Taming the Ultimate Wolf

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLING, DARLING GEORGIE-POO!!” Squealed the buxom blonde, a thoroughly teasing smile drawn evilly across her pretty features.

“Ugh. Don’t remind me” groaned Georgiana, the birthday girl, giving her long-time friend, Elaine Whittaker, the customary double-cheek-kiss and plopping her jean-clad bottom down in the seat next to the long-legged blonde.

“What’s this?” Elaine gasped exaggeratedly. “Georgiana Kathleen Wilson, party girl extraordinaire and my trusty partner in crime doesn’t want to celebrate her own birthday??” Her expensive, manicured fingers covering her mouth in feint shock.

“It’s not that, El. You know I wouldn’t miss being the star attraction of my own party. I just don’t relish the thought of turning the big two-eight” the brunette grumbled under her breath, picking up the menu offered. They had all agreed to meet up at their favourite café for lunch, and as always they were seated outside underneath the shade of a large umbrella. Elaine had insisted they sit in this particular spot the first time they came because she claimed it would allow her to better enjoy the view of any good-looking man who happened to pass down the street.

“Sounds like you need to get laid” the platinum blonde snickered, adding an extra coat of lip gloss to her hot pink, botox-laden lips.

“Tell me about it” Georgiana muttered, her pale green eyes scanning the menu half-heartedly. The two friends had long given up any sort of social pretense and conventional behaviour when they found within themselves a kindred spirit of sorts a few years back.

They had met at a fund-raiser for orphaned children. Well more like a cocktail party smartly disguised as a fund-raiser. The Whittaker family had long needed an excuse to parade their blue-blooded, white-collar, trust-fund wealth around, and it just so happened that philanthropy was the new it thing.

As it was Elaine’s family hosting the highly publicized event, Elaine – ever the budding socialite- was naturally the belle of the ball; flitting from table to table and networking with all the names there was to know for a woman of her status.

Back in the day, Georgiana was the infamous rising star of the New York Times, working the Society column. She was young, fresh and opinionated, with a spunky attitude that left readers both shocked yet wanting more. A fellow columnist had even jokingly compared her to thrill rides: ‘…scary as hell, but makes you want to go again and again’.

What was probably the most obvious reason why her words garnered so much attention was that she –unlike her predecessors- didn’t play up to celebrities, her dry wit often didn’t leave much space for stylized, polished sentences praising the latest, hottest actor in town. She told it like it was; straight, simple, blunt and raw. If the hotshot lawyer who just won the biggest case in town was so full of himself that he talked down to her, the headline would open with, ‘What a Prick’.

Georgiana was a walking, talking media sensation causing tidal waves across the upper echelons of New York’s social scene, and heart attacks for every well-paid PR manager in the city. In other words, she was a gold mine.

That was why, upon arrival, the slender, chestnut-haired columnist was immediately sought out by every well-to-do family present, thinking that if they went out of their way to make her comfortable, they would be let off the proverbial hook.

Amused as she was, the moment she locked her cheeky, pale-green eyes with the six-foot blonde bombshell that was Elaine, she knew she had met her match.

The banter was light, the undertone deep and the once-overs casual. It was their way of testing each other, both heavily intrigued yet neither the least bit threatened.

Needless to say, when the article came out, she had once again chosen to speak the brutal truth; that the event was just a money circus, a platform of well disguised boasts and plastic smiles. She wasn’t going to play it down for the heiress and oddly enough, it was a sign of respect.

“I like her” Elaine had smirked, reading the paper while her plump PR manager pulled out the rest of his hair.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship built on the most thorough understanding between two women who knew how to play the game, and who played it damn well.

“Where’s Sue?” Georgiana asked of her friend, pushing loose tendrils of her wavy chestnut hair back into her messy ponytail. Elaine had always envied her natural locks as she always had to make it to the hairdressers once a month to dye her chemical-filled hair to its platinum blonde state.

“I don’t know, probably changing diapers and wiping the snot off her brats. She said she would be here late and told us to order her the usual”

Elaine wasn’t as bitchy as her language suggested, she just couldn’t switch it off from a lifetime of living under the spotlight and lucky for her, both Georgiana and Susie understood the intention behind her words very well.

The last of the tight trio was Susie Devon, part-time vet in the mornings and afternoons, super mom 24/7. At first glance, the domesticated mother of two hardly seemed the type to fit in amongst the successful beauties, but strangely enough it was never the same without her.

She had been Georgiana’s roommate for three years in college, and the two had even rented their first apartment together until Georgiana found the column and Susie found Eddie, her future husband. Sue was the silent, vigilant protector of the group; always the designated driver, always nursing the other two from their hangovers and always keeping them out of trouble. She balanced the group out and offered an unconditional stability to their lives they were both immensely grateful for, but they never forgot that at times she also knew how to let her hair down despite her tame lifestyle.

“Philip and Gabriel aren’t brats” Georgiana retorted, her full lips twisting into a slight frown. Though her words were often dry and her humour scathing, Georgiana was not a bitch either, a fact most people mistakenly made about her personality. “They’re adorable”

“They’re filthy, they drool, they scream and they like pulling my hair. Do you know how much I had to pay for the damage done?? Manuelo nearly had a coronary at the sight of me”

“You weren’t holding him right!”

“I was holding him perfectly fine. He survived didn’t he?”

At that Georgiana just had to burst out laughing, the sight of Elaine trying her best to hold a poor two year-old Gabby whilst trying not to get his drool onto her Prada coat was priceless.

“Stop laughing. You always laugh. It’s been over a month, get over it” Elaine quipped.

