“When did they go? Do you think they’re back already?”
“Why do you care? Didn’t you hear anything I just said?”
“Well, maybe I want to do a threesome or… something. If I could just find him…No! No. Don’t do that…” She commanded as she watched his hand crept closer to his crotch through the glass case.
“What? Oh my God, that would be hot. I’ll help you find him if you let me watch…”
“Ok. Sure! Why not? Just tell me where he’s staying and I’ll let you know.” Her eyes shifted upward to the water stained ceiling tiles. She could only imagine what was going on in his head at the moment.
“I have no idea. It’s not like Rick and I are buddies. If I were you, I’d try Bubble Butts. I’ve seen him in there a couple of times but only when Mimi’s working. You tell me when you’re going and I’m there.” He slipped a business card across the glass counter toward her. Grabbing the card by the corner, she looked everywhere but directly at him before backing away.
“What nights does Mimi work?” she asked as her eyes averted toward the stressed and worn wood flooring.
“Tuesday and Friday, sometimes Saturday.” Man, this dude was a sleaze ball but at least he was an informative one…
“Thanks,” she stated, backing into what she thought would be the closed door, stumbling slightly when it became apparent the door was actually open.
Pete was holding it open for her she noticed as her feet caught up with her brain.
“You call me!” she heard before the door closed. She stared at it for a brief moment.
“That was good, right? He was rather informative,” she stated as she turned to walk toward the car.
“He was. I had no idea God invented hand sanitizer.” He raised his hands palm up. “And on the third day he invented hand sanitizer and it was good…” he stated then gave a small snort. “The threesome thing was great. Quick thinking,” she heard behind her as she made her way around to the passenger side of the car.
“We’ll go tomorrow night,” he stated as soon as he sat in the driver side seat. It was Thursday and she wondered what may be on the schedule for later. She was almost afraid to ask.
“We’ll hit Eden tonight,” he added, causing her stomach to turn.
*****
“You’ve had diarrhea, and a migraine and heartburn all in the space of two hours. I think you’re lying,” he whispered into her ear as he gave her a nudge forward. Her feet moved grudgingly as they pressed forward in line outside of the club later that night.
“Seriously. I can feel bile. It’s food poisoning.”
So many bodies surrounding her…eyes cast downward, she continued to shuffle forward with every nudge from Pete.
“Right. Why are you so nervous?”
“ID?” A huge hand appeared in her vision.
“Huh?”
“Your ID?” the deep male voice asked again impatiently.
“I don’t have one,” she stated before looking up, focusing on a rather large body, the muscles in his arms were massive. “In fact, I’m underage. I’m nineteen. You probably shouldn’t let me in here,” she confided in a low voice as she stared at his chest.
“Here.” She watched as Pete’s hand shot out and handed what appeared to be a driver’s license to the bouncer.
“She thinks she’s funny,” she heard behind her as the bouncer perused the ID. She craned her neck to get a look at it herself. It was definitely hers. Pete must have taken her purse and conveniently forgot to tell her.
“Didn’t I escort you out a few months ago?” she could hear and if she wasn’t mistaken, he was probably perusing her facial features carefully if she would bother to raise her gaze to his.
“Yes, you did. Don’t let me back in here if you don’t want a repeat performance.” She stated blandly.
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Pete supplied along with a folded bill which he not so discreetly tucked into the bouncers’ beefy hand.
“No cat fights.”
“I make no such promises,” she tossed out before being nudged forward again.
“I’m only letting her in because she’s hot. She throws one punch and she’s out of here, got that?”
“No problem,” Pete supplied along with another nudge. Two more steps and she stopped. A dull throb of music pumped from another room, bodies pressed in and her feet refused to move her further into the chaos.
“Would you come on?” His voice was clearly exasperated. She leaned back just to make it harder for him to budge her. A split second later, his arm wrapped around her waist and her feet were lifted from the floor as he literally walked through the bar with her body held against his.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he announced rather loudly into her ear.
“I can’t do this. Can we please go? Please?” Her eyes were squeezed shut and her body gave an involuntary shudder as she felt him walk further into the mass of bodies. Sound bombarded her from every angle, bright, swirling multicolored lights managed to invade her vision even through closed lids. Conversations between faceless patrons penetrated her brain, choppy sentences, shouted words clashed for dominance over the loud thump of music in the background. The scene was a disaster waiting to happen.
“You’re nervous.” he felt the need to state as he continued to press forward.
“No shit. I told you I’m anti-social, coupled with the fact that I can’t look at anyone, so yes, I am nervous. Now turn around and get me out of here,” she demanded through gritted teeth, eyes still shut.
She felt her feet touch the ground as he lowered her to the floor. Immediately she turned and attempted to side step him, but he was having none of it.
“Let’s get you a drink. Maybe that’ll loosen you up,” he stated as her arms were clasped and held steady.
Oh yes. Yes, a drink would be a great idea. Alcohol just made her all the more bold and her utterances that much more bizarre.
“You probably don’t want to do that. I assure you.”
“You need to calm down. What’ll it be?”
“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll go sit in the car and wait for you, hell I’ll even lay in the trunk if you just do this alone. What do you need me for? You can look for Rick yourself,” she stated loudly.
