“Lastly and most importantly, I am Proud to be called a member of this graduating class. Without your support, I would not be the person I am today. Congratulations for reaching this milestone and may you continue to flourish in your future endeavors.” Devon moves to the side of the podium and gestures to the principal. “Please, let me welcome back, Principal Lovell.”
Jumping to their feet, the students chant Devon’s name as he makes his way back to his seat. My cheeks hurt from the smile I beam his way. I’m glad he didn’t tell me his speech before, because the impact of hearing it like that has my blood racing to go out and make a difference now.
As things quiet down, I shift my focus from Devon to the crowd. Only about half of them are standing, and of those, very few are overly enthusiastic. The dynamics between the groups deflates my enthusiasm. The adults will continue to oppress the generations that want to help.
The principal’s previous joy for being here is muted as he introduces the vice principal to call names out for each student to receive our diplomas. The process feels rushed as the names are called faster than the principal can grab the next folder. Little fanfare happens as we file out and back to our tables to turn in our caps and gowns.
Since I’m near the front of the alphabet, I finish up and look for the others. They huddle together near the last table, Kace still in his gown.
I throw my arms around Devon. “That was incredible. It meant so much more to me hearing it live. I didn’t know you had that in you,” I joke since Devon is normally the lighthearted one in our group.
“The principal, and many of the parents, weren’t happy with the speech if their facial expressions meant anything, but I wouldn’t change it.” He hugs me back. “I’m glad you liked it.”
“Mr. Halax, please follow me,” Principal Lovell calls to Devon.
Ryker’s eyes shoot daggers at the principal. “You don’t have to listen to him anymore.”
“It’s all right. If I don’t see you guys again before you leave, I’ll catch you up on everything later.” Devon pokes each one of us in the forehead. “We’re still going out tonight.”
“Yes, we are! Woop! I’m so excited. Here, let me hold your diploma so they can’t try to take it from you.” I hold my hand out, waiting for him to give it to me.
“They can’t do that, can they?” A knitted brow adorns Kace as he, too, stares over at the principal.
“No worries. They aren’t going to do anything, but if it makes you feel better, here you go.” Devon places his folder in my hands and follows the principal toward the main hallway.
Each of us watch after Devon as he closes the gym door behind him.
“Should we wait?” I ask, fearful he may need someone to talk to after his meeting.
“Yes.” Kace and Ryker say in unison.
“I agree. Kace, we’ll wait here while you return your stuff.” I slide my finger into the gap between the hook-and-loop fasteners and pull. Ripping sounds as I open the front of his gown.
Kace leans over and whispers, “Trying to finish what you started last night?”
Heat decorates my cheeks as I remember my tease with lifting up my shirt.
Kace lets me off the hook with a laugh as he heads over to his table to return his items.
“We’ve been waiting for you, young lady,” my mother announces from across the room.
The heat in my cheeks rise as the excitement switches to embarrassment.
“We’ll wait for him. You go ahead.” Ryker checks over my shoulder to where my mom stands. “Don’t get in trouble because she may not let you go tonight.”
“I don’t want to leave him, but you’re right, she might not let me go if I make her mad enough. I’ll see you tonight.” Reaching for his hand, I squeeze slightly so my mom doesn’t see what I’m doing. “Bye.”
I wave and walk to my mom.
Once we’re together, she glares before turning on her heal and heading to the parking lot. It’s not until we’re in the car that she unleashes her anger on me. “What do you think you’re doing hanging out with those boys? Don’t you think they embarrassed all of us enough without you flaunting yourself in front of them?”
I’m lost as to where this is coming from. “Umm. We were just waiting for Devon.” Keep it simple. She might explain her ire with me.
“That boy is not allowed at our house anymore. How dare he put down generations of people that have struggled to make a difference, like your class is the only one that can accomplish anything?” She spits out every word.
