From Above the Treetops

VII

Mila smelled strongly of perfume and makeup as we walked to the club, her bare shoulders being slapped by her bouncy curls as she trotted along in her high heels. Her warm skin tone went well with the sage-green coloured dress she had chosen, which not so coincidentally matched my necklace that she had bought me.

She loved when we slightly matched.

As we approached the club, the bouncer lifted the rope to let us in, allowing us to skip the queue that was currently stacked up all the way around the corner. That made Mila giggle and thank him, stepping through the glass doors and into the venue. We came here so often that we were added to the VIP list. Not because of our rank, but because they recognised us from our frequent trips. It was a strange feeling.

Icarus wasn't really in the mood for socialising tonight; he was too focused on our upcoming pack meeting, but I was looking forward to unwinding after a long week of constant work. As Mila and N.J headed to the bar to buy themselves cola, I headed straight for the dance floor. I didn't recognise the song that was playing, but I joined in with the crowd, dancing to it anyway.

A cute guy caught my eye and approached me to dance, his eyes running up and down me hungrily. He was quite forward, which Icarus disliked, but I didn't mind too much. Pleasing Icarus was harder than climbing Everest.

I took ahold of his waist, pulling him closer to my body as we danced. I towered above him, but he seemed to be enjoying it. After a while of dancing like that I dipped my head down and placed my lips against his, taking control as we kissed on the dance floor.

I could sense eyes on me and pulled away from the kiss, spotting Mila and N.J shaking their heads from their usual booth in the distance. I separated myself from the guy and headed towards them, not really glancing back to the guy who was left confused about why I left.

"What's so funny?" I hummed as I slid into the booth, sipping some of Mila's cola.

"Mila has this theory that you're aromantic. It's like you enjoy the sexual parts but are repulsed by the idea of staying around for any kind of interaction afterwards." N.J explained.

"I'm not aromantic." I rolled my eyes, "I'm just not interested in any kind of relationship right now. I can't imagine myself in that kind of situation in my current state. Not my cup of tea."

"Can't imagine it?" Mila prompted me to explain.

"Yeah, like you see all these mated couples being expected to share their life from that moment onwards. They always have to consider this other person whenever they make any decision and spend all their time together. I just don't think I want that right now."

"But you spend all your time with us and think about us when making any decision." Mila pointed out, "Why is that different?"

"I don't know, it just is." I sighed, not wanting to exhaust the same points every time the subject of mates comes up.

"It's your life." N.J shrugged.

I finished Mila's drink and pulled her up onto the dance floor, much to her amusement. We didn't often dance together, but I enjoyed dancing with her from time to time. She was undoubtedly a good dancer, but that was natural when you were confident. Her movements happened with flourish as she moved her hips and spun around me with the music, moving to the beat. I had no trouble keeping up, but it was hard to keep a straight face as she danced against me. She liked the attention she got when she danced and she certainly played it up, which was just amusing to me more than anything.

We danced together for a couple of songs before a girl caught Mila's interest and she went off to flirt with her. I danced alone, and then with another guy, and then a girl. She was trying quite hard, aggressively swinging her hips around and pushing herself against me in an unflattering way. Icarus was restless anyway, and was not enjoying her attention, so I scanned the crowd for somebody else.