The Forgotten Alphas

Chapter 2

We met up with Carla’s friends at a trendy rooftop bar to grab a few drinks before heading to the club. As soon as Jules saw me she ran over and nearly knocked me over with a hug.

“You came!” She yelled, piercing my ear drums. “I didn’t believe Carla when she said you would be here.”

“Yeah, she finally talked me into it.”

Jules held me out at arms length. “Good lord you look hot. I don’t think the rest of us will stand a chance tonight with any man with you in the group.”

I blushed. “Stop it Jules. You know that you are drop dead gorgeous, and that dress is killer.” Jules was wearing a silver beaded dress that shined like a disco ball when hit by the light. I couldn’t imagine her having trouble being noticed in that.

Carla introduced me to the rest of the group. “Girls this is Alivia, she works with Jules and I.”

A short brunette in a black romper and the tallest heels I have ever seen spoke up first. “My name’s Shannon.”

The other two girls were both dirty blondes who looked very similar to each other. “I’m Callie and that’s my twin sister Sarah.”

I had to make a mental note that Callie was wearing black and Sarah was wearing bright blue, otherwise I knew I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. Everyone seemed nice and welcoming. I didn’t have the best luck making friends when I was a kid. I hated dealing with all the cliche girl group drama. I had my fingers crossed that these girls would be like Carla, she was pretty down to earth.

We walked over to the bar to order our first round. Carla flagged down the bartender. “Laddies, I would like to start off tonight with a round of shots since I was FINALLY able to convince my girl Liv to join us.”

She ordered 6 lemon drops and passed them around the group. We did a group cheers and downed our shots. When the bartender came back I ordered a double gin and tonic.

“Wow, you don’t mess around.” Carla said when she heard my order.

“My tolerance is annoyingly high.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Hurry and grab your drink. I see a great spot for a picture. All the city lights in the background will be perfect!”

Carla led me to a spot overlooking the busy street below. I handed her my phone before walking over towards the railing.

“What are we doing?” Jules asked as she and the other girls joined us.

“Help Liv pose for a picture. We’re trying to get a guy she’s talking to all riled up.”

“OOH fun!” Callie said as she came towards me with Jules. They both started moving me into different positions until they found one they liked.

“That’s perfect!” Carla exclaimed as she began taking pictures from a few different angles. “Come see.”

I let out the breath I was holding in and went to take a look. “Wow.” Was all I was able to say. That couldn’t be me in those pictures. These girls were magic.

Carla swiped through the photos until she came to the last one. “Oh you have to send him this one and then you have to tell me what he says.”

I laughed as she handed me back my phone. I had to agree, it was the best one. Before I could have any second thoughts I pulled up Adam’s number. Fortunately enough I already had a message from him that I hadn’t read yet.

Adam: What are you up to tonight?

I was extremely relieved he had sent that. I wouldn’t feel weird about sending him a random picture of myself now.

Alivia: Some friends convinced me to join them for a night out on the town.

I attached the photo to my message and hit send. I slid my phone back into my purse and took a big drink, nearly finishing my cup. He had never seen me dressed up like this.

Carla smiled at me. “You’re so adorable. Don’t be nervous, he's going to lose it when he sees that.”

“Maybe, we’ll see.”

I walked over to the bar and ordered myself another drink. I pulled out my phone and already had a new message.

Adam: Damn Liv. Please tell me you’ll be wearing that when I’m there.

Alivia: I’ll consider it.

Adam: What do I have to do to get you to send me more pictures tonight?

Alivia: Hmm, reciprocation is always appreciated ;)

I was so caught up in my phone that I hadn’t noticed a man take the seat next to me at the bar. “I wanted to buy your drink, but it looks like I didn’t make it over here in time. How about I get your next one?”

I looked up at him. He was definitely attractive although not really my type. His blonde hair was pulled back into a bun shifting focus towards his sharp jawline and blue eyes.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t know that I’ll want another.”

“That’s too bad.” The man started to turn away, but stopped. “I’m sorry I’m not very good with subtle hints. Was that your way of telling me to leave you alone or do you really not want another drink?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe a little bit of both.”

“Ouch ok. Any tips so I don’t crash and burn whenever I try this again?”

I pretended to give it a lot of thought before I answered. “Nope, I’ve got nothing. I guess you’ll just have to stick with trial and error.”

“Ok, so if I walked away and then came back could I get a second try? Any practice would help me at this point.”

I laughed again. I liked this guy, but I wasn’t sure that I was interested. “What’s your name?”

“TJ. Does this mean I’m doing better?”

“It does TJ, but unfortunately my attention is already held by someone else.”

“Bummer. Can I at least get your name?”

“Alivia, and I have an idea. Are those your friends staring at us over there?” I pointed towards two attractive guys that had been watching our whole interaction.

“Ahh yeah, they aren’t very subtle.”

“Why don’t you all grab some shots and come join my group over there. I think my friends will like you.” I pointed towards Carla and the other girls at a table near the opposite end of the bar.

TJ smiled and waved for his friends to come over. “Sounds like a plan.” He ordered the shots.

The two other men introduced themselves as Matt and Jackson. I grabbed my drink and some of the shots and led them towards our table.

Carla noticed us first and immediately sat up straight when she saw the men following me.

“I hope you all don’t mind, but I invited my new friend TJ to join us. He was nice enough to buy us all shots.”

The girls cheered and happily took the shots. TJ introduced his two friends and we scooted around to make room for everyone at the table.

