Kiss of Awakening Read online

CHAPTER SIX

  Standing in front of The Gold Mine Saloon, I took in the rustic yellow building and the brightness of the neon lights casting eerie shadows through the night. One thing about New Orleans I had learned was that these people were not afraid to use color on anything. I loved that.

  Delvin pushed us through the little sporadic groups of people standing outside of the door. I wasn’t sure if they were waiting to head inside, or if they were taking a breather and catching some fresh air. Either way, none of them seemed to mind when we brushed past them and inside.

  Filing through the brick red door, we crossed the threshold and each of my senses came to life once more. Music blasted through the place, encasing me in seconds. The bass from the song playing vibrated my chest as I walked farther inside. Cool air brushed against my skin, but I was sure once I had a drink and danced for a bit, the coolness in the air would fade to nothing.

  Delvin maneuvered between Bree and me so he could slip his arms over both our shoulders. “You ladies care for another drink?”

  I glanced at Bree. She nodded her agreement as her hips swayed to the music. “Sure,” I said.

  Delvin lowered his lips to my ear. “Same as before?”

  “Yeah, but we’ve got it. You don’t have to foot the bill for this round,” I insisted, grabbing my wallet.

  “It’s fine. Really, I don’t mind.”

  Bree looped her arm through mine. “Kenna, will you come to the restroom with me?”

  From her tone, I knew she was planning to lecture me. A small smile twisted my lips as I wondered what I had done wrong this time.

  “Sure.” I locked eyes with Delvin. “Be right back. Don’t ruffee our drinks while we’re gone, okay?” I was only half-kidding with him. The knowledge that I’d just met him, and knew virtually nothing about the guy except his first name and place of employment, was not lost on me.

  “First of all, I would never do something like that.” His eyes went from sexy cool to crazy serious in an instant, leaving me feeling guilty for having said the words. “Second, everyone would know if I did, and I would be arrested on the spot. They have special cups here.”

  “Special cups?” I furrowed my brows.

  “Yeah, they appear to be normal, but the second someone puts something in them, they change color. Solid red lines appear vertically along the outside.”

  “Oh wow, that’s pretty badass.”

  “I know, right?” He grinned. “The moment the bartender spots a colored cup, they call for security. Then they scroll through the video surveillance to find out who did it.”

  “I love that idea.” It was something I could mention to Landon when I made it back home that might get us talking under the pretense of it being an awesome safety feature to incorporate in the bar.

  “Bathroom,” Bree reminded me as she tugged on my arm.

  “Yup, let’s go.”

  “It’s over there, to the left.” Delvin pointed us in the right direction.

  Weaving through people talking and dancing, we finally made it to the restroom. Pushing open the door, I stepped inside first. Two girls stood at full-length mirrors freshening their makeup while someone else occupied one of the three stalls. The sounds of bass from the song playing thumped through the bathroom, echoing off the white block walls. One girl pulled a bottle of body spray from in her purse and practically bathed herself in it as Bree and I walked past. I crinkled my nose at the thought of smelling like a cheap whore all night thanks to her.

  Bree gripped my shoulders, and spun me to face her. She locked her eyes on mine. “Listen, I brought you in here to tell you that if Delvin wants to foot the bill tonight, then fucking let him.”

  I arched a brow at her word choice and tone. “Wow, I knew you were planning on lecturing me in here, but jeez.”

  “I’m just saying. We’re both broke. If he wants to pay for our drinks and stuff, then shut up and let him. It’ll save us both a shit ton of money. Did you see how expensive those last two drinks were?”

  I had. Compared to the price of them at home, they were roughly about three bucks more here. I chalked it up to a tourist city thing.

  “Fine.” I shook her grip off, and dug in my purse for my Chapstick.

  “Good. Now run a brush through your hair and enjoy that hot specimen of the male species who’s seriously into you,” she insisted.

