Licorice Whips

by Bridget Midway

  Deep down he knew she couldn’t have done it. That niggling voice in the back of his head whispered poisoned words into his ear. He wouldn’t be that weak again. With his newfound strength, he would get his woman back.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  By the time Nikla arrived home at the end of her day, anger coursed through her body. She had some work to do. When her cell phone chimed that she had a new message, her body tingled for a moment hoping that maybe Sweet had contacted her. Even if the message said “Take off your panties” she would have done it.

  She looked at her phone and saw she had received a new e-mail. The e-mail came from the Zuberi Commercial Real Estate office.

  Nikla sat down before opening it. The message simply asked that Nikla come to the office tomorrow afternoon. Her heart pounded. Maybe she had gotten the space.

  She thought that that prospect would have made her happy. Instead she felt like a failure. Without Sweet, she felt lost.

  Nikla held up her phone, tempted to send Sweet a message or just call him. She had to be strong. Plus, the idea of him rejecting her hurt worse than not hearing from him.

  Time. They both could use some time apart.

  A sleepless night didn’t help Nikla. Every time she fell asleep she thought about Sweet or branching out on her own. Work would help her clear her mind.

  As usual, Nikla arrived an hour before her class to get the room ready and to stretch. She didn’t expect to see Karen bounding into her class so early in the morning. Had she known the flighty woman could bother to get up so early she would have asked her to cover some of her classes. What was Nikla thinking? Karen would never do that.

  “Hey, Nikla.”

  “I told you I would cover you this Friday.” Nikla crouched down to set up her iPod in the speakers.

  “Yeah, I know. I was kind of hoping that you would also cover me this afternoon, too.”

  Nikla stood. Just before she could refuse, Big Tom walked into the room like some bodyguard.

  “I can’t, Karen. I have plans this afternoon.”

  Big Tom cleared his throat. The sound raised the hairs on the back of her neck.

  “No. I have plans.” Nikla glared at Big Tom. “If you’re not going to make her do her damn job, don’t you dare guilt me into doing it.”

  “Come on, Nik. Be a team player.” Big Tom strolled into the room.

  Tired of this conversation and this whole situation, Nikla bent down and gathered her items. “I’m done. I give everything to my job. It’s time I do that on my own.” She hiked her purse on her shoulder. “I quit, effective immediately.”

  “You can’t do that.” Karen tugged on Big Tom’s arm.

  “Don’t be hasty, Nikla. Let’s talk about this.” Big Tom went after her.

  “No. You don’t want to listen to me.” She glared at Karen. “You want to fuck her and let everyone else cover her mistakes. So now you’ll have two people to cover for. Good luck.”

  As she walked away, she heard Karen bawling behind her. The old Nikla would have run to her and taken back everything she’d said. Nikla felt too good to backslide. She smiled as she damn near skipped to her car.

  Now that she had her day clear until her appointment that afternoon, she had to figure out what to do. She knew what she had to do.

  Once she got home, she changed into a skirt and a simple knit top. No one else believed in her, but that didn’t mean she didn’t believe in herself.

  Her first stop brought her to her father’s store.

  “What are you doing here so early?” Lawrence looked at his watch.

  “I thought you’d be happy to see me. I came here without an invitation and everything.” She kissed his cheek. “Besides, I’ll have a lot of free time on my hands now.”

  Her father cut her a suspicious glare.

  “I quit my job this morning.” She would leave out the part that her supervisor and manager called her repeatedly since her hasty retreat.

  Her father smiled, a strange reaction considering her father’s staunch work ethic. The man always admonished her and her brother if they weren’t doing something at every minute of the day.

  “You know you can always work here.” Her father tried handing her an apron.

  Nikla shook her head. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m hoping to open my own place. As a matter of fact, I have an appointment this afternoon.”

  Lawrence slammed the apron on the counter. “You know, I don’t know what I need to do to get you here. It’s not enough that I got that other place shut down.”

