Accident Prone

From the outside bar, Derek glared daggers at two men who approached Angela. How dare they?

Derek told himself that he has no right to interfere. After all, they were only talking, and Angela didn't seem to be troubled by their presence. Her back was facing him, so he couldn't see her expression, but her body language didn't show resistance, and he wondered if she was smiling at those two.

'Is this how it ends?', Derek wondered. He shook his head at his foolish thought. It ended two weeks ago before it even started because of his stupidity. If he wanted anything with Angela, he was supposed to think about it at that time. What was he thinking then? He wasn't. He was acting on an impulse, as usually.

Derek always acted on an impulse, doing what he wanted without a plan and without considering the consequences.

Even now, he came to this nightclub with an intention to fix things but without any plan, and he ended up watching Angela moving on, like he never mattered in the first place. Well, considering how he treated her, maybe that's for the best.

He saw the man on Angela's right stand up and lean toward her to talk. She shook her head, rejecting whatever he said. The next thing Derek saw was the man holding onto Angela's hand and tugging her to stand up, to which she pulled her hand out of his grasp.

...

"I don't feel like dancing. Thank you.", Angela said while focusing mightily on her words, with the hope that those two men won't notice how wasted she was.

"Come on, doll. You refused an offer for a drink, and this is only one dance."

"I said no." She waved her hand sloppily so that he can't hold it again.

"George asked you for a dance." The man on Angela's left said. "It's not like he asked you to spread your legs."

Angela frowned.

"She said NO.", Derek growled from the side making all three look at him.

Angela blinked as her heart thumped so hard that she thought it will jump out of her chest. Why was Derek here? Was she imagining? No, there was no way that was Derek. She drank too much, and her mind was playing tricks on her. But even if it's imagination, she ended up smiling goofily his way while struggling to sit straight.

"And who are you?", the man who was standing (aka George) asked with a sneer.

"She is with me.", Derek said with a frown and he flexed his hands into fists, indicating that he is ready to fight if they don't back off.

Two men glanced at Angela who confirmed Derek's words with a nod.

George raised his arms defensively. "Sorry man, she didn't say that she was taken."

"You didn't ask!", Angela hissed.

Two men scurried away, and Derek approached Angela. "Are you OK?"

"Why are you here?"

"I was there…", Derek pointed toward the bar. "I saw the situation and thought of helping."

"Why?" Angela narrowed her eyes while trying to focus. Everything was hazy and blurry, everything other than Derek who was handsome, just like on the day they met.

Derek saw Angela narrowing her eyes and he thought that she was angry. He wanted to talk to her, yet he still didn't know what to say and then it seemed that he made it worse. Derek exhaled and raised his hands. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I will leave."

He stepped away and Angela stood up abruptly. She didn't want him to leave, she wanted an explanation. Why did he help her now when he ignored her during the rehearsal dinner? And she hoped that he will see her all dressed up and looking like a million bucks and maybe even like her a little bit.

Everything was spinning and she lost her balance.

Angela closed her eyes, confident that she will fall on the ground and hoping that she does not end up in that fountain, but instead she found herself in a firm embrace and a familiar sinful scent filled her nostrils.

"How much did you drink?", Derek asked while trying to contain his smile. She was leaning on him completely and if he lets go she would just plop down.

"Not too many."

"Do you want me to take you home?"

Angela shook her head, rejecting his offer. "I'm at the bachelorette's party."

"I think the party is over for you."

"I don't want to go home. Ash will scold me… he is bossy…", Angela admitted with a slur and closed her eyes.

Derek looked at the young woman in his arms helplessly. Did she just pass out? Now what?

He turned to his right when he felt someone tapping on his shoulder and he saw Mia.

"This is your chance to fix things. Take her home."

Derek frowned at the thought of meeting with Ashton while holding unconscious Angela in his arms. "She said that she does not want to go home."

Mia smiled mischievously. "I didn't say that you should take Angie to HER home. Ash thinks that she will spend the night with us in the suite. Don't be an ass and make things right. When she wakes up, talk it out, tell her how you feel."

Derek smiled a little. "Thanks, Mia."

