I lost count of how many glasses we had. The champagne was light, sparkling, dangerously easy to drink. The girls kept going out to the dance floor, and at one point they pulled me along with them so suddenly I didn’t even have time to look back at Master Alex, to catch his reaction. In that moment, it didn’t matter.
The music, the lights, the wild energy—it all swallowed me whole. We gave in to it completely, moving with the rhythm, laughing, spinning, losing ourselves in the crowd.
There were people everywhere, bodies close, the air warm and electric.
At some point, one of the men came closer. Too close.
“You girls dance incredibly,” he said with a smile, leaning in just enough to be heard over the music.
He stayed near us, moving to the beat, and then his hands settled on my waist.