“I can’t… Every time I remember that moment… Oh the look on your face! I don’t think I’d ever seen you so frightened” she managed, giggling uncontrollably between sentences and eventually having to wipe the tears from her eyes before it got to her mascara.

“What’s this? Started the fun without me?” came Sue, walking towards their table dressed in a plain tee and slacks. She was hardly one to spend time on her appearance just to be seen looking nice, and she was confidant enough in her own skin to walk beside the always-well-dressed Elaine without feeling self-conscious.

“Hardly” Elaine replied unfazed while Georgiana’s laughing finally receded.

“Yeah, you know we couldn’t do anything without you Sue”

“Aww, I love you guys. Happy Birthday Georgie” she added, giving her friend a tight squeeze and wet-one on the cheek.

“Mmmhmm”

“Finally you’re joining the club” she continued to gush. Georgiana was the baby of the group, tailing Elaine by a couple of months and Susie by two years.

“I can see that doesn’t please you. Well you’ll cheer up by tonight, Elaine and I have really gone all out for this bash”

That got Georgiana’s attention, and she immediately straightened up, ears twitching eagerly like a lap-dog.

“You’re not getting any more than that, darling. It’s a surprise” Elaine drawled slyly.

Realizing she wasn’t going to get anywhere with the stubborn blonde, she turned her attentions to Sue. Putting on her best puppy-dog face, her lips pouted cutely and her emerald eyes even watered up a little to provide that extra glistening sheen.

Poor Sue was on the verge of breaking when she caught Elaine’s stern glare.

“Sorry Georgie.”

Whimpering for effect, the childish brunette then puffed up her cheeks in mock sulkiness, knowing just where to hit Sue’s guilt buttons.

“Susie Marie Devon, you will not fall for her childish antics. Georgie, stop it. You know it works better as a surprise, so put that bottom lip back where it came from”

Unable to let go of her childish antics for the moment, Georgiana blew Elaine a raspberry.

“You know, that was a great ‘mother-voice’” Sue crooned admiringly.

“Pfft. Elaine? No way” Georgiana protested, breaking out of her pout immediately.

“I’m just saying it was good. I didn’t say she should be a mother”

“God help us should that ever happen”

“I should be feeling offended right about now” Elaine frowned unbecomingly.

“Yes, but you know it’s true El, so that’s why you’re not fighting me back on this”

“I suppose” she murmured distractedly, reading the newspaper on splayed across her lap.

“What about you Georgie?” Susie asked.

“What about me?” she asked teasingly, fluttering her eyelashes at the dirty blonde.

“Well… You’re twenty-eight now, are you thinking about…you know? Settling down?”

“Watch out, darling. I think she’s trying to convert you again” Elaine teased, her own blue-eyes twinkling in mischief. She found the entire situation hilarious every time it was brought up, mostly because Georgiana was the one facing all the heat, Elaine was already a lost cause in Sue’s books.

“I am not trying to convert her towards anything, I’m just asking a simple question” Sue huffed, her own ocean-blue eyes sparkling with annoyance.

“No, Sue. I didn’t wake up this morning suddenly enlightened; realizing that my priorities must immediately be rearranged with reproduction and marriage at the top of the list”

“It doesn’t have to be. Just know that your biological clock is ticking, and that you might miss out on something as wonderful as motherhood if you wait too long”

“Are you kidding me? Georgie’s at the top of her game, don’t tell me you think she should trade it all in for PTA meetings and soccer practice? Plus, she’s all but said so herself that she’s a bachelorette, through and through.”

“Precisely! Alright, motherhood might be going too far for you, but what about a relationship? A deep, long-term one, not some half-assed one-night-stand” Susie persisted.

“I don’t do long term, Sue. They just can’t keep up with me”

“That’s because you keep choosing all the wrong ones; the ones in it for the sex.”

“And since when is that a bad thing?” Elaine interrupted

“It’s great for when you’re young and experimental, but don’t you want a change from all the bad boys? Doesn’t it get boring after a while?”

“There’s never a boring moment with a bad boy” Georgiana remarked, offering a surreptitious wink to Elaine who understood fully.

“What am I going to do with you two?” Susie sighed.

“Look, Sue, nice guys are just… too stiff. I need something wild and unpredictable in my life. Call it insecurity, but I’m not looking forward to aging. The way I see it, this is my last chance before I wither away”

“That’s my girl” came Elaine’s proud voice.

“Nice guys are wonderful! You’d be surprised Georgie. If anything, I’d say you’ve been doing the bad boys for so long that it’s hardly unpredictable anymore, is it? I hope one day you’ll find a guy that completely throws you off, and maybe then you’ll realize that you can’t categorize people like that.”

“Wow, Suze. I think you just broke you’re rant record right there.” Elaine drawled.

“Oh shut up”

“Okay, so maybe judging them isn’t exactly the healthiest thing, I’ll admit, and maybe you’re right; some guys might not exactly fit into the stereotype. But until the day comes when I meet one such guy, I think I’ll stick with my bad boys, thank you very much”

“They’re so much more fun to play with”

“Man-eaters” Susie mumbled begrudgingly as the food was served.

As lunch passed relatively quickly, with Susie having to rush back to the clinic, Georgiana late for a staff meeting and Elaine on her way to a manicure appointment, the rest of their banter revolved mostly around a heated debate between ‘nice guys’ vs. ‘bad boys’- with Sue finally dropping her case when Elaine started acting out the difference in sexual intercourse with the two types of men.

Georgiana could swear that the elderly couple sitting next to their table were scarred for life.

Just as they were leaving though, Susie lightly touched her friend’s arm when Elaine was out of earshot, offering her a warm glance.

