Attraction: (A Temptation Series Stand-alone) (The Temptation Series Book 4) (20 page)

‘I need a night out,’ I said to myself as I made my way back
to the staff room. And I was going to drag Libby out with me whether she liked
it or not.

Pushing the door open, I walked into the room. ‘Right! Opals
... tonight, who’s in?’

Brooke, Libby, Sally and George — known as Mr T to his grade
six students (which makes me laugh because he is far from the boisterous man
who is his namesake) — looked up.

‘I’m in, sweetheart,’ George offered, eagerly.

‘You are too old. You are not invited,’ I said, poking my
tongue out at him. ‘And anyway, something tells me that were you to accompany
us tonight, Mrs T would have your balls for breakfast.’

George not so subtly covered his package with his hands in a
show of protection. ‘Nobody is havin’ my balls for breakfast, especially Mrs T.
She can have porridge.’

I laughed and shook my head at him, then proceeded to sit my
butt on the table. ‘Brooke, Sally, you in?’

Lib stood up and took her coffee mug to the sink. ‘I can’t,
Carls,’ she said with a sympathetic smile.

‘Lib, you don’t have a choice.’

She spun around, displaying astonishment. ‘Says who?’

‘Me,’ I answered, dismissing her constitutional right to
decide for herself.

‘Yeah, I’m in,’ Sally said as she grabbed yet another
handful of M&M’s. I gave her a warning look, which prompted her to frown at
me, and then watched as she hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not to
put that handful of chocolate in her mouth.

Sally was mildly overweight, but was forever complaining
about it and never doing anything to help her cause. She wasn’t dealt the lucky
hand that I was and could not eat whatever she wanted and, because of that,
appointed me as her make-me-lose-weight bitch. It was one of my jobs to ensure
she didn’t eat foods that would go directly to her arse.

Quickly, and with a cheeky yet guilty smile, she shovelled
them into her mouth.

‘Sal!’ I exclaimed.

‘I’ll work it off tonight on the dance floor, I promise.’

‘Oh, I know you will,’ I replied with a searing look that
meant business.

‘It’s all right for you,’ she whined, ‘you can eat whatever
you like and —’

Here we go again, blah, blah, blah-bibbity blah.
I
deliberately blocked out her you-suck-I’m-a-victim spiel. I’d heard it before.

‘Okay, we’ll taxi it from my joint,’ I added. ‘Brooke?’

‘I’ll let you know. I’ll have to see what Lance is doin’. If
he’s busy then, yeah, I’m in.’

‘No probs. Text me later on.’ Pushing myself off the table,
I picked up my handbag. ‘Okay, you ready, Lib?’ I asked, now full of excitement
and adrenaline, ready for the girls’ night out ahead.

‘Wouldn’t matter even if I weren’t,’ she grumbled. ‘You’d
leave without me.’

I shrugged my shoulders and winked at George. ‘You snooze,
you lose.’

***

Lib and I were in the car and heading home shortly after I
said I was leaving. There was no time to waste and no room for mucking around.
I had a canvas that needed painting, and I intended on painting it with my
newest pink lipstick and blush.

‘Why the urgency to go out?’ Lib asked from her position in
the passenger seat next to me.

‘No urgency. I just want a night out with my friends,’ I
replied, hiding my real reason with a kick-arse lie, my real reason being the
resulting hurt and feeling of disappointment caused by Derek.

‘You seem to forget — even though I tell you all the time —
that you are the world’s worst liar.’
Damn it.

Rolling my eyes, I chose to turn up the radio to block out
her correct assessment. Lib, however, leaned forward and switched it off
completely.

‘That was Derek on the phone, wasn’t it? What happened?’

‘Nothing. He just said he’s going away for a while, that’s
all,’ I explained, attempting to appear unfazed.

She turned to face me. ‘That’s not all.’

‘What are you, a mentalist?’

‘Maybe?’ she smiled smugly.

I quickly glared at her then returned my attention to the
road. ‘More like mental.’

‘So ... Derek said he had to leave for a while and that it was
over, yeah?’ she asked with a tone that hinted she was baiting me.

‘No!’

‘Right ... so he said that he was leaving for an unknown
stretch of time and that he wanted to try a long-distance relationship, but was
not sure if it would work?’

I kept my stare straight ahead but narrowed my eyes and
answered with a sneer. ‘No!’

‘Then what’s the problem?’ Libby groaned.

‘He said he had to go to Sydney for “family” issues,’ I
snapped, emphasising the ‘family’ with one-handed quotation fingers. ‘He didn’t
tell me any more.’

