Keep My Baby Safe

by Bella Grant

  Diana’s brain was melting out of her ears by the time five o’clock rolled around. She was exhausted and wanted to go home, run a bath, and watch some Netflix before going to bed at eight. “I’m a wild one,” she mumbled to herself as she opened the door to the bar Alyssa had chosen for happy hour. She couldn’t cancel on her best friend, partially because she didn’t want her to be any more irritable, and because she really wanted to talk to her about Travis.

  She let her eyes pass over the bar, which was relatively small and only about half full. She didn’t see Alyssa, so she walked to the bar and hopped up on a stool. After shooting her a quick ‘I’m here’ text she lifted a hand to catch the bartender’s eye.

  “Hi there,” he said, a charming grin on his dark face. His white teeth were a contrast to his skin, and his eyes were a paler brown than she would have expected. He was gleamingly bald and wore a tight tee over taut muscles. He was a mesmerizing specimen of a man, and his grin told her he knew it. “What can I get the pretty lady?”

  Diana blushed at the compliment, something he probably said to every woman who sat down at his bar. “Um, I’ll have a vodka with cranberry, please.”

  “Coming right up,” he said as he spun to get the vodka off the shelf behind him.

  Diana glanced around the bar self-consciously. She didn’t really like being at a bar alone and hoped Alyssa would arrive quickly. She glanced at her phone, the screen clear because Alyssa hadn’t answered. If she’d gotten hung up with a client, she might be running late, but she could have shot her a quick text. She always had before. However, since she’d helped Diana get ready for her date with Travis, Alyssa had been snarky bordering on rude when Diana mentioned him.

  After waiting twenty minutes, sipping slowly on her drink so she didn’t have to order a second, Diana was angry bordering on furious. The bartender had attempted to begin a conversation two times, but he was a good reader of people because when she snapped at him to bring her another drink, he took the hint, left her drink, and stayed at the other end of the bar. Diana felt a little bad about her rudeness. Poor guy was just doing his job, mostly. He was hitting on her a little as well, though, which she was not in the mood for.

  When Alyssa sauntered in at a leisurely pace nearly thirty minutes late, Diana stared at her. “Where the hell have you been?”

  Alyssa had the nerve to look surprised by her anger. “What do you mean? I told you 5:30.”

  Diana rolled her eyes. “No. You said a little after five. I came straight here after work and have been sitting here being not-so-subtly hit on by the bartender.”

  “I don’t know why you’re complaining,” Alyssa responded after glancing at the sexy bartender. “He’s hot.”

  “That’s not the point and you know it. You couldn’t have texted me?”

  “I was busy with a client,” Alyssa said airily. “It was thirty minutes. Let it go.”

  Diana stared at her, so many harsh comments ready to fly out of her mouth. Alyssa raised her hand to get the bartender’s attention, and while she flirted mercilessly with the man, Diana sucked in several deep breaths to calm herself. Alyssa had always been completely selfish, thinking her time was more valuable than anyone else’s. She was single because she behaved as if everyone should let her have her way in everything. Diana had always glossed over this flaw because they’d been friends for so long.

  Alyssa had nursed her through her broken heart, helped her with the gambling addiction, and told her mother to fuck off once when the woman was verbally attacking Diana. Because of all those things, Diana forgave her for her flaws.

  “Could I have another, please?” Diana asked the bartender when there was a lull in his conversation with Alyssa.

  “Sure.” His voice lacked the friendliness it had in it before, so she smiled at him. He smiled back and winked at Alyssa. “I’ll have your drinks in two seconds.”

  Alyssa turned to Diana and looked in her eyes. “So you’ve calmed down?”

  “Are you going to stop being late?”

  Alyssa grinned and bumped Diana’s shoulder with hers. “Answer that question yourself.”

  “Why am I friends with such a bitch?” Diana sighed.

  “Because we can’t live without each other,” Alyssa stated simply. “So, what’s going on in Diana’s world?”

  “Not much. What about you?”

  “Well, remember the woman I told you about, Christy, whose hair I do that’s always covered in glitter?”

