Chapter 3

A week later, Neveah somehow found herself sitting on Jabali's bed, surrounded by hair equipment, discarded clothes, and makeup. She was going to the bar again to meet Chann, hopefully, and her best friend had taken it upon himself to make Neveah look 'so fucking hot the guy is probably gonna lose his mind by just looking at your face.'

"Jabali, I don't think doing my hair, and makeup is necessary. What if he was attracted to my natural face?" Neveah whined as Jabali painted eyeliner onto her eyes.

"Well, he'll be even more attracted to you once I'm done," Jabali smirked. Neveah knew she had lost the argument, so she sat quietly and let her best friend do whatever he pleased to her face.

☽

Unsurprisingly, Jabali finished her makeup and hair quite quickly. When Neveah stood up to look at herself in the mirror, she gasped in surprise. It had been a while since she'd last dolled herself up, and Jabali was right: she looked hot.

The eyeliner was smudged just enough to give Neveah a smokey-eyed, seductive look, the lashes adding a dramatic flair to them. The light foundation and concealer made Neveah's skin look smoother and softer than usual, and the brown lip gloss made her lips look full and kissable. Her afro had been styled into an updo with two curled ringlets framing her face and eyebrows, eyebrows which had also been plucked and filled to perfection, courtesy of Jabali. She wore a black dress that clung to every nook and cranny of her curvy figure, with a delicate gold chain hugging her neck and gold earrings to match.

"Wow," Neveah said, admiring herself in the mirror. It wasn't every day she dressed up, and damn, did she think she looked good.

Jabali smirked as he stood behind her with his arms crossed. "I told you you'd look hot. This is why you shouldn't doubt me."

"I didn't doubt you, per se. I just didn't think all this," Neveah indicated to her face and hair, "would be necessary just to meet some guy at the bar."

"He's not just some guy; you're clearly down bad for him! Also, you're going to the bar again to meet him, so he must mean something to you," Jabali said.

Neveah knew Jabali was right, but she didn't want to admit it. She wasn't one to catch feelings quickly, and she usually left one-night-stands as well…one night situations. She looked at her neck through the mirror, remembering the spot Chann had bitten. She shivered, her heart beginning to beat a tad bit faster. There was just something about Chann, the way those brown eyes had held her gaze unwaveringly, the way his soft yet calloused hands had felt against her skin, his lips on her neck…

She turned to Jabali. "So, what am I gonna wear?"

Jabali grinned.

"Remind me never to let you choose my outfit ever again," Neveah grumbled to Jabali, gritting her teeth as she walked over to him and downed her 4th (or was it 5th?) shot of tequila, wincing before squeezing the lime into her mouth.

"The pants make your butt look good, though!" Jabali pouted as they both placed their shot glasses on the bar counter.

"Yeah, but it took me like five fucking minutes to remove them so I could pee. It's like they're stuck to me!"

Jabali laughed at his best friend as she sat at the bar, waiting for the bartender to come to her so she could order another shot, or maybe 10.

The club was much more packed that day than the previous week. It was yet again a Saturday; many sweaty bodies were on the dance floor, dancing and grinding to whatever song was playing through the loudspeakers. Neveah had hoped she'd see a familiar head of locs walk through the doors. She'd been hoping for about two hours, and if her best friend hadn't been at the club with her, she would've probably left already.

"He's not coming, Jabali. It's been 2 hours. We should leave," Neveah said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice but failing miserably.

"I did not make you look this good for nothing," Jabali hissed as he stood up and grabbed Neveah's arm, pulling her up and leading her to the dance floor. He turned to shout into her ear.

"Now you're gonna dance and move your hips and shit, and some hot ass guy is gonna come dance with you and take you home and get your mind off Chad."

"Chann," Neveah corrected.

"Whatever, just fucking dance!"

So, Neveah danced.

Regarding dancing, Neveah mainly was the same whether sober or drunk. She was just a little more confident, a little more daring and a little dirtier when she was drunk. Just a little.

So it didn't surprise her when she felt large hands on her hips as someone started dancing with her. The spot on her neck gently ached, and Neveah could have sworn she heard a faint growl whispered into her ears. She shivered, but she ignored it. It was just her imagination, she believed.

Neveah danced with him for a short while, swaying her hips against the guy, letting the music flow through her as her body moved naturally to the beat. And yet, even with the loud bass pumping through the speakers and pulsing through her veins, the unfamiliar hands that gripped her with an unwanted promise for what could come later, everything just felt...wrong.