“I know that you’re probably not going to change any small part of your jetsetter lifestyle at the moment, but promise me you’ll give it a shot should a nice guy actually ask you out? Think of it as sexual exploration”

Seeing genuine plea flit across Sue’s expression, Georgiana softened. How hard could it be? A couple of lousy dates and she’ll be off the hook.

“Only if he’s extra hot” she relented. “Gives me something to look at while he drones on and on about his job or whatever”

“You won’t regret it!” Susie claimed, a wide smile painted silly on her tanned skin.

“See you tonight birthday girl!”

By four o’clock, Georgiana had finally waived off the last of the well-wishers and merry song-singers in her office. As original as some of the ‘Happy Birthdays’ and small gifts had been, she was already exhausted and was seriously looking forward to the party tonight where she would get a chance to unwind.

“I’m getting too old for this” she murmured, eying the large ghetto-style graffiti marring her window, the numbers ‘two’ and ‘eight’ painted loud and clear.

Massaging her temples distractedly as she pushed a couple of memos and reports off her desk, Billy Gorden, her boss and editor-in-chief strolled in, a bouquet and envelope clasped in his pudgy hands.

Billy wasn’t your conventional boss, that is, he wasn’t your average paper-pushing, hard-as-nails, deadline-centric editor. Sure he could get pretty anal about people’s columns, but he was a good man at heart, just a little rough around the edges. To Georgiana though, he was like a fluffed up version of a cuddly Santa Clause. Since her employment at the Times, he had taken the young girl under his wing and shown her the ropes before she was trampled over. Journalism was a competitive, tough-shit job, and if you couldn’t stand the heat or didn’t know the rules of the game, you were an instant liability.

Luckily for her, Billy, her forty-something mentor was secretly gooey on the inside and held a soft spot for the talented columnist.

“Happy Birthday” he muttered gruffly, trying not to let his embarrassment get the best of him.

“Aww Billy! You didn’t have to, you know that right?” she gushed genuinely at her boss, trying to hold in her laughter for fear of scaring him away. He looked adorable standing there trying to look tough and imposing while holding a whimpering bouquet of jasmines grasped tightly in one hand.

Reaching out to ruffle his peppery hair and receive the flowers, she was met with a withering look that clearly said: ‘if it wasn’t your birthday, you’d be in big trouble right now’. She giggled in his face and bussed him on the cheek in thanks.

“Oh my gosh, Knicks tickets!? You really went all out Billy!” she squealed excitedly, pulling him in for another bear-hug.

Not exactly a man of many words, he kept quiet, trying to retain some semblance of manly dignity.

“I swear, Bill, if you weren’t already married…” she teased, pulling back from the hug and shooting his leathery, aged face a mega-watt smile.

“That reminds me, Maria says ‘Happy Birthday’ and wants you to come over for a visit soon”

“Tell her I’ll call her, she knows I can’t resist her fajitas. I don’t know how you aren’t overweight with cooking like hers, Billy. If I lived with her as long as you have, I’d be obese.”

Billy just looked amused at her, already used to her odd quirks and random lines. Taking a file out of his briefcase, he handed it to her and walked to the door.

“That’s a new story I want you to cover, get it to me by Friday at the latest”

“It’s not another celebrity marriage is it?” she groaned loudly, she had covered so many weddings it was enough to turn herself off getting married.

“You know I can’t do it anymore, Bill. If I have to print one more word about ‘everlasting love’ or ‘fairytale dreams’ I’ll quit”

“Actually, it’s about the opening of a new art gallery downtown”

“Ugh. Same-old, same-old. When are you going to give me the real stuff?”

“Real-stuff?” his bushy grey eyebrows quirked in confusion.

“You know; front page stories, business news, heck, I’ll even take sports if I need to”

Georgiana had held the esteemed position as Society columnist for over three years and frankly, it was all starting to become old news to her.

“But people love you’re column. I don’t think we’ve sold as many copies since Hardy was here”

“I know, and I love the column too. I just want to try something different. You know I can do it just as well as whatever stuffy fuddy-duddy you’ve got up your sleeve. I’m ready to be a serious journalist” she half-pleaded.

Honestly speaking, though she was tired of working the same column day-in and day-out, her passion had always been about world news, the economy and politics. The society pages just happened to be her only foot-in-the-door so she took the opportunity when it first presented itself, thinking she could easily move her way up when her talent was discovered and honed.

“Georgiana, you know I can’t give you those stories, we have specialists working on those. Trust me, it’s not half as interesting as the news and attention you’re getting here. I just don’t think you’d belong amongst those ‘fuddy-duddy’ guys”

“Come on, just one story? It can be as low-profile as crap, just throw me a line here. It’s my birthday” she pouted.

“Sorry, Georgie. It just doesn’t work like that here. Plus your writing is much better suited for this department”

‘You think I can’t write serious?’ she felt like saying, slightly ruffled from the implications of his words, though she knew he didn’t mean to be offensive. Georgiana didn’t want to show any disrespect or ungratefulness to her former-mentor, so she kept her mouth shut.

Being a society columnist had its many advantages, but the one thing that really irked her was that in journalism it was merely seen as a playground of creative writing, she wasn’t given nearly as much attention, professionally, as those guys working world news. To them she held no credibility, she was hardly considered a journalist, and unfortunately for Georgiana, she had been sucked into this rut. It was as hard to break-free as it was for actors like Hilary Duff to break-out of her on-screen role as Lizzie Mcguire. Nobody was taking her seriously.

However, as fierce as her personality was, she never once argued the matter further with Billy, he had already done so much for her as it was.