“Mom, it was meant to be inspirational like all speeches whether they’re coming from a student at graduation or the head of a company.” I can’t figure out why she’s taking this so personally.
My dad shrugs. “Well, I think it was a brilliant speech.”
“Dale! How could you? Of all the people in that room, you should be the most offended.” Her body shakes as she turns her irritation on my dad.
“Just the opposite. I need people working beside me that are willing to make a stand and want change. Believe it or not, there are still people that don’t see anything wrong with the way the world is. This is after you show them pictures of bright-blue skies and stretches of deep-green pastures. People see what they want to see when it’s convenient for them. The world needs scientists ready to pause and look at the world or a situation from a different angle.” My dad winks at me from the rearview mirror.
I rub the spot on my chest where the fermata drop rests.
“That’s ridiculous. I can’t talk to either of you. Let’s just get home, so we can finish setting up for tomorrow.” My mom crosses her arms and stares straight ahead, ignoring my dad and me the rest of the drive home.
Road Trip
After I finish vacuuming again, I seek out my dad because Mom refuses to talk to him or me. He sits in his office, bent over his desk reading the screen.
“Dad… You said I could use the car tonight to go out with the guys to celebrate graduating. Am I still allowed to do that?” Even though Dad supported me earlier, I don’t know if he’ll continue to defy my mom’s wishes since she has been hateful to us all afternoon.
“Of course! I said you could, and you deserve to have fun.” He pulls the keys out of his desk drawer and tosses them to me.
Instead of leaving, I circle the desk and hug him from behind. “Thanks, Dad!”
“Have fun, be careful, don’t stay out too late. Tomorrow is another big day.” He pats my hand.
“I promise I won’t be too late.” Squeezing one last time, I release him and jog upstairs to get ready.
Knowing what I want to wear, I slide open my closet and pull out my dark-blue, backless halter-top. Silver threads run through it, matching the flowy, shiny silver mini-skirt. The shirt ties at the top and at the bottom, leaving the sides and back open. With all the dancers and heat at the club, wearing something light and airy will help me stay cool. The outfit also makes my legs look longer.
Based on the banging noises coming from the laundry room, it’s safe for me to sneak out while my mother’s distracted. Before I leave my room, I glide lip gloss on and then slip the tube, some money, and my identification into the small pocket on the side of my skirt, zipping it up for safe keeping. My data bracelet goes onto my wrist, and I put on the necklace my dad gave me. Ready, I tiptoe down the stairs and into the garage.
Even though the boys wait for me next door, I drive over to avoid any possible interactions with my mom. Once I’m in their driveway, I wait a minute to see if they’ll come out on their own. After a minute of no movement, I get out, walk up to the front door, and knock.
Kace pulls the door open. His mouth drops while his eye roam over my outfit. “You look amazing.”
Heat touches my cheeks as I check out his outfit of dark-grey cargo pants and a skin tight, black t-shirt. “Thanks! I can’t decide if I like this outfit or the one from earlier better.”
This one, definitely this one. I just can’t bring mysel
f to tell him that.
“Ryker and Devon will be down in a second. They’re finalizing plans for tomorrow.”
“For my party?” My mother better not have tasked them with anything behind my back.
“No, for afterward. You don’t have plans, right?”
“I don’t think so. I’ll probably have to help clean up. What did you have in mind?” Forcing down my excitement, I bite my lip to hold back my grin.
Relief fills his eyes. “Good. It’s a surprise. I think you’ll like it.”
Just as I’m about to press further, the others bound down the stairs but stop short once they see me.
“Wow! Hot!” Devon spins his finger at me to get me to twirl. The heat in my cheeks, which had finally dissipated, comes flooding back.
“I claim first dance.” Ryker doesn’t bother waiting for me to turn as he grabs my hand and spins me in a circle.
“Even with this place full of girls, we’re going to have a hard time keeping people away from you.” Kace runs his fingers down my arms, sending chills through me.
