"Heeeeeyyy!" She waved like she hadn't seen them all night. Decebel grabbed her hand.
"Jennifer, it's time to go. Now." Decebel waited for her to start climbing off the bar. When she just stared at him, he let out a low growl.
"Jennifer, don't push me right now. Let's go."
"I'm not ready to go," she said simply as she twisted her wrist out of his grasp. "Besides, Cos here has another drink for me don't ya, îndrăgostit băiat (lover boy)?" Jen giggled as Costin's eyes got big. He stepped away from the bar when Decebel's glowing eyes fell on him.
Costin held his hands up. "Beta, I've been giving her Sprite for a while now," he tried to reason.
Decebel growled but turned back to Sally and Jacque. "When in the bloody hell did she learn Romanian?"
Sally and Jacque shrugged.
"She was doing that whole Romanian thing when we first got here. Your guess is as good as ours," Sally told him.
"She is standing," Jen started as she hopped off the bar, stumbling into a werewolf who had the unfortunate fate of standing too close to the drunk girl, "right here." She stumbled again. "I mean, here. She, I, am standing right here."
Decebel pulled her away from the wolf she had stumbled into. "Yeah, we can all see how well you are standing right there."
Jen's head snapped up at his words.
"Ouch," Jacque muttered.
"Hmm, not a good choice," Sally whispered.
Fane growled at his mate and her friend. "Would you two quit pushing him?" He spoke just as softly as they had.
Jen pushing away from Decebel brought the attention back to them.
"What is that supposed to mean, you, you, mean -" Jen growled low as she struggled to think through the fog of alcohol. "Stupid wolf," she finished.
Decebel took a step closer to her. "Stupid wolf? Really, babe, that all you got?"
Jen glared at him, the frustration of the past two months building up in her alcohol-induced thoughts.
"Oh dear, we are in trouble," Jacque murmured under her breath.
"Ooo, nice Harry Potter reference. I like," Sally whispered back with a grin and a fist bump.
Jen looked away from Decebel. Her eyes scanned the area around her until they fell on what they searched for. She smiled sweetly as she gingerly stepped around Decebel, who watched her with wary eyes. Jen reached across the bar and snagged the soda gun next to Costin, who was trying really hard to look invisible.
"Jennifer," Decebel warned.
"Oh, Decy, what are you worried about? Could it be that you're scared that a little ol' dormant me could kick your bossy, grumpy, growly, fine ass?" She pointed the nozzle at him.
"This is not gonna end well." Sally cringed.
Jacque nodded her head in mute agreement.
"Jennifer," Decebel growled her name as he tried to grab the soda gun from her hand. "Don't embarrass yourself. Let's just call it a night."
Jen was trying to figure out where the trigger was, but slowly, dangerously looked up at his words. "Embarrass myself? Are you kidding me?" She threw the soda gun on the bar and turned to her two best friends. "I'm out. You two coming?"
Without waiting, Jen headed for the exit. Despite the alcohol in her system she was fuming, and truth be told, the alcohol was probably not helping contain her temper.
She could feel Decebel's eyes on her as she walked away from him and knew the confrontation wasn't over. No, he definitely had more to say to her, but he wasn't the only one that had words to turn loose. She smiled to herself. If Decebel wants to dance, she thought, then I'll dance. We'll just see if he knows the steps and can keep up.
Once out in the parking lot Jen turned back towards the door, arms folded across her chest, ready for battle.
Decebel came storming out of the bar with Sorin, Jacque, Sally, and Fane trailing behind him. He walked right up to her, their bodies only a breath apart.
"What the hell were you thinking? Dancing on a bar, drinking with a bunch of men?" As if he suddenly remembered his part in it, Decebel turned on Sorin, who took an automatic step back. "And what were you thinking bringing them here?"
"They wanted a night out. Nothing happened, Decebel. Everyone knows who they are and to whom they belong," Sorin tried to pacify the fuming wolf.
"Would you get a freaking grip, man?" Jen ground out. "It's not like I was stripping or letting any of those fur balls touch me, so I don't know what your problem is."
"My problem? " Decebel glared daggers at Jen. "My problem is you are seventeen."
"Eighteen," Jen, Sally, and Jacque all said at the same time.
Decebel looked at the other two girls, who both suddenly became very interested in the gravel on the ground.
"Whatever," Decebel continued. "You're too damn young to be in a bar drinking, throwing yourself around like -"
Jen slammed her hand into his chest, cutting his words off. "You had better think really hard about what's about to come out of your mouth, flea bag, because you can't un-say it and I won't forget it," she warned him.
Decebel's lips pressed together, his eyes narrowing. "Let's just go. We can finish this conversation later." Decebel proceeded to take Jen's arm to lead her towards the vehicle he and Fane had arrived in. She jerked her arm away and followed Sally and Jacque to Sorin's Hummer.
She turned towards Decebel, continuing to walk backwards. "You have to earn the privilege of my company. And just a tip – yelling at a girl and then grabbing her arm isn't exactly the way to get her in your ride. That bit of advice is free, any more is going to cost you dearly." With that she turned back and continued on to the vehicle, climbing in without another backward glance.
When Decebel took a step in her direction, Fane grabbed his arm to stop him. "Just let it go, Dec. You both need to calm down. You can talk to her once you get to the house."
Decebel didn't comment but continued to glare at the car Jen had just climbed into, which was now driving away.
"The NERVE!" Jen yelled in frustration as she climbed out of the Hummer with Sally and Jacque right behind her. "He completely ruined my buzz."
Sally rolled her eyes. "Well, by all means, skin the pelt off the wolf for daring to mess with your buzz."