“Alright” she relented, slumping tiredly in her seat. “Are you coming tonight?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Yeah. I think you’re going to like it”

“Oh really?”

“I’m not telling you anything, so you can wipe that silly grin off your face”

“Dammit”

“Oh my God” Georgiana breathed, her chest heaving excitedly underneath her low-cut, pale-green party dress only a mere five hours later.

“I know. Isn’t it fabulous? Took me ages to get Alejandro to pull this in for me, but I did it” Elaine purred, thoroughly pleased with herself.

Susie just watched the different emotions flickering through her best-friend’s beautiful features, grinning manically.

“You got us a room at TABLE 50!?” she screamed, finally overcoming her speechlessness.

Quickly grabbing her friends into a tight hug, she burst into a hysterical laugh teeming with disbelief, not caring that she was making a scene right outside one of New York City’s hottest clubs.

“Have I ever forgotten to tell you that I LOVE you guys??” she exclaimed, jumping up and down like an excited kid at Christmas, her emerald eyes roving hungrily over the sight of the bar.

“You could stand to say it more often” Sue imparted.

“Enough with all this. What are we doing? Need I remind you two that the party is INSIDE” Elaine prodded, actually a little anxious herself but she hid it well. It made her happy that her friend was happy, lord knew the girl deserved it.

Not needing another reminder, Georgiana all but skipped to the entrance, eagerly pulling her friends along by the arm. She looked like she was about to burst into song.

Sue laughed at the sight of her friend. For a journalist renown for her cutthroat nature and tenacious attitude, she sure was intriguingly expressive and juvenile when it came down to it.

Smiling childishly up at the bouncer, they were all let in immediately. And the moment they stepped foot inside the club the loud chatter and music stopped, all the attention focused on the three attractive women at the door.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGIANA!!” came a huge chorus of people; some from the office, some from her apartment building and others just from networking. A familiar, heart-warming crowd.

The chestnut haired beauty was once again caught completely off-guard, and the image was priceless. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat outside, providing a warm glow to her creamy complexion, her pale-green dress was exactly the same shade as her teary eyes and the whole mix served to create a stunning picture.

“You guuyss” she whimpered as her eyes glazed over with a slight coating of happy tears. The bartender made his way over to the front, rolling out a mammoth of a cake with the words:

Happy 28th Birthday Georgie!

P.S. I love pie

“I couldn’t keep Gabby away from the cake” Susie mouthed.

Trust her to be the one making the entire cake herself. Sue refused to ever buy something she couldn’t make herself, she thought it gave it a more heartfelt, homey touch.

Choking out a teary laugh, Georgiana looked up as everyone in the dim, swanky club broke out into a hip-version of the birthday song, complete with complimentary beats and scratches from the DJ. Even the crowd of clubbers who weren’t part of the party joined in, already half-drunk and enjoying themselves.

As soon as the candles were blown out and Georgiana’s tears wiped clean away, the staff shuffled the party into one of the VIP rooms where she could start to mix, mingle and greet all her friends.

The next hour was spent tirelessly hugging, cheek-kissing, catching up, thanking and generally schmoosing with the crowd. By the end of it, Georgiana didn’t know if she could manage another ‘Oh My Gosh, Thank You So Much’ or another high-pitched squeal for a very long time, but she was still feeling the contagious happiness floating about the room. Elaine had already gone and made sure that Georgiana was never without a good drink, and Sue went and made sure all the remaining guests were having fun.

Finally done with all the introductions, Georgiana was all but ready to grab her two best-friends and hit the dance floor, determined to have a good time. She was already loosened up with the alcohol in her system, and all that hyped up energy just needed an outlet to flow through.

“Hey Billy, Maria!” She exclaimed, bumping into her boss and his wife.

“¡Hola mi querida!” the humble older woman greeted, her warm, brown eyes lighting up.

“¡Hola Maria! ¿Viste mis amigas por ahí?” she replied fluently, smiling sweetly down at the shorter woman attached quite firmly to her husband.

“They’re at the bar downstairs” Billy butt in grumpily, he never was one for the party scene.

“Oh, alright then. Enjoy yourselves, I’ll catch up with you guys later!” she hollered over the music as she made her stiletto clad toes walk in the direction of the stairs.

“You too darling! Have fun! ¡Estas muy guapa, mi querida! Tienes cuidado ¿Vale? Hay muchos pervertidos aquí”

“¡No te preocupes!” and blowing the couple a final kiss, Georgiana made her way to where the real party was.

As soon as she left the warmth of the cocooned VIP room, she immediately felt her body throb in sync with the pulsing beat. Taking a good look at the view down below, she scanned the heavy crowds for her two partners in crime. There was a lot of raucous guffaws and laughter coming from the right side of the room, where apparently a group of men were drinking heavily and celebrating someone’s bachelor party. Not paying them much attention, Georgiana kept looking, she was too eager to let it all go on the dance floor.

Finally catching sight of her blonde skyscraper of a friend –honestly, how could you miss her?- she instantly hopped down the stairs and joined the fray of bodies in the room, expertly navigating her way through the crowd without messing up either her hair or make-up.

“Elaine! Sue!” she cried over the music.

“There you are, darling!! I was wondering when you were going to come find us” Elaine barked, a slight slur giving her inebriation away. She could usually hold her liquor, so she must have drunken a lot.

Spotting two men standing stiffly next to her friends, Georgiana plastered on another grin on her face and stood on her toes to give a greeting kiss to Eddie, Sue’s husband, and Joseph Fitzgerald, Elaine’s current beau.

Joseph was easily twice Elaine’s age but also twice her wealth. There was no doubt as to why she had been dating him for over a month, except the fact that Joseph himself still seemed pretty oblivious.

