by Terra Kelly
I grabbed my dirty martini the bartender had just set in front of me. When I turned back, I was the only one standing at the end of the bar. There was a small table tucked away in the corner of the bar. Jenny was holding her drink with both hands and looked extremely uncomfortable. Lily was chatting it up with Malik. I noticed the look on Lily’s face and quickly headed over to them. “Is there room for one more?” I sat down beside Jenny. “Need a refill?” I pointed to Jenny’s glass.
“What? No. Thank you, though.”
Lily leaned over and tried to whisper in my ear. It was more like a loud whisper. “I’m going to head out. You need to enjoy the dance floor for a bit.”
“Um, am I missing something?” Then I looked over at Malik and caught his eyes locked onto Jenny. “Oh, reading that one loud and clear.” I took a huge sip of my drink and stood up. Lily was encouraging me to dance alone, yet I hated the idea. My eyes caught site of a man in the center of the dance floor. For a moment it felt like he was the only person in the bar. As his body swayed to the music, I felt my body being tugged closer to him. When I was only inches from the mystery man, something came over me, and I placed my hand on his side. Instead of stepping away, he turned toward me and pulled my body close.
The song stopped but the man didn’t let me go. He bent his head and brushed his lips against my ear. “One more?”
I nodded. Something about his actions caused my insides to come alive. The next song was not as fast this time, so he pulled me closer to his body and took control of every movement. I rested my head against his chest and closed my eyes. I thought his hands were moving up and down my back, and then someone pressed up against me.
I had to remind myself this was Noir; anything could happen. There were tales of couples having sex in bathrooms. The possibilities were endless.
I reached my hand back still unsure who was behind me. It was a man. Well, at least I knew that much. Somehow all three of us had managed to find the same rhythm. Our bodies moved together so beautifully. I had never experienced something so sexual. As the song started to end, the man behind me disappeared. I felt a pang of sadness by the cold draft that hit my back.
“It was lovely dancing with you.” The mystery man bent and kissed my cheek. Before I had a chance to say a word, he disappeared through the throng of people. I was left alone in the center of the dance floor while everyone continued to move around me.
I glanced toward the tables, wondering if I could figure out who had just rocked my world. It was impossible to know. Then my eyes locked onto him. He was leaning back in his chair with his hand around a glass. Before I had even noticed him, I could feel his eyes on me.
He had this look of intent.
Want.
Why was Tyler staring at me that way?
5
Zoe
“Want a refill?” Lily pointed to my glass as she stood to head into the kitchen.
“Um, yeah, sure.” I handed my glass to her as she walked by. “I know this topic has been discussed way too much.” After the scene at the nightclub with Tyler, I couldn’t get him out of my mind. It was weird; I didn’t have feelings for him. Well, I kept telling myself that, but maybe I did and I was suppressing them.
“Let me guess. This is about Tyler?” Lily giggled and set my wine down in front of me. “What this time?”
“He was at the nightclub the other night.” I decided before this conversation started the dance scene was not up for discussion. “I caught him staring at me.”
She sat down and gasped. “Shut up. Are you serious?”
“It’s not that exciting of news. Just caught me off guard is all.”
“Not exciting?” Lily leaned forward in her chair. “Did you really just say, not exciting?”
I thought about when I noticed him looking my way. It was obvious his attention was completely on me. Then I started to doubt myself. “I did. Shit, I was on a crowded dance floor. He was probably looking at someone behind me.” I stood up to turn the TV on. Ever since the news broke about Lucky’s veterinarian who went missing, for some reason I needed to find out what happened. I didn’t know the poor woman, but we did hit on each other for a brief moment. Not that our sexual tensions made a difference regarding why she was missing.
“Zoe, Zoe, you know I love you, right?” Lily placed her hand over top of mine.
“Yes.” Now I was curious where this love conversation was going.
“Well, I pay attention. My woo factor flashes red quite frequently.”
“So is this woo shit flashing red right now?”
“Honey,” she said in this funny Southern drawl. “It’s so red it needs its own traffic stop.”
Her words caught me off guard and I burst out laughing. “I adore you.” When I first joined Fight It Out, there had been only one other woman who trained at the gym. Now there were several women who trained for future fights or took self-defense classes. “I don’t know how to reach him. He only shows anger toward me when we’re in talking distance. So at this point, if he’s interested, then he has to make the first move.”
“I like this.” Lily raised her glass toward me. “Setting the rules and playing hard to get.”
Was it hard to get, though? It felt more like I was being safe. Tyler had made it clear one too many times he disliked me. Well, I thought. Yelling at someone every chance they got was not my idea of love.
I glanced over at the TV and grabbed the remote. “Fuck. They found her.”
“Who?” Lily turned toward the TV. “Do I know her?”
The anchor on the TV: The latest news on missing woman, Amanda Barker, is not what we hoped to be reporting today. Her body was found by two men who were doing utility work in the area. We don’t have a cause of death to report at this time. If there is anyone who knows anything about this case, please contact the Crime Stopper’s number on the screen.
“This is crazy. That was Lucky’s veterinarian. I had just met her recently and then only a few days later discovered she was missing.”
