Sex Sessions: After The Cut (Camera Tales #2)

by Charisse Spiers

  The current song comes to an end. Thank goodness. I push Meredith a few feet in another direction as a new song comes on. She never questions me. We've been doing this for what seems like forever. I'm hot and sweaty, the strobe lights are flashing throughout the room, making everything seem like it's in slow motion, and the music entering my ears feels like the bumping of heavy base through speakers.

  I become the meat in the sandwich again. "Not interested," I state.

  Instead of backing off he places his hands on my hips, pulling me against him. His face is next to mine. "Damn girl. Distance has done you well."

  Why the hell does that voice sound familiar? His erection is grinding against my backside, making me feel dirty and like a cheating whore. I nudge Meredith forward a little, before turning around to give him a piece of my mind. As my eyes set on the face of the persistent guy behind me, I freeze. "Kyle? What are you doing here?"

  "Maybe I should ask you the same question." Again he places his hands on my hips, tugging me toward him. "But whatever the reason it makes me happy. I've missed you."

  I push him off. "Stop, Kyle," I slur. "Why are you here?"

  "Kyle?" Meredith asks and walks up beside me. "Oh shit. What the hell are you doing here, Miller?"

  "I moved here for school. I enrolled at Syracuse after Kambry called us quits and then stopped answering my calls." He cuts his eyes at me. "Me and some friends came to the city for the weekend."

  "Good for you. Have a good night," I say and try to walk away, but he grabs my arm.

  I turn to look at him. His brown hair is shorter, and his green eyes shine every time the strobe light flashes on him. "Don't leave. These things happen for a reason." He walks closer to me, wrapping his hands around my waist. I can smell the whiskey on his breath. "You never gave me a chance to fight for you, Kambry. I went by your house and your Dad said you took off."

  "I didn't want you to fight for me."

  "Why all of a sudden? For two years you were mine. What changed your mind? I mean, did I mean nothing to you? You know, you never asked me why I stayed with you even though you wouldn't give it up."

  "I don't need to know."

  "Well I'm going to tell you. It's because I was in love with you, Kambry. I still am. I was planning to marry you. Even your parents didn’t fight us being together.”

  “Only because you were his puppet,” I seethe. “He loves everyone that he can control.”

  “It’s called respect. Those two years weren't easy for me, but I sacrificed things because I wanted you for the long haul. Do you know how many fucking times I had to go home and jerk off to keep my dick in my pants? It was a little insulting for you to just walk away like you barely knew me."

  "You're drunk, Kyle. Let me go."

  He pulls me tighter. "You heard her, Kyle," Meredith bites out, tugging my arm away from him. “She’s done.”

  "So are you. I can smell the tequila. You're different."

  "That's usually what happens when you escape the very thing that was holding you hostage. Now if you don't mind, please let me go."

  "Did you ever love me?"

  "No. Not the way you're asking. It's not you. It was me. I'm sorry."

  He laughs. "That's fucking classic. Maybe I just need to remind you."

  He surges forward and presses his lips against me hard, trying to shove his tongue in my mouth. I tighten my lips closed and push him off as hard as I can. "Don't fucking touch me unless I ask you too. This is getting too weird for me. I'm leaving."

  He grabs my left hand and looks down at it, shaking his head as he looks back at me. "That's perfect. The good girl runs away from home, leaving everything she knew behind and agrees to marry the first guy she finds. Did you give him your virginity too?"

  "That's none of your business."

  "You did, didn't you? I never fucking complained, even when I begged and you turned me down. He probably got in your panties on the first date. Tell me I’m wrong. I fucking wish you would."

  "Kambry, just walk away. You don't owe him any explanations. He's just being a drunk asshole. Let's go."

  I look at her. "No, I think I do."