No one could really understand it, but even when Elaine made her debut as a young socialite, she had always dated the older, richer men, citing reasons along the lines of young guys being too ‘immature’ for her tastes.

“Older men are the real bad boys, my dear” Elaine drawled lazily when Sue and Georgiana has questioned her about it years before.

“Besides, why waste my time with those young pups who run around blind, when I can find a more intelligent, richer, sophisticated man?”

The two women had left the topic alone after that. Whatever floats her boat.

“I didn’t see you earlier” Georgiana quipped, smiling at Eddie. He was always such a sweetheart.

“I had to put the boys to bed” he replied in his relaxed, friendly tone, his arm casually slung around his wife’s shoulders. True to form, neither parent had drunken a single drop of alcohol.

If there was ever a poster-boy for the world’s biggest ‘nice guy’, Eddie Michael Devon was it. One look and you could tell, from his big, goofy grin, warm baby-blues and fuzzy mop of bright amber hair (he was of Welsh descent), that he and Susie were perfect for each other.

“You look stunning, Georgiana” Joseph complimented in his polite, polished tone, his eyes darting back towards Elaine every now and then. The poor man was infatuated.

“Thank you, Joe. I can’t believe you made it”

“It seemed pretty important to Elaine, so I wanted to be here” he replied, not once taking his wrinkled eyes off the buxom blonde, who topped his height by nearly half a foot.

“She did a great job. I keep telling her to go into the event-organizing business”

“And I keep telling her, that being a socialite is part of the event-organizing business. I just get the extra perk of being able to attend my own event” roared Elaine, allowing Joseph to steady her tottering frame with his meaty arm around her waist.

“Here’s a shot for the Birthday Girl” yelled the bartender, interrupting their conversation.

“C’mon girls, let’s do one together!” Georgiana sang, hauling her friends together.

“On the count of three. 1…2…3!!” gulping the fiery liquid down, she instantly knew she had passed her limit and had now reached the ‘fully inebriated’ stage of the night.

“That is going to be killer in the morning!” Elaine grumbled, but not unhappily.

“I don’t know how I’m going to get home!” Georgiana giggled uncontrollably, some of the wavy, rich chestnut locks from her fancy up-do coming loose and choosing to frame her flushed face prettily. She was a happy drunk.

“Here” Elaine grinned evilly, thrusting something metallic into her small hands.

“A key?” she barely registered the object, looking at her drunken friend with the most adorably confused expression.

“To a room” Elaine finished for her, mistakenly thinking it was all clear now.

“What she means is, we knew you were going to be unable to get home without one of us driving you. But since you were bringing your car, we thought we’d rent you a room in the hotel next door for you to pass out in, just for convenience sake” Sue clarified upon seeing Georgiana’s furrowed eyebrows.

“Nah. I did it ‘cause I knew you were going to want to get laid!”

“Elaine! Such vulgarity” Sue scolded.

“What?” the platinum blonde shrugged.

“Aww, you guys. That’s so sweet and thoughtful” Georgiana started tearing up again, it must have been the alcohol, she wasn’t always this emotional.

Just then, the DJ upped the volume slightly and started playing ‘Sexy Can I?’ by Ray J as one of the patron’s requests.

“Oh my gosh! I LOVE this song!! Come on you guys, let’s hit the floor” she yelled after pulling her friends into another one of her tight hugs.

Grabbing their hands and dragging them onto the floor, the trio were instantly met with wild howls, whistles and catcalls coming from all sides. It seemed like everybody was all pretty out of it.

Smirking flirtatiously right back at them, Georgiana felt an onrush of confidence fill her willowy limbs, and with the lights dimmed, the music flowing through her veins, she began to shake her slender hips to the beat.

Georgiana was no show stopper, but she knew how to work her body on the dance floor enough to attract some attention. More so than either Elaine or Susie, and that’s what earned her the name party-animal.

Never forgetting the presence of her friends, she made sure to keep close to them especially since Sue tended to weave her way out of the crowd after the first song.

“Sexy can I??” she sang along with the song half-drunkenly, though no one could hear. At the time, it seemed like the perfect song for the moment and the mood.

Really getting into it, she reached up and let her wavy locks free to cascade down her smooth shoulders, allowing her hands to continue their ascent upwards till they were above her head.

By the time the next song came around, Georgiana already felt someone’s eager, sweaty palms run over her waist, their chest pressed against her back intrudingly and attempting to move with the sway of her body. A small smile graced her full lips.

‘Oh no you don’t’

Not once had she played another man’s game, she always brought her own rules to the table; never one to be dominated. Turning around smoothly and placing her two petite hands on the stranger’s chest, she took the chance to have a good look at him.

He was you’re typical ‘bad boy’; dark-haired, attractive and enigmatic, but he looked a little young and a little hasty with the way he was unable to keep his eyes away from her face, or his hands from crawling any lower.

‘Nah’ she decided.

Stepping away swiftly, she raised her eyebrow at him and all he could do was shrug with that pathetic, leering smirk on his face.

‘Cocky asshole’

Never once losing the beat, she made her way elsewhere along the dance floor, keeping her eyes and ears open for any possibilities.

She had a certain criteria when it came to picking guys. She was never usually up for one-night-stands, hard as it was to believe. Sex was the priority, but normally, the relationship was able to last a couple of weeks. Her last one went on for a blissful two months.

Typically, the silent agreements were mutually beneficial for the both of them, her only condition being that she was not going to do the chasing. Call it being lazy, but she wanted to be the one in control of the relationship, and she was good at it.

