I started telling him about the stupid things Tori and I have done over the last few years. Pie fights, fake snakes in the bed, and how she burned boiling water. I then wondered if I was clueless.
His laughter filled the air, and everything was fucking perfect. Like a fairy tale come to life. All week long he held me close. Then later at the clubhouse, I mentioned work, and the look in his eyes changed.
“You’re not fucking going,” he snapped.
My eyes turned to slits and anger coursed through me. I felt the fiery pits of rage burn inside of me.
“The fuck I’m not!” I snarl.
“I don’t want you working there, period,” his voice was harsh with a hint of finality. Like what he said goes, period.
“I’m going to work, Topher,” my eyes did the one thing my mouth refused to do. Beg. I begged him to want me, need me, love me like I did him. I prayed that he’d let this go and trust me.
Sighing I pressed my fingers to my temples applying a little pressure. I started rubbing them, hoping to halt the migraine I could feel coming.
I waited for him to say something else, but when my eyes opened, I realized he was gone. Something in me twisted in both anger and regret. I didn’t have time to chase him down.
Turning on my heel, I walked to the door. Not that it was far, we were literally in the middle of the main room. Everyone was staring not even trying to pretend they weren’t watching. Shit, I kind of expect popcorn to be strewn around.
We would work this out. Tonight, when I got home, I would go to Topher’s room, actually our room considering I’ve been in it every night. We will talk it out before a good bout of makeup sex.
Smiling through the uncertainty, I headed to my car. The strip club was waiting for me. He acted like I was going to be a fucking stripper instead of serving the fucking tables.
The drive helped put me where I needed to be. Pulling me from the thoughts of our fight to the need to impress my boss on my first night of work.
As I turned into the parking lot, I smiled at the thought that I was working. Making the first real steps of independence. He would understand.
The night air was warm as I pulled myself from the beautiful car Zane had bought me. I thought it would be a beater car, but the sweet man bought me a brand new car.
I owed him a hug and maybe some homemade peanut butter cookies. Smiling, I opened the door, and the music blasted into the once quiet parking lot.
My eyes scanned the dim room taking in all the men. Most of them were older and dressed in suits watching the stage like hungry starving wolves.
My roaming eyes finally landed on the bar. The man standing there was talking to a female, whom I assume was the bartender, since they were wearing a leather vest.
I didn’t wait, I made a direct line to him. This must be the man I needed to talk to. I needed to fill out my paperwork and get my uniform.
Movement in the corner of my eye had me stop. I saw a woman who was wearing short black shorts, a blood-red tight, shimmery tank top, and heels so high I feared she was going to face plant at any moment. Especially since she was carrying a tray of beverages.
I felt my tongue swell slightly, and I fought to swallow. My mouth now felt like the desert in the summer. Fear started to pulse through me. Was I going to have to wear that? I let my eyes once again drift through the dim room, and sure enough, a few more women walked around wearing the exact same thing. Shit!
“You must be Brittany,” the deep voice startled me.
My head turned quickly forcing my muscle to move at a speed that I was sure was going to cause me some form of whiplash.
“Yes,” I gave him my big megawatt fake smile. Fake it till you make it.
“Come on, I have your papers ready,” he tells me with a nod of his head in the direction he wanted us to go. I didn’t budge, waiting for him to lead the way.
He turned without speaking another word. He didn’t even check me out, no lingering eyes or licking of the lips. Something inside of me that had been coiled, finally started to release.
After an eternity of paperwork and a good fifteen minutes struggling into the tight as fuck uniform, I teetered on the heels and carried a tray to another table.
This man, I dubbed Mr. Grabby aka McGrabby. He kept trying to get a handful of my ass. Sidestepping in these terrifying heels was damn near impossible, but I was winning this war regardless.
Setting his drink down, I made sure I was on the other side of the table and a good distance from his meaty hands. Just as I turned, I felt a large chunk of my ass being squeezed as McGrabby latched onto it.