“Whoa, that’s creepy.”
I didn’t know why but I had to know what happened to Amanda. A part of me knew that was a very bad idea, but curiosity was going to get the best of me. “Very creepy.”
Two weeks later…
“Zoe, hey.” Lily ran toward the front desk. “Check this out,” Lily said and handed me the paper.
“You read the newspaper?” I lifted the paper up in my hand.
“Oh hush,” she said and pointed to an article on the front page.
A large picture of Amanda took up half of the page. The headline was alarming. “What the? They are ruling her death a possible homicide.” Lily leaned over and pointed at one specific paragraph. “Shit.” I bent my head and started to read the rest of the article.
The cause of death for the missing woman who was identified as Amanda Barker was revealed by coroners today. She had no signs of sexual trauma. There were many cuts and bruises, most likely from being assaulted for several hours. The most alarming discovery was her tongue had been removed.
“Wait, her tongue was removed?” The paper fell out of my grasp and onto the floor.
“I’m a little surprised they mentioned that information publicly,” Lily said and reached down to grab the paper. “Wouldn’t that be something they would withhold from the public?”
“Only if it’s maybe a serial killer,” Andy said from behind us. He worked the front desk part-time. “Guess we can breathe.”
“A woman is dead and we are supposed to have a collective sigh of relief.” I knew my face showed every thought I had in my mind. Especially the what the fuck thought. I needed to leave, get some air. “Hey, Lils.” I turned toward my friend. “Catch you tomorrow. I need to take care of a few things.”
“But you just got here. I’m sorry if I upset you.”
I grabbed her hand. “No, you didn’t. I just forgot about an appointment I had set for today.” Without another word, I blew her a kiss and disappeared
out the front door.
My mind couldn’t let go of what I had read in the paper. The poor woman had her tongue removed. What could that possibly mean? I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings and ran into something hard. When I glanced up, I immediately wished for a way to hide or run away.
“Zoe.” Tyler had his hands on my biceps. “Everything okay?”
Was he being nice? Maybe now that he didn’t have to train me, his hate had subsided. “I’m so sorry.” I stepped back and glanced at his hands still clasping my arms. “Too much on my mind.” When he finally let go, I started to walk around him. The look Tyler gave me the other night somehow decided to make an appearance in my mind and cloud my vision. “Um, I need to go.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, totally.” I waved off his words and quickly walked to the parking lot so I could hide in my car.
“Hey, Zoe.” I stopped and turned to face him without saying a word. “I didn’t know you could dance like that.” That’s all he said. He dropped that bombshell and left me standing on the sidewalk with my mouth dropped to the ground.
I had a habit of talking to myself. Hey, Zoe. I didn’t know you could dance like that. Really, maybe if you stopped hating me and started paying attention you would know. Before my inner monologue could continue, my phone’s ringtone took me back to reality. “Hello.”
“Will you be at the club tonight?”
I pulled the phone away from my ear. Unknown caller. Who the fuck was this? “Do I know you?”
“I feel like we know each other very well.”
“Right. Well, you’re creeping me out so I’m going to hang up.”
“Wait.”
The man sounded delicious, but I didn’t chat with strangers, and I most definitely didn’t set up dates. Instead of waiting, I hung up.
My phone buzzed with a new text. “Playing hard to get. I like it.”
Someone knocked on my car window, scaring the shit out of me. Between the phone call and this intrusion, I thought my heart was going to fall out of my chest. It was Lily standing beside my car. “Shit.” I felt out of breath as I rolled my window down. Then I used some breathing exercises to bring my heart rate back to normal. “Are you trying to freak me out?”
“No, but did I succeed?”
“You deserve an award.”
“Sorry, I got a creepy call from a guy asking for you.”
“Creepy guy?” I didn’t want to share about the text message. “How do you know he’s creepy?”
“Trust me, his voice sent chills up my spine.”
“What did he want?”
Lily leaned on the side of the car. “Didn’t say. Just asked for you and said thank you.”
“Well, at least he’s polite.” I laughed and turned my phone over so the screen was facing my leg. Sharing my text seemed premature. It was probably just some creeper who liked to freak women out. “Thanks for telling me.”
“You okay to drive home?”
“What? Of course. Plus, I have a new guard dog.”
Lily burst out laughing. “If that’s your guard dog, you’re fucked.”
I only smiled and blew her a kiss as I pulled away.
Who was trying to connect with me?
Was it the mystery guy I couldn’t get out of my mind from the other night?
I needed to go back to Noir.
6
Zoe
“Dirty Martini. Extra dirty,” I yelled to the bartender over the loud music. Noir was busier than normal for a Thursday night. As I waited for my drink, I leaned my back against the bar and glanced around the place. Something told me the mystery guy was here and not far away. I noticed two men sitting on a couch about ten yards from where I stood. They were making out. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I found my emotions odd but something stirred inside me the deeper they took the kiss.
Then the one guy pulled away and looked at me. Tyler.
