6.La Tropicana

Aria's POV

I am engulfed by a cloud of dust and smoke as the red sports car skids to a halt right in front of me. The sudden gush of wind lifts the edges of my black silk dress and blows the loose strands of hair into my face. Johnny jumps out and comes around the car, opening the door for me. He is slick as always.

“You look amazing as always Aria” he says, his eyes roaming my body as I get in the car.

“Meh, you look okay” I lie, shrugging my shoulders. He already thinks he looks good without anyone having to tell him.

The drive to La Tropicana club took about twenty minutes. We are going to meet Johnny’s friend Damon there for the opening of his new club. As we reach main street, we can see the people already waiting in line from two blocks away. The club has a beach theme with palm trees planted all along the sidewalk in front of the club.

Johnny hooks his arm into mine as we make our way to the entrance. I am about to go and join the line when Johnny pulls me towards the door.

“We don’t wait in line Princess” he says as we march past the other patrons waiting in line. I cringe at the insults that are hurled our way.

As we approach the entrance the bouncers in their flowery, Hawaiian shirts immediately open the doors for us to enter. Johnny greets each one of them by name as we pass.

I am stunned by the scene in front of me. There are dozens of waitresses running around in bikinis filling orders for people sitting in private booths. Along the back wall of the club are cages arranged around the DJ station. Each cage containing seductively dancing girls dressed in animal print lingerie. In the centre of the building is a large dancefloor already filled to the brim with people dancing and having fun.

A tall, dark-haired man walks over to Johnny and shakes his hand.

“Damon, I want to introduce you to Aria” Johnny says. They both turn to me.

“It is nice to meet you” I say holding my hand out to Damon.

Instead of shaking my hand Damon brings it up to his lips and kisses it softly. It takes me by surprise, I can feel the heat run up to my cheeks.

“The pleasure is all mine little Aria. Johnny you never told me how breathtakingly beautiful she is” Damon says, his lips lingering near my hand. It feels like my face is on fire.

Johnny rolls his eyes at Damon and shoves him towards a private booth. Damon is reluctant to let go of me.

“Come on Aria, move before this buffoon drools all over your hand” Johnny says, pushing me towards the chair furthest away from Damon. He smacks Damon playfully on the head as we walk past him.

“Can I get you guys anything to drink?” Damon asks, rubbing the back of his head.

“Oooo, I want shooters” I say excitedly. I am not eighteen yet, but who is counting.

The boys look at each other, before Damon shrugs his shoulders.

“I will bring you the shooter menu” Damon says.

While we wait for Damon to return, I look out over the dancefloor which is stacked with partners sensually kissing and grinding against each other to the rhythm of the music. People are wearing all kinds of glow- in -the -dark glasses and bracelets.  

“There you go” Damon says as he places the menu in front of me. There are so many different shooters to choose from, each one with an interesting name to match. It takes me few moments to make my selection. I place my order at the bar, ignoring the raised eyebrow from the bartender.

“Going big tonight, little girl” the bartender remarks.

“I don’t get out much” I say shrugging my shoulders.

When he hands me the drinks, I arrange them into a rainbow. Satisfied with my shooter- art, I make my way back to the table with a colourfully loaded tray of drinks.

I place a shooter in front of each of the boys.

“I think we should start the night off with a Big Bang” I say, naming the first shooter.

“Cute” Johnny says as he throws back the orange-coloured drink.

Damon and I follow.

“Next, we are going Kamikaze” I say wiggling my brows. I hand them each a drink again.

“On the count of three” Damon says and we down the shots.

“And this dear Johnny is specially for you. It is called the Attitude Adjustment. You should try it.” I cannot keep from smiling as I hand the drink over to Johnny.

“Ha- ha, very funny” Johnny says sarcastically.

I give another one to Damon and down one myself.

“I think we need to take a break, before you drug us all with your tray of potions there” Johnny says pointing to the tray with the rest of the shooters.

“Okay then, who is going to take me for a spin on the dancefloor?” I ask looking between the two men.

Within seconds Damon is on his feet holding his hand out to me.

“Ask no more” he says with a wink.

I look over to Johnny who has his jaw clenched, staring daggers at Damon.

Damon pulls me to my feet, swirls me around and leads me straight to the dancefloor.

Once on the floor we start shaking our hips to the beat of the music. We join a large circle of people who all seem to know Damon. Damon is a great dancer. He teaches me his best hip- hop and breakdance moves, which I replicate with ease. I am having so much fun. The DJ releases water cannons, which aim straight for us. Within seconds we are soaked, our clothes and hair sticking to our bodies. The circle opens up and it is my turn to show off my moves. My dorky childish side takes over and I do every move from the moonwalk to the sprinkler to the robot and everything in between. The crowd loves it and everyone joins in. I have not had this much fun in ages. I can keep this up all night, but looking at the beads of perspiration on Damon’s forehead, I do not think he will last much longer.

 “Am I wearing you out, old man?” I ask Damon with a grin.

“Aria, I am going to take a break, do you want to come back to the booth with me?” Damon shouts over the noise at me.

“No way, I will join you guys in a bit” I say, not ready to leave the floor just yet.

“Okay, just check in with us once in a while” Damon says as he leaves the dance floor.

I am enjoying my freedom. Swaying my hips and waving my arms in the air. I am having so much fun that I lose track of time. After what feels like hours, I decide to check in with the boys.

As I make my way off the dance floor, I start feeling hot and off- balance. Everything is spinning, when suddenly it feels as if the world is pulled out from under me and I start falling.

My arms are stuck to my sides, I close my eyes and ready myself to face- plant the floor. This is not so bad. Alcohol really does numb you, because I do not feel a thing. I slowly open my one eye, not brave enough to face the world with both yet. Well, surprisingly, I am not on the floor. Two strong hands around my waist are keeping me inches away from kissing the floor. They pull me upright. Oh my…