Mia swatted his butt with the back of her palm. "Go, before I change my mind."

Derek shook his head in disbelief. Did Mia just spank him? "Don't drink too much." He lifted Angela in a princess-carry and walked toward the exit.

Two security guards approached Derek and they stopped when they saw Mia gesturing that they should let him pass.

And with that, their group of seven ladies partying got reduced to six.

"Are you sure that is OK?", Liz asked Mia. When two guys approached Angela, and George started pulling Angela to dance, Liz wanted to intervene, but Mia told her to wait. Now Liz understood that Mia gave Derek a chance to step in and he took it, but Liz didn't think that Derek will whisk Angela away.

Mia nodded. "They like each other. Derek is a decent guy; he will not take advantage of her."

Liz relaxed and nodded in understanding. 

Liz and Mia turned to the dancefloor and they saw that Grace, Olivia, Andrea, and Brianna returned to the booth, and they ordered the next round of cocktails. They joined them.

…

Several drinks later, girls were back on the dancefloor as the crowd was at its peak. People were dancing and Liz's hands were high in the air as she jumped and swayed her hips.

She liked the sensation of everything spinning when she closed her eyes.

Liz froze when she felt someone holding onto her hips from behind.

In one swift move, she turned with her hand ready to deliver a slap, but the perpetrator held onto her wrist.

Liz blinked. "Max…"

She moved one step away from Max and pinched her cheeks hard.

Max chuckled. "What are you doing?"

"I am drunk, and I want to make sure I'm not imagining. What if it's some guy that looks like you?", she explained with a straight face. "We should have some safety questions. Where did you kiss me the first time?"

Max lifted his eyebrow while glaring at Liz for her choice of question, but he answered: "In the hallway, in front of our apartments. I thought I charmed you, but you saw it as me concealing my love for Q."

Liz smiled widely and put her hands on his shoulders. "Now I know it's you."

Max wrapped his arms around Liz's waist and pulled her closer. "You are not so drunk if you are aware to check if it's me."

Liz smiled. "Even if I'm out cold, I would not allow anyone else to touch me."

Max hummed in approval while wondering if he overreacted by coming here. But he couldn't stay away. He knew that Liz will look stunning and drink excessively, and he was concerned that someone might take advantage of her. But now he sees that even though her legs are shaky, she still had a presence of mind to not allow a random guy to get close. And she said that he is the only one who can touch her. His heart swelled from love.

Max leaned closer buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with guys?", Liz asked.

He answered without lifting his head. "Party with guys sucks. I left after dinner, went home, showered, changed my clothes, and here I am. Who wants to go to a strip club and watch random half-naked women dance? I don't know what Mike was thinking when he booked that place. All of us are happily taken and I know that I speak for everyone when I say that women who work there don't come close to the real thing…", he tightened his hold on Liz, indicating that she is the real thing. He added in a small voice: "And I can't leave you here alone with Andrea. Who knows what she will do when you drink and I'm not around?"

"But party here is only for girls.", Liz reminded him.

Max lifted his head and looked at Liz with desperation in his eyes.

"Don't send me away. I will pretend to be a girl. Quickly, put some lipsticks on me before they notice it's me…", Max puckered his lips, and Liz dissolved into giggles.

"Oh, great… the boyfriend is here…", Andrea said grumpily, making Max and Liz look her way.

"Ah! I was spotted!", Max said in an exaggerated panic. "How much do I need to pay for your silence?"

Andrea smiled slyly. "I will take Liz."

Max's playful expression vanished and was replaced with a deadly glare. "In your dreams!"

"I have her in my dreams. I'm working on having her as part of my reality.", Andrea said teasingly making Max fume.

Liz rolled her eyes. She knows that Andrea loves pushing Max's buttons.

"Andrea… You are upsetting him and then I need to pacify him.", Liz said with a pout.

Max's fighting spirit diminished in an instant. He smirked. "And I love when she pacifies me."

Andrea made a face. "It seems I'm doing you a favor."

"Liz is mine and mine alone. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we all get to move on with our lives.", Max declared to Andrea while holding Liz tightly, like a toddler who does not want to share toys.

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