Irresistible Ch. 01

Jake and Amanda's engagement party was just as boring as Zoe had thought it would be. The two of them were so... Pretentious. They made sure to mention how expensive their selection of champagne was, how they'd imported caviar from France and cheese from Italy. It was pretty safe to say that she was going to have to spend half a freakin' paycheck buying something off of their registry for the wedding. Not to mention the already absurd amount of money she was spending on a hideous bride's made dress. She, however, found solace in the fact that her best friends had to suffer along with her.

Amanda's bridal party was huge, and Zoe was pretty sure she was trying to win some points in the diversity department. Her bridal party consisted of three white women who were just as blonde as Amanda herself, two black girls, a Latina, and rounded out with three Chinese girls. Now, who did Miranda actually spend her time with? Yep. Heather, Tiffany, and Amber, the blondes.

Lupita, Chastity, and Michelle were really nice, and Zoe loved spending time with them, so she didn't mind the way Amanda walked off with the blonde squad and ignored the six other women in favor of her actual friends. The only reason Zoe actually knew Amanda was through Michael, her boyfriend. Michael and Amanda had worked together for a few years, and Zoe considered her, loosely, a friend.

And, she'd introduced Amanda to Jess and Dana, having invited her along to a few of their girl's nights. All three of them were shocked when the woman had asked them to be in her bridal party. Zoe had agreed and forced the other two to agree to it because she wanted to make Michael happy. Plus, he was one of the groomsmen.

Michael had gone to college with the groom and had actually introduced the couple a few years ago. It made sense for him to be in the wedding, but not Zoe. Well, until she put two and two together and realized that Jake was going to run for office soon, and having his wedding photos full of smiling, diverse faces would help anytime someone pointed at him and said, racist.

At least she had free, expensive champagne. Of course, she couldn't drink very much of it. The reason why was all over Dana's face, who'd definitely taken her fair share of the free booze. The Asian flush was out in spades, and Dana looked like she'd just ran the New York Marathon. Tipsy as she was, she still had her A-game on as she shamelessly flirted with Jason Stone.

Jason, just call me Jason, looked like Superman and Michael Beckham had a baby and dipped it in a Gucci suit that'd been tailored to perfection. He was so hot, it was painful. The thing that made him utterly unbearable, was that he knew just how freakin' hot he was. He kept flashing that little half-smirk down at Dana, and she would giggle and touch his arm before taking another sip of her champagne.

She'd been trying to get into his Calvin Klein's since the moment they'd met, but for some reason, Jason had never actually taken her up on the offer. It was odd, considering how his antics with the opposite gender were very well known.

Zoe definitely wasn't a fan of Jason Stone, and she didn't care who the hell knew it. It was probably the only thing she'd ever had an argument with Michael about. Michael and Jason were best friends, the way she and Jess were. Inseparable, right down to the bone best friends. The ride or die kind. The fight had been early on in their relationship, and it didn't take a genius to realize that if she pushed, Michael would go bros before hoes.

Now, she'd never tell Michael who he couldn't associate with. She trusted the man implicitly and loved him with her entire heart. She'd never try to ruin a friendship he valued so dearly. She didn't see how her sweet Michael and that... Awful Jason could have anything in common, but then again, she absolutely adored Dana, and they were basically oil and water.

Zoe let out a little sigh as she watched Dana titter and flirt while Jason's ego grew a bit bigger with every bat of the woman's eyelashes. She rubbed her neatly manicured nails against the stem of her champagne glass and turned her gaze out towards the rest of the room. Her mood lifted, and her lips curved into a smile the second she saw Michael walking towards her.

Michael didn't have that edge, that undeniably dangerously sexy thing going on that Jason did. Michael was so much more... All American, boy next door. He had baby blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. And a bit of a babyface. He was cute, handsome even, but not drop-dead sexy. She wasn't sure why she was comparing the two men and shook the thought away as Michael stopped right in front of her, an apologetic smile on his face.

"You look so bored, Zoe," Michael said, his hand reaching out to brush away a bit of hair that's fallen out of the bun she'd twisted it into from her forehead. "Bored, but beautiful."