  “Yes. We decided she had to be a stripper or a kindergarten teacher.”

  The bartender returned with their drinks. “Would you pretty ladies like a menu? We have great bar food.”

  “Sure,” Alyssa told him, reaching for her drink and stirring it. He handed them menus and winked again before walking away.

  “You know, I’m beginning to wonder if that man has a tic,” Diana whispered, leaning close enough to Alyssa to smell the chemicals she used to dye hair.

  Alyssa cackled as she opened the menu. “Want to share some wings and fries?”

  “Of course I do. Why would you even ask?” They chuckled together as Alyssa set the menu aside. “So, tell me about Christy the Glitter Wearer. Stripper or teacher?”

  “Neither! She’s an escort!” Alyssa hissed, her eyes wide.

  Diana put her hand over her mouth in surprise. “Oh, my God! Do you mean like a prostitute?”

  “That’s exactly what I mean!” Alyssa affirmed, nodding her head quickly.

  “How do you know?”

  “So she comes in today with strange marks on her wrists, and I asked her what happened. You know, standard stylist talk.”

  “People always talk to their hair person. Always!” Diana agreed.

  Alyssa laughed after taking a gulp of her drink. “Damn. That’s perfect. Anyway, she looked around to make sure no one was listening and told me the man who hired her the night before enjoyed bondage.”

  “Bondage?” Diana whisper-shrieked. “Oh, my God!”

  “Yeah! He tied her up and fucked her silly. She told me it was the first time a client has ever made her come,” Alyssa told her, leaning in closer.

  “Really?” Diana asked, a little aroused by the idea. “I’ve never done that. Too scared.”

  “Oh, but get this,” Alyssa attempted to continue. Both sat up straight when they realized the bartender was standing in front of them, grinning.

  “Refills?” he asked, his smile lecherously sexy.

  “Um…” Diana was so red her face burned. “Yes, please.”

  “Yes, and we’d like some wings and fries to share,” Alyssa announced, trying to sound unmoved, but Diana could see the pink tint in her face.

  “Coming right up,” he said quietly, his deep voice reverberating.

  After he’d walked away, Alyssa looked at Diana and waved her hand in front of her face. “I think I just came a little.”

  Diana snorted and laughed loudly, her head tilted back. Alyssa laughed too, and they clinked their almost empty glasses together. “He is awfully sexy,” Diana agreed. “So, you said that wasn’t all?”

  “Oh!” Alyssa exclaimed, laughing. “No, that wasn’t all. So after they were finished, he asked her to tie him up and fuck him again. But first, he wanted her to spank him.”

  “What?” Diana asked, her eyes bulging. “I can’t even deal with this!”

  “I told her I wasn’t drunk enough for her stories, and she just laughed. You wanna know how much she makes a month?”

  “Um, yeah!”

  “Depending, between three thousand and six thousand. And she doesn’t pay for any of her beauty treatments. I do her hair, eyebrows, and she has her nails done in my salon every two weeks. That’s almost three hundred every two weeks!”

  “Who pays for that?” Diana wanted to know. They paused while the bartender set their drinks in front of them.

  “I guess one of her clients. I didn’t ask,” Alyssa said, taking a drink of her cocktail. “I think I’m in the wrong
profession.”

  Diana laughed and shook her head. “Whatever! You couldn’t fuck for money.”

  “Nah, probably not, but I am more than willing to spank someone for money,” Alyssa told her, giggling as she sipped her drink again.

  “Maybe we should calm down on the drinks,” Diana commented with a smile.

  “Nah. We won’t drink so much we can’t get home.”

  They sipped their drinks in silence for a moment, each glancing around the bar. It had filled up considerably since Alyssa had arrived, and they were having to speak louder than they had been to hear each other. Still, Diana saw no one she knew, so she felt like she could confide in Alyssa.

  “Can I tell you a secret?” she asked, smiling.

  “Always.”

  “Ladies, your dinner,” the bartender announced, placing two plates in front of them, one heaping with wings, the other with fries. He leaned down on the bar and stared into Diana’s eyes. “I’d love to hear your secret.”