I reached back and grabbed my drink. Then I headed in the opposite direction, trying to distance myself. There was a little room set off from the rest of the club. I knew it was usually used for sexual affairs, but it was the only place I knew to hide at the moment.
Just as I thought, there were four couples scattered throughout the room and dry humping each other. The small, unoccupied table in the corner seemed like the perfect place to hide. When I sat down, two figures came into view and sat down opposite me.
“Did I invite you to my table?” I took a large sip of my cocktail. Hopefully the booze would calm my nerves.
“The seats were empty,” Tyler said and leaned forward. “We were waiting for you.”
I knew my confusion was apparent by the look on my face. “Why are you being nice to me?” My question was directed at Tyler since I had no clue who the guy was occupying the other chair, well, except that he was an amazing dancer. “You spent the last several months screaming and yelling during every training session. Now you want… What is it exactly you want?”
The mystery guy leaned forward. “I’m Stephen. We didn’t have a chance to formally meet the other night.”
Since we were in this closed-off room, the music from the main room was not blaring. When Stephen spoke, it caused a chill to run up my spine. His voice sounded familiar. I grabbed my glass and shot the contents back in one gulp. Then I stood to leave.
Stephen took the one step needed to stop me in my tracks. Then he moved his body forward. His tall frame made me feel so small and obsolete. “Don’t leave.” He was beside my ear. “I’m sorry if I came on too strong.”
“It was you who called me earlier.” I turned my head to the side, trying to see all of his features. “That’s not coming on strong. That’s full-on creeper.”
Then Tyler’s body was pressed up against my back. “What are you both up to?” I said feeling a bit uncomfortable.
“He’s far from creeper,” Tyler said beside my other ear.
“And you probably gave him my number?”
“He begged.”
Stephen brushed a strand of hair away from face. “I did. He doesn’t give up secrets very easily so I had to work for it.”
Something about Stephen’s words caused a shift in my emotions. Having both men plastered to my body and whispering in my ear made me want more. “Why me?”
Tyler slid his hands over my abdomen and inched closer to the waistband of my pants. “You know why.”
Did I, though? I knew I had a thing for men and women. What I didn’t know was, I had a thing for Tyler. Yet, somehow he figured me out before I had a chance to discover it for myself. I let out a heavy sigh. Now I was just telling myself lies. One look at Tyler would prove I was lying to myself.
My head fell back against his shoulder. “Why did you treat me so horrible?”
“I thought my feelings would fade.”
He moved his hand to the junction between my thighs. “Because you wanted Stephen more?”
“Because I wanted you and Stephen equally.”
I glanced at the man on our minds. “You’re okay with this?”
Stephen slid his hands down my arms. “Honey, I practically begged him to introduce you to me.”
His words caused me to lightly laugh. I didn’t know how to absorb what was happening at the moment. In my wildest dreams they never included two men devouring me. Did I want this? My body was screaming for a release as Tyler moved his finger back and forth over my most sensitive spot. Thank fuck I had pants on or I would be crying out my release over and over. My damn body was a traitor.
“I—” It took everything in me to step out of the man sandwich I was so perfectly placed in between. “Let me absorb what’s happening. This”—I waved my hand in between the three of us—“was not something I ever thought about.” Before they could protest, I held my hand up. “It’s not a no. Just give me a chance to take it all in for a few days.” Tyler was playing dirty. He continued to move his finger as if he needed to find his own release. I reached down and
grabbed his hand. “Patience.”
“Zoe,” he breathed.
“Dance with us,” Stephen said with the biggest grin on his face.
I separated from the intense moment and reached for their hands. “Maybe another time, but not tonight.” Stephen tried to look happy, but I could tell he was disappointed. “And don’t call me like you did today. I will call you both myself.”
“Promise.” Tyler tugged me close to his body. “Because I finally had the courage to tell you what I want. I don’t want to wait another minute.”
I leaned up on my tippy toes and lightly kissed him. “Next time, don’t make the person you like believe you hate them.” Before he could protest, I kissed him once more and then turned to disappear.
My car was on the other side of the parking lot. I practically ran, trying to avoid another second near them. When I reached my vehicle, I fell into the driver’s seat and locked the doors immediately. I could still feel Tyler’s hand over my core. Without thinking, I slid my hand under the waistband of my pants and decided to finish what he so generously started. It was dark out and no one was around. I moved my fingers quickly, desperate for the release. As the orgasm shot through me, my head fell back.
How did my life get here?
I never in a thousand years expected to be approached by two men. I opened my eyes and noticed them both walking toward my car. They were desperate. Instead of allowing my body what it craved, I turned the key and started the ignition.
As I drove past them both holding hands, my traitorous body sent off signals for another release. “Jesus, Zoe, get a grip.”
7
Zoe
There was a loud buzzing sound coming from beside my head. I cracked open one eye and lifted my hand to stop the alarm on my phone from further causing this nagging headache to ruin my day. Rolling over onto my back, I threw my arm over my eyes to shield myself from the sunlight coming through the bedroom window. Sammy, my needy cat, meowed and climbed onto my chest. “Well, good morning to you.” I gave what he always requested of me in the morning: his favorite scratch session under the chin.