‘So what’s the problem?’ Lib repeated, her eyes bugging out
of her head in a sarcastic and childish manner.

‘The part where he wouldn’t tell me any more.’

‘Maybe it’s personal, or he’s not even sure what that “any
more” part is just yet. And maybe when he does, he’ll let you know.’

‘Or maybe he has a wife and kids up there and I’m his dirty
little secret,’ I added like an insolent child.

‘Don’t be so fucking stupid, Carly,’ Libby growled.

I turned my head to face her, shocked by her sudden outburst.
Libby rarely swore in anger at me. ‘Whoa! Geez, I didn’t know that my lovelife
meant so much to you.’

‘Yeah, well it shouldn’t, because it obviously doesn’t mean
that much to you. You are forever sabotaging your own chance at happiness.
Finally, a guy comes along who appears to mesh with you ... a guy that you are
clearly smitten with, and yet you refuse to stop playing this
what-we-have-is-nothing game.’

‘I’m not playing games, Lib,’ I admonished quietly.

‘Then why are you building that wall of yours? For once,
don’t. Don’t build it. Enter a relationship without the fucking wall.’

Glancing sideways at her yet again, I couldn’t believe how
worked up she was over this. There had to be something else festering within
her mind. ‘Now, how ‘bout you tell me what’s going on?’ I asked, turning the
tables and hopefully prompting her to spill.

‘Nothing,’ she huffed, then instantly changed her mind.
‘Actually, I will. Here you are with a drop-dead gorgeous guy, and you choose
to push him away. You do this ALL THE TIME. It’s not fair. Where’s my drop-dead
gorgeous guy, the one that if he showed even the slightest bit of interest in
me, like Derek shows you, I would certainly not push away?’

Feeling every kind of guilt, sadness and annoyance as a
result of Libby’s confession, I decided to enter silence territory. Silence
territory was a safe place to venture into when one wanted to eat one’s words.
Apparently, Libby was word-hungry as well ... the rest of the drive home was
uncommunicative.

***

Four hours later, Lib, Sal, Brooke and I were stepping
through the doors of Opals, one of the nightclubs at City Towers. I’d texted
Alexis to see if she wanted to head down from the penthouse and have some fun
with us. She’d explained that she, Bryce and the kids were having a family
games night, but would definitely be up for it next time.

Apparently, Brycealicious had kindly informed the club’s security
guard that we were his VIP guests and, therefore, were escorted to a roped off
section near the stage.
Note to self: show Bryce some bicep-squeezing
gratitude.

‘This is so awesome!’ Sal beamed. ‘How do you know the owner
again? What’s his name ... Bryce?’

Sally was happily sipping on her Cosmopolitan, her brown
wavy hair pinned into a sexy mess of curls on top of her head. She had on a
black and gold-speckled off-the-shoulder top, complementing her black dress
pants, and her make-up was subtle and classy.

‘He and my best friend Alexis are seeing each other. They
live in the penthouse,’ I explained.

Her eyes widened. ‘No shit! Really?’

‘Really!’ I affirmed, before throwing back my Slippery
Nipple shot.

‘Are you going to pace yourself tonight, Carls?’ Lib asked
with a sceptical glare.

I smoothed down my black, sequined shift dress, which rested
mid-thigh, deliberately focussing on the unnecessary smoothing when I answered.
‘Probably not.’

Just as I was about to scoop up my second shot, a masculine
hand darted out of nowhere and swiped it from my grasp. Shocked, I watched as
the contents of the small glass disappeared into the mouth of Will.

‘Mm ...’ he murmured with a boyish grin. ‘I love a good
Slippery Nipple.’

I smiled brightly, happy to see him. I liked Will, he was
good value. ‘It just so happens that I like Slippery Nipples as well. And now
you owe me one.’

‘Carly, if it weren’t for Derek beating me to a pulp, I’d
totally give you one,’ he smiled again, his rugged and unshaven face endearing.

Will had short, dark, tousled brown hair that housed a
sparse but sexy hint of grey through it. His face was adorned with a light yet
well-groomed beard and moustache, and his pouty lips rivalled Brad Pitt’s.

‘Sure,’ I drawled cynically while waving down our waiter.
‘I’m almost certain he wouldn’t give a flying fuck.’

‘Are you for real?’ he scoffed.

Shooting him a quick sideways glance, I nodded. ‘Well, yeah.
He’s never once hinted we are anything more than just extra-special friends,’ I
explained with a sprinkle of sarcasm as the waiter stopped next to me. ‘I’ll
have four Slippery Nipples. What do you girls want?’