  He struck a nerve, and now I'm pissed off. Call it the alcohol talking or the fact that I'm growing up and finally have a backbone, but I'm really upset that he kissed me without giving me a choice just because he has before. I have to explain this to Saxton and somehow expect him to believe me when this is the one thing he’s leery about. And now he's basically insulting me. "No one is entitled to my virginity, Kyle. It's mine to give to whomever I want, whenever I want. Yeah, I guess you could say I gave it to him pretty early in comparison to my time with you, and you can take that however you want to. You wouldn't want me anymore. I'm not the same girl. If you really want to know, I'm a porn star. I'm marrying my costar. When you know you just know," I seethe sarcastically. "And it wasn't you. Now leave me the hell alone."

  "A porn star? Are you fucking serious? I bet your parents will be proud to know what their daughter has become. You could have this, Kambry. Like I said, everything happens for a reason, and I'm standing right here."

  "I'm getting married, Kyle. What part of that do you not understand?"

  "You aren't married yet. It's never too late to change your mind."

  I laugh. My head is spinning. "Nothing is this coincidental."

  It all hits me: the comment from earlier with the song playing at the exact same time as the one in the club and the weird parental comments now. My eyes widen. "SinisterSlave?"

  He stares at me, not agreeing or denying. My eyes are already welling up. I back up, bumping into a body. "He's not SinisterSlave, but I am. He did make things a little easier for me, though. I knew there was something I liked about him. Was I missed, Sax-Kam?"

  He lingers on the username, making sure I heard it. My heart stops. "No. Please no." I now know there are moments in a person's life when death would be the best option, because the knowledge that you have intercepted is enough to make you no longer want to live. That moment for me would be now. My stomach is rumbling and on its way to expelling the contents. One voice you'll never forget and recognize anywhere is one of your parents', and I just heard mine.

  The realization of everything comes crashing down on me.

  I want to hurl.

  I want to burn my eyes.

  I want to erase my memory.

  I want to scratch off the very skin I stand in.

  Because I don't know what to do from here.

  So I do the only thing I can think of. I run. And I don't stop until I hit pavement. "Kambry," he shouts. I glance back to see that he's following me. This is a new low, even for him. The taxi sitting at the curb is the only thing that appeals to me. My heels drag against the cement as I work to keep my balance while I run. My calves are burning, but if I stop, there is no guarantee on what could happen.

  The strong girl could fall.

  The weakness could return.

  The life I've come to love could vanish all together.

  The place I call home could become a memory.

  I cannot lose him. He's the only thing I have to live for.

  I'd rather die than go back, but I can't escape the truth.

  My dad is SinisterSlave.

  "Drive!" I scream in a panic as I shut the door, looking out the back window. The cab pulls out just as everyone I know halts at the curb, my two lives mixing before me, and staring back at me as I leave them behind. I turn around, focusing on the road ahead. I have no clue where I'll go, or what I'm about to do, but my past will not taint my future. I'll run for the rest of my life before I let it, and that's a promise I intend to keep.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Saxton

  "Dude, you're lame. She told you a lap dance was perfectly fine. Who the hell turns that down?"

  "Me. That's who. I'm here, I'm drunk, and I'm watching. Don't piss me off, bro."

  The stage has been occupied all night. One after another a girl walks acr
oss it in heels, slowly moving her body to the music before she makes it to the pole. Each girl looks different, dances slightly different, and puts on a variation of a similar yet different dance routine fitting to outfit, but to me it's all oddly the same. I personally don't see the hype with men and strip clubs. I can see tits and thongs anywhere with probably a cleaner rep, but none as clean as the one I lay beside every night.

  "Want another drink, cutie?"

  I sit back from the elbows to bar position I was in, bottle in hand, handing it to her after finishing it off. "Sure," I say to the silicone blonde that's been circling all night. I used to like fake tits, until I saw a rack that size that was actually God created instead of manmade. Now they just seem like false advertisement.

  She grabs it and winks at me, like she's done all night. Bryant leans over and places his hand on my shoulder, looking back at her as she walks away. "She would give it away for free, bruh."

