HIGHER (The Indigo Lounge Series) by Zara Cox Read Free Book Online

since midday and she’d carefully applied enough makeup to hide the
bags under her eyes.
    So, what gave?
    She opened her mouth to ask her
friend just that but Keely was exchanging greetings with a skinny, trendily
dressed host wearing an earpiece and clutching a leather clipboard. They exchanged
air kisses and admired each other’s labels before Keely dragged Bethany
forward.
    “Travis, this is Bethany. It’s
her pre-birthday drinks tonight, so you need to make her feel special.”
    Travis held out his hand to
Bethany, gave a limp handshake and raised a carefully trimmed eyebrow at Keely.
“Every girl who walks through Shades’ doors is a unique little snowflake, darling. But I’ve put you in the Gold VIP
room upstairs anyway. Enjoy,” he drawled lazily. “I’d have given you the
Platinum room but some guy with bigger balls than mine has commandeered it.” He
executed a perfect pout before giving a tiny shaking-it-off shimmy.
    More air kisses were exchanged.
Then Keely was sashaying her way into the interior of the nightclub, her pert
little ass twitching in the red micro skirt she’d worn with her black backless
top.
    Shades was all about the lighting. One section - the first floor
bar, was lit in bold shades of green and purple, with more subdued colors of
gold and silver cutting across the dance floor.
    A wide cordoned-off staircase
bathed in amethyst light led to the upper floors. On the wraparound balcony
overlooking the downstairs bar, guests sipped cocktails and grooved to the
sound of hip-hop blaring from the speakers. A walkway connected to an upper
level dance floor. Two girls, clearly well on their way to being hammered,
danced provocatively in the middle of the dance floor.
    Bethany felt a tug on her arm,
and followed Keely to the sitting area marked Gold VIP.
    “What would you like to drink?”
Keely indicated the touchscreen listing the various cocktails. Bethany read
through the list and laughter bubbled up her throat.
    “Are these names for real?”
    Keely laughed. “Yep. Wanna try
the Studded Reverse Cow Girl ? I’m
having one.”
    “How about just a plain Dirty Cowgirl ?”
    “Chicken.” Keely clicked their
order through and flung her tiny clutch on the seat just as Justin Timberlake
started crooning about taking back the night.
    Keely was a fabulous dancer with
very little inhibition. And in her tiny skirt and endless legs, she was soon
attracting avid male attention. When she urged Bethany to join in, she groaned
under her breath. Refusal wasn’t an option, however. Keely had been determined
all week to do something special for her birthday and Bethany hadn’t had the
heart to refuse her best friend’s efforts to cheer her up.
    Their cocktails arrived, followed
steadily by more drinks until Bethany’s inhibitions, heartache and misery began
to dull around the edges. They never went away but the alcohol flowing through
her bloodstream helped her believe she could finally take a breath without her
heart contracting with pain.
    Perhaps things weren’t as bad as
they felt. Perhaps she could welcome her twenty-fifth birthday with laughter
and pleasure, not tears and heartache.
    With a whoop, she threw herself
into the music.
    She was popping her hips to the
addictive beat of Blurred Lines when
her gaze connected with a tall, dirty blond haired guy in dark trousers and a
wine shirt. He was leaning against the balcony railing, one leg crossed over
the other, with a smile on his face. There was an appreciative gleam in his
eyes that made her want to smile back.
    She glanced away. Beside her,
Keely laughed as the long haired, spectacled guy she was dancing with murmured
something in her ear. The guy looked as if he was about to spontaneously
combust with adoration.
    Bethany looked back at the guy in
front of her. She watched as he slowly straightened and mouthed, “Dance?”
    She was about to nod when the
tingle shot down her spine. There was nothing subtle about it. It slammed
through her,