Rush

was too
     easy to get caught up in the alternate universe he’d created for them. But this…this
     was real. These were her friends and this was her life.
    It was time to cut loose and have some fun for the night.
    Caroline herded them toward the VIP entrance and it was then that Mia got her first
     look at Brandon. He was a tall, heavily muscled man. Bald, with a goatee, a diamond
     earring flashed in his left lobe. As soon as his gaze lighted on Caroline, he lost
     the menacing, badass look of a bouncer, and he looked as though someone had just put
     a puppy in front of him.
    He visibly melted, and if Mia had any reservations that this guy was genuinely interested
     in Caroline, they were gone.
    He positioned himself between the line of people and the door and motioned for Caroline.
    Mia and the others followed Caroline and Brandon reached into his pocket to pull out
     five VIP passes.
    She couldn’t hear what Brandon said to Caroline over the street noises. He leaned
     in close to say something in Caroline’s ear. Whatever it was had Caroline suffused
     with color and her eyes danced with delight. He smiled gently at her and then motioned
     her and her friends through the entrance.
    “He’s hot, Caro!” Chessy exclaimed when they got inside.
    Gina and Trish were quick to agree even as they gazed around at the crowded club.
     Music pulsed and vibrated off the walls. The dance floor was huge—and packed. There
     was an electric look and feel to the place. Mostly dark but with neon underglow at
     the tables and the bar. Laser beams danced across the floor, bouncing off the moving,
     gyrating bodies.
    “I vote we get totally hammered,” Trish said. “Good music, dancing, drinks and hopefully
     some hot guys.”
    “I’m in,” Chessy declared.
    “Me too,” Gina said.
    They turned to look at Mia. “Bring it on,” she said.
    They all whooped and then waded in to find the table Brandon had reserved for them.
    Caroline tugged Mia back a step and then leaned in by her ear so Mia could hear her.
    “I’m going home with Brandon afterward. Is that okay? Will you be okay getting back
     to the apartment by yourself? He said he’ll get a cab for you.”
    Mia’s eyebrows rose. “You sure, Caro?”
    Caro nodded. “We’ve been talking for a while now. I’m not even saying we’re going
     to sleep together. Our work schedules are completely opposite, so we haven’t been
     able to hook up until now.”
    “Then go. Just be careful, okay?”
    Caroline smiled and nodded.
    They found their table, ordered drinks and waited. The frenetic beat of the music
     invaded Mia’s body and she found herself wiggling in time as they stood by their table.
     Chessy joined in and soon the girls had their own section of the dance floor right
     at their table.
    Before their waitress arrived with their drinks, two guys came over, their smiles
     charming, and began talking to Chessy and Trish. Mia purposely stayed to the back
     of the table where it abutted the rail overlooking the dance floor. In no way did
     she want to advertise she was looking, and she didn’t want to have to deal with any
     awkward brush-offs. Instead, she turned to face the floor and bopped along with the
     music.
    A few minutes later, their drinks were delivered and the two guys had disappeared.
     They collected their glasses from the tray and then Caroline held hers up in a toast.
    “Here’s to an awesome night!” she yelled.
    They clinked glasses, and the drinking began.
    Mia paced herself. She didn’t have the tolerance for alcohol that her friends had.
     They bounced back and forth between the dance floor and their table, and their waitress
     kept a steady supply of drinks delivered to them.
    By midnight, Mia was feeling the effects of the alcohol, and she slowed her intake
     while the others continued to whoop it up. Chessy had hooked up with a guy who stuck
     to her like glue the entire night. Where she went, he went, and he made certain the
     girls had what they wanted.
    Brandon came by after a while to check in on them and he spoke to Caroline for a few
     minutes to the side. When he left, Caroline’s smile was huge and her eyes sparkled.
     She was excited—flush with the newness of a potential relationship when everything
     was shiny and exhilarating. Mia was happy for her. Caro deserved happiness after her
     last relationship. Maybe Brandon would be the one.
    By two in the morning, Mia was ready to drop, and she was more than a little