Bare With Me

by Pawnie Santana

She politely smiles while entering our information. We finally get everything signed and squared away. She hands us the keys to our rooms, and we follow the bell-hop to the elevators. Our rooms are located on the third floor. As long as I’m not on the first floor, I’m good.

  I find the first floor of any hotels appalling. They aren’t as clean, and they always have a funny smell—at least in my opinion. But hey, I’m a self-proclaimed control freak. Don’t listen to me.

  The bell-hop puts our bags in our rooms and leaves us. Our rooms are actually all adjoined but we each have a separate main entrance to get in. Ya know, in case someone decides they need a nightcap. I realize this is a girls’ trip and that probably won’t happen, but again—control freak. Just in case. Max and Ken go to their rooms to unpack their clothes and toiletries. I’m a little beat, so I take out what I’ll wear to the bar later tonight and will unpack when we get back. I plop down onto the mattress and close my eyes. It’s peaceful and quiet. The only objective this weekend is to enjoy myself, to relax, and to break free from all the stress. Pfft, I guess we’ll see about that.

  Ken comes in to my room, looking super cute! I love the dress she has on. It’s a peachy cream color with a sweetheart neckline, and it’s completely backless with nude peep-toe ankle strap platforms. Damn. She looks HOT! WTH?! That’s it, I need to go raid her closet and get my shit back. Mental note made.

  “Dang girl, that’s a hot outfit you got on there. You trying to get laid tonight or what?”

  She cracks up laughing and I join her. “Honey, trying is for little girls. I don’t try. I just do.” She flips her blonde hair over her right shoulder and shrugs. It’s true. Like any guy in his right mind would turn her down. Which leads me to ask her about Aiden.

  “So, you and Liam’s friend… Aiden? What happened between you two?” I see a quick panic in her eyes, but she covers it up and plays it off immediately. “Nothing much. Went out to another bar, went back to his place, I got mines, he got his… and the rest is well, ya know. It is what it is. So how’s it going with Liam? He’s hot, girl. Did you tap that yet?”

  Does she really take me for an idiot? She’s totally trying to switch the flip on me. For the sake of this weekend, I’m going to let it be and leave it alone for the time being.

  “I know what you’re doing, Ken. You aren’t that slick, Bitch. But for the sake of this trip, I’m going to ignore what you just tried to pull on me. To answer your question, yes. I know Liam’s hot. But he just seems… almost too perfect. He’s too nice, too attentive, too thoughtful, too HOT! Ugh… What the hell would I do with all that hotness? Our first date was nothing I’ve ever experienced. He listened to everything I said, asked me about things I like and I felt so comfortable around him. He was such a gentleman.” I am SO rambling on right now but from the look on Ken’s face, she doesn’t seem to mind. She’s just sitting there listening with a smile.

  “Remember what I told you, Bitch. VIP.” She gets up laughing, shaking her head and heads out to the main living room. That whore. I know she’s right. But, I’ll never admit to it.

  She can kiss my pasty ass. Thinking it is one thing. But once you admit to it aloud? It becomes real. I don’t know if I’m ready for real.

  I decide to get my ass up and get ready for tonight. I choose a short, fitted pink bandeau dress that accentuates the girls but isn’t too revealing.

  I pair it up with black wedge heels, simple gold bangle bracelets, and a thin chain gold necklace to top it all off. I feel good. I feel really good. As I’m putting on my last bangle bracelet, I hear Max yelling for us to get our asses out to the living room. I slap on some pink lip gloss and leave my room.

  When I walk into our shared living room, I see Max at the bar, pouring pink champagne into three glass flutes. She’s got on a black strapless dress that’s simple but sexy and killer four-inch stiletto heels. She’s a knockout! Ken stands up from the couch and we all congregate around the bar. Max hands out each flute and makes a toast.

  “Tonight, we live it up, party our asses off, and make no apologies. I love you girls and I’m glad we’re all here together to celebrate my birthday. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend it. Cheers, Bitches!” We all raise our glasses up and yell out in unison: CHEERS!