  “You better listen to her,” said the girl who hadn’t doused us in cheap perfume. “She knows what she’s talking about. A free drink is a free drink. If this guy is hot and he wants to buy all your drinks tonight, then let him. You’re not twisting his arm or leading him to expect anything in return, right?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “See, listen to her.” Bree pointed at the girl. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  Rolling my eyes, I leaned against the cool wall and waited for Bree to finish primping. I ran my Chapstick over my lips a few more times and then capped it.

  “All right, go get him, tiger,” Bree said once she was finished reapplying her eyeliner. Looping her arm though mine, she tugged me in the direction of the door.

  When we made our way back to the bar, Delvin was sitting on a stool with three drinks in front of him, talking with the sex vixen of a bartender behind the counter. Jealousy spiraled through my insides and I hated it. It wasn’t a feeling I generally felt, ever. I didn’t get jealous when it came to relationships. I just wasn’t that type of girl. However, to get that sensation zinging through my insides over someone I had just met was insane. Even I knew this.

  As we approached Delvin, the beautiful bartender shifted her bright blue eyes to us and smiled. She said something to him, but I couldn’t be sure what, causing him to spin around in his seat and face us. My eyes latched onto his charming smile, and I noticed from in the edge of my vision that the bartender had already backed away and was now serving someone else.

  “Here are your drinks, ladies.” Delvin motioned to the cups.

  I reached for the one containing a yellowish concoction, assuming it was my whiskey sour. “No red lines I see. Thank you.”

  The smile slipped off Delvin’s face. “I said I would never do that, and I meant it.” His voice took on a somber tone. “My little sister was drugged and then raped two years ago before these ingenious cups were put on the market.”

  Solemn was not the word I would use to describe Delvin’s expression; it was equal parts crazed and grim combined.

  “I’m sorry.” Guilt sloshed around my stomach. I moved to sit on the stool beside him. “I didn’t know, and I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just—”

  “Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault,” he cut me off, and ran a hand through his thick hair, giving it an even more tousled look than before. “I just wanted to reiterate how serious my statement was and let you in on why.”

  Bree slipped onto the stool beside me. “That’s horrible.” She’d slid her cosmo toward her and had already began taking large, greedy sips. When Bree said she wanted to party, she meant it. The girl might be a lightweight, but she never let that stop her from getting shitty and loving it. “Did she report it? Some girls don’t, you know?”

  A deep breath expelled from Delvin’s lungs, and he nodded. “Yeah, she did. Then she convinced her boss to invest in these glasses so it wouldn’t happen to anyone ever again on her watch.”

  Something clicked in my head just then. The female bartender he’d been talking to was his sister.

  “She’s your sister?” I pointed her out.

  Glancing back toward her, Delvin smiled. “Yeah, that’s her.” When his gaze shifted back to me, there was a glint of smugness reflected in his steel gray eyes. “Relieved now?”

  My heart dropped to my toes. Had he noticed my flare up of jealousy a minute ago?

  “Oh! Dance with me!” Bree shouted as the song playing faded away to something else, saving me from having to answer him. “I love this song!”

  Getting a firm grip on my upper arm, B
ree set her drink down and pulled me onto the dance floor with her. The beat to the song playing seemed familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why until I heard the lyrics begin. It was the new Iggy song. The beat pounded through the air, provoking me to move and dip my hips to it. After a few minutes of feeling the vibrations from the beat move through me, I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, letting go. My movements became more fluid and in sync with the music the longer I felt the beat.

  “There’s my girl,” Bree shouted. “Let loose!”

  Snapping my eyes open, I grinned at her. She was mimicking the same motions I was using. A few strands of her blond hair had fallen free, and her eyes were closed as she lost herself in the moment as well. A guy moved up behind her, and began the typical dry-humping-her-backside moves every guy seemed to consider dancing. I slowed my movements, making sure she was okay with this before I lost myself once more.

  This was what the weekend was supposed to be about, letting loose and having fun with my best friend, forgetting everything back home, all the responsibilities waiting for us when we returned. Not about guys, or strangely cryptic notes from my estranged mother.