I let out a little squeak of shock before turning to face the man who had yet to release my ass. Before I could even fully turn, my boss was there.
“Hands the fuck off, Greg. I warned you, no touching,” My boss grabbed Greg’s hand and squeezed Mr. McGrabby’s tightly.
“You never said hands off, Blade,” McGrabby whined as his face pinched in pain.
“I warned you and every other fucker in this room. No one touches Brittany or hands will be lost,” Blade snarls.
My lungs filled with air as I stared at McGrabby’s hand. It looked to be changing colors.
“Brittany, go to the bar and cash out. Shifts over,” Blade tells me.
Was it? My eyes darted to the clock which was behind the bar, and sure as shit, it was time to go home. Casting one more look at McGrabby, aka Greg, and Blade, I moved as fast as these tortuous shoes would take me.
Lizbeth helped me cash out and then she handed me my tips. My eyes widened. I looked from the stack of bills in her hand to her face.
“There must be a mistake maybe you should recount it,” I tell her.
She smiles. I haven’t seen her smile at any of the other waitresses, and something in me warms.
“No, honey, it’s all yours,” she tells me, holding it out.
“But there’s like six hundred dollars there,” I whispered.
“Yeah, you’re new and tonight was slow. Give it time, and you’ll be bringing in more money,” Lizbeth tells me as the bills press heavily into my hand.
“I’m sorry about the trouble with McGrabby,” I tell her.
Her eyes filled with laughter as it spills from her mouth. She looked ready to burst into tears of pain as she was laughing that hard.
“McGrabby? I’ll need to remember that,” she croaks out as she giggles a little more.
“Yeah, he was all octopus-like,” I tell her with a smile of my own.
“Don’t worry about it. My old man has him,” Lizbeth says with a gentle, soothing voice.
I looked back to the table where I left both men, and I saw that it was now empty. I scanned the room, and they were nowhere to be seen. He must have taken him out to his car.
“Come on, I’ll walk you out,” Lizbeth tells me.
“Shouldn’t someone walk out with you? That way you can get back inside safely.” I asked her in concern.
“No one’s going to touch me,” she says with a feral smile. I remember the way she called Blade her old man, and it clicked into place. She was an old lady.
Walking back into the changing room, I sighed in relief as I pulled the six-inch heels of hell off my feet. My feet were rejoicing as I placed them in my locker. I was probably going to have blisters tomorrow.
As I put on my comfortable clothes, I let the heaviness of the day wash over me. Hopefully, Topher has calmed down enough to talk to me. Hell, I hope he has moved passed this.
I need this freedom, even if it’s for a short time. Topher had to understand that, right?
Chapter 15
Brittany
Present Day.
My eyes took in what was in front of me. The scene played out, and yes it was registering, but something in me was shutting down at a rapid speed.
I had gotten home a few minutes ago. Hell, it could have been an hour now, for all I knew. My eyes had yet to leave the horror that was in front of me.
I guess
I somehow believed this was my fairy tale, but now as I stand here, I know fairy tales aren’t real. They never were.
Topher was on his stomach bare-chested, and I was pretty sure completely fucking naked under that sheet. The woman beside him was completely bare, and there was no sheet to cover her. I could see everything.
Something inside of me died a quick, painful death. It was like a tidal wave of mass destruction crashing over me and sucking the life from my body.
When he asked me what I had seen in the future, I wanted him to say me. I wanted a family with him, and a life with him. How fucking foolish, and childish, I was.
I was dead inside. No tears had fallen, there were no chest pains and no rage. Calmly, I walked into the room and quietly pulled open the dresser drawers.
My only clothes were in here. I never completely moved into the room that I was given. I started to stuff my clothes forcefully, yet silently, into the bag. I didn’t bother zipping it up.
My eyes darted to the bed and met Lola’s eyes. Her smile was victorious for a moment and the dead in me lifted. I wanted to gut her from her pussy to her throat, but it slid back into place.