  "Not. Interested," I grind out, teeth clenched.

  "If it's on my account and Kambry is cool with it, don't worry about me. I don't take you for a guy that would screw her over now that I've gotten to know you," Ben says.

  "I appreciate that, but I'm good."

  She returns and sets my beer down on the bar in front of me. "Can I get you anything else?"

  I glance at her and toss a bill down on her tray. "Nope," I draw out. "I think that about covers it."

  "What a shame," she says, and walks away in her almost completely nude body.

  "You've joined the dark side," Bryant says, a laugh in his voice. "Do you still have balls down there?" He glances under the table and grabs my thigh, horsing around. I thrust up with my leg and pin his hand against the underside of the bar. "Ow. Fuck."

  "Fuck you, and don't ever touch below the shoulder again unless you grow a pussy and change your name to Kambry."

  "Shit, man. Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?"

  "I told you I didn't want to be here."

  He pulls his hand free, still running his damn mouth. "Relax, enjoy the view, and remember she wanted you to be here."

  "You're an asshole."

  He smirks. "Best compliment all night."

  I grab my beer and turn it up, guzzling it. If I have to endure this shit for hours still, I need to be hammered. Who the hell cares if I want to stay home or party with my girl? It's my damn business. I don't need to feel wanted by women to know my manhood is still there. I've been there, done that, and earned a degree in it. It's old. And it's fucking overrated.

  My phone vibrates continuously in my pocket signaling a call. I reach in and pull it out far enough to glance at the screen. It's probably Mom or Dad.

  Meredith calling . . .

  I swipe right and hold the phone to my ear. "What's up?"

  The music in the building is making it hard to hear her. It's a panicked mumble. "Kambry."

  The only word I hear. The state in which the word comes out is what has me on high alert. "What?"

  "Ugh. The bird has flown the coop! I’ll repeat: the bird has flown the coop!"

  I stand and walk toward the door to see if I can get to a quieter place. "What the hell do you mean she's gone?"

  "Her ex boyfriend and dad somehow showed up." More mumbling. "Stalking." A silent pause occurs every few words. "Kissed her." I continue to move around trying to get better reception in this metal building on top of the music blaring. "She ran."

  "Ran where, Meredith? Where is Tynleigh? She was supposed to be in charge. Fuck. This is why I didn't want her out without me." Two words settle themselves nice and tight in my mind. "Wait. What do you mean kissed her?"

  "If I knew where she was I wouldn't be calling you!" I stop, finally able to hear in the spot I'm in. "He just came at her when she wouldn't give him the time of day. Then she got really upset. She said something about SinisterSlave—whatever that means—and just went fucking AWOL. Then her dad showed up acting creepy as a damn psycho and she just took off. That's what I mean."

  My heart is racing. All of my senses are escalating to dangerous levels. This city is big and she's small. My entire state of being enters into panic. "Why didn't you go after her?"

  "You don't think I tried? I've never seen someone run that fast in stilettos. I don't know how she didn't bust her ass and break her neck."

  "So help me God, if she doesn't answer her phone neither of you will be taking her anywhere without a chaperone once I find her, and that special person being me."

  I hang up the phone and call Kambry's number with shaky hands. "Fucking females. Hardheaded and never listen until it's too late." It goes straight to voicemail. I try it again, hoping she's just trying to call me at the same time: same result. My hand clenches around my phone at the exact moment I try to throw it. I guess my subconscious has better sense than the rest of me. "Hey, you okay?"

  I look at Ben standing behind me. "Hell no I'm not okay. Your damn dad showed up and sent Kambry running."

  "Dad?" He looks as confused as I feel. "Are you sure you heard her right?"

  "Do I really look like I'd have misinterpreted something that fucked up?"

  "Dad has his issues, but I don't really see him being that good at stalking, and I sure as hell didn't tell him she was here. He's kind of horrible at everything, honestly."

  "If you only knew."

  "What?"