Lifting her eyes to surreptitiously scan the periphery, she was officially on the lookout for her prey.

Meow.

Gareth was completely, totally, fully and most absolutely drunk.

It was only rare and very special occasions which he allowed himself to become so inebriated. He was, of course, thirty now so he figured he should pick up more responsibility in his life.

Who was he kidding? Hangovers were a bitch.

Anyways, it was Brian’s bachelor party tonight and the guys had all decided to bring him to the hottest club in town, Table 50. He was getting married to Gareth’s little sister, Evelyn, in a couple of days, so naturally big-brother was invited.

The night was filled to the brim with festivity, testosterone and a lot of alcohol. Evie, had asked him to keep an eye out for Brian; not to let him get ‘too wild’, but sometime before ten, Gareth had made the mistake of letting Matthew, his best friend, bring him a drink. Needless to say, he was violently thrust into an alcohol-induced state that would last the rest of the night.

At eleven, the guys had started getting really rowdy and some even made it on to the dance floor, further embarrassing themselves, the lucky groom included. The poor blonde was so drunk off his horse he could barely stand up. Unfortunately, where sober Gareth would normally help the guy back into a taxi home, drunk Gareth was so pissed he was instead laughing at the sight along with the rest of the guys.

“Oh shit, I don’t think I can laugh anymore” Matthew Beacon breathed, his face red from his loud snickers and his hand placed on his stomach as if it would ease the pain.

The two had met on campus at the University of Pennsylvania. While Matt was studying to be an engineer, Gareth had been busy obtaining his economics and finance degree, and the two had remained best buds ever since. They met as dorm mates and took an instant liking to each other, but the life-long friendship was officially sealed in stone when Matt accidentally bleached all of their clothes stark white halfway through the semester.

They had spent the rest of the term tie-dying their shirts different colours because they couldn’t afford new clothes, and had thus been the infamous ‘hippies’ for the rest of the year. Matt had actually gotten really into the whole 70’s vibe, it was hilarious.

“I think he was trying to do the chicken dance” Gareth added, a thoroughly amused glint lighting up his grey eyes. That started up a whole other round of sniggers from Matt.

“Some…hahaa…Someone should film this!!”

Surprisingly, some of Brian’s closest buddies already were.

‘Evie is going to flip’ Gareth thought, somehow knowing the video was going to make its premiere at the wedding.

“This place is off the hook! How come we never come here?” Matt asked his friend, his chocolate eyes twinkling with glee and glazed over by the multiple drinks.

“We don’t do clubs that much” Gareth replied. He and Matt were country boys at heart and the appeals of a club never fully grew on them.

“Why not?”

“We’re too old for it. This is a young man’s scene” Gareth reminded him.

“Ah right. Thirty, and over the proverbial hill” Matt pondered. “We gotta get out more, man” he concluded.

“I mean its bad enough that we got stiff-ass jobs”

“I happen to like my job”

“Pfft. All I’m saying is, how’re we gonna meet new people if we don’t get around much?” argued Matt, slurring and sloshing his beer here and there.

“I know enough people”

“You don’t know enough chicks. You can never know enough chicks!” he proclaimed giddily, stumbling a little on his feet.

A group of drunken guys around the corner all lifted their beers and saluted loudly to that.

“I think that’s enough booze for you” Gareth suggested, worming the beer out of his friend’s grasp quite easily.

When Gareth was drunk, he hardly looked or behaved like other people usually did. Granted that he did slur and his movements became sloppy, however, it was never to the extent where he couldn’t even keep himself upright.

Placing the toxic drink as far away from his friend as possible, Gareth stumbled back over to the couch, but before he could plop himself down, loud catcalls, whistles and howls caught his attention over the beat of the music.

Looking up, he saw that most of the noises were generated from his side of the room, mainly from the rest of the guys at the bachelor party who were closely eying three women entering the dance floor.

“Shit… Now that’s what I’m talking about, Gareth!” cried Matt loudly, his eyes glued to the swaying hips of the three beauties. “See? If we don’t get out, we don’t get to meet girls like that!”

A wave of murmurs had spread throughout the entire male population as more women started to move towards the floor, undoubtedly prompted by the first brave three. Not one to miss an opportunity, a handful of guys confidently strutted onto the scene, all inhibition lost hours ago.

Of all the women on the dance floor, there was no doubt that the three women were garnering the most testosterone-charged attention. It wasn’t necessarily the fact that they were the most attractive –though admittedly they were all flawlessly featured- but rather it was the energized, sensual air they were radiating and the relaxed movements they were making. It was clear that they knew what they were doing.

“That blonde one is hot” Gareth overheard one of the guys’ conversation go.

“Which blonde one? There’s two”

“That one. The tall one”

“Hah! Look at her, she’s drunk off her ass. You might have a chance”

The woman they were referring to was indeed incredibly beautiful; she was clad in a short, expensive-looking red dress that barely covered enough skin and had a larger than normal chest. He could see why the guy liked her, but Gareth wasn’t really into women who obviously had a little plastic surgery done here and there, so she wasn’t his ‘type’.

For a while now, both he and Matt had been single. His mother always teased them for being bachelors, and often joked that they would probably grow old and unattached, together.

Needless to say, neither of them were laughing at that one.

“Oh shit! Look at that brunette! Fuck she is fine!” Came another voice.

Once again they were right. Except this time, ‘fine’ didn’t cut it. She was gorgeous with her soft chestnut locks flowing over her bare back, her pale-green dress was a lot more decent than her blonde friend’s, but if anything, it served to highlight her more natural beauty. She was exotic-looking, standing at about 5’8 with her heels, her skin was a warm creamy colour and her wide lips were luscious, full and unmarred by cosmetics of any sort.