Up until that point, Lib, Brooke and Sal had been as quiet
as mice and, as a result, I had only just realised that I hadn’t introduced
them to Will.

‘Shit! Sorry! Will, these are my friends and work
colleagues: Sally, Brooke and Labia,’ I playfully joked, gesturing toward Lib.
Her face blushed a nice shade of salmon.

‘Labia,’ he questioned with a seductive smile toward Lib.
‘Doesn’t get any sweeter than that.’

Lib’s colouring went from salmon to tomato, which didn’t
really do her whole ensemble much justice: redheads donning a complexion of
pinks and reds was not a good mix. ‘It’s Lib or Elizabeth,’ she corrected while
shooting me tiny Libby-daggers.

‘I think I like Labia better,’ Will said, his voice a little
lower and suggestive this time around.

Lib then turned her visual daggers in the direction of Will,
making him flinch.

‘Geez,’ he said in surrender, ‘Lib or Elizabeth it is. So
what would your royal highness like to drink?’

‘Oh, please,’ Lib said with obvious irritation, ‘as if I
haven’t heard that before.’
Ooh ... Labia likes Willy! This could be
interesting.
‘And anyway, I’m quite capable of getting my own drink —’

‘Actually, they are on the house,’ the waiter interrupted.

‘Make that five Slippery Nipples and five Cum Shots,’ I
announced. ‘And they are all for me.’

‘Carly!’ Lib scolded.

‘Labia!’ I mimicked her scold in return.

Will chuckled, then slapped the waiter on the back in a
familiar manner. ‘I’ll have a Redheaded Leg Spreader.’

Sally gasped and looked at Lib who was statue-like.

‘Is that a real drink?’ I asked incredulously.

‘Sure is,’ Will smiled, his focus now solely on Lib.
Ooh
... Willy likes Labia. Excellent!

‘Ladies! Can I get either of you a drink as well?’ the
waiter asked Brooke, Sal and Lib, his patience visibly wavering.

Sal slurped the last of her Cosmo in the most unladylike
manner. ‘Yep, one of these.’

‘Make that two,’ Brooke added.

Staring Will squarely in the eye, Lib added, ‘I’ll have a
Maneater.’

And with that the waiter disappeared into the crowd only to
return moments later with our drinks.

I lined up my shots and started knocking them back.

‘You may want to pace yourself,’ Will warned, a look of concerned
curiosity marring his burly face.

‘Yes, Dad,’ I said sarcastically.

‘Hey, Will!’ a female voice called from behind us. Both Will
and I turned to face her. ‘Oh, hi, Carly, this is a nice surprise,’ Lucy said when
she recognised who I was. Lucy was Bryce’s extremely intelligent sister. She
also played alongside the boys in the band.

‘Hey, how are you?’ I smiled. ‘Got the night off?’

‘You mean from Alexander? Yeah, the crazy kid is upstairs
with Bryce and Alexis. I think his presence helps them both ... strangely
enough,’ she said, mumbling that last bit to herself.

Sliding along the booth seat, I suggested she sit down.
‘Would you like to join us?’

‘Thanks. Maybe for just one drink, then I have to head back
upstairs. Where’s Matt?’ Lucy asked Will.

Will shrugged his shoulders. ‘Probably attached to some
chick at the mouth.’

‘Nothing new,’ Lucy murmured.

‘Hey, Lucy, these are my friends: Brooke, Sal and Lib —’

‘Oh, thank you. Using my proper name now, are we?’ Libby
interrupted, her sarcasm dripping as smoothly as honey.

I poked my tongue out at her.

Lucy laughed. ‘Hi, nice to meet you.’

‘Lucy is Bryce’s sister,’ I explained to the girls.

They all sounded their comprehension with a long-winded,
‘Ohhh’.

Remembering that Lucy was a lesbian, I picked up one of my
shots and offered it to her. ‘Would you like a Slippery Nipple?’

Will burst into laughter at the sight of Lucy’s tickled
expression.

I rolled my eyes at him, then smiled at Lucy. ‘Well ... I
could offer you the Cum Shot, but apparently you are not into that. So,
naturally, I assumed you’d want the Nipple,’ I retorted.

Nodding her head, she accepted the shot. ‘Yes, you are
right. I’d take a Slippery Nipple over a Cum Shot any day.’

‘Fuck, this conversation is hot,’ Will said eagerly, now
leaning up against the pylon next to our booth.

Libby tutted with disgust. ‘Come on, Sal, Brooke, let’s go
dance.’

The three of them stood and snaked their way through the
crowd toward the dance floor.