“Stop! Now, I’m all nervous.” I toss the keys to Kace. “You drive. I’ll kill us if I’m not careful.”
“You can’t kill us until we see you on the dance floor.” Devon skips out of the way as I go to poke him in the arm.
I cross my arms and glare at them for teasing me before I stomp back to the car. “I’m not talking to any of you the rest of the night.”
Ryker rushes ahead to open the front passenger door for me as the others move around to get in the car. As I walk past him to take my seat, he kisses my cheek. “You don’t need to talk if you can dance.”
Sliding into the car, I click on my seatbelt and face forward to avoid looking at any of them. I don’t want them to see how embarrassed I am. A small part of me wants to look good for them, and their teasing makes me feel foolish now. Since I don’t know where this place is, I thought it would be better for one of them to drive, but now I’ve lost my chance to back out of this. I’ll have to get my keys back after we get there, just in case I need to leave. They can’t hold me hostage that way.
For the first ten minutes, the boys don’t talk. They snicker a few times at my pouting, but immediately stop when my arms tighten around myself.
Ryker breaks the silence. “I hope that Jake isn't the bouncer. He was an ass last time.”
“Seeing Jenna would be ten times worse than running into Jake.” Kace glances at Ryker in the rearview mirror. “I don't know how you dated her for as long as you did.”
“Jenna Lowry?” I ask them.
“Yes. We used to come here at least every other weekend. I don't know if she still does, though,” Ryker explains.
Surprised, I turn to look at him. “You've been to this place a lot? I thought you only just found it.”
Devon shakes his head. “No, we went there several times a month for a while.”
My stomach hurts when I realize they did all of this without me. Where was I? Why didn’t they invite me? We've spent so much time together; I don't remember many instances where I wasn't with one or more of them.
“Wow. And you never brought me.” Hurt makes me hug my elbows tighter, and my nose stings. I fight back the tears at the realization we aren’t as close as I thought we were. “Why now?”
“Well...” Devon scrubs his hands through his hair as he looks between Kace and Ryker.
“We didn't think you would like it,” Ryker steps in to save Devon.
“So, you think lying to me now is going to make this situation better? You know how much I love music, including dancing.” Other than my dad, these three are the only ones that know that about me. Going to a dance club would have been the highlight of my week. “What's the real reason?”
Silence fills the car as the boys do anything but look at me.
The dull pain in my stomach turns to knots as I wait for someone to talk to me. When they stay quiet, I whisper, “Maybe we should head home. I'm not comfortable with this.”
“This will be fun. You’ll have fun.” Devon puts his hand on my shoulder, but I shake it off.
“I'm not having fun, now. I feel like I want to throw up. I don't know you guys at all.” Tears well up as I think back to weekends past. The boys talked about work, studying, or just hanging out at their house. They never mentioned clubbing.
“Don't be like that. No one knows any of us better than you,” Kace pleads with me.
“I'll drop you guys off.” I stare out the window, my hair hiding my face to avoid them seeing the tears ready to fall. The hurt burns, but I have no right to it. It's not like I'm dating, or have ever dated, one of them. They don’t owe me an explanation.
“Is there somewhere else you want to go?” Ryker asks, leaning forward to grab my attention.
“Not really. You guys go have fun.” I try to lighten my voice in encouragement.
“We want to be where you are. We're sorry you’re upset about this. Tell us what you want, so we can make it happen.” Ryker tucks my hair behind my ear. He still can't see my eyes, but he has a better view of my expression.
Trying to appear engaged, I swivel to face Ryker and Devon. Both droop in their seats as they wait for me to talk to them. I can’t quite force myself to smile, though. “I'm sorry I'm being like this. It's none of my business what you do, but it hurts that you never mentioned this place before. It sounds like something you love to do, and I thought we did nearly everything together. To know that a huge part of your life didn't include me feels strange. I also don't get why you want to take me now.”
