34 Minutes Ch. 07

It had been a really long time since Nicole had caught herself going to anyone's club. And an even longer time since she had gone out without her boyfriend on a Girl's Night.

Initially, when Courtney invited her out, she had been all in for the Girl's Night part of it. But scoffed at the idea of talking to anyone who wasn't Tony McBride.

But the more and more she pre-gamed, and the cuter and cuter she got, the more she got excited about the idea of being out on the scene again. She couldn't even remember the last time a guy had bought her a drink, or the last time she had worn something sexy to get anyone's attention, other than Tony or...

She shook the thought. Nicole stood in her closet trying to decide what to wear. "What kind of place is this?"

"It's a club, Nicole." Courtney stood at the door to her walk-in closet holding a half-empty handle of mango Bacardi. "You're 28, not 70. Please stop acting like you don't know how to dress to go out."

Nicole rolled her eyes and pulled out an outfit that she had never worn. She pulled it on quickly and picked out a pair of strappy silver sandals that she had bought herself for a birthday. She stepped out into her bedroom to look at herself in the full-length mirror.

The silky mint green romper fit her perfectly. The color brought out the dark caramel tan she had gotten on vacation, and the deep neckline cut all the way to her navel showing off her toned stomach and cleavage. She turned and admired how the tiny shorts cut off just enough to give a peek of her ass.

"Damn, girl." Courtney joined her in the mirror, wearing a neon yellow bandage dress that complimented her chocolate skin perfectly. "You almost caught yourself trying to look better than me.

Nicole smiled at her reflection. Tonight was going to be fun.

--------------------

When they arrived at Havana, Nicole and Courtney joined their friend Mandi who had a section in VIP. They immediately started taking shots. They were both already tipsy when they got to the club and it was only a matter of minutes before they found themselves out in the middle of the floor dancing like nobody was watching.

Nicole was having an amazing time. All of the stress and bullshit that had been clouding her mind all week vanished and in her drunkenness she only worried about having fun. She was dancing and accepting shots of Jaeger from whoever offered to by her one. She hadn't really met anyone that night who was interesting, but she most definitely got numbers from Jarrod, Eric, and Landon... at least she thought that's what their names were.

"I'm going to have so many random texts in the morning," Nicole yelled over the music at Courtney, who was still dancing solo holding her Ciroc and Cranberry in the air as the beat dropped. She giggled at her friend and joined her, dancing closely with her. They knew everyone was watching them, which only egged them on further. Nicole was about to turn around and drop it low on her best friend when she suddenly grabbed her arm. "What?!"

"Don't turn around!" Courtney was attempting to look furtively at someone who was behind her. "And don't freak out."

Nicole's eyes opened wide. "Who is it? Tony?" She tried to turn around but Brook pulled her back to face her. "I haven't even done anything. He can't be mad at me. I'm just having fun—"

"No, Nicole shut up. If it was Tony, I'd force you to make out with someone right now." She rolled her eyes. "But, Justin and like four of his sexy ass friends just walked in here."

Nicole didn't know whether to smile or throw up. She hadn't seen Justin since that night at his condo. The only contact they had had was a Birthday Invite mass text that she sent him, which went unanswered. "I told you I stopped talking to him."

"Girl, you are crazy as fuck. That man looks so damn good tonight." The way Courtney was looking past her at Justin, nearly salivating, was almost making Nicole jealous. "If you're not going to fuck with him, I will. He can get whatever he wants." Her friend tauntingly stuck her tongue out at her.

Nicole narrowed her eyes at Courtney, "Get the fuck out of here." She turned around quickly and spotted Justin standing near the entrance of the club.

And fuck her if Courtney wasn't right.

He was with a few other guys that she thought she had seen before. All tall, all probably played basketball with him and Tony. He just had on a white vee neck and dark Nudie denim, and a beanie lazily pulled over his hair. But for some reason, his casual dress among all of the blazers and dress shirts around him made him even sexier to Nicole.

"Are you going to talk to him?" Courtney wrapped her arm around Nicole's waist. "I can go with you if you like."

"I bet you will." Nicole had to admit until now, she had been feeling herself pretty hard. But suddenly, now that Justin was here, she was reduced to a sobered insecure mess. "I think we should just wait a little bit. He's probably still mad."