Zoe grinned because damn right she looked good. Jess and Dana had convinced her that they needed to go all out tonight. Because, in typical female petty revenge fashion, they wanted to look better than the future bride. They couldn't upstage someone at their wedding, that was just breaking every girl rule there was. But, no one said anything about upstaging her at her engagement party.

She didn't go little black dress like Dana, that damn thing was so short it made her super model's legs look even longer. She finished it off with cherry red stilettos to give her four more inches in height.

And, she didn't dare go plunging neckline like Jess. The soft yellow dress Jess had on went damn near to her belly button. It was side boob city, and Zoe knew the only reason everyone wasn't staring at her roommate's tits was that she'd helped tape the dress in place so they didn't spill out.

Nope, Zoe went classy. Her dress was midnight blue and flowed right down to the floor in one smooth line that hugged the gentle curves of her body. She wasn't busty, but her ass was round and tight from all the squats and yoga she did. It wasn't just a floor-length, body con dress. It was also completely backless, and there were slits on either side so that when she walked, you got a view of her legs from the top of her thigh right down to her toes in the strappy, sparkly three-inch heels. Her legs were her best feature and were arguably better than even Dana's because Dana hated running and Zoe did a few miles every other morning.

The updo to show off her elegant neck, the perfectly applied makeup to highlight her big eyes and full lips, a silver choker, diamond bracelet, and a few little sparkly clips in her black hair, and she felt like a freaking princess. Or, at least like she was about to walk down a red carpet to go see some dumb award show.

"What can I say, I clean up well," Zoe teased, lifting her champagne glass to her lips and taking a slow sip as she stared at Michael over the edge of her glass. He looked good, too. His suit wasn't Gucci, but it wasn't from Wal-Mart, either.

"I dunno... You look pretty great in yoga pants, too." He replied his voice this soft, warm tone that always sounded so soothing to Zoe.

"God, I'd kill to go home and put on some yoga pants," Zoe said, a little bit of a whine creeping into her voice.

Michael laughed. "Yeah, I bet. Afterward, we can go get some-" Before he could get the words out, Jake, the man who had the pleasure of becoming Amanda's husband, tossed an arm around Michael's shoulders.

"Come on, dude, I need to introduce you to Amanda's dad. He works at L.L.Adams, we can pick his brain," Jake said, and Zoe sighed as she saw Michael's eyes light up. He was such a finance nerd.

"Go on, I'll go... Make sure our best friends don't hook up," Zoe said before Michael could even ask her, jerking her chin towards where Dana, Jess, and Jason stood. He beamed at her, leaning down and pecking her cheek before rushing off with Jake.

Zoe watched her boyfriend and the newly affianced disappear into the crowd of nicely dressed guests and let out a loud sigh before lifting her champagne glass to her lips and finishing off the rest of it in one long drink. She sets it on the silver tray a waiter was holding as he walked past and then turned around and started making her way the short distance to her friends and Jason Stone.

Jason was having a somewhat decent time at this engagement party, even though he'd had an elicit week-long affair with the soon to be bride only two months prior. He didn't harbor any resentment towards the couple, on the contrary, he was glad to have an excuse to avoid Amanda and the way she'd always try to grab his dick under the table during business meetings. The woman had that desperate, slutty air about her that was such an utter turn off it wasn't even funny.

Which is the same reason that he wasn't really interested in Dana. She was pretty enough, sure, but the way she kept touching him and basically flashing him the green light straight to her pussy wasn't exactly a thrilling, exciting thing. Jason wasn't just ridiculously good looking, his asshole charm was enough to get the panties off any woman. And, it didn't help that he was a card-carrying member of the one percent of the wealthiest people in the world.

A lot of it was earned through the purchase and dismantling of companies, and selling off their assets at a stupidly high markup. But, most of it came from generations of wealthy, successful ancestors. He had a trust fund from both sets of grandparents. Apparently, they'd tried to one-up each other with how much money they were willing to give him. Not to mention the huge chunk of change he was promised in several different wills. Rich, ambitious, hot, asshole with a big dick. Who the fuck wouldn't want a piece of him?

Just as the question entered his mind, his eyes were drawn to a pair of sparkly high heels. The damn things glittered in the light with every smooth step she took, showing off her perfectly painted toenails. Baby blue, of course.