“No. I can’t. I don’t know what he looks like. I mean, I think I do but I’m not sure. The only picture I have was from 10 years ago when he was just a kid. I told you he was a squirrel. Damn…” Something caused him to fish around in his pocket before the little black beeper-like device emerged in his hand. His brows knit for a split second as he looked at it and back up to her. “Here,” he reached in and grabbed a bill, stuffing it into her hand. “I need to read this. Get yourself something to drink.” He turned her body and gave a slight push toward the bar. The very crowded bar. Bodies were three deep at the front and sides of a very ornately lit, very long bar that ran through the middle of the room. She turned to protest but he was already gone. The crowd either swallowed him or he simply left her to her own devices. The front door was only thirty feet away, tops. Of course there was quite a crowd to pick through to get there, but -
“Hey there,” a deep male voice sounded above her head and slightly to the side. She attempted to take a step but a firm hold on her arm stopped her.
“Where ya goin’? Can I buy you a drink? Would you like to dance?” Her eyes widened. Maybe I should dance with him. That ought to scare him off.
“No. I’m just leaving.”
“No way! Come on, pretty girl; let me buy you a drink.”
“Nah. I have diarrhea and…and…herpes. I have to go -”
“What? Did you just…? What?” the voice stammered over the loud boom of thumping bass.
“Nothing, never mind. I just need to go -”
“What’s your name?” His grip on her arm was persistent. The urge to slap it away was extremely strong at this point.
A loud huff burst from her lips as she turned and gave him her f
ull attention. Almost immediately after locking eyes, she noticed two things. One: he was extremely handsome, almost pretty. Not rugged handsome like Pete but more male model chiseled face handsome. Two: almost as soon as that fact registered, her vision immediately began to tunnel and a shock-like jolt passed over her in a wave.
“Yeah, she’s looking over here. Wait. Who?” She rose up in tiptoes, her eyes scanning the bar for the face that just flashed in her brain a mere second ago. “Yep, there she is. And here you are, hitting on me. Nice,” she practically yelled. From a distance she could see the woman’s eyes narrow as a frown marred her beautifully sculpted features. Her eyes darted back to him. “You two are fighting. She’s half crocked and you just told her to…kiss your ass? Because…she danced with some other dude and now you’re hitting on me. That’ll show her. I’m not interested in getting involved in your drama. Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.” She attempted to step past him only to be stopped by his relentless grip that just tightened a fraction.
“How…? Were you watching us, how do you know that?” His face registered complete shock.
“I’m a total freak. I know everything. Now let me go or I’ll tell you some other crap you probably don’t want to hear.” She gave a firm yank to her arm and immediately pushed past him, brushing the arms of several patrons in her haste to remove herself from his presence. She didn’t make it very far until the woman who was glaring at her only moments before materialized in front of her.
“What the hell are you doing?” she sneered.
“Leaving. Excuse me.” A step to the side caused Jane to bump into yet another patron. The shove to her shoulder caused a step back and another bump into someone else.
“Hey!” an angry male voice sounded behind her.
“That’s my boyfriend,” she spat out only a few inches from her face now.
“Good for you. You can have him. Excuse me.” Her eyes were focused beyond the woman’s shoulder toward the front door. Where the hell was Pete?
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you two are a couple of immature jerk-offs, that’s what it means. When you bump and grind against some complete stranger because you’re wasted and you’re trying to get some attention from your man and your man decides to retaliate by picking up some random girl to make you jealous? Yeah, you two are perfect for each other. Keep me out of it, get out of my way or I will slap the ever living shit out of you.”
The blonde blinked her eyes several times before they narrowed. “I’m gonna kick your ass,” she hissed.
Perfect. “Bring it, bimbo,” she stated after taking a step forward. This would probably be quite effective in getting her tossed out of the bar tonight… hopefully getting her permanently banned from the place.
“Hey ladies. Can I get you a drink?” Another male voice, this one extremely congenial and almost hopeful in his slurred tone. Darting her eyes to the left she spotted then grabbed the small glass of what appeared to be amber liquid from his hands and drank it. “Thanks.” She was going to need that.
“Hey!” She heard the voice again and the congeniality was missing this time. She placed the glass back in his hand.
I will not choke, I will not cough. That tasted like crap…
A small sputter erupted from her lips but she tamped down the urge to full on hack in the woman’s face. She noticed the blonde was still squinting, trying to look menacing, achieving the appearance of someone fighting back a sneeze. It was ridiculous. This whole situation was ridiculous no thanks to Pete, the amazing vanishing asshole.
“Ok. So kick my ass. Let’s see what you’ve got…”
As soon as the woman’s hands hit her shoulders to shove her back, Jane’s left hand automatically shot out and grabbed her throat, pushing her back as her arm straightened. Her right arm lifted and pulled back at the elbow, fist clenched for a punch. Something warm and large immediately surrounded her right hand, the pressure squeezing like a vice.
“I don’t think so.” Words were breathed into her ear as her fist was held steady. She didn’t need to take her eyes from the woman to discern the voice. It was definitely Pete. “Let her go, Jane.”
