me in even closer, placing his hands on either side of my waist.

The next song picked up speed just a bit, this, making it much harder to act like I liked dancing with Hayden. My self proclaimed love expert dug his fingers into my sides as the dancing got more heated.

Hayden's eyes had a sort of look about them as he watched me that I'd never seen before. "He's watching," Hayden whispered gently. "Let's make it interesting."

Hayden spun me around, the man pulling me hard up against him once again. His hands traveled up and down my sides, giving me little time to catch up with what was going on. I reached out and laced my fingers with his, hugging his arms around my body in an attempt to bring down the sexual dance that Hayden had gotten us into.

My heart fluttered when he brushed my hair away, allowing for him to rest his chin on my left shoulder. His lips were pressed against my cheek in the simplest of ways, and yet, the action made my heart flutter just a bit. I could feel my eyes close as I let Hayden take over. I had never danced like this with anyone, but Hayden made it easy to just let go.

He pressed a soft kiss on my cheek before moving to the exposed skin on my shoulder. My short red dress had small straps, which, only made it easier for Hayden. I let my head fall back against his chest, his arms wrapping tighter around my waist. My mind had grown quite foggy, I could barely remember where I was.

"Scar," Wren called. Her voice was enough to make me open my eyes. I felt my body bounce backwards into Hayden in surprise as I found her right in front of me holding  bottle of beer. "Take this," she ordered before thrusting the drink into my stomach. "I'm dancing with Hayden!"

I'd left her for all of twenty minutes. She was already hammered.

I was about to protest, but knowing Wren, she'd rip me off of Hayden with her bare hands in this state. I nodded and stepped away from him, feeling slightly cold at the loss of his hands. Hayden stood still as Wren began to dance around him, her hands roaming all over his body as she attempted to look sexy for him.

I forced myself to look away, and when I did, I could see my mystery man's eyes were locked on me. I sent him a small wave before making my way over.

"That was quite the scene," he said as I stepped off the dance floor. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"What do you mean?" I asked, calling to him over the loud music.

"To dance with that guy," he explained. "He'd been staring at you all night. Are you two friends or something?"

I shook my head, "something like that. But I actually-"

"Don't feel that way about him?" He finished for me with a grin. "I'm Zane, by the way. Zane Mirada. I work at the resort down the street."

"Scarlett Blaine. I just finished my third year at UC," I smiled.

His eyes widened in surprise, "University of California, huh? Maybe I shouldn't be asking you out then."

"You're asking me out?"

He nodded, "I was thinking about it. If you're okay with the age difference, I mean."

"I don't think it's very big," I said. "I turned twenty-one about six months ago."

"And I'm twenty-six in October," Zane smirked.

"I don't mind," I whispered, reaching out for his hand. Zane laughed and nodded before reaching for his phone.

"Then I'd love to get your number. You're absolutely entrancing, and I can't stand the thought of not getting to know you." It took all I had not to smile as I took hold of his phone. But as I wrote in my number, my mind fell back to my time with Hayden.

His stupid plan actually worked.

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Fun fact about Zane Mirada - he'll be a major character in one of my new stories launching sometime next year! Keep an eye out 😜

But looks like Hayden's plan worked 😏 Comment if you liked the Hayden/Scarlett moments from this chapter!

The next update will be on January 7th!

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Also! Remember to check out The Buddies Rule! Chapter 17 was just posted!

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