  It’s Friday night and I’m headed over to a bar across town to meet up with Colt. I haven’t seen him since that night at Club Red. I had just parked my car when my cell goes off. I look at the screen and I see Aiden calling.

  “Yo, what’s up?”

  “Hey, mate, you got a minute to talk?” Well shit, I do now. I stop walking and stand outside the front entrance of the bar, leaning against the brick wall.

  “Yeah man, what’s going on? Sounds serious.”

  “It is. Remember when you asked me to dig around about Xavier? Well, I did. And it ain’t good, mate. That man’s reputation is long and dirty. A guy I know that used to be a part of his entourage told me some things I… I’m not sure you’re gonna like. Actually, I know you’re going to bloody flip. So, just hear me out first, yeah?”

  “What the fuck, Aiden? You can’t just call me and say shit like that. Is this about Peyton? What is it? Just fucking tell me already,” I snap.

  “Look, he said, back when, Xavier used to dabble in sex slavery and trade. He would get young girls to answer his ads in the paper and meet up for modeling gigs or approach them and have them misled to meet him somewhere for drinks or a date. Then he’d kidnap them and sell them on the black market. He’s also known to be very violent and I mean that in the worst sense, mate. None of the girls kidnapped were ever found, and if they were, well… they were no longer alive. The ones found dead were unrecognizable. I’m going to let you use your imagination for that.”

  “I’m not following. How does this involve Peyton?”

  “My guy said Peyton was dating his former business partner at that time. He doesn’t know the guy’s name because he never met him, but he said that guy was bad news. He doesn’t know the details, but from what he heard, shit went down between Peyton’s ex and Xavier. Peyton witnessed some things she was never meant to see or hear. That’s all I’ve found out for now. I’ll keep digging to see if there’s anything else. Bloody hell, Liam, maybe it’s a bad idea to get involved with her. You don’t know her past.”

  “Shit. When you said talk, I wasn’t expecting that shit. That’s heavy, man.” I take a deep breath and exhale nice and long. This is crazy. This can’t be for real.

  “Well, bollocks! I wasn’t expecting that either, mate. This is some fucked up shite. Like I told you before, Xavier is dirty and he wants you to stay away from Peyton.”

  “Yeah, man. I heard you. But I can’t do that. Especially not now.” I close my eyes and rub my fingers against my forehead.

  “Well, I’ll keep ya posted. You need to talk to her, though. Later mate.”

  I press the end call button and take a minute before I walk in to meet Colt. He’s going to shit himself. He has no idea what the hell’s going on. Should I tell him? No, I have to tell him. He’s like a brother to me. He’ll be pissed if he finds out after the fact.

  As I walk in, I see Marcus manning the door. I shake his hand and go over to Colt who’s sitting at the bar flirting with the bartender. He sees me and waves me over. I take a seat next to him on the stool and shake his hand. He asks me what I’m drinking, and tonight… I’m going to need something strong. Tequila it is. He orders me a couple shots and gives me a look like is he missing something? He knows my drink of choice is always vodka of some sorts. Yeah, missing something would be an understatement.

  “Any reason in particular why you decide on Tequila tonight? Not that I’m complaining or anything,” he says with a light shrug.

  “Colt, I don’t even know where to start, brother. I… I’m just a little out of it right now. I just got some news from Aiden that just blew me away.” The bartender comes back with my shots and I slam one down the hatch right away.

  “Okay, well
… start off by telling me what Aiden said.” He looks to me with his eyebrows raised.

  I proceed to tell him everything… and I mean everything that’s happened from our time at Club Red, to my talk with Xavier, to the call I just got from Aiden. He just sits there, not one peep out of his mouth. Just staring at me like I have two damn heads. Finally, he speaks.

  “Damn… You really think that’s all true? I mean the whole slavery thing? I didn’t even realize shit like that was happening here. I mean, I heard of girls disappearing but I never… I don’t know. This is all a bit much.” Yeah, again—an understatement.

  “I do. By the way Xavier approached me, the threat laced in what he was saying… I can’t say what, but I believe it. All of it. That guy is seriously shady.”

