Reach For You [Dad!Calum Hood AU]

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

ASPEN HAD NO idea how the hell she managed to get herself in this situation. She wasn't even that drunk where she couldn't figure out where she was; just a little past tipsy, a nice buzz in her system, but nowhere near wasted that would leave her victim to drunk circumstances. So how in the world did she end up in a club throbbing with life, especially since it was its opening night, when it was the absolute last place she should be? The more she thought about her surroundings and where she was, the more her buzz was going away and forcing her gradually clearing mind to grasp the severity of the situation. She was going to murder her friends.

Who, at this point, were a mesh of faces in the thundering club. Through her sobering confusion, Aspen couldn't remember how they even got in here, seeing as when they arrived the queue was wrapped around the block—or maybe that happened after they got on line after bar hopping for the past few hours. The pounding music made it hard for her to think.

"You look miserable!" Aspen almost sighed in relief at the familiar voice of her best friend, Jodi, shouting in her ear over the music. She glanced to her left, catching sight of the blonde peering at her. Aspen was grateful that out of their group of friends, Jodi had decided to be the sober one of the night.

"You know it's a bad idea for me to be here," Aspen responded, pressing against the indoor balcony railing of the club, glancing down at the bodies in the center dance floor and many more littered around the club. Aspen figured this was a successful opening night. Looking back at Jodi, she couldn't help the worried expression taking over her face. "It's opening night—he might be here. I can't see him."

Understanding flashed across Jodi's face as she, too, looked around, as if they'd find the face they were trying to avoid. But it was dark and the only lights were coming from the ones flashing to the beat of the music and the ones that made up the dancefloor. "I doubt we'll run into him, Penny," Jodi tried to comfort with a smile. "It's packed in here. The chances of seeing him are basically slim to none."

But that didn't stop Aspen from nervously chewing on her lower lip, probably eating off whatever lipstick she had left. Honestly, it was her own damn fault for not paying attention where she was being dragged off to. If she had even an inkling that they were waiting in line to get into Wicked Sensation, then she would have bolted in the opposite direction before anyone could bat an eye. Now she was in the heart of the lion's den and she was admittedly shaking in her heels.

"Come on," Jodi spoke up after a few moments of silence between the two were passed by with Aspen cautiously looking around. "Let's get you another drink. Maybe it'll help you wind down a little."

Aspen snorted as she felt Jodi's hand grasp hers. "Oh, yeah, just feed into his business," she sarcastically quipped, missing the way Jodi rolled her eyes as she pulled her down the stairs and towards the bar. They pushed through the many people around, though it wasn't too difficult. There were lots of people here, but not to the point where everyone was packed like a can of sardines. That'd be a fire hazard, after all.

She stuck with a beer this time, having had enough of the hard stuff as she took a sip of her drink and looked around. It was a nice club, she had to admit; a DJ set up front and the balconies they were just on connected up on the sides and above the DJ booth, a VIP section off in the corner on the right, and the bar taking up most of the left side of the area with three bartenders working it.

For the most part, as Aspen slowly finished her drink, she felt okay. Jodi sat next to her, nursing a soda, as the two of them sat with their backs against the bar and eyes on the dancefloor. They eventually caught sight of their small group of friends, the girls and guys dancing with one another or some interested stranger. Aspen wasn't much of a dancer, only when she was too drunk to care, and she was perfectly content with just sitting and watching.