  Nikla blinked and took a step back. “What?”

  “Your boyfriend Justin came in here and gave me some information.”

  “Ex.” Nikla processed the whole situation. “So Justin told you that I had sex with Sweet and you used that against him. Essentially you used me. Did you think of that?”

  From the way Lawrence’s face softened, Nikla figured he hadn’t thought of that. “Honey–”

  “No, please don’t say anything. Dad, I’m here for you. Even on days when I don’t feel like it, I’m here. I’ve never turned my back on you. But I can’t say the same for you. You want to keep me in your view but at arm’s length. I can’t have a relationship like that. If that’s what you see between us, then this will be my last trip here.” She turned to the door.

  Nikla never suspected her father would have run after her. He pulled her into a hug and sobbed. He didn’t cry or weep. Her Marine father didn’t sniff back tears. She felt his tears hit the back of her neck. She assumed that this was the cry he needed to have when her mother had left him.

  Nikla held her father until he composed himself.

  “I never meant to hurt you,” Lawrence said as he pulled back from her.

  “You did. You can’t control my personal life, and you can’t go after a man I love.” Nikla couldn’t deny her heart. She couldn’t go back to Sweet without being whole.

  “I’m so sorry. I was so scared of losing you.”

  “I know.” She held her father’s hand. “I’ll never leave you. I don’t have to be stuck to your hip for you to know that.” Nikla released her hold on her father. “And Mom didn’t leave you, either.” She watched Lawrence’s face go still. “I saw her last week. She looks good. She looks healthy.”

  Lawrence wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, then dropped his gaze to the floor. “When did you get so smart and strong?”

  Nikla smiled. “I’ve always been that way. You just refused to see it.”

  “I’m seeing it now. Maybe one day you’ll bring your young man over when Junior comes home and we can all have dinner together.”

  A tear threatened to escape from Nikla’s eye. “That would be nice.” If only she had a man still.

  “And Junior can bring his man with him, too.”

  Nikla knees nearly buckled under her. “How did you–”

  “A father knows everything.” He winked. “I’m not as stodgy or stubborn as you think.”

  “The next time you talk to him, let him know that.”

  Lawrence nodded. “So can you help me out here?”

  Nikla shook her head. “I have some things to do. I suspect you do, too, if you want to make things right with Sweet and his family. Those people didn’t do anything to you.”

  “You’re right. Man, you’re rougher than any drill sergeant I’ve ever had.”

  “And don’t you ever forget it.” She winked at her father.

  “So will I see you this Sunday for dinner?”

  Nikla stopped at the front door and turned to him. “After what you did to me and what you put me through, I think I deserve a reprieve, don’t you think?”

  Lawrence held his hands up in defeat. “You win.”

  “I’ll call you. Love you, Dad.”

  “Love you, too.” He gave her an official salute before she left.

  Now that she could cross seeing Justin from her list, Nikla had time on her hands. She debated going to Decadent Treats but her
heart wouldn’t allow her to go, wouldn’t allow it to be subjected to a second heartbreak.

  For now she would concentrate on herself. Then again, Nikla had done that before and she didn’t like her life then. Her fingers brushed over the candy bracelet still on her wrist. If she wanted to heal, she would have to break clean.

  ****

  Sweet had never been in The Dollhouse during the day. The vibe felt different. Maybe because he found it odd to see so many businessmen and women subjecting themselves to discipline.

  When he went to the bar area, he noticed Juicy’s eyes getting wide.

  “What are you doing here?” She scanned the area.

  “Don’t worry. Zach knows I’m coming here. He’s expecting me.” Sweet didn’t know word of his indiscretion had traveled so fast and far.

  “You want something to drink?” Juicy wiped the bar down.

  “I’m good.”

  “You sure, Sweet? It’s on the house.”

  Sweet turned when he heard the gravelly voice behind him. When he saw the gray-haired man strolling up to him, Sweet extended his hand.