“Look at that ass” guy number one admired.

Gareth inwardly cringed at the man’s vulgarity. Though he understood quite well the mechanics of a testosterone-filled mind, he did not deem it appropriate to look upon women like they were just a piece of meat. It was the country boy inside him with all the manners.

“Go grab it then” his friend suggested.

Guy number one must have had an equally alcohol-addled brain because the fool actually got up and walked towards the brunette with a swagger that suggested a cocky attitude to match. The rest of his friends gathered around excitedly to watch, some placing bets, and others eagerly soaking up the guy’s moves in complete admiration.

“Asshole doesn’t have a chance” Gareth muttered, Matthew nodding his assent.

“What are you talking about? Look at the way she’s dancing! Clearly asking for something” his friend swiveled around to face him, the excited glint in his eyes belying his youthful age.

“He ain’t smooth enough. Look at his walk! He walks like he owns the damn place” Matt slurred good-naturedly, as if they were watching a football match.

“And he’s choosing to approach her from behind; a coward’s move. That isn’t going to work” Gareth pointed out mindlessly, his eyes fixated on her willowy limbs moving to the deep, throbbing beat.

“And why not?” the friend asked, curious and almost disbfelieving.

“Because if you want to approach a woman it’s got to be consensual, you don’t just barge into her space and think she’s going to like the interruption” Gareth drawled, finally removing his gaze and instead took to lazily eying the naïve lad. “Either she invites you in, or you work up the balls to ask her”.

“Where do you guys get this? Some kind of class?” the boy joked, the rest of his friends sniggering to the side.

“No. I’m drunk and even I know that. Its common sense” Matt affronted crossly.

“OH LOOK! Robin got owned!!” One of the friends shouted.

Gareth turned to look at the scene on the dance floor just in time to find the lovely brunette slip away from the guy’s intrusive grip. Surprisingly, she wasn’t offended but rather amused by his forwardness. Stepping away smoothly, she turned and slipped into another area of the dance floor, shooting him a last sultry look over her bare shoulder.

His friends immediately burst into a raucous laughter and Matt turned to shoot Gareth a triumphant grin.

“We may be old, but we sure as hell know our stuff” he nudged.

The poor guy was stuck on the dance floor acting as if he was unaffected by shrugging his shoulders non-committedly back at his snickering friends, and soon enough he turned around in the hopes for finding another partner.

“You think you can do better?” His friend challenged, overhearing Matt’s rather loud proclamation.

Gareth groaned. Matthew was hugely competitive, especially when he was drunk, and he was definitely not going to let this go. Mentally preparing himself, he grabbed someone’s drink on the table and took a large gulp.

God that was strong.

“Sure we can! We’ll show you guys how real men do it!” Matt roared, a huge grin plastered on his drunk face.

“Matt, you’re drunk off you’re rocker. If you do this, you’ll embarrass yourself and you’ll embarrass me” Gareth warned, knowing that if Matt was really into it, there would be nothing that could convince him otherwise.

“I know. That’s why you’re going to do it”

“What??”

“You heard me” he smiled cheekily.

“Matt, I’m not going to dance with a girl just so you can win this bet”

“It’s not just about the bet. I mean look at it this way, isn’t an opportunity to dance with her a reward in itself??” he suggested, wiggling his eyebrows for effect.

The younger guys all bobbed their drunken heads up and down.

“Come on, this is your chance!”

“Chance for what? I’m not that kind of guy; I’m not looking for a piece of ass”

“It’s your chance to let loose for the night; let go of all inhibition and just relax. You can return to your stiff life some other time, just do this before its too late and you regret it”

That was the problem with best friends, they knew just how to push your buttons.

Giving Matt a long, hard look, Gareth sighed and stood up.

“I guess, one dance couldn’t hurt” his deep voice strained. Looking at the drink in his hand, he hastily took another large gulp to help him through, hoping he’d forget all his foolish actions in the morning.

The guys in the back cheered loudly, passing bills back and forth in anticipation.

“You guys gotta shut up, alright? I can’t have you giving it away, she’ll just run off” Matt defended, looking the most excited he’d been all night.

Taking a deep breath and scanning the crowds, using his height to his advantage, he found her instantly, somewhere in the middle of a throng of people and taking a good look around her.

He couldn’t help but smile at his luck.

She was scouting.

Pushing all thoughts of the dare aside, Gareth adopted a surprisingly calm mindset, allowing his instincts to take over his body. It was just him and her now.

It was a very foreign feeling, letting himself be immersed in the moment, letting the music carry his body forward. Gareth never usually let himself go uncontrolled.

His movements were smooth, slow and languid, his grey eyes trained on the target. He walked until he was standing on the edge of the dance floor, and instead of moving forward right to her, he just stopped and leaned casually against the pillar, biding his time.

‘Only one dance. Nothing more’ he reminded himself, just waiting for her eyes to look his way.

He couldn’t tell whether it was the drink messing with his mind or whether her eyes were just so hypnotizing, but the moment she finally did look his way, all thought flew out of his head.

Pale-green. Just like her dress. That was the colour of her wide, doe eyes. It was strange, but he had never felt more drawn to one person in his entire life as he did in that moment.

She had looked straight at him, searching for something, her dancing losing some of its vigour in the midst of her distraction. Cocking her slightly to the side, he could read intrigue flash through her features.

They continued to stare at each other unyieldingly, neither feeling intimidated, only curiously attracted to the other.

Finally, moments later, she seemed to have finished making her decision when the edge of her mouth twitched upwards in a tiny smile, her eyes glittering with a mischievous sheen.

