Make Me Moan, Daddy-Chapter 36

REINA

After my chat with Tessa earlier, she had to rush to another class, so we didn’t get to hang out for long. I figured I’d use the free time to check out my new apartment—the one Paolo had just bought for me.

True to Calestino’s words, it was just a few minutes walk away from school. The apartment was beautiful, I won’t lie. But it felt strange. Too big, too quiet, too... much. The kind of place that looked like it belonged in a magazine, not real life.

I walked around for a while, touching things carefully like they might break, and couldn’t shake off the guilt sitting in my chest. Even the car parked outside looked ridiculous. It could probably buy my entire closet twice over.

I didn’t last long there. The silence made me restless. So when Tessa called later to say her last class got canceled and told me to come over, I didn’t even think twice. I just grabbed my bag and left.

Tessa’s apartment looked exactly like her, messy, colorful, and full of noise. The place smelled faintly like her previous apartment. The one I had shared with her before my sudden break.

I could hear voices coming from the inside, and there was music thumping low from a Bluetooth speaker sitting on the counter. Laughter filled the space even before I stepped inside.

"Finally!" she said, arms wide like she’d been waiting for me all day. "You took forever, babe."

"I had to find parking," I said, closing the door behind me.

"Excuses," she teased, tossing her hair dramatically before disappearing into the kitchen. "Drink?"

Before I could answer, a voice called from the couch. "If she says no, I’ll take hers!"

I turned and saw a guy sprawled across the cushions like he owned the place. Shane. That must be him.

He was exactly what Tessa had described earlier, her "flatmate-slash-therapist-slash-friend-slash-drama-queen." His hair was bleached blond at the tips, his nails painted black, and he wore a crop top that said No Bad Vibes, ironically, since he was clearly full of them.

Tessa came back with two glasses of something pink. "Reina, meet Shane. He bites sometimes but only when provoked."

"Hi," I said, laughing a little as we shook hands.

He gasped. "Oh my God, she’s polite. Tess, where did you find this angel? Can we keep her?"

"She’s mine," Tessa said, sticking her tongue out. "We went to school together. She’s my favorite girl, and my best friend."

"I see," he said dramatically, eyeing me like I was a specimen. "So... are you a good girl or one of those secretly chaotic good girls?"

I blinked. "Uh..."

"Shane," Tessa groaned, tossing a pillow at him. "Stop scaring her."

He caught it easily. "I’m just doing a vibe check! Don’t take it personally, sweetheart."

I laughed, already feeling the tension leave my shoulders. It was strange how quickly the place felt comfortable, like I’d walked into a friend group I didn’t know I needed.

Sitting at the dining table was another guy, quiet, tidy, glasses perched low on his nose. He gave a small wave when I looked over.

"That’s Tripp," Tessa said. "Shane’s boyfriend. Don’t worry, he’s the normal one."

Tripp smiled shyly. "Hi, Reina. Nice to finally meet you. Tess talks about you a lot."

"Does she now?" I asked, glancing at Tessa, who was pretending not to hear.

"Only good things," he assured me.

"Obviously," Tessa said, raising her glass.

We clinked glasses and laughed. They were warm and chaotic and easy to be around, the kind of people who made a night feel like it could go anywhere.

We spent the next hour swapping stories, teasing Tessa about her dating life, and trying to guess which of Shane’s exes would text him next. Every few minutes, he’d grab his phone, sigh dramatically, and announce, "He’s still in love with me. Tragic."

Tripp just shook his head like he’d seen this movie before.

Eventually, Shane stood and clapped his hands. "Alright, enough bonding. We’re going out."

I froze mid-sip. "Out where?"

"Lux," he said, eyes glinting. "It’s this club downtown. Some guy from my major is throwing a birthday party. Free entry, free drinks, cute people everywhere." he said with a wink. "You’ll definitely go home with handful of them if you’re interested."

I shook my head. "No, no, I can’t..."

"Yes, you can," Tessa interrupted. "You’ve been hiding in your family drama for years, Reina. You’re coming."

"I don’t even have the energy to dance."