The groups mixed well. I was really proud of myself for bringing them together. Callie and Sarah seemed to really hit it off with TJs friends. They broke off into their own conversations and completely tuned out the rest of us. After a few more drinks we decided it was time to move on to the club.

The club was only a few blocks away, so we were able to walk. Matt and Jackson hung back from us a little with the twins so TJ walked with me.

“So I think I lost my wingmen for the night. I blame you for this.”

I laughed as I looked back to check on his friends. He was right, they were going to be occupied.

TJ continued, “You think it’s funny but I’m serious. Since you caused this I expect you to be my stand in tonight.”

“How exactly am I supposed to do that?”

“I’m sure you’ll figure out something.”

Before I could say anything else Carla turned around to us and said, “It’s right up here.” She pointed towards a huge dark building with a line out front that seemed to have no ending.

“You’re sure we will be able to get in?” I asked.

“Don’t worry,I’ve got it covered.” Jules said as she walked up to the door, ignoring the glares from those standing in line, and began talking to the bouncer.

As I approached the door I got a weird chill down my spine and all the hair on my body stood up. Something wasn’t right, but I had no idea what. I stood frozen just outside of the doorway.

“Liv, are you coming?” Carla said when she saw I wasn’t moving.

“Yeah, yeah sorry.” I stepped into the club and was hit with the strongest scent of cinnamon I could possibly imagine. “It smells so good in here.”

Both TJ and Carla looked back at me, their brows raised. Carla spoke, “I guess it doesn’t smell bad, but I’m not sure that I would call it good.”

I shuffled behind them, barely able to focus on anything aside from the strong scent and the rapidly increasing rate of my heart. Jules led us to a table and I hurriedly sat down, rubbing my temples trying to regain some sort of composure.

“Umm Liv, are you alright?” Jules asked as she sat down across from me.

I looked up to see her and the others staring at me, concern painted on their faces. “Yeah. I just had a head rush or something. Nothing a drink can’t fix.” I smile and try to push down whatever feelings were bubbling up inside me. It would be so much easier if that smell would go away. I really needed a drink.

A waiter came over and took our orders. A few bottles were ordered for the table along with a random assortment of drinks. I ordered my usual, a double gin and tonic. I downed my drink as soon as it arrived. Carla laughed and slid two shots my way. “You weren’t joking when you said you can drink a lot.”

The drinks took the edge off of whatever was happening to me and I was able to pay attention to what everyone was saying to me. Apparently TJ had been trying to talk to me, he was staring at me with wide eyes.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” I asked him.

“Ahh, yeah. I asked if you wanted to dance.”

Dancing sounded fun. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to dance with him though. “Let’s all go.” I grabbed Carla’s hand and pulled her up from the table.

I finally got a good look at my surroundings. The place had a rustic chic feel from the random sections of wood paneling combined with plants and neon lights. I led us to an open spot on the dance floor. The song playing wasn’t at all familiar to me, but it had a good beat. I couldn’t remember the last time I danced in public like this. For a moment I felt free as I swayed my hips to the rhythm, completely forgetting about how tense I was just moments ago.

TJ slowly inched closer and closer to me. He was right, he wasn't good at taking a hint. I was having fun though, so I didn’t stop him. We danced for the next few songs. He was a surprisingly good dancer even though he kept trying to get a little too touchy. I had to move his hands more than once. His handsyness aside, I hadn’t had this much fun in months.

My smile immediately faded when I felt another chill run down my spine. My heart started pounding again as I scanned the room, not sure what I was even looking for, but I couldn't stop myself. It was like something inside me had taken control and I couldn’t stop until I found what I was searching for.

Carla stopped dancing when she saw my contorted face. “Is something wrong? You’re acting kind of weird.”

Her words brought me back from whatever trance I had fallen into. “I’m fine. I’ll be right back.”

I walked away without even giving TJ a warning. He was the least of my concerns at the moment, I needed to get out of the crowd of people. Somehow I managed to find the restrooms. I promptly made my way in and into a stall, falling back against the door as soon as it closed. I took deep, slow breaths trying to relax my body and bring down my heart rate. What the hell was wrong with me? I didn’t feel sick and I knew that I hadn’t drank too much. None of this made sense.

A few minutes passed and I knew I had to gather myself before someone came to look for me. I left the stall and walked up to the sink staring at my reflection. Nothing looked wrong with me. I wasn’t any paler than usual nor was I sweaty. It had to all be in my head. I took a few more deep breaths and straightened my dress before heading towards the door. I decided another drink might help, or at least I didn’t think it would hurt at this point.

I opened the door and was all at once consumed with the same smell of cinnamon from earlier. I faltered on my feet, but grabbed onto the wall just in time. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with me? I looked around and thankfully nobody was watching. Once again I took a few deep breaths, willing myself to take one step at a time until I made it to the bar.

There was an open seat at the bar that I quickly claimed, then flagged down the bartender to order another drink. I was trying my hardest to ignore the intoxicating smell that, if I didn’t know better, I would swear kept getting stronger. My drink was placed in front of me and before I could give the bartender my name for my tab someone spoke up behind me. “Put that on my tab, Jay.”

My breath caught in my throat and the hair on my arms once again stood tall as the man spoke, his voice husky and deep. I took a quick moment to gather myself before swiveling my chair around to see who a voice like that could possibly belong too.

I turned and locked eyes with the man standing behind me. “Mine.”