I gave her a deadly smile and made sure to show what my thoughts had been. I could see a slight fear that filled her eyes. How easy it would be to grab Topher’s knife and show her what it felt like to die inside painfully.
I looked back to Topher, and he still seemed dead to the world. Something I’ve never in our short time together seen. When I slept in that bed with him, any noise had him up with his gun ready.
My eyes strayed back to Lola. A feral smile spread over my face. Keeping my voice low I told her coldly, “You will always be just a place to stick his dick, and never an old lady, nothing more than a dick Kozzie.”
Her eyes widened as the words we both knew to be true, poured from my lips. She may have Topher now, but she won’t have him forever.
“When you are no longer his desire, he will toss you aside like the whore you are,” I shrug as I said my peace and walked out the door. I didn’t bother to look back, there was nothing left for me here.
Fuck the perfect future. Fuck Prince Charming. Fuck the fairy tales, they are for kids, and I was no kid. Haven’t been for a very long time.
Chapter 16
Brittany
Present Day.
I didn’t wait for anyone to talk to me. I had nothing to say. There were no words to pretty up what I just witnessed, and there was no need for their pity.
Walking to the car, I loaded my meager belongings. I made sure to tape a note to Tori’s door. I know Zane heard me, but he let me go. It was something I owed him for.
The address to my new apartment was taped to the dashboard in my car, covering the stereo. I had no desire to listen to music.
The image of them in bed together was burned into my mind. It was there when my eyes closed, it was there when I was awake, and I knew it would be there when I went to sleep.
Getting through tonight was going to take a special kind of something. I had raided the clubs liquor stash before I left. The two boxes in the back seat would keep me good and happy for the next, well, who knows how long? Maybe a week or two.
Pulling into the driveway of a house, I look again at the address in confusion. Zane told me he got me an apartment. Sneaky man. A small smile twitched my lips before falling flat.
Grabbing my backpack from the back seat, I make my way to the front door. The keys are gripped tightly in my hand. If I hold them any tighter, I’m sure they would pierce my skin.
The porch light was on helping to light the way as I slide the key into the lock. As I turn it, I listen for the satisfying clink as the deadbolt releases.
Taking a deep breath, I turn the nob and pushed the door open. Flipping the switch, I watch as the entryway lights up.
I wanted to explore, but I first wanted the shit out of my car. After three trips, which was truly sad considering two was just for the alcohol, I finally close and lock the door behind me.
My feet echoed in the empty house as I stomp my way through it. The living room was beautiful with its brown couch, brown loveseat, and blue chair. The rug was tan with brown and blue circles.
The large flat screen tv had me wanting to laugh, typical man. The kitchen was perfect for cooking. The natural wood cabinets had a beautiful gloss over them showing all the knots and grains.
The kitchen island was a butcher block and the counters a mixture of tan and black marble. The walls were white. The dining room had a table big enough to hold six people.
Something tugged at my heart. If tonight had gone differently, if things had gone the way I dreamt, this table would be where Topher and I would share meals with our kids.
Turning I leave the room and head towards the stairs. Shock filled me. The metal spiral staircase had beautiful wooden steps. It was perfect. Something I always dreamt of having.
Making my way up the spiral stairs, I walk down the hallway. There are three empty bedrooms, one office, and what I’m guessing is my room.
It’s the only one with a bed. It was also the biggest in the house. My sister must have told him about my dreams of having a family.
My eyes burned as hot tears filled them. They slid down my cheeks as I slid down the wall. Tonight, I lost my future, but I was given half of what it should have been.
Something deep in me asked why wasn’t I good enough to be loved? Good enough for them to stay? My mom left me, my father abandoned us, and the man I thought was my everything just ripped my soul to shreds.
Chapter 17
Topher
Present Day.
My head was being split open by angry blond dwarfs. They held sledgehammers as they beat at my skull. Rolling, I collide with Brittany.
