Unconditional Love (Journey of Love #1)(64)
Author: Kelly Elliott

Jessie had stayed for a few hours and I knew what she was doing. I felt like I was being babysat. She had been calling me every single day since the breakup, and I knew it must have been because Lark told Scott.

After I walked Jessie out to her car and made plans to meet for lunch the next week, I turned and slowly made my way back into the house. I was tempted to text Ryn and tell her I wasn’t up for going out, but she had been so excited and honestly I was so sick of trying to figure out what happened with me and Lark that I needed a night out. Maybe I would even get drunk.

As I walked up to Ryn’s door my stomach felt sick. I wasn’t really in the mood for this, but maybe this would get my mind off of Lark. Ryn opened her door and looked me up and down. “Holy hell. Look at you.”

I held my hands up and smiled.

“Jesus. I’m going to have to fight you for men tonight,” she said as I laughed and looked down at my satin cocktail dress. It was covered in beaded crystals with a high round collar. It opened in the back and went so far down I was pretty sure my ass would be showing if it went any lower. The dress was gold with silver accents on it.

“You like it? I actually bought it for Joyce and Peter’s anniversary party but…”

She held up her hand and said, “No talk of the Williams boys or their adorable parents who I fell in love with. That just makes me hate Tristan even more.”

I chuckled as I walked into her apartment and looked around. It was the first time I had been here. It was decorated exactly like I had pictured it would look like. Very simple with just small touches of the outside brought in. No bright colors. All neutral and soft colors.

I turned and looked at her. Ryn was breathtaking. She must have been about five-four. Beautiful wavy brown hair, and the bluest of blue eyes. She was wearing a light blue cocktail dress that emphasized her eyes even more. Her hair was pulled up, with pieces of hair pulled down to frame her beautiful face. She grabbed her clutch purse and put a scarf over her shoulders and gave me a wink.

“Let’s go party.”

The second we walked into the club I felt the headache coming on. The music was moving through my body and I instantly thought of Lark. I was wishing Ryn had picked another club to come to, but she knew the manager and from what I could gather they might have had something going on. She waved and pointed as she shouted to me. “There’s Dodge. Come on, I want to introduce you. He’s gonna shit his pants when he lays his eyes on you.”

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me. “I thought you were dating him.” She shook her head.

“He was my rebound fuck. That’s what you need and trust me…he is worth it.”

I stopped and dropped my mouth open. “What?” I screamed out.

She wrapped her arm around my waist and said, “Don’t be all innocent. Trust me—the rebound fuck is important. It has to be good. You need something to push Lark out of your head.”

“Did it push Tristan out of yours?” She stopped and looked at me. Then she shrugged and said, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m not ready to give up my rebound fuck.”

“Oh. My. God,” I shouted as she threw her head back and laughed.

As we made our way over to Dodge, or who Ryn was now affectionately calling RFB, I was taken by how handsome he was. The way his eyes moved up and down my body made my stomach dip a little. I liked the way he was taking his time looking my body over from head to toe. He smiled and that was it. My heart began to race and I leaned over and said, “Too late. RFB is mine tonight.” Ryn wiggled her eyebrows up and down and winked at me.

“He’s got a big dick too!” she shouted and the girl standing next to us looked at us.

I glanced back at Dodge. He had piercing blue eyes that almost appeared to look right into my soul. Almost as if he knew what he needed to do for me to forget everything else but how he was admiring my body.

I licked my lips as I looked up at his blonde messy hair. Both of his ears were pierced with a small diamond stud in each one and for some reason it turned me on even more.

“Dodge, this is my friend Azurdee. She needs to be shown a good time tonight. Can you take her under your wing, please?”

Dodge smiled and nodded his head as he held his hand out. I placed my hand in his and he started to walk out to the dance floor.

I was hoping to God that my right hand wasn’t sweating like my left one was. I turned back and looked at Ryn who was giving me a thumbs-up as another guy was whispering something in her ear.

Usher’s “Hot Tottie” began playing as Dodge smiled and pulled me close to him, but not too close. The way his body moved was quickly beginning to make my body react in a way I was not too sure about. Was I just that desperate to forget about Lark?

As the song finished, he pulled me closer and put his lips to my neck right under my ear. “That dress should be illegal. I’m going to have to take my job serious tonight.”

I pulled back slightly and smiled. When he pushed one of my curls behind my ear I let out a giggle. His touch didn’t affect me the way Lark’s did, but it certainly caused my libido to come to attention.

We walked back to the bar and Dodge pulled out a stool for me at the end of the bar and walked around to the other side. “What will you be having tonight, Azurdee?”

The way he smiled at me caused me to suck in a breath of air. For the first time in a month, I actually felt alive. Maybe Ryn was right. Maybe I needed my own RFB.

“Bud Light.”

He smiled that big bright smile and said, “A simple girl. I think I’m ready to marry you already.”

I laughed and shook my head. “No, not what I’m looking for.”

His eyes darkened as he handed me the beer and shouted over the song that was now playing.

“What are you looking for?”

I bit down on my lower lip and smiled slightly. “To forget about him.”

His eyes moved down to my lips as he licked his own lips and said, “I’m your guy then.”

The rest of the night Dodge showered me with attention…and drinks. I wasn’t drunk, but I was well on my way to feeling pretty damn good. The whole night I felt like someone had been watching me. For a moment I panicked thinking Lark could be here, but I knew he was at his parents’ party. Even though it was in Austin somewhere, I knew he wouldn’t be going out tonight. It was the main reason Ryn and I picked tonight to go out. Zero risk of running into the Williams boys.

Dodge pulled me out to the dance floor and we began dancing to “Don’t You Wanna Stay.” I instantly buried my face into his chest. Jason Aldean was one of Lark’s favorite singers.