  "Now is not the time to discuss the secret fucked up life of your dad if I'm right in my assumptions based on that phone call. I need to find her. Do you know what kind of scum waits around in the dark for girls like her to stumble into a vacant alley?"

  "You don't think she would just go back to your sister's apartment? She's a pretty smart girl."

  "Are you two going to stand over here and chitchat all night or come join in the fun?"

  "Shut up, Bryant! Fuck, think of someone other than yourself. Kambry is missing. I'm hardly in the mood to sit and drool over girls when I might be standing at an alter alone tomorrow."

  "Missing? Are you that fucking dense? Kambry is sitting over there."

  "What?" I scream, looking in the direction he's pointing, and sure as I have a dick there she sits, in my chair.

  "Were you not expecting her? How else would she have known which strip club?"

  I rush to the barstool and turn it to face me, placing my hands on the seat to her sides. She's crying, but it's a silent cry, the only sign being the tears that fall down her face from overspill. "You okay?"

  "No."

  "Tell me what happened."

  "Kyle was there. Some guy kept trying to dance on me while I was with Meredith on the dance floor. I tried to subtly move away, but he followed me. When I went to be a little more blunt I recognized him."

  I count mentally, trying to stay calm, and guilt suddenly consumes me from the night on the beach when I told her I had been to see Salem. If she felt the way I feel right now I'm an asshole. "How did that make you feel?"

  "Confused. He started being weird, saying stuff he's never said and acting in ways he's never acted. It was like a different person using his body." Another set of tears trail down her cheek. "Then he kissed me. I'm so sorry. Please don’t leave me. I didn't ask him to, and I don't think I acted like I wanted him to."

  Her face genuinely looks confused, as if she's recalling every action or every word spoken. I'm not sure why I'm surprised she would think it was her fault when some douche bag kissed her, but that's just Kambry, and that's why I know she'll make the best wife and life partner. "It's not your fault. I'm not mad at you."

  She's looking at my neck instead of my eyes. "I'm so embarrassed," she says, and the waterworks start. This is completely heartbreaking to watch. I don’t like seeing her cry.

  "Why? You didn't do anything wrong."

  "My dad has been stalking our Tumblr page. He's the one that has been making the horrible comments and the crude remarks." She gags. "I don't know if he’s just that crazy over control that he looked past the fact that he was imposing on his da
ughter's most intimate moments, including but not limited to her naked body, or if he's really that sick and twisted. I didn't even know he knew how to operate the Internet, let alone find me on a social media stage. I'm starting to wonder why Kyle was in on it or how. I thought he hated my dad. I'm so confused."

  "Look at me, baby."

  She's hesitant, but finally does. Her blue eyes are a little duller than usual, her lips trembling. "Humans do less than honorable things when they're dealing with loss of any kind; whether that be a parent over a child, a scorned lover, or even siblings or friends. I'd even go as far as to say loss of power makes people the craziest. Look at what I went through after heartbreak. Do you think my parents are proud of me, or my decisions? They aren't. They don't have to be to still love me. Their job was to raise me to the best of their ability and then let me go. The rest is on me. The day I turned eighteen their job was done. I think that's the part your dad is having problems with: letting you go. My parents will always be there for guidance when I need them, but it's no longer required. At some point we have to walk on our own two feet, baby, regardless of what our parents would think if they knew how we were living. I can't explain what possessed your dad to take things this far, and I probably will never understand that kind of ludicrous behavior, but just because he's seen your body in a different form than when you were a child or seen you and me love each other in an X-rated way, don't let that change who you are in here."

  I point my index finger to her heart. "He'll either learn to love you regardless of how you choose to live your life or you'll go separate ways forever. This is the person I fell in love with and the person that I'll marry tomorrow. She's good, she's funny and loving, and she's naughty at the touch of skin. She's the best damn person I know."

  "I'm not that special."

  "You did force a grown man to come to a strip club and stare at boobs against his will. I'd say that's pretty special."