  Diana scrunched her nose and tittered a laugh. “I bet you would.” She leaned closer and whispered, “I love ranch dressing with my wings.”

  His eyes widened, and he threw his head back and laughed. He wagged his finger at her. “Girl, you are my type. You’d better be careful.”

  Diana smirked at him, the alcohol she’d consumed relaxing her. Alyssa clapped her hands and exclaimed, “Look at you, flirting with a stranger!”

  “Yeah, it’s not so hard when I know nothing will come of it,” Diana shrugged, grabbing her drink and downing the rest. “Wow, that was too much. Time for food!” She pulled the plate of wings closer to her and began gnawing on one.

  “What do you mean, nothing will come of it?” Alyssa asked, thanking the bartender for the cups of ranch before dipping her fry in one.

  “Well,” Diana mumbled around the spicy chicken. She swallowed and said, “I’m seeing Travis now, and we’re getting pretty serious pretty fast.”

  “Travis?” Alyssa asked before biting into her own wing. Around the meat, she asked, “What do you mean you’re getting serious? He’s your ex. Aren’t you just having a little fun with him?”

  Diana stared at her friend as she wiped her mouth and fingers with a napkin. “No, I think we’re going to try again. I mean, you know I never stopped loving him.”

  “You never stopped loving him because you never tried to find someone else to love,” Alyssa pointed out. “You didn’t even try.”

  “I don’t want anybody else,” Diana stated simply and truthfully.

  “You don’t want that bartender?” Alyssa asked, gesturing toward the man at the end of the bar.

  As if he knew they were talking about him, he met Diana’s eyes and winked yet again. “Definitely not. I don’t want to pass on that strange tic he has.”

  Alyssa slapped her hand. “He’s winking at you.”

  “Maybe he’s winking at you,” Diana insisted. “Regardless, I’m not interested.”

  “You know, I don’t know why you would lock yourself in with him again,” Alyssa said. “He’s the same man you married. He hasn’t changed.”

  “But he has changed,” Diana defended, her food and drink forgotten. “Just like I have. I don’t gamble anymore, and he doesn’t stay at work all night.”

  “And how do you know that?” Alyssa asked, staring into her friend’s eyes. Diana could see the disapproval and disbelief there.

  “Because for the last two weeks, he’s spent his free time with me. In fact, he wanted to see me tonight, but I told him I had plans with you,” Diana told her, watching as emotions flickered across Alyssa’s face, the most prominent of which looked like absolute hatred.

  “Well, don’t do me any favors. If you want to spend time with your ex-husband, you certainly can. I won’t stop you.”

  “The snarky comments are a little overkill, don’t you think?” Diana asked after a moment of silence. The bartender set fresh drinks in front of them and walked away without comment, judging the atmosphere around them.

  “I wasn’t being snarky,” Alyssa said, her voice and face pouting.

  “You’ve been putting me off, not the other way around,” Diana reminded her. “I asked you to go for drinks three times before you finally agreed.”

  “I’ve been busy,” Alyssa replied shortly, her eyes on their food.

  “Obviously. Listening to the confessions of a prostitute,” Diana joked, nudging her friend’s shoulder. “Let’s not fight, huh?”

  Alyssa sighed and took her hand. “The only reason I’m being a bitch about Travis is because I love you and I don’t want to watch you get hurt. I mean, at one point, you thought he was screwing around, remember?”

  “He said he didn’t,” Diana explained with a shrug. “I believe him.”

  “That’s an awfully naïve belief, bordering on stupid.”

  Diana jerked back as if Alyssa had slapped her. The comment had been rude, but saying it as if she believed it was worse. “Are you calling me stupid?”

  “Jesus, Diana. I said you were bordering on stupid,” Alyssa grumbled, her eyes narrowed at her. “Dating your ex-husband is stupid, though, especially when he probably cheated.”

  Diana lifted a hand to stop her. “Okay, wait. You said I thought he cheated, but now you’re saying he probably cheated.” Diana watched her friend’s face. “Do you know something?”

  Alyssa threw her head back and exhaled loudly like a teenager speaking to her mother. “No, I don’t know anything. Just like you, I made the assumption.”