Shane rolled his eyes. "You’re twenty-something, not seventy-something. We’ll fix your energy at the bar. Unless you have broken ribs."

Tripp looked up from his laptop. "Wait... Lux? That’s my dad’s bar."

"Exactly!" Shane snapped his fingers. "We have a VIP pass, baby. You hear that?"

Tripp smiled faintly. "I’ll text him to make sure you don’t get us banned."

"Love you," Shane said, blowing him a kiss.

I groaned, but deep down, a part of me was curious. Maybe I did need a night out, a night where I wasn’t thinking about everything waiting for me back home, or the people I couldn’t stop thinking about.

"Fine," I said finally. "But I’m not getting drunk."

"Sure," Shane said with a grin that promised I’d regret those words later.

Lux was alive the moment we stepped inside.

The bass hit me first, deep, vibrating through the floor, right into my chest. Blue and gold lights streaked across the crowd, bodies swaying in rhythm, laughter blending into the pulse of the music. It smelled like perfume, whiskey, sweat, and something electric. I hadn’t been in a place like this in years.

Tessa grabbed my hand. "Come on! Before Shane disappears!"

"Disappears where?"

"To flirt," she said, pointing toward the bar, where Shane was already leaning over the counter, talking to the bartender with a smile too charming to be legal.

Tripp joined us, shaking his head. "He said he was going to get drinks, not someone’s number."

"Same thing," Tessa said with a smirk, bumping her shoulder against Tripp’s. "But I’m sure you love to see him flirting with other guys."

"You know how crazy Shane is getting sandwiched because two hard bodies." Tripp grinned, shaking his head. "I can never deny him anything."

We found a booth near the dance floor, and I slid in, trying to take everything in, the lights, the crazy crowd, the wildness of it all. For the first time in a while, I felt young. Not burdened, not pretending. Just... young and free.

Shane returned with shots balanced between his hands. "Drink up, sinners!"

I groaned. "You’re really going to make me?"

"Yes," he said, sliding one toward me. "This is peer pressure in its most beautiful form."

Tessa was already raising hers. "To Reina, for finally coming back to life!"

"To Reina!" Shane and Tripp echoed.

The shot burned all the way down, and I coughed, eyes watering. "Oh my God, what is that?"

"Courage," Shane said solemnly. "Liquid courage."

Before I knew it, the music had pulled us in. Shane grabbed my hand and dragged me onto the dance floor. The lights moved like waves, the crowd thick and alive around us. Tessa joined in, laughing so hard she nearly fell when Shane tried to spin her. We screamed the lyrics of songs we didn’t even know, phones flashing as people recorded, and for a moment, I forgot everything.

Forgot Paolo. Forgot guilt. Forgot the weight of every secret I carried. Forgot Domenico whose merely thinking about his name got my pussy dripping.

There was only the music and the feeling of being alive.

At some point, Tessa disappeared to find Tripp after making a bunch of live videos of us with my phone, and Shane danced his way to another group, leaving me in the middle of the floor. My skin was warm, my heart pounding, and everything shimmered with the kind of energy you only find in nights like this, reckless, free, a little dangerous.

And then... it changed.

It was subtle at first, a shift in the air, a pull at the back of my neck. Someone behind me. Not touching. Just there.

It wasn’t fear. Not exactly.

It was recognition. Excitement.

I turned slowly, already knowing before I saw him. Because my body had known first.

Domenico.

He stood a few feet away, watching me through the haze of lights. His black shirt fit like it was made for him, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, eyes darker than the room itself. He didn’t belong here, not with the flashing lights, not with the noise. And yet somehow, he made everything else fade.

The music dimmed. The world narrowed.

"Reina."

Just my name, but it was enough. My stomach twisted.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, but it came out quieter than I meant.

He didn’t answer right away. His eyes flicked over my face, my dress, the drink in my hand. "I’m getting you out of this place."

That was all I got from him. But there was something about the way his eyes searched the room—slow, restless, dangerous—that told me he wasn’t just angry. He was looking for someone. And when his gaze finally found mine again, I stopped breathing.