Page 50 of Dark Therapy
I clinked my glass to hers, feeling the burn as the shot slid down my throat. The warmth spread through me, loosening something tense in my chest. We ordered another, laughing as we tossed it back, and then a third, our nerves melting into something reckless.
Before long, Emily pulled me onto the dance floor, the beat of the music vibrating through my bones. I let myself go, closing my eyes and moving to the rhythm, swaying in time with the crowd around us. For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn’t looking over my shoulder. I wasn’t thinking about Damien, or the control he seemed to hold over my life. Here, I was just Amelia, blending into the chaos, free to get lost in the music.
We danced, laughing and cheering when a favorite song came on, our movements getting bolder, looser with every passing minute. The music pulsed around us, a hypnotic thrum that felt like it was rewriting my heartbeat.
Eventually, Emily tugged me back toward the bar, her cheeks flushed, eyes bright with a mischievous glow. “One more round?” she asked, though it was more of a declaration than a question.
I laughed, nodding. “Absolutely.”
We ordered another set of drinks, then another, toasting to every silly thing we could think of: to bad decisions, to reckless nights, to losing ourselves and finding new versions. With each sip, the world felt a little lighter, the dark edges blurring into something thrilling, almostmagical.
We returned to the dance floor, our movements growing wilder as we let the night pull us deeper into its grasp. For once, the weight of everything seemed far away, tucked out of sight.
The beat of the music echoed through the air as I swayed, letting the rhythm guide me, when I suddenly felt theunmistakable pressure of a body pressing against mine. For a moment, I froze, caught off guard, not sure if it was just a stranger lost in the crowd. But then I felt the warmth, the presence, and the familiar weight of someone whoknewme.
I turned around, my breath catching in my throat as my eyes met his.Jake.
It had been over a month since I’d last seen him. That night—ourdate—lingered in the back of my mind, the only moment when I had truly felt a flicker of something that wasn’t darkness, something real and warm. But after that night? Nothing. No messages. No calls. I’d tried to brush it off, telling myself it was nothing, that he was just busy, or that he had lost interest.
He smiled, that familiar, charming grin that had always put me at ease. His eyes locked onto mine with a mixture of surprise and something more, something unreadable.
“Amelia,” he said, his voice warm but with an underlying tension I couldn’t place. “You look…incredible.”
My heart skipped a beat, but I quickly masked the wave of emotions crashing over me. I hadn’t expected to see him here, certainly not like this. I had tried to move past him, to bury any thoughts of what could have been. But now, seeing him again, that flicker of something—longing, confusion—surfaced.
“Jake,” I said, my voice steady, though I could feel the rush of heat flooding my cheeks. “I didn’t think I’d see you here.”
His smile faltered for just a second, but then it returned, a little too quickly. “I figured I’d come by. I wanted to see you again.”
The words sounded simple enough, but there was something hidden beneath them. My mind raced, but I couldn’t decipher his intentions. He hadn’t tried to reach out after that night—why now?
Before I could ask, he took a step closer, the music pulsing between us, the space closing in. He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice just enough so only I could hear. “I’ve missed you, Amelia,” he murmured, his breath hot against my ear.
The words stirred something inside me. A mix of confusion, desire, and unease. I hadn’t expected this, not in the middle of the chaos and noise, not aftereverythingthat had happened. And yet, there was something magnetic about him, something that pulled at me, even as I knew I should resist.
“Jake,” I started, my voice a little too shaky, “why didn’t you—?”
He cut me off before I could finish, a hand lightly brushing my arm. “Shh, don’t think about it,” he whispered. “Just dance with me, Amelia. Just for tonight.”
I couldn’t help it. Something in his voice, that edge of urgency anddesire, was impossible to ignore. Against my better judgment, I let him take my hand, pulling me closer to him as the music vibrated through my body.
We moved together, the pulse of the bass matching the rhythm of my heart. The lights flickered above us, casting wild shadows that danced in time with our bodies. For a moment, I forgot everything. The chaos, the dark thoughts, Damien’s haunting presence—it all blurred as I allowed myself to be swept away in the rhythm of the night.
Jake’s hands were steady on my hips, guiding me, his touch firm and possessive, but not harsh. He moved with a confidence that seemed to pull something out of me, something I had buried. The liquor in my veins made everything hazy, the alcohol loosening the tight grip I had on my emotions.
I didn’t want to think anymore. I didn’t want to feel the weight of everything pressing on me. The tension I had carried for so long started to slip away, replaced by a heady warmth that pooled in my chest. My body moved with his, our steps flowing, the rhythm undeniable.
I could feel his breath on the back of my neck, the heat of his body pressing closer as he drew me in. The scent of his cologne, familiar and intoxicating, mixed with the smoke and alcohol in the air. His touch sent a spark through me, igniting something I thought I had extinguished. The thought of Damien, of my tangled emotions and twisted past, flickered briefly, but it was drowned out by the pulse of the music and the way Jake’s body felt against mine.
I wasn’t thinking about anything. I didn’t want to. I wanted to lose myself in this moment, to give in to the heat between us.His hands slid to my waist, pulling me even closer, our bodies pressed tight as the music swelled around us.
“You feel good,” he murmured into my ear, his lips brushing my skin. The sound of his voice, low and husky, sent a shiver down my spine. I couldn’t deny the way his words made me feel, the pull in my stomach that only intensified as he kept moving with me.
I let out a soft laugh, the sound breathless and almost foreign to my own ears. “I don’t even know what I’m doing right now,” I admitted, my words slurring slightly, the liquor making everything blur in the best possible way.
Jake grinned, a slow, confident smile. “You’re doing just fine,” he said, his voice a little too smooth, too knowing. “Just let go, Amelia. Let go of everything.”
For a moment, I almost did. The world, the mess of it all, faded into the background. All that existed was the heat of his body against mine, the rhythm of our movements, and the way his hands seemed to burn through the thin fabric of my dress. His lips brushed against my neck, sending waves of shivers through me.