"Mad?" Courtney laughed and kissed her best friend on the cheek. "Maybe mad that you look so damn good. Two more shots and I might take your ass home."

Nicole smiled at the vote of confidence but still felt sick. She would see him when she saw him. She wasn't going to walk up to him. Plus, he was with dudes who she was almost sure all knew Tony. What the fuck would that look like? And it would most definitely make it back to her boyfriend, even all the way in Miami.

But that moment came a lot sooner than expected. Justin's and his group of friends took a seat at the section directly across from theirs. She watched them closely as she danced with her friends, waiting for Justin to look her way. "Why won't he look over here?"

"Let's just go over there. He probably hasn't seen you yet." Nicole nodded and followed Courtney across the floor to his section. Most of the guys recognized them both, and she must have looked extra good because she had never been so warmly embraced by them... ever.

"Where is Tony?" One of their friend's, Devin, questioned her but seemed to be way more interested in her chest than her answer.

"He flew to Miami for business." The snickers and nudges that erupted after she spoke made her wish she never walked over. She turned away from him to go look for Justin. She spotted him in the corner of the section talking to one of Tony's other friend's Jerimiah.

"Nicole, how have you been? You look really good tonight." Nicole was upset that Jerimiah spoke first. Justin had barely glanced in her direction. He was seemingly looking past her.

"I'm fine... and thank you." She smiled brightly. "Justin, how are you?"

Justin looked down at Nicole. "I'm good." He took a sip of his drink and looked past her again. Nicole frowned. She knew he was angry, but what the fuck? Their argument had been weeks ago... and they were at a club. There was no need for this shit.

"Are you? Because you seem like you have an attitude." Nicole knew she was loud, and that it was the Jaeger talking but she honestly gave no fucks. She had only seen the other kid once and drunkenly rationalized that he probably didn't know Tony anyway. "Why are you acting brand new? That's how we're doing it?"

"Nicole, chill out." Justin made a face that Nicole was fairly sure was restrained anger.

"Chill out? Are you fucking serious?"

Justin frowned. He looked over to the other side of the section. "Courtney!" He called over to her friend who more than eagerly left whoever she was entertaining to come to talk to him.

"What's up, Justin?"

He glanced toward Nicole. "Get your friend the fuck out of here... she's showing the fuck out right now."

--------------------

Justin thought that a few weeks of not seeing Nicole would be enough. He had been focusing on work, staying in the gym and he had let Kendall put all her focus on him last night, and intended to return that focus tonight.

He had spent almost every waking moment reminding himself that she was just a piece of pussy. A piece of pussy that he had only had once. A piece of pussy that chose another sorry ass dude over him.

But as soon as he spotted her when he walked into Havana, he was done.

He knew that she has already seen him. She hadn't taken her eyes off of him since, even though the rest of the club had their eyes on her.

Justin knew that any guy in that club would give their left arm to be with her. And there's nothing like knowing that the girl everyone wants belongs to you. And as much as he still didn't even want to fuck with her, he really enjoyed knowing that at least one part of her still belonged to him.

It had been so hard for him not to stare too. She looked good as fuck. Her outfit was showing off every part of her that he had tasted their night together. That night she had been au natural, no makeup or anything... but there was something different and ridiculously sexy about the made-up vixen that was in front of him now.

"Isn't that Tony's girl over there?" Devin had been the first in his crew to notice her, but he wasn't the last. He played dumb when they asked. Or gave a casual answer. But when she walked up to him in VIP, he panicked.

He knew they were all watching her. And he could get away with talking to her for a little while on some basic shit. But when she started getting belligerent and loud, shit started to look sketchy.

Justin hadn't planned on speaking to her at all. As bad as he wanted to, she made her decision, and he wasn't going to be the reason she didn't stick to it. Plus, he already had Kendall waiting on standby at home. He didn't need Nicole.

But he felt like she forced his hand. He needed her to get away from him fast, and he only knew one way to do it.

"Get your friend the fuck out of here... she's showing the fuck out right now."

The way Nicole looked at him after he said it made him feel like a huge asshole. Even the shocked look on Courtney's face made him feel some kind of way. But it got the job done.