Devon scrubs his hand through his spiky blond hair. “This place is...different. We weren't sure you’d like it or be comfortable going there. They serve alcohol, and some people do drugs.”
“What?” I can’t keep the surprise from my voice. The government banned alcohol and drugs years ago. The leaders of the country deemed them to be a detriment to a productive society.
“We can go somewhere else if you aren't comfortable.” Ryker taps Kace on the shoulder. “Why don't we head to the movies instead?”
“No, I want to see this club. I don't care what people do.” Now, I have to wonder if I come across as boring, and it adds an unexpected level of anxiety to my already fragile mood.
I follow most rules, only because I haven't figured out a good reason not to. Meth and heroine addictions were so bad one hundred years ago that door-to-door searches were conducted with dogs to see if people had drugs or drug making facilities on their properties. Many people lost their homes as the government tore down anything linked to the epidemic.
Ryker’s index finger guides my face around so his light brown eyes are staring into mine. “I’m sure you can take care of yourself, but will you promise to stay near one of us?”
His finger lingers on my chin for a few moments while I lose myself in his gaze. Before they made a big deal out of the club, I wasn’t nervous about being there. But now, butterflies flutter in my stomach as the excitement joins with my nerves. His desire for an answer holds my tongue.
“Bailey, are you going to stare at me all night or answer?” Ryker’s hand slides up until he cups my cheek, and my pulse picks up speed.
“I promise,” I whisper, unsure of what’s happening to me.
“Good.” Ryker’s thumb brushes across my lips before he leans back.
Needing to catch my breath, I turn in my seat and watch the scenery pass by. We’re about thirty minutes outside of town. I’ve never been down this way, which leaves me lost. Even if I want to leave later, I’ll need one of them to direct me back home.
The road switches from a paved road to a dirt one, and we drive for another fifteen minutes, passing by rundown homes covered in weeds and ivy before Kace pulls off on another dirt road, which dead ends at an old barn.
No lights or signs decorate the exterior. And, as Kace drives around the building, I see that all the sides of the barn have the same peeling, red paint covering them. When we get to the back, I’
m shocked to see row upon row of cars parked in a gravel lot. From the front, the dozens of cars are invisible.
As soon as we park, Devon jumps from the car and hurries around to help me out. He must sense my nervousness, because he holds my hand as we all walk to the closed, old barn door. No one waits outside. Kace steps up and knocks three times before stepping back.
Two clicks later, the door opens, and a stocky man in his late twenties or early thirties walks out. Due to his stance—arms crossed and legs planted wide and ready to move if needed—I expect lots of questions.
I do not expect the man to relax and shake Kace’s hand. “Kace! Where have you been? It’s been months since I’ve seen you.”
“Marv, we’ve been busy. I’d like to introduce you to our friend, Bailey.” Kace turns to me. “Bailey, this is Marv. He manages the club.”
Marv reaches for my hand, which engulfs mine. His grip is gentle, but from the flexing muscles in his arm, he can crush me easily. “It’s nice to meet you, Bailey. Where have they been hiding you? I meet everyone that enters here, and I know you haven’t been around before.”
“The guys think I’m too naïve to go to someplace like this.” I shift my eyes between the three of them. “They were protecting me.”
“Well, you’re welcome anytime. You don’t need their permission. Would you like a quick tour? This is our last time at this location.” He ushers us inside as he explains, “We switch locations about once a month. It’s a lot of work, but the government wouldn’t allow us to keep going. We try to find out-of-the-way places that can handle a large crowd. We also need the buildings to be sturdy enough not to fall on top of us with all the noise and movement inside.”
Squeezing Devon’s hand, I slip behind him to hide myself from what we’re about to see. With all my bravado to Marv, I’m still not sure how to take this place.
After walking through the door, we duck through a series of thick screens. “These help keep the noise and lights inside. The dampeners were designed by Kace.” Marv claps Kace on the shoulder.
Falling For Them Volume 2: Reverse Harem Collection Page 56