"How about you come back to my place?" The guy asked seductively in Neveah's ear.

Neveah felt her skin crawl. She tried to break away from the man's embrace but felt his grip only tightened around her, his hands moving down her hips as panic started to rise in her throat.

Then suddenly, multiple things happened at once.

The spot on her neck where she had been bitten, which had been a steady ache since the guy approached her, suddenly became a searing pain that caused Neveah almost to collapse.

A second later, Chann appeared seemingly out of nowhere, gently but firmly hauling Neveah out of the guy's arms and holding Neveah flush to his chest. Neveah's eyes were wide open in shock, and she felt like the wind had knocked her out of her as she gaped at Chann open-mouthed.

"Thank you for keeping her company while I was gone. You can leave now," Chann said smoothly, though his voice had an undisguised, subtle threat.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man Neveah had been dancing with spat.

"The guy who just told you to leave. Don't make me tell you again."

The way Chann spoke, or maybe the look on his face, made the man widen his eyes in fear and quickly leave the club. Neveah stared after him, completely and utterly bewildered.

Before she could form coherent thoughts, tender hands turned her around, and she found herself face-to-face with Chann.

He looked just as attractive as he had the week before, if not more. His familiar locs were still tied back, his eyes just as piercing as before, his aura even more domineering.

"H-hi," Neveah stuttered, still shocked by what had just happened as Chann's hands dropped from where they'd been around her waist. She found herself missing his touch, much to her chagrin.

Chann smiled, all traces of intimidation smoothed into a warm, welcoming expression. "Hello."

"Long time no see, huh?" Neveah said, laughing nervously. Chann raised an eyebrow at her in reply, a slightly amused smile on his face.

Although her behaviour was incredibly awkward, she felt strangely calm due to Chann's presence. She felt as if he was...whole again.

'You only met the guy a week ago; it's not that deep,' she thought. But something told her that maybe it was. Something told him that she wanted, maybe even needed, Chann.

"What just happened?" She finally asked, breaking the intense eye contact.

Chann cocked his head slightly. "You looked like you wanted to be anywhere but with that guy."

"What makes you think I needed saving?" Neveah huffed, though well aware that Chann was right.

"I wasn't trying to save you," Chann countered, "but I'm sorry if I overstepped."

She eyed him closely, taking in the genuineness and hint of concern in his eyes. "Wanna dance?" She asked after a moment, receiving a nod in response.

Slowly and deliberately, she placed her hands around Chann's shoulders, and his hands immediately responded by moving to her waist, his grip gentle but firm.

Neveah slowly swayed, moving herself to the beat, and Chann followed, his heated gaze never leaving hers.

Neveah found himself moving forward, so she was flush against Chann, their bodies touching wherever possible. But she felt like that wasn't enough. Her eyes fell to his lips, and she slowly brought hers to his, kissing him softly.

It didn't take long for the kiss to intensify. There was so much intent behind the kiss, and Neveah felt positively overwhelmed by Chann. He bit Neveah's bottom lip, eliciting a moan from her and causing her lips to part slightly. She gently licked his lower lip, and Chann took this as permission to slide his tongue into Neveah's mouth, exploring her mouth as if it was an unknown cavern he'd just discovered, desperate to traverse every nook and cranny.

As the kiss intensified, Chann slid his knee between Neveah's thighs, pressing forward gently. Neveah moaned into his mouth as Chann's hands moved to grip her hips. Chann broke the kiss, massaging Neveah's hips and kissing down her neck. As he slowly, gently kissed the spot he had bitten the day before, Neveah's knees buckled as overwhelming pleasure washed over her, and she felt her abdomen tighten as the heat began to pool in her gut.

Chann gripped firmly onto Neveah, and if he hadn't held her so firmly, Neveah, from the way her knees buckled, would have likely lost her standing.

"Want to get out of here?" Chann whispered as his lips brushed against her ear, his voice husky and filled with lust.

Neveah nodded quickly as Chann wrapped an arm around her waist and began walking her to the exit. Neveah's legs still felt like jello, so Chann took most of her weight.

As they walked towards the exit, Neveah noticed Jabali at the bar, talking to the bartender. As if Jabali could sense her (Neveah wouldn't be surprised if he actually could), he turned around and looked at Neveah, a broad grin on his face once he saw who Neveah was with.

'Connall's?' Jabali mouthed at her, referring to his boyfriend. Neveah gave him a quick nod, and the last thing she saw before exiting the club was her best friend grinning cheekily and shooting her a proud thumbs-up.