Free The Game Changer by Marie Landry Page B

he gave them a slow, easy smile as he took a cursory glance at Melody’s and Olivia’s IDs before checking Angelica’s. “And you brought a friend this time.”
    “We just couldn’t stay away,” Olivia said, her tone flirty. When she took her ID from him, she ran a finger along his muscled chest and gave him a wink. The girls could hear him chuckling as they walked past him into the club, but the sound was quickly swallowed by the music inside.
    Once they paid and were inside the club proper, their first stop was the bar. Melody tried to be casual as she scanned the room for Rick, but it was so crowded she wasn’t able to see him anywhere. While Olivia ordered their drinks, Melody glanced at Angelica, who was looking around with wide eyes. She wondered if Angelica had ever been to a club before. She knew Kingston had a few popular bars and nightclubs on Princess Street, but she didn’t picture Angelica as much of a partier.
    “This place is amazing!” Angelica shouted over the music.
    "It is,” Melody agreed. “Wait ’til you see the rest of it, and the dance floor. I never would have thought that Bellevue would get something so upscale.”
    Angelica nodded her head in agreement and took the drink Olivia offered. She thanked her, but looked a bit dubious until Olivia said, “It’s a cosmopolitan. If you don’t like it, I’ll get you something else.”
    They made their way through the crowd with Olivia leading the way and the other two following close behind. Bodies were packed so tightly into the space, Melody was amazed anyone could move or breathe. They had only been there a few minutes, and already she could feel sweat forming on her back from the closely pressed sea of bodies.
    Finally, they broke through the densest part of the crowd and found a spot to stand near the dance floor.
    “I would have thought Friday would be the busier night,” Melody commented, taking a sip of her drink to cool off.
    “Me too.” Olivia cast a glance around the packed room, and her eyes lit with understanding. “That explains it.” She pointed to a sign over the bar on the opposite side of the room. “It’s ladies night, so drinks are half price. I just thought the bartender had charged me for two drinks instead of three.”
    She raised her glass to Melody and Angelica before taking a long swallow. “Drink up, girls!”
    Angelica didn’t like her cosmopolitan, so for the next round, they switched to some fruity cocktail that tasted like strawberries and went down like juice. An hour later, buzzed from drinking their cocktails like they were juice, the three girls were in the centre of the dance floor, laughing and having a great time. It had taken Angelica awhile to loosen up, but when she realized that nobody was going to make fun of her dancing skills—or lack thereof—she relaxed and let her body sway to the rhythm.
    At one point, Melody spotted Julian making his way through the crowd. He was dressed more casually than the night before, in dark jeans and a white dress shirt that was untucked and open at the collar. Melody had a moment to think how incredibly sexy he looked before he disappeared from view, and Olivia was grabbing her hand to spin her around to the music.
    Because the dance floor was sunken, it was hard to see the people on the main level unless they were standing around the long counter or walking past one of the openings to the dance floor. Melody had a good view of part of the couch that ran along the outside of the club, and that’s where she finally spotted Rick.
    He came from the direction of the bar, followed by a short blond woman in a hot pink dress that barely covered her behind. There wasn’t much room left on the couch, so the woman shoved Rick down and perched on his lap. Melody cringed as she watched the two of them laughing, Rick’s arm around the woman’s waist, and her arm slung over his shoulder.
    “Why the sour puss?” Olivia asked, nudging Melody’s shoulder. When