Maybe it was the fact that his voice was like melted chocolate, or perhaps the fact that any and all nerve endings in the general vicinity of the ear he spoke into were dancing around as small tingles erupted. Whatever it was, her hand loosened its grip and her body took a step back, coming into contact with the front of his body. He wrapped a protective arm around her stomach and pulled her close, maybe a little too close. It didn’t matter, it actually felt good.
“Sorry about that. She’s a little ornery,” he stated as the blonde stared beyond Jane’s shoulder and her mouth finally moved.
“OK.” Obviously she was impressed, judging by the fact that her face registered raw appreciation as she ignored Jane and stared at Pete.
“Come on. What the hell? What was that?” he spoke a bit louder as he dragged her backwards into the crowd. Her answer was silence accompanied by a shrug as her feet finally decided to cooperate and gain solid purchase on the ground below. His hand encased hers and he gave a slight tug to indicate she should follow him. One backward glance confirmed that the blonde was consumed by the large crowd. She almost tripped on the first stair before righting herself. Obviously he was leading her upstairs. On the one occasion that Rick had brought her here, he and his friends sat in one of the many small VIP areas on the balcony overlooking the bar. It appeared Pete was going to do the same.
As soon as they hit the top step, the sound from below had dulled to more of a throb and a gorgeous Asian woman dressed in a revealing black cocktail dress requested they follow her. Instantly her eyes scanned the small alcoves furnished with black leather couches and coffee tables looking for Rick. If he was here, he would definitely be seated in one of them. Her nerves were frayed to the point of snapping as faces passed by her vision. No Rick, no familiar faces thankfully, but then again, it was relatively early. Rick and his posse were usually fashionably late to the bar scene.
“Here you are. I’ll send Jaz over to get your drink order. Enjoy yourself.” The woman indicated a small empty seating area close to the balcony railing with a full view to the open room below. Pete tucked something into her hand, money no doubt. She smiled broadly before turning and wandering back toward the stairs.
“Sit,” he ordered as he waited for her to comply before seating himself in an overstuffed leather chair next to her.
“So, were you purposely trying to get in a fight?” he asked without looking at her. His attention was focused through the wide slats of the rails to the area below.
“No. That’s normal. It’s this stupid thing,” she waved her hand in front of her face erratically before shifting her attention to a man that just appeared in front of her.
“Can I get you something to drink?” He was young with longish side swept hair that gave the false impression he was caught in a wind storm. Very trendy, very…well, weird actually.
“I’m good,” she stated as she shifted her eyes quickly to his chest.
“Jack and Coke. Make it two…” she heard Pete’s voice.
“Someone’s thirsty,” she commented as the waiter scurried off to fulfill his order.
“They’re not for me,” he responded, his eyes watching the ever increasing group below.
How did he know her favorite drink? Of course he knew. In fact, it was slightly disconcerting that he should know that.
“How long have you been following me?”
“Long enough. Stop looking at me. Look down there. See anyone familiar?”
Her eyes gave a quick scan. The bar area was very well lit, the corners of the room were cast in shadow and the large entrance into an adjoining room was pulsing with multicolored lights. Faces and bodies filled her line of vision; she didn’t recognize any of them. Oh! Except for the blonde and her too pretty boyfriend. They were frantically trying to shove their tongues down e
ach other’s throats at the opposite end of the bar. Somebody made up. How sweet. How gross. One of his hands was caressing her chest and the other was grabbing her rear end while squeezing quite enthusiastically.
Her eyes cast another watchful glance around before settling on a face. Two faces actually. Wonderful. Hopefully they’d stay downstairs.
“See anyone familiar?”
“Nah.” She settled back in her chair as the waiter returned and placed the drinks on the small table. The chances of the couple meeting Rick were slim to none. Especially after the last episode in this very bar. Her hand immediately grabbed a drink and she gulped down two large swallows at the memory before setting it back down.
“So where’d you go? Do you have another ‘job’ tonight?”
“I could’ve, but I refused it.”
“You can do that?”
“Sure. They’ll find someone else. It’s not like I’m the only game in town.” He shrugged and settled back in his own seat.
“There are more of you? Like how many? Seriously?”
“I have no idea. Now, watch.” He pointed toward the room below. Her attention shifted back toward the mass of bodies. The couple was now wondering toward…the stairs. Crap.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” she announced nervously as the couple disappeared from her view. Obviously they were ascending the steps.
“Hold it.” His hand shot out and held her arm steady as she attempted to push out of the chair.
“Who do you see? Is he here? You’re acting nervous.”
Her answer was to grab and swallow the rest of the drink in one large gulp.
“He’s not here. His friends are. I have to go…really bad. Could you just…” Her fingers worked frantically to loosen his hold on her.
“No way. This is great. Maybe you could ask them -”
“No! This is not great. This is bad. Very bad. Let go.” When it appeared his grip wasn’t decreasing she began to slap at his hand with one of hers. “Pete, pleeeeaaase,” she whined, turning pleading eyes to his.
“No. Stop struggling, you look like an idiot. See? People are starting to look at you,” he stated through clenched teeth.
This Guy Kills Me Page 12