  The fact that Zach had called him Sweet instead of Master Sweet didn’t escape his notice. At least he knew the reason. Sweet had broken the rules and been formally ousted from the society. He didn’t give up so easily.

  “I was surprised to hear from you.” Zach shook his hand.

  Up close, Sweet noticed the deep spray of wrinkles around his dull blue eyes. He kept his hair loose around his face. Sweet had noticed on the rare occasion that he did play, Zach kept his hair in a ponytail.

  “Is there somewhere we can go to talk?” Sweet kept his shoulders back and his chest out. He might be down, but he couldn’t be counted out, not just yet.

  Zach walked toward the cage elevator that took him and Sweet up to a third level that only housed his office. Once inside, he flipped a switch on his desk that transformed the glass surrounding the office from translucent to black. Sweet wondered how the man got any privacy in an open office like he had.

  “Aside from asking to come back, what can I do for you?” Zach sat behind his desk, which looked like a metal table that could be found in a mortuary.

  “I want to buy The Dollhouse.” Sweet never broke eye contact when he made his proclamation.

  Zach stared at him for a moment before breaking into laughter. His graying moustache that went down the sides of his mouth framed the bottom half of his face nicely.

  “You’ve got to be kidding. You break the rules and then you want to buy the place. Man, you’ve got some set on you.” Zach reached into his desk and pulled out a pink bottle of Pepto Bismol and took a giant swig.

  “Yes, I made a mistake. But who hasn’t?”

  “My place gets inspected on the regular. Vanilla folks always think I’m running a prostitution ring. I don’t need you proving it by pumping some chick you’ve just disciplined.”

  Sweet balled his hands into fists. “Don’t call her some chick. You don’t know her.”

  “Easy. Everything in here is just play. I didn’t know you caught feelings.” Zach set his bottle on his desk. “For one thing, this place is not up for sale. If it was, what makes you think I would ever sell to you? I would sell to Hawk before I would let you have a crack at it.”

  “Despite what you may think, I love The Dollhouse. The recent series of events that have happened in my personal life made me reevaluate what’s important to me.” Sweet pointed down. “This place. This place is what matters to me. I feel at home here. Maybe that’s the reason I slipped up. I got too comfortable. I wouldn’t do that as an owner. What I also see in here is a place to sell fetish toys, real ones. Good ones. If we do that, we can draw in more clients.”

  Zach stared at him for a moment. “You’ve been thinking a lot about this, haven’t you?”

  “You have no idea.” Sweet couldn’t believe the answer sat right in front of him. At his meeting with Zuberi this afternoon, he would tell them the same thing.

  “I don’t know. The members here have heard about you. They may not respect your leadership.”

  “Just like in any relationship, I’ll just have to work on gaining their trust. Besides, it looks like this place is getting to you.” Sweet pointed to the bottle.

  Zach waved his hand at him. “Eh, now you sound like my old lady. Of course if she heard you, she would scream at me to sell. She’s been wanting me to retire for years.”

  Sweet sat up taller. “I’m willing to work at it. Make me dungeon master. If I work out there, give me more duties in the business office. If that works out, let me put in the fetish shop. And then–”

  “Stop talking, kid. I’ll give you a shot, not as dungeon master, though.”

  Sweet held off jumping for joy until he heard Zach’s proposal.

  “You can buy in as a partner. If things don’t work out, I’ll buy you out. If they do, I’ll sell you my share. What do you say?”

  Sweet stood and put out his hand. “Deal. Will you have your attorney draw up the paperwork?”

  “Yeah, I’ll pull Juicy off the bar to do that.”

  Sweet peered down at the bar area and stared at the tattooed woman. “Juicy’s an attorney?”

  “The best. She loves working here more than defending scumbags.”

  Sweet glanced at his watch. “I have another appointment. I can come back later on.”

  Zach waved a dismissive hand. “Whatever. I’m not going anywhere. But before you leave, I want to say something to you.”

  Sweet took a seat. In all the years he’d been to The Dollhouse, he never remembered having a conversation with Zach.