  We sat there for a good while just talking about the issue at hand and other things. I’m glad I told Colt. At least he didn’t tell me I should stay away from Peyton. He just said I needed to talk to her. Which, I agree. I do.

  “Where is Peyton? Have you seen her since your last date?”

  “No, we’ve tried to get together for coffee or something casual, but she’s been swamped with Ophelia’s wedding day coming closer. She’s out of town this weekend, so hopefully I’ll see her before the wedding.”

  “You really like her, don’t you?” He eyes me seriously.

  “Yeah, I more than like her. I can’t explain it. I just… It’s just how I feel. We’ll see how it goes. I’m not giving up on her. She’s special. She’s the exception to every rule I’ve ever made.”

  “Well, for your sake brother, I hope she’s worth it. Sounds like a shit storm is brewing and you’re caught right in the middle.”

  “She is.” I smile at the memory of her face.

  We wrap up our conversation and flag the bartender down. After closing and paying the tab, we both get up to leave when we get approached by a tall man with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. I’ve never seen him before.

  He stands there for a moment and cocks his head to the side.

  “You must be Liam? And I presume you must be his friend Colt?” He looks over to Colt and nods his head.

  We both look at each other like… is this a joke? Who’s this crazy guy and how does he know us? Then he speaks again once he notices that we haven’t said anything.

  “Right. Well, let me introduce myself. I’m Demetrius. I believe you’ve become quite close to Peyton?” Well, that explains a lot. My fingers automatically tighten their grips into a fist and it takes everything in me to not start swinging at him. Colt must feel my tension because he takes a hand and puts it on my elbow. Obviously this guy knows he’s hit a spot and thinks this is amusing, so he smirks at me.

  “That doesn’t concern you.” I almost sneer at him.

  “Actually, it does concern me. You see, Peyton belongs to me. So, I’m here to let you know, man to man, eye to eye. Leave her be. Don’t see her, and don’t contact her again. Ever. Or, I’ll have to make sure other… precautions are made.”

  “Are you out of your fucking mind? Peyton belongs to no one, especially you. I WILL continue to contact her and I WILL continue to see her again. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you let me know what you wanna do about it. Now! No need to prolong this… whatever this is,” I say as I cross my arms. I’m a good foot taller than him so his intimidation isn’t going to work on me.

  “Tsk, tsk, Mr. Powers. No need to get worked up. I’m just giving you a polite… option.”

  Yeah right, motherfucker. Polite, my ass. That was an all-out threat.

  “Like I said. I have no intention to stop seeing Peyton.” I’m done with this. Marcus seems to realize this is becoming more than a chat and comes over to us.

  “Is there a problem here, Mr. Powers?” He looks over at Demetrius and looks back over to me.

  “I don’t know. Is there a problem here?” I say, looking at Demetrius. He starts laughing and shakes his head.

  “Of course not, no problem at all. I was actually just leaving. I’ll see you around, Liam?” And with that, he turns and leaves.

  Once Marcus leaves, Colt turns to look at me with pure shock written all over his face. Yeah, I’m there with ya, buddy. Did that really just happen? I’m pissed, annoyed, and fuck! I’m really fuckin’ pissed off! Who the fuck does he think he is? “I own Peyton.” No, motherfucker, you don’t!

  If anyone is going to ever own her, it’s going to be me. Damn. Peyton and I are going to have a long talk. Sunday can’t get here fast enough.

  It was so hard to leave the resort Sunday afternoon, but back to reality I go. We got our things together and checked out. Our drive back to Monroe was interesting. Of course, the first question Ken banged out was the obvious. What were we going to do about my situation? Well, that was a good fuckin’ question. I had absolutely no idea. I wanted to just forget everything, but I knew that wasn’t an option. And with a two-hour drive back home, I certainly wasn’t going to be able to avoid the inevitable talk. The girls did a great job at not bringing it up at all the whole time we were at Hilton Head, and I was grateful for that. They knew I’d be stressed enough already.

  “So have you thought about telling Liam? He should know what’s going on if you two are seeing each other,” Max says. Bless her heart; she’s always thinking about other people.