"What the hell was that about?" Jerimiah watched the two girls retreat across the floor.

Justin brought his glass to his lips and downed his entire Don Julio straight. "She's drunk. You know how girls get."

He definitely needed another drink.

--------------------

"I fucking hate him." Nicole took her fifth shot of Jaeger and all but threw the glass at the bartender. She didn't even feel drunk anymore. Justin had totally blown her entire night.

"Yeah, that shit was fucked up." Courtney took her shot and grabbed her friend's hand. "Let's just go enjoy these last few songs and we can get outta here, okay?"

Nicole nodded and followed her friend out onto the floor. When she heard her favorite Drake song come on, she relaxed a little. She started out dancing with Courtney, but when she turned around, Eric, one of the guys from earlier was standing there grinning.

"Do you want to—"

"Dance? Yes!" Nicole immediately shimmied over from Courtney and got in front of him. He slithered his hands around her waist and held her hard against him as she moved her hips in circles and dips in front of him. She leaned back into him, letting him run his hand down the front of her body.

"Where you going after this?" He spoke close to her ear. Nicole smiled and used her own hands to urge his further down. "And can I come with you?"

Nicole laughed turned around wrapping her arms around his neck. "Why don't we just go get something to eat first?" She was drunk, not dumb. But she was having fun, and flirting with boys was apart of a Girl's Night, right?

Eric smiled. "Let me go close my tab, and I'll be right back." She nodded and looked around for Courtney. She finally spotted her over in Justin's section talking to Devin and Jerimiah. She smiled to see her friend was being taken care of and turned back to the bar, scanning the area for Eric.

When she finally spotted him... she also spotted Justin. They were standing at the bar, talking closely. Nicole felt that sick feeling creep up on her again. Who knew what Justin was saying? He was probably telling Eric about Tony. She saw Eric look in her direction, then slowly nod at whatever Justin was saying to him. Then they dapped each other up, and Eric walked away from the bar.

But not towards her. He retreated towards the back door exit.

But now Justin was walking towards her.

Nicole was so over the odd mix of fear and excitement that she had been feeling all night. She closed her eyes as he neared. She felt his hand on the small of her back for a brief moment.

"Say Goodbye to your friend. I'll be outside."

Before Nicole could even respond, he swept past her and moved towards the exit. She stood there until he disappeared out of the door. What the hell?

She looked towards VIP to find Courtney again and moved towards her as quickly as her five-inch heels would allow her to. The words tumbled out of her mouth quickly and unsurely. "I think I'm leaving with Justin."

Courtney laughed. "No, you definitely are. Justin called me an Uber, and told me he would bring you home."

Nicole hated the smile that she felt inside, even though outwardly she kept her confused and outraged countenance going. He wasn't even near her, but her body was making it known how bad she wanted him.

"I guess I'm leaving then...?"

"Yes, girl." She leaned forward and gave her friend a tight hug and kissed her on the cheek. "And you better sober your ass up... I wanna hear about this shit in the morning."

Nicole rolled her eyes, even though internally she was screaming like a 14-year-old Belieber. She walked slowly towards the exit and made her way down the steps to the valet podium. She spotted Justin's gray Infiniti near the street. At the bottom of the stairs, she was met by one of the valets.

"You have a good night, miss?"

She smiled weakly. "I'm really not sure yet." She watched him open the passenger door to Justin's car and stepped aside so that she could get in.

"Well, I hope you figure it out." The valet guy smiled and closed the door.

And then they were alone.

"You can stop looking so scared." She turned to look at Justin. "You know you're where you want to be." He wasn't smiling as he pulled onto the main road. "And you know that's not home."

"Maybe before you played me out in front of everyone."

Justin smiled a little then. 'I was in my feelings. And it wasn't in front of anyone."

Nicole rolled her eyes. 'So it's that easy? You just get to decide you're not mad anymore and I'm just supposed to go with it? Do you not remember our last conversation?"

Justin kept his eyes forward. "You want me to take you home?"

Nicole made a face and sat back in her seat. "Justin. I want—"

She felt his hand curve around hers then. He laced their fingers together and squeezed her hand. His thumb ran along her skin, massaging her palm.

And suddenly she had no idea what she wanted.