The Prelude (A Musical Interlude Novel) - By Kasonndra Leigh Page 0,56
refreshing change from violins and tubas. And this song likes me. It’s sex in a drum and a synthesizer, a symphony of beats and vocals thrown in the mix. Dancing along to this beat with Erin makes me horny as hell.
We go back and forth between the bar and the dance floor off and on all night long. I’m not for sure, but I think Erin wants to impress me by demonstrating her ability to handle large quantities of alcohol.
Her efforts are completely unnecessary. Almost everyone on both the Russian and American sides of my family come from a line of professional drinkers. This is a battle that my Jaybird’s going to lose.
It doesn’t take long for the effects of the drinking to hit her. And I love the way she opens up when she’s under the influence. I won’t lie. Erin has practically undressed me each time we hit the floor; and she has put every single lap dance I’ve ever received to shame.
On our final trip to the bar, we take a seat and catch our breaths. Erin’s full of energy. I like that about her. I instruct the bartender to go easy on the alcohol. “Hey, I can handle myself,” she says, her words slurring as she tries to keep her balance. This will definitely be our last visit to the bar.
“No, you can’t,” I say with a grin.
She rolls her head toward the bartender and speaks in broken Italian. “Put as much alcohol in that drink as possible.” He glances at me. I shrug. Hagar patiently waits outside for us. Getting home in one piece won’t be the issue for us tonight, I suspect.
“Erin Angelo?” some guy says to Erin as he passes by our seats at the bar. Her head rolls toward him.
Right away, she turns back toward the bartender as though she didn’t want the guy to find her sitting here. He’s an American, probably a student. I can tell by his accent and the preppy way he’s dressed in the club. But he’s poaching on my territory, and I have a feeling this scene won’t end well for him.
He makes a goofy grin and says, “Ha! Yeah, that is you. Remember me from the University here in Milan? I’m the guy you and Selene stood up.”
“No, I don’t remember since that would’ve been close to eight months ago now,” Erin answers. She turns back to the bar again, but the jackass doesn’t know how to take a hint. Plus, he acts like I’m not even sitting here.
“I do believe she told you to get lost,” I interrupt.
“I wasn’t talking to you, man.” He turns back to Erin who’s now giving me a disgusted look as she rolls her eyes.
“Obviously she doesn’t want to be bothered. If I were you, then I would tuck my tail like a good little doggie and walk away,” I say to him.
“I guess you can’t hear so good, dude. Do I need to talk more like this, so you can understand me?” he asks, mocking my Russian accent and giving Erin a goofy grin.
He steps closer to my face and makes a gesture as though he’s going to either touch my shoulder or shove me. I don’t wait to find out which one it’ll be. I’m up out of my seat and on him in a flash. Grabbing the hand he used to reach toward me, I twist it around until he’s forced to turn his body as well. He falls to his knees and bends over until his face almost touches the floor.
“What the fuck? You’re crazy,” he gasps out.
“I. Said. Walk. Away,” I repeat through gritted teeth.
Bouncers move toward us. I’m not in the mood to get roughed up, to have to manhandle anyone else, or have my face plastered all over the Corriere before a big performance. I’d never hear the end of Mother’s or Frederico’s complaints if I did something like that at this point in my career. I release the guy’s arms. He stands up and moves away without another glance in Erin’s direction.
I smile and wave at the bouncers. “We’re leaving. Don’t worry,” I shout at them. But Erin doesn’t quite make it off her stool. She sits slumped over, and her face has turned a sickly shade of green. Not good. I help her get down off the seat and support her by the waist as we head toward the exit.
“Alek, I’m not feeling so great,” she mutters. We do manage