  “Well, don’t make the assumption.” Diana’s anger had returned. Alyssa was deliberately goading her, saying the rudest thing she could just to be an ass. “Travis and I are going to date. And you’re right, I never did fall out of love with him, and that love is getting stronger every day. So if you’re going to be my friend, you’ll have to learn to deal with him in my life.”

  Alyssa gasped and put her hand over her chest. “Are you saying you’ll choose him over me?”

  “I don’t plan to have to make a choice,” Diana said gently, sighing. “You’ve always protected me, but believe me when I say that this time, it’s different with him,” Diana explained. “I have one-hundred-percent faith in Travis.”

  Alyssa nodded, frowning. After a few minutes, she lifted her glass. “If you think this is right, then I’ll support you one-hundred percent.” Diana looked at her, and Alyssa sighed loudly again. “And I’ll do my best to be polite. If you make me spend time with him.”

  Diana nodded, and they clinked glasses and drank. Alyssa set her glass on the bar and gazed at Diana, her expression clear of emotion. “But if he hurts you again, I’m cutting his balls off and leaving him to bleed out.”

  Diana nodded, smiling at her friend’s fierce protectiveness. “Okay. That’s fair.”

  Alyssa smiled back. “Okay. So, what’s your secret?” Diana blushed, and Alyssa snickered. “Oh, this must be good if you’re blushing before you even say it.”

  Diana leaned close and whispered, “The idea of being tied up is such a turn on!”

  “You slut!”

  Diana laughed as well. “I think maybe, since I’m with Travis, who I trust completely, I might try it.”

  “Oh, please do it! But if you do, I want details! Do you hear me?” Alyssa pointed at her as if she might keep the secret from her.

  Diana nodded, the alcohol rushing in her head. She was wet just thinking about it, and a plan began to form in her brain for the next night with Travis.

  Chapter 12

  At lunch the next day, Travis was working rather than eating. The meeting that morning hadn’t gone as planned due to permits and nonsense the town was using to prevent the renovations. He and Michael had been given no heads-up about the block and were now trying to find a way to fight the city council, which believed there was no need for a stand-alone ER in their town. The doctors were furious, not with the pair of them but with their fellow citizens on the council who had voted to block specific change
s that would zone the building as a medical site.

  Travis was equally angry, and his anger was directed at his partner. Michael’s main function was to push through the paperwork required for the project, but he’d dropped the ball. He’d also called in sick that morning and missed the meeting, so Travis had stood in front of the doctors with no answers. He’d just been lucky that the two of them had been aware of the council’s negativity aimed at the ER and had promised him they’d begin an inquiry immediately.

  He’d put off calling the man throughout the morning, but now that he was back at the office and sifting through the paperwork available to him, he jerked his phone off his desk and hit the man’s number. He inhaled deeply, trying to relax his hand so he didn’t break his phone.

  “Hello?” Michael didn’t sound in the least sick when he answered.

  “What the fuck, man?” Travis was in no mood for his partner’s boyish charm.

  “That’s no way to begin a conversation, Travis,” Michael said with a laugh. “What’s going on? How was the meeting?”

  “Are you fucking high?” Travis yelled, his temper breaking. “Based on my greeting and my tone, it didn’t occur to you that the meeting went badly?”

  Michael shushed someone in the background before answering. “Okay, so it didn’t go well. Why don’t you explain instead of acting like a dick?”

  An ominous crack sounded from his phone. “You son of a bitch. If you were standing in front of me, I’d punch you in the fucking throat. Where’s the goddamned paperwork for city hall?”

  “Paperwork? I filed it! Weeks ago!” Michael defended.

  “Weeks ago, my ass,” Travis retorted, shuffling through the pile of copies on his desk. “There are no copies of anything filed with city hall. The city council has blocked our renovations.”

  “Well, shit,” Michael said, deflated. “Listen, I’ll get on it. I had no idea anything was missing. I assumed the meeting would go well today and you wouldn’t need me.”

  “So you aren’t sick,” Travis stated, his blood pressure rising.