He took that as his cue.

Georgiana knew she had found her pick the moment her eyes landed on his tall, shadowed frame and pierced his stormy grey eyes.

She had spotted a couple of potentials around the room but they all paled in comparison to this mysterious stranger. He was handsome in the rugged, raw way; she sensed this was no pretty-boy, and he had the confidence to watch her without backing down or feeling embarrassed. She liked that.

Georgiana could tell he was waiting for her to give him a sign, it was also clear he was a very patient man; he understood and respected her boundaries. Yet, when she looked into his eyes she was just taken away by the intensity of his stare, she felt so affected; so conscious of the way he was looking at her. No one had ever been able to do that before and it scared her, but more than that, it intrigued her.

So distracted was she by her perusal that she hadn’t realized her dancing had come to a complete stand-still. When she finally did recognize her lack of movement, she smiled genuinely.

‘This guy is good’ she concluded, watching as he took that as a signal and smoothly made his way over to her.

Even then, he was taking his time and that only made the tension in the air around her spike. Her metabolism had finally absorbed the last of the alcohol in her system and the rush of heat to her body left her heady and her smooth skin highly sensitized.

Her breaths came out slightly faster as she observed him move closer. Not once did he move his gaze anywhere else, and everything she had admired from afar just seemed to grow in force as he emerged from the shadows.

His hair was jet black, medium-length and messily tousled in a way that suited his angular facial features, he had a strong jaw-line and a proud nose. Coupled with broad shoulders and an intimidating, tall frame, Georgiana was slowly starting to realize with every self-assured, controlled step he took in her direction, the she was dealing with an Alpha Male.

Her attraction was paramount by the time he reached her and she had to tilt her head back slightly in order to meet the amused glint in his stormy eyes. He had moved so close to her that she could clearly see the small flecks of midnight blue amongst his grey irises.

Georgiana couldn’t bring her alcohol-addled mind to form a coherent greeting, but thankfully, words didn’t seem appropriate.

Breaking the blatant stare to watch his large hand reach out for her waist, she waited for him to grasp her but wasn’t at all prepared for the warmth that his palm radiated while coming to rest firmly on the small of her back. Her surprise made her arch her back and move in, a sharp inhalation followed as she brushed up right against his chest but his hand didn’t let her move away. Georgiana was too drunk to be embarrassed by now.

From here she could smell the heady scent of his cologne mixed quite tastefully with the inundating smell of alcohol, she didn’t know how but just that smell was enough to make her feel even more inebriated.

Half-lidded pale green eyes trailed upwards to meet his own teasing ones and he shifted slightly so as to position her body better in his rather secure hold. Relaxing fully into him, she let him support her. Only now could she feel the ripple of muscles lying underneath his shirt as he adjusted to her weight.

He gave her an odd look and a quirked smile of his inviting lips when he felt her shiver.

For once in her life, Georgiana Wilson couldn’t control herself, but here she was too drunk to care, and even later she would have been too drunk to remember.

Moving one warm, heavy hand downwards to her hip, his fingers tracing the route teasingly, he gave her side a slight push whilst moving his own body in a similar manner, slowly at first. He kept guiding her for a few more moments until she snapped out of her trance and realized he was trying to make her dance.

If she were sober she would have died from mortification.

Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to get a brief feel of the music; of the rhythm he was moving to, and when she found it, she started moving her hips by herself, freely enjoying the feel of their two bodies moving in synchronized form.

She couldn’t tell how long they danced for, only that the man in front of her had almost complete and utter control over her, something she couldn’t muster the energy to protest against and was entirely unfamiliar with.

Unable to prevent a soft moan from escaping when he began rubbing small circles into her waist with his thumb, she snuggled deeper into him. In turn, he responded by tensing a little; slightly uncomfortable with how aroused she was making him feel, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop his ministrations.

His hands were driving her over the edge such that she was hardly able to even register what was going on around her any longer.

Georgiana was growing restless with all the attention he was giving her, so her hands started moving of their own accord. They glided up his chest and teased the area where the collar opened up to his warm skin, she felt rather than heard a rumble of approval emanate from his throat. Smiling, she moved over the sinuous muscle covering his shoulder and finally she opened her eyes and tilted her head back as her fingers traced his strong jaw, her eyes drawn towards his alluring lips.

That was the pivotal moment.

Within those few seconds something clicked within the depths of both their minds whereby a decision was made; a decision to give into their baser, more animalistic tendencies and to let go of all rational behaviour.

The alcohol had wiped away all sense of propriety, and thus, there was no hesitation.

Suddenly, those lips came crashing down upon hers in a mind-blowing, alcohol-induced kiss that fired her out of proportion; the attraction that was stubbornly held in finally erupting into uncontrollable waves of raw desire.

To both Georgiana and Gareth, the rest of the night was a hazy blur of short vignettes; still images that would barely have made any coherent sense had they been sober. However, there was no need for comprehension of any kind as their bodies seemed to move and glide of their own coalition; of their own instinctual need for each other.

A/N:

“Hola mi querida – Hello my dear

¿Viste mis amigas por ahí?- Have you seen my friends around?

¡Estas muy guapa, mi querida! Tienes cuidado ¿Vale? Hay muchos pervertidos aquí – You are very pretty me dear! Be careful ok? There are a lot of perverts here.

¡No te preocupes! – don’t worry!

Please read and review!

P.S. Could you please give me some feedback on the believability of the kiss?? I mean the whole point was that they were both so drunk they probably couldn't tell the difference between their feet and their fingers, but I'm not sure if I played the drunkeness up enough to make the lust credible and their actions understandable.