Cali Boy

BOOK PREVIEW: Chapter 4

It was ten o' clock when Tye and I had finished getting ready. She had decided on an army green two piece, one that showed off her curvy body through a top and skirt that barely covered anything. Her leather boots tapped against the floor impatiently as I poured us shots of Bacardi.

"We have to hurry. The taxi will be here any minute," she whined.

"Shut the fuck up and take this shot." I handed her the glass and we wrapped our arms around each other before downing the liquid. "Now we can go."

We rushed down the stairs and avoided the countless stares from men as we reached the street. The taxi honked and we swiftly got in before giving our driver an apologetic smile. He was older and overweight, and I could tell he probably didn't get much attention from females.

"Sorry we're late. My friend here takes forever to get ready," I said pointing to Tye. I leaned over his seat as I said it and we locked eyes in the rear-view mirror.

"Oh! Um... it's no problem," he answered. I noticed his cheeks had become flushed and I grinned. How cute. I had made him nervous. "Where are you guys headed to?" he asked after clearing his throat.

"Elevate on thirty first street," Tye cooed out. "We really would like to get drunk and make out with each other so if you could be a doll and step on it?" She batted her eyes and gave me a mischievous smirk. I knew that face anywhere. It was the "we're not going to have to pay for this cab" look. She was pulling out old tricks that she hadn't done since she met Ethan. It caught me off guard.

The driver nodded and proceeded to do exactly what Tye asked. It only took us only fifteen minutes to reach the club. As we were getting ready to leave, our driver spoke up again.

"Uh... are you gonna pay me?" he nervously asked.

"Right," I murmured out like I forgot. I leaned over into the front part of the car, so my cleavage and face were inches away from him. "I don't have any cash on me but..." Tye moved so she was next to me and we gave each other the most convincing seductive look we could.

"Maybe we can find some other way to pay you?" Tye chimed in. The man's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as Tye wrapped her fingers around my cleavage.

"No payment needed. Um... thank you," the guy stuttered out. We smiled at each other.

"No. Thank you," I responded. We stepped out of the car and I turned before shutting the door. "See you around?" He nodded and I closed the car door without looking back again. We would never see him again. That was the best part of it all.

Elevate was just as lively as we expected it to be on a Saturday night. The line wrapped around the building and was full of people in their best dressed outfits waiting to be let in. I locked eyes with the bouncer and beamed when I realized who it was.

"Mike is here," I tugged on Tye. "Let's go." We had known Mike since we first moved to New York. He was one of the first relevant people we had met, and he always looked out for us. He was the reason we never had to wait in line to get in.

"Mikie!" I exclaimed and Tye and I both kissed him on the cheek.

"How are my girls?" he asked.

"Perfect as usual," Tye said. "I hope we're able to get our spot today?"

"You already know the answer to that," he flirted. He nodded to the other guard who led us inside. The club was crowded and I thanked God that we had a section to ourselves. The dim rainbow lights reflected onto us as we made our way to our area that had already been stacked with bottles of vodka and Malibu. Mike knew us well.

The music was loud and from my point of view, it looked like everyone was dancing with everyone. I took a sip out of my iced mixed drink and for a second, and I almost forgot why I was there in the first place. I enjoyed going out way too much.

Tye leaned in to me. "Don't be mad but I invited Ethan." If it had been any other girl's night, I would have been annoyed. Maybe even pissed. This time, I was grateful she had invited him. I was going to have to ditch her for Marshall anyways, and this way she would be distracted enough not to care.

"I'm not mad," I admitted. "Now dance with me." An electronic song we both loved came on and we went wild. We grinded our hips on each other and moved to the beat in a way that was only possible under the influence of alcohol. People who walked by watched us and thirty degrees to the left, I could see Marshall watching us too.

It was like the universe had aligned, because in that exact moment, Ethan swooped in and grabbed Tye by the waist.

"Mind if I steal her?" his lips curled up and he raised his eyebrows at me. I couldn't lie, he was a good-looking guy and he treated Tye like a princess. It was the love story she always told me she wanted. A love story I would never get, because I didn't like the good guys. I looked over at Marshall and gave him a flirty smile.

My type was rough around the edges.

"Go ahead lover boy," I teased him. "I'm gonna go talk to Marshall." Tye grabbed my arm before I left.

"Nothing past weed. I mean it."

"Okay mom." She rolled her eyes and I made a B-line for my prey. He looked good tonight. Fuckable even. He smiled when he saw me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"I was beginning to think you forgot about me."

"Me? Forget about you? You must not know me as well as I thought." I pouted. He pressed his thumb gently on my chin.

"Don't pout princess." He leaned in closer. "You look hot tonight."

"So are you saying I don't look hot every other night?"

"Don't tease me. You know the answer to that," he replied. Marshall and I had a history, but it was hard to determine what exactly that history entailed. We flirted a lot and even made out under the influence of drugs a couple times. His presence was addicting, and I tended to make reckless choices when we were together. Tye didn't like him, which made me like him more. Still, he wasn't relationship material. Even I knew that.

But I wasn't here for a relationship, I was here to do my job.

Marshall pressed his lips against my ear. "I have someone I want you to meet. I think you'll like him."

I hid my smirk underneath a poker face. "What are we waiting for? Take me to him." I sweetly smiled.

"Keep looking at me like that and I might have to keep you all to myself," he murmured. He pulled back before grabbing my hand.

"Lead the way," I answered. I followed him past the crowded dance floor until we reached a door with a red rope and security in front. He nodded once and the security nodded back before allowing us entrance. At the beginning was a set of velvet stairs and we walked up them until we reached another door with a security guard. This guy must be a big deal, I thought. When guard opened the door, a large room was revealed to us. Plush couches sat on top of the polished wood floor and they were filled with people. I noticed the ratio of females was large compared to males and most of them looked like the gold diggers I had seen rummage through the clubs Tye and I regularly went to. I kept scanning the room until I found exactly what I was looking for.

In the middle of the room and on a single plush couch sat a man rolling a blunt and talking to one of the females to the right. He lifted the cigarillo to lick it and we made eye contact that made my heart dropped immediately. There he was- the most attractive man I had ever seen in my life.

And I was going to corrupt him.