His gaze slid upwards, following the line of shapely leg her dress parted to flash like a curtain showing off some priceless piece of artwork. The smooth line of her thigh flashed enough to make every man and probably half the women wonder about what the rest looked like. Zoe was more covered than over half the women at this party, yet the second she moved and those slits in her dress made themselves known, she became the sexiest. What a fucking tease.

She had to know what she was doing, there was no way in hell she didn't. Her body was perfect, petite, with legs that made you think of the Victoria's Secret fashion show and an ass that made you think of a Kardashian. She was poised, kind, funny, and quick to smile. Well, at everyone other than Jason.

The second his forest green eyes met the dark whiskey color of hers, that smile turned into a little scowl. She only ever seemed to look at him like that, his own personal expression on the face of one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. He was honored, truly.

"And, you know," Dana said, her voice was shrill... Almost little girl-esk. It reminded him of an anime character. It was cute, but... also kind of fucking irritating. "It's supposed to be the best exhibit in all of New York. It's opening in a few days, and I happen to have tickets. I know you're a collector, so if you'd like to go with me, I'd be more than happy to take you as my plus one," She said, her fingers sliding down the arm of his jacket.

Dana was touchy, which was usually a sign a chick was down to fuck, but honestly, the amount she did it made the whole thing lose it's allure pretty quickly.

"Sorry, Dana. Afraid I can't, my collection is in the middle of an appraisal for my insurance, my agent would have a conniption if I bought any more pieces," He lied smoothly, his intense gaze never leaving Zoe.

Zoe didn't stop until she was standing on the other side of Dana, between her and Jess. Jess was clearly bored by this ongoing flirtation and had been entertaining herself with a crab cake. She broke contact with Jason's gaze, wondering how the hell he had the power to be a complete and utter asshole without uttering a single word.

"Is it just me, or are white people's engagement parties boring?" Zoe asked Jess in perfect Mandarin, to leave Jason out of the conversation.

"Ha, like having your in-laws meet each other and exchange gifts while they brag obnoxiously about their children's academic accomplishments is so much better," Jess replied, also in Mandarin, through bites of her crab cake.

"You have a point... But the part when all the aunties and uncles leave and we get insanely drunk is the best," Zoe mutters with a sigh, her gaze darting across the ballroom full of people.

"I hate when you guys speak Mandarin!" Dana declared, stomping her heeled foot on the ground.

This made Jess and Zoe exchange a look and laugh. It wasn't that Dana couldn't speak or understand Mandarin, it was that she was awful at the pronunciation. She didn't practice, or, wasn't forced to practice as children, like she and Jessica had been.

"Fine, fine," Zoe said, waving her hand slightly in dismissal. "We'll stick to English."

"Auntie would be so disappointed in you, Dana. Tisk," Jess said, giving the other woman shit with this little grin on her face.

"Mama's a tyrant. Besides, I've never even been to China. It's a useless skill," Dana grumbled her response, making Zoe roll her eyes.

"I think it's sexy," Jason said, smoothly inserting himself and his unwanted opinion into their conversation.

"Mandarin isn't sexy. Spanish is sexy. French is sexy," Zoe said.

"Yeah, and Italian, maybe even like, Finnish," Jess added.

"Finish? No way. German," Dana said with a sage nod.

"German is too angry," Jess said with a shake of her head.

And just like that, the what's sexier sounding, Finnish or German debate between the two women started. They were often like this, getting into heated debates about everything from fruit to languages to political policies. Zoe was used to it, and she knew that they'd be going for a while, so she immediately started looking around for something else to occupy her time with.

Jason watched with a bit of a bewildered expression on his face as Jessica and Dana started arguing about languages, their ranting and... oddly specific facts about each dialect and just why it was sexier than the other one was.. Impressive, to say the least. It was better than Dana flirting with him, so he wasn't going to complain. Plus, the two of them were distracting each other, which left Zoe all alone and bored.

He couldn't have that, now could he?

He strode around the pair of bickering women, stopping right next to Zoe, so close that her shoulder brushed his bicep. "That dress should be illegal on a body like yours," Jason said, leaning down so that his words were whispered close enough to her ear that she could feel his breath.