  “You remind me a lot of myself at your age.” Zach studied him for a while. “Yeah, full of piss and vinegar. You got a tiger by the tail, and you ain’t letting it go, right?”

  “I don’t want to be rude, Zach, but I–”

  “Listen to me. You’re an okay Dom.”

  Sweet sat up taller, ready to defend himself.

  Zach continued. “You have the technique down. No one can argue that. But in order to control someone else, you’ve got to learn to control yourself.”

  Sweet listened to the older man’s words and let them sink into his head.

  “These subs and slaves look to a Dom or Domme to have a handle on things, be a leader. They want you to be their rock. If you can’t keep your shit together, then you’re going to end up with a mess. You know why you and Honey Badger didn’t work out?”

  Sweet had almost forgotten Melinda’s scene name. Almost.

  He shook his head at Zach’s inquiry.

  “You two were one in the same, only you’re dominant and she’s submissive. You two are both spontaneous, whether you want to admit it or not. You need to be with someone who digs boundaries. You know why?”

  “Why?” Sweet had to hear this.

  “Because you like pushing them.”

  Sweet nodded. That would describe his relationship to Nikla perfectly.

  “I didn’t ask for this advice.” Sweet stared at the older man.

  “I didn’t ask for that same advice when the previous guy who owned this place told it to me thirty-five years ago.” He smiled. “But I thank God I listened.”

  Sweet extended his hand to Zach and coupled the sincere gesture with a nod.

  “See you later, Master Sweet.” Zach nodded.

  With the use of his scene name, Sweet started to feel like life returned to some sort of order. The old Sweet would have dismissed Zach’s wise words. As a man learning to rebuild, he respected his advice. Sweet hoped that with his new way of thinking that he could get Nikla back.

  ****

  “I don’t understand. Bobbi Zuberi said she was considering my business for that downtown unit.” Nikla spoke to a middle-aged man who busied himself packing papers into several boxes within the office.

  As Nikla surveyed the space, she noticed how empty it started to look.

  “My mother really has no power or say so to lease th
ose units.”

  Ah, so this guy was one of Bobbi’s sons. She had only met the guy and she didn’t like him.

  “I called the number that was on the sign in the window.” When Nikla recalled that moment, she also remembered meeting Sweet there.

  She shook her head to get him out of her thoughts.

  “I know. Did you notice the sign was down shortly thereafter?” her son asked.

  Nikla nodded. “She said my business and another were on the short list to be picked. She told us we would hear something this week.”

  “I apologize for my mother. Ever since my father passed away, she’s been trying to continue what she’s done in the past, which was lease out units. I have asked her not to do that because she really has no authority. But she likes meeting new people.”

  Nikla felt so deflated. She gave up her job in the hopes that this would pan out for her. The office door opened and Sweet walked through looking more handsome than ever. Her insides quivered the closer he moved toward her. She looked away to keep from crying.

  “My name is Sweet Hawkes. I’m supposed to meet Bobbi here.”

  Bobbi’s son extended his hand. “Edmund Zuberi, Bobbi’s son. As I was explaining to Ms. Dearwood here, the units have already been leased. My mother had no right or authority to hold meetings about the units. I apologize for any inconvenience.”

  From her peripheral vision, she caught Sweet looking at her.

  “I had actually come to withdraw my businesses from consideration.”

  Nikla brought her full attention to him. “What?”

  Sweet nodded. “I’ve decided to go in a different direction with my business.” He turned to Edmund. “I was just going to argue for Ms. Dearwood.”

  Nikla cleared her throat when it started to tighten. “I don’t need your endorsement.” She directed her attention to Edmund. “I need answers. If you had no intention of leasing the space, why have us come all the way out here? You could have told us this in the e-mail.”

  “We offer other office spaces around the Tidewater area if you’re interested. I’d be more than happy to meet with you at our real office next door. This tiny eyesore will be torn down soon.”