  “Yes, I have thought about it, but I just don’t want to scare him off. What if this isn’t what he signed up for? He shouldn’t have to deal with my bullshit past. It’s not fair to him. I can’t bring myself to put him through any unnecessary drama just for the sake of being associated with me.” I sigh.

  “He doesn’t seem the type to do anything he doesn’t want to do. You may want to take your head out of your ass and think on that for a second,” Ken pipes in. I roll my eyes, but I know she’s right. She’s always freaking right.

  “Yes, Mother! I know that. Doesn’t mean I want to drag him into anything either just because he’s seeing me. The guilt will kill me if something happens to him.” She knows this. She knows this is why I’ve always been reluctant to date anyone. I was always afraid of Him coming back. And now… Now he’s slowly rearing his ugly face in my life once again.

  “I still think you should talk to Liam as soon as you get back. If you don’t feel safe at your house, you’re more than welcome to come and stay with me however long you need, Sweetie. You know it’s no biggie,” Max offers. I love her. I love them both; I know they’ll always have my back. A girl couldn’t have asked for two better girlfriends.

  “Thanks, Honey. If it comes to that, I’ll make sure to let you know.”

  “Same goes for me, Pey. You know I’m only a phone call away.” I smile and nod my head quickly, trying to keep the tears at bay. Damn, these two are making me emotional.

  The drive seems much quicker getting home than getting to the resort. I round the corner into my community and go down the quiet street. There’s usually never any traffic and there aren’t a lot of kids who live here so I enjoy the peacefulness. I pull up the driveway and let the girls get their stuff from the trunk. I give them each kisses and hugs and reassure them that I’ll be just fine.

  I just need some alone time. They both offer to stay the night, but I wave them off, telling them to go ahead and go home.

  I grab my bag and walk up the pathway to my house. I open the door, and lock it back up. I go to the answering machine and press play. The voice on the machine speaks and says:

  You have 2 New Messages. First message: Sunday 9:45 a.m.

  Hey Peyton, it’s Liam. I’ve been trying to call your cell, but you aren’t picking up. Please call me as soon as you get in. I want to make sure you got back safely and there are some things we need to talk about. Call me. You know my number. Bye babe.

  Oh shit! I take my phone out of my purse and look through my call log. Three missed calls from Liam. I forgot I had put it on silent in the car so I wouldn’t be tempted to pick it up if I got a call while I was driving. What could h
e possibly need to talk about that’s so urgent? We just started seeing each other so it’s not like I owe him every detail of my life. And babe? Are we even there yet in our relationship that he’s using pet names? This is all too much. But… I kinda like it. The way he says it seems to pull the strings in my chest. Ugh! Don’t get all sappy, Peyton.

  I go upstairs and get changed into some pajamas because I’m making it a point to not to leave my house what-so-ever for the rest of today. Sunday is my bumming it day. I put the clothes from the trip into the laundry room, and head back downstairs to make myself some honey chamomile tea. I grab my cell and get comfy on the window seat. Here goes nothing. I dial Liam’s number and he answers on the first ring.

  “Hey, babe. How was your trip? Did you and the girls have fun?”

  “Um, yeah. We did. Liam, what was so important that you needed to speak about?” I get right to it because I’m just not in the mood to dodge the point. He blew up my phone for a reason.

  “About that… look Peyton, I think it’d be better if we discussed this in person. Can I come by in about an hour? I have a pit stop to make and then I’ll head over to your place.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll see you in an hour.” I hang up and stare at the phone. Damn… Now I’m kind of freaking out. What is this all about? There goes my quiet Sunday.

  I go to the living room with my cup of tea and turn the TV on for some distraction. I start dozing off when I hear the doorbell. I get up and walk to the door, looking through the peephole. It’s Liam. He’s standing there with a nervous look on his face and his hands tucked into his front pocket. I unlock the door and open it. When he smiles, I melt and any resolve I had is gone. I invite him in and as he walks inside, he grabs me by the waist and leans down to whisper in my ear. God I love it when he does that.

  “I’ve missed you, Peyton,” he says in a husky, sexy tone that makes my panties wet. Shit. I tried to hide the smile creeping up on my face, but there’s no use. He sees right through me.