Zoe couldn't hide the full-body shudder that Jason had managed to coax up her spine with that comment and his looming presence. Her expression as she turned her head to look at him, was one of utter disgust and revulsion. "Speaking to women like that should be illegal," she shot back, her voice dripping with vitriol.

Jason wasn't sure what it was about Zoe that held his attention, she was stuck up, a goody-two-shoes, and he knew from the conversation's Jason had with Michael, that she was a bit of a prude and that she'd only ever actually had sex with one person, and that was Michael. He should have felt bad for his friend, but instead, he found himself a bit... Jealous. It was an emotion that Jason didn't experience often, and it was one he was not a fan of.

He'd wanted Zoe from the moment he'd first seen her, and he always got what he wanted. He could tell she was attracted to him, that she'd give in to it eventually. He wanted to take this good girl and make her do some really fucking bad things. That thought sent a thrill to him, the kind of thrill he'd lost some time last year when he realized that getting laid was easier than ordering pizza.

Zoe was everything but easy.

He let out a low chuckle, right in her ear, and Zoe had to resist the urge to slam her fist back and nail him right in the balls. God, he was so fucking pretentious. "You're utter trash, Jason Stone," She said, her tone dismissive as she turned her face to look anywhere but at him.

Jason smirked, he couldn't help it. He reached out and brushed his knuckles a few inches down her spine, and he swore that he heard a little gasp leave those pretty lips of hers, all from just the briefest of contact. "You're absolutely beautiful, Zoe Chen. Just standing this close to you in that fucking dress has my cock hard as a rock."

Zoe froze. Those words should have elicited utter disgust inside of her, this was her boyfriend's best friend... But instead of wanting to barf or slap the shit out of him, her body decided that it liked the idea of him hard, liked the sound of him declaring his attraction for her. She liked it so much so that her pussy contracted in a hot, wet squeeze that had the crotch of her panties wet. She'd never reacted to something so strongly before, especially not something as simple as words and a light touch.

Her cheeks were pink and her mind whirled around trying to find the words, the action, anything, anything at all to snap herself out of this and respond to this mother fucker with the appropriate action. Her lips parted, then closed as she swallowed a lump in her throat.

"You... You... sick fuck." Zoe said, though the words weren't coated in contempt, they were weak, shaky, and barely audible.

The second she got the words past her lips, Zoe started walking away from him, practically stomping in her heels. She needed to find Michael and cling to his side for the rest of the night, needed to remember him and that he made her feel good, too. Right? But, even the sound of Jason's laughter drifting after her as she walked away from him did things to her that Michael never had.

She found Michael easily enough, and spent the next half hour boredly listening to him and several other men nerd out about acquisitions, equity, and return on investments. It was... Pretty mind-numbing stuff. She did notice that Dana and Jessica had taken their debate to other people, and were bouncing from one little group of conversationalists to the next, asking their opinion on accents, country politics, and historical significance.

Jason joined their little group because of course, he did. He stood directly in front of her, though his body was angled towards Michael, Jake, Paul, and Fernando as they bounced around numbers, predictions, and a bit of gossip. But, none of the good kind. The boring kind, about which company was going under, who was trying to poach who from what firm, blah blah blah. She didn't know how they all found it so interesting.

She was used to it, however. She'd been with Michael for several years, and a lot of his interests were rather bland. He enjoyed golf, football, debating politics, documentaries about old dead British people, and StarWars. StarWars made up for some of it, but only just barely.

Zoe was wondering if she could fall asleep standing up at an engagement party, and how bad that'd make her look if she managed to pull it off, when Jessica and Dana appeared, nudging their way into the closed circle of conversation with giggles that had the men parting for them like a sea of suits.

"Zoeaaahhh," Dana said, pointing at Zoe with a French manicured finger. "You're way too sober, you know that?" She declared, making Jessica laugh.

It only took a glance back at Jess to realize that she, too, was now on the tipsy train to drunk town. That Asian flush gave it away big time, both of the women were red in the face.

Zoe sighed and took a step forward, but right as she did so, Jess stumbled a little, right into Dana. Who, in turn, stumbled into Zoe. The glass of champagne that Dana had in her hand-tipped, and that cold, bubbly drink slid right down the front of Zoe's dress.