I had been fucking pissed she went to our strip club to work. So, instead of waiting for her to come home so we could talk like fucking adults, I drank the fuck out of everything I could get my hands on.
I remember Zane help get my ass to bed, I was so fucking drunk. I couldn’t even climb off the damn bar stool. Wrapping my arm around her, I tugged her close, so her back pressed against my chest.
Her little hips wiggled and rubbed against my dick, which forced a groan from me. I pressed my face into her hair and took a deep breath then froze.
My brain scrambled to put together what my body already knew. Brittany always smelled of crisp apples. The scent filling my nose was overwhelming and reeked of vanilla.
This shit couldn’t be happening. There is no fucking way Lola was in my bed. I know for a fact that I was drunk and slept in an empty bed.
She pressed her back against me again and moaned. My hands reached up and grabbed a fistful of her hair. It wasn’t sexual, and it wasn’t playful. I yanked hard.
“What the fuck are you doing in my bed?” I demand.
“We had some fun last night,” she purred.
Shoving her away from me, I pull myself from the bed. My boxers were still in place. My eyes looked around the room and took in the open dresser drawers, and something in me shriveled.
“Why the fuck are you in my bed?” I snap.
Her eyes widen, and her throat worked as she swallowed.
“You wanted me,” she tried to desperately make me believe her bullshit.
“I was too fucking drunk last night to fuck you,” I snarl.
Fuck, my head hurt. Anger and desperation were clawing inside of me.
“Again, what the fuck are you doing in my bed and who the fuck gave you permission to be here?” I demanded coldly.
“I missed you,” she tried to sound like a sex kitten. Instead of turning me on, like she hoped, I wanted to grab her by the hair and throw her from my room.
“Get the fuck out,” I shout.
Her eyes water and her movements were too fucking slow. I know Brittany must have seen her and my chest pinched. I need to make this shit right.
“I love you,” she tells me as she grips her clothes in front of her.
“You were just a fucking pussy. I don’t love you, and I never did. Now get the fuck out of this room and this clubhouse. Don’t come back,” I spit the words.
Her sobs filled the room as she collected the rest of her stuff. Opening the door, I grabbed her arm and helped her out and into the hallway. She was fucking naked, and the asshole that I was didn’t give a fuck. Every brother here has seen her or fucked her anyways.
Zane was leaning against the hallway watching with something I didn’t want to decipher in his eyes. That hollowness that started as a small hole gapped and filled me completely.
He didn’t need to say it. I already knew Brittany was gone.
Chapter 18
Brittany
Present Day.
The day dragged in a blur of alcohol and music. Tears spilled and cooled my face. I hated her, I hated him, and I hated the whole fairy tale bullshit. I convinced myself it was real.
The pain was ripping through the fog of numbness, so I took another deep drink from the cinnamon fireball bottle in my hand.
I kept seeing them in the bed. It didn’t matter if I blinked, closed my eyes, or kept them open the image was burned into my vision.
The door rattled as someone, or something hit it over and over again. Sighing, I took another drink. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to respond to that damn annoyance. They didn’t seem to want to go away.
“Open the door, Brit,” Topher’s voice was like a heated blade to my skin, sinking past the numbness, lodging deep into my soul.
“I have nothing to say to you,” I slur.
My feet pull me to the door, swaying and stumbling, but if anyone asks, I would say I did it gracefully. Also with a big hint of anger brewing somewhere inside of me.
“It’s not what it looked like. Please, baby, open the door,” Topher sounded so sad. I was pretty sure he was begging. Kind of like how I begged him to not fight me on this and to understand that I needed the job. He didn’t, and that’s how we got here.
“Go away,” the words were jumbled, and I sounded tongue-tied. Huh, tongue-tied, that sounded funny, a giggle escaped. Was that even possible? Does your tongue actually get knotted? Like little knots?
Begging Topher (Grimm Brothers MC Book 5) Page 6