The Royal Contract

She sat beside Alex outside of the club as he parked the car. Sebastian and Jacky were already inside, waiting for them. She wondered if Alex was ok, truly ok, with them attending Troy's party. 

"Are you sure you want to do this? I know that you still feel a little off with my friendship with Troy." She did not want to push him if he was not comfortable about this.

But earlier, he insisted that he would like them to go, so she did not want to argue. Besides, Troy was only a friend. She could not keep avoiding men who were close to her just because he felt jealous of them. He just had to learn to trust her.

She guessed she also had to trust him when he was out with other women, whether a friend or a client. That was the only way if they would survive this relationship. In their case, with their profession and social standing, it was an unavoidable situation.

"I know that I acted poorly around Troy before, but I assure you that it was only a mild lack of judgment on my part when I allowed my jealousy to take over me." He could feel the apprehension in Dani's movement as if she doubted his motives for coming with her.

But he could not blame her when he should have trusted her in the first place and talked about the issue instead of reacting like a raging bull, as she pointed out.

"But I don't want you to feel obligated to be here because of me." She told him what she feared, not wanting to keep secrets from him.

"Don't worry, I trust you. I know now that there would be times that I will need you to trust me just the same. Not that I am using this as a jail-free card. But what I am..." He tried to explain, but her smile stopped him from going any further.

"Can we enjoy this evening together? If at any point that one of us wants to go home, then we leave." She finished for him, sealing the deal with a kiss as she entwined her arms around his neck.

"Hey, you're both finally here. I thought that you change your minds." Jacky greeted them as soon as they walked into the club and saw them. "This is my date." Jacky pointed to the man at her side as they sat at a booth provided by Troy for them.

"Hi, I am Sebastian." Jacky's date introduced himself, while the rest also did the same. 

"What are you having?" Alex offered to get them some drinks since guests were starting to crowd the place. The servers seemed to be out of sight.

"I'll go with you." Sebastian stood and went with Alex to the bar, leaving the two girls on their own. 

"What do you think about my date?" She immediately whispered to Dani's ears as she sat beside her.

She always trusted Dani's judgment, and right now, she needed to know what she thought of the man she was currently dating. Based on her point of view, he seemed to be a great catch. It did not hurt to hear someone else's opinion.

"He looks good and seems nice." She told her friend, who waited anxiously for her verdict. "I think you look great together." She said confidently, looking at Jacky and the man at the bar.

"Yeah, I think so too, but why does my body seem to think otherwise," Jacky said disappointedly. "I don't feel any spark when I am with him." She pointed out to her friend what seemed to be her problem.

"I think you should give it time. You have just recently broken up with Marcus and are a bit hung up with Lance. So, it might take time before you fully recover from your heartache." She told her friend.

She remembered the time after breaking up with Nick. She also felt as numb as her friend. She almost thought that she would never feel love again, not that she was presently in love. 

But she believed that she was not far away from falling in love with Alex with the way he made her feel. She looked at him, and he smiled at her as if he knew that she was thinking about him.

"You're probably right," Jacky said, but a minute later, the boys were back, handing their drinks. Then, they sat on their sides respectively.

Alex and Sebastian started talking about Sebastian's specialty and found something interesting to discuss, while Dani and Jacky just talked about random things. Occasionally, joining in with the guys' conversations.

After almost half an hour later, Troy finally showed up with the same set of friends they saw him before. When he noticed them, he left his friends from the table across from them and walked towards them.

"I'm glad that you were able to come." Troy greeted all of them, giving friendly kisses to the girls and handshakes to the men.

"We just want to greet you with a happy birthday and wish you good health." Dani voiced out for the group.

"Thanks. I appreciate your well-wishes." Troy said with a wide smile, but his eyes lingered longer at Dani's face before he excused himself with the promise of returning soon.

"Do you guys want to dance?" Jacky said, swallowing the remaining of her drinks. She stood up and pulled Sebastian with her.

"What about you? Care to dance with me." Dani asked the man sitting quietly beside her.

He seemed calm when Troy came by to talk to them. She did not see any sign of aggression in him, which she appreciated. Maybe it was a good idea that they came, Dani finally realized. She had seen again another side of him.

"I thought you would never ask." He rewarded her with a boyish grin, let her pulled him up, and dragged him to the dance floor.

As soon as they hit the floor, he enveloped her in his embrace and wished he never had to let her go. The music was a slow beat, so they slowly swayed in time with the rhythm. 

He finally accepted in his rationalization that he did not mind at all if men wanted Dani. What could he do if his girl was one attractive, sexy as hell, and quite an intelligent woman, that men wanted her?

All he could do now was trust her that she knew how to fend their advances off her. But if not, he would be there to protect her from anyone who would try to do her harm.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" She finally asked as she tilted her head a bit to look into his eyes.

"As long as I am with you, I don't think I will ever be bored." He leaned down a little to plant a soft kiss on her lips. It was just a gentle touch, but it meant so much to both of them.

But oblivious to their surroundings, another pair of eyes were watching their every move. More particularly, the way Dani moved her body around him.

Those watchful eyes meant business, and she was his target. And what he wanted, he would get by hook or whatever means possible.