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Mandy's POV.

“No,” I fired back immediately.

Tasha’s brows furrowed, crossing her arms, “oh don't act so stern, you know it's going to help. Plus, who's going to find out?”

God, this lady was going to be the end of me. She knew I was morally inclined, and doing things like going to clubs or having one night stands were a no-no for me.

Especially since I was a married woman. I still loved Derek and I was definitely not going to ruin my marriage because I wasn't getting good sex.

“You do realize I'm married right?” I reminded her, wiggling my finger in her face.

She scoffed, “well, a marriage to a man who's not fucking you really well is no marriage in my opinion. Keep that ring in your purse or something,” she threw a hand in the air like the ring didn't matter.

“So you think cheating solves this problem? No way Tasha. You know I'm not that person,” I pushed my chair away from my desk, shaking my head.

Tasha held both hands in the air, “I'm not saying you have to cheat. You should just–”

“Sleeping with a stranger means cheating Tasha. Don't do that,” I cut her off, knowing how good she was at twisting words.

“Okay fine, you don't want to cheat, I respect that,” she leaned forward, placing her elbows on the desk, “but seriously, you still need to get out of this lifestyle. Loosen up a little. You're always working, and now you're even getting frustrated while at it.”

I averted her gaze, now staring at the window that had the clouds in display.

“I think I should just talk to Derek about it,” I breathed out.

“Have you ever talked to him about it? How do you think he's going to feel when you tell him you've been faking everything? And do you think that's going to change in the next twenty four hours?” Tasha asked all the questions at once.

She was right.

I'd never given Derek any sign that he was bad in the bedroom. If I suddenly came to tell him that now, he would feel hurt rather than concerned.

My lips parted as my gaze darted to Tasha but they snapped shut. I couldn't think of anything appropriate to answer her questions, and she knew that.

“Mandy look. Just come to the club. You don't even have to do the one night stand thing. You can just come have fun, I promise you all that crankiness would be gone,” she urged me.

I exhaled deeply, trying to reassure myself that this idea would have no downside, “Hmm, fine.”

Tasha grinned, “good girl.”

~

The lights in the club flickered different shades of red, blue, pink and white.

The bass from the speakers made the room vibrate with energy that had the hundreds of people in here dancing wildly. The air smelled like alcohol, perfume and sweat, it was so stuffy.

Honestly, all of this felt new to me. It felt like I was doing something abominable, but with Tasha's hand frequently swinging mine in the air as she danced, I felt a little relaxed.

I followed Tasha's moves, tugging at the hem of my black dress so my ass wouldn't pop out. God, why did I let Tasha dress me up? This dress was shorter than anything I'd ever put on.

It was a sleeveless low back dress that stopped right at the curves of my ass. I felt so exposed but it was too late to do anything about it.

“Bzzz. Bzzz.”

My phone vibrated in my other palm, drawing my attention.

My heart fluttered as I stared at the screen. It was a message from Derek.

[I hope you're having fun with Tasha at the party, baby. Be safe okay? I love you]

I couldn't help the warm feeling in my chest, but beneath that was something else. I felt like I was doing something wrong.

“Don't overthink Mandy. You're allowed to be at a club. Don't feel guilty about it,” the voice in my head echoed through my thoughts.

And with that, I typed back.

[Yes we are. I'll be safe. I love you too]

The moment my gaze left my phone, Tasha called out to me.

“Here, you should try this,” she said, extending a small glass with clear liquid towards me.

I shook my head, “I’m not sure I want that. I've not had alcohol since college.”

Tasha took my hand, curling my fingers around the small glass, “which is the more reason for you to take it. It's tequila and you know it's not nice to refuse tequila.”

Tasha raised her glass, her eyes growing bright, “here's to not being cranky. Come on, do the toast with me.”

I hesitated at first, before I finally lifted the glass, clinking it with hers. After that, we gulped down the drink in one go. While Tasha didn't react visibly to it, I choked a little from the sudden burn in my throat, letting out a small cough.

However, I loved it.

“Alright, more dancing!” Tasha squealed and we soon resumed swaying our bodies to the beat.

I felt lightheaded, I felt free so I danced even better. Everything was going great until my eyes spotted someone amidst the crowd of drunk dancers. He wasn't dancing, he was just…just watching me? My heart skipped a beat at the thought of that.

He took a sip from his glass, his gaze never leaving me. Christ, were my eyes playing tricks on me or did this man look so ethereal?

His height was the first thing I noticed, he was really tall. His dark hair was the next, the way they fell over his face with such precision made my eyes widened with admiration. His black shirt clung to his muscles, making his godlike physique more obvious.

His eyes…Christ, his eyes were so dark, and framed with thick lashes that added to his beauty.

Damn.

I'd never seen anyone have so many perfect features all at once before. He stared at me like he was trying to pull me towards him, and that seemed to be working because I felt my insides squirming.

I didn't even realize I was biting my lips until I felt pain. My thighs simmered with heat that I had no business feeling, all from the sight of this man.

He looked like the kind of man to make me do things I would normally forbid.

Before my mind produced more filthy thoughts, I shook my head to snap out of it.

“You're married Mandy. You're not doing anything stupid,” my inner voice put the sentence on repeat as I moved my eyes from him.

I was here to have fun and nothing more. I continued the dance with Tasha, swaying my hips, throwing my hands in the air, and even wiggling my ass.

The alcohol was starting to hit, the air in the club was growing hotter and my need to stay composed was growing thin. Everything was going great, until something hit my nostrils.

It was a strong, sweet scent that made my head spin, it smelled like a mix of sandalwood, black pepper and mint.

I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the dance but that intoxicating scent was the only thing my nostrils could perceive.

I glanced over my shoulders, intending to find whose scent it was and compliment them or something but the moment my eyes met the man behind me, my breath caught in my throat.

Oh God.

It was him.