by Amber Lynn
Ring of Hell probably wasn't the best description for the place. After getting a good look around, I thought Satan's bedroom seemed like a more apt definition, not that I'd ever gotten a peek in the dark lord's room.
The main lights were dim and spotlights tracked across the room. The walls were painted an obnoxious color of red, best described as the color of blood. There was a huge dance floor area in the middle of the room with stairs going up to what seemed like another dance floor.
A huge bar lined the right side of the room, with most of the stools occupied with scantily clad people. Some tables were interspersed throughout the rest of the room. Frannie's lifespan was going to be extremely limited if she expected me to stay more than five seconds.
"Where have you brought me?" I questioned, horrified by my surroundings.
"Oh come on, it's not that bad. Look there's an open table, let's grab it," Frannie exclaimed, dragging us all across the room.
I started going over different ways to dispose of her body, as I did my best not to make eye contact with anyone. I didn't know when I was going to meet Mr. Right, but I knew he wasn't going to willingly be in the nightclub, and from what I saw, I was the only person who looked out of place.
Shortly after securing the table, a waitress came by asking for our order. I concentrated on the drink menu, so I wouldn't have to say anything about what I was sure was her work uniform. I couldn't see how anyone would volunteer to wear something that left absolutely nothing to the imagination and looked to be made of more metal than fabric.
Frannie started our orders off by requesting a caramel apple martini. Gary settled on an Irish Car Bomb, Nate asked for a Coke with lime and I settled on a Berry Sweetheart. I should've just stuck with the water, but I needed a little sugar.
"What exactly is that?" Nate asked as he turned the menu in front of him over to try to find the drink. "I didn't think you drank."
"I don't, it's non-alcoholic. Just some juice and honey," I explained.
Frannie started talking while we waited and I continued the list of best places to bury her. I thought just killing her and propping her up in the nightclub's bathroom would add to the d?cor. Her cute jean skirt and frilly pink shirt probably wouldn't blend well, but I expected to find a dead body if I ventured to the bathroom, which I made no plans of doing.
Once our drinks returned and Frannie had a chance to demolish hers, she snatched Gary's hand and commanded he dance with her. Gary, being used to the way Frannie was, just followed her onto the dance floor, leaving the awkward twosome left to ourselves.
I'd done my best not to look over at Nate. I could feel his eyes on me, and I didn't like the way my body warmed thinking about his pretty gold-flecked eyes. Frannie had set me up before, and for some reason I hadn't found any of the other guys that interesting. There was something special about Nate, and I was doing the best I could to pretend I didn't know that.
I sipped on my drink, trying to think of something we could talk about. As far as I knew, hockey and working for the government were the only things we had in common. As loud as the music was, I really didn't feel like yelling back and forth about the latest player trades.
"So, just judging from the last two days, I'm guessing you aren't a dancer." A person only needed to spend a minute with me to figure that one out.
"You'd be correct. Two left feet were given to me at birth. Not that I mind, being that close to that many sweaty people is not high on my list of ways to have a good time."
"I'd say it's towards the bottom of my list. I mean, I can dance and all. I just don't really like the other people that much," he said, eyeing the dance floor.
I didn't follow his gaze, because just the thought of looking at all the people disturbed me. We sat in silence for about fifteen minutes. The solitude was broken by a man, who had obviously been drinking a little too much, especially since he tried to start a conversation with me.
"So baby, you come here often?"
His face was practically right in front of me and I about threw up chunks of the chicken sandwich I'd had for dinner. The man needed a breath mint or something. I wasn't sure a full bottle of mouthwash would be enough to tame the odor churning my stomach.
"No, this is my first time, and sorry, but I'm here with someone." I didn't point out that the club had just opened, so I doubted anyone could say they frequented it.
As long as Nate didn't blow my cover, my words should've been enough to get the guy out of my breathing range. I imagined Nate's build, and general demeanor since we'd entered the club would be enough to scare the guy away. Nate hadn't looked like he flossed his teeth with bones, but it was clear he enjoyed the atmosphere and people as much as I did.
"Nah. I don't think you two are really together," obnoxious breath said. "You see, I've been watching you since you came in and you haven't even spoken to each other in the last ten minutes. I really think you should come out and dance with me. He's already had his chance and it's only fair."
I mentally cursed and wondered if anyone would mind two bodies in the bathroom. Knowing Frannie, she'd probably get lonely, so my plan evolved with the situation.
The man grabbed my hand and attempted to get me out of the chair. Just because I didn't win any contests for the tallest person in the world, didn't mean someone could move me around like I was nothing. The man pulled again and I considered kicking him where the sun neglected to shine.
I heard a growl coming from Nate's direction and turned to focus my eyes on him. The growl sounded a lot more intriguing than fighting with obnoxious breath.
"The lady said we're together and she means it. Get your hand off of her or we're going to take this outside." Nate's eyes looked almost like they were glowing they are so intense.
I was fairly certain I saw a glimpse of fire in them. Based on the lighting around us, I chalked it up to being a fluke.
The guy loosened his hold on my hand and walked away mumbling. I was surprised he dropped his pursuit so quickly. I couldn't hear what he said with his back to us, but it was clear Nate could because I heard another growl from his side of the table.
I'd never had a date, or whatever Nate was, turn to his animalistic side before, at least not in my presence. I didn't know what had set him off, but I did like the noises rumbling out from his chest.
"What?" I asked, knowing I probably wouldn't get a good answer. Even if guys didn't agree with each other, there was usually a guy code that meant they didn't share certain things with the fairer sex.
"Nothing, some people have no class," he said staring at his drink. "If we don't want a repeat, we better start acting more like a couple. I know you've been doing a good job of staring at the table, but I've noticed quite a few of your admirers keeping a close eye on you tonight."
"Yeah right." I had to laugh at his words. It was a pretty sad chuckle that spoke to how I pictured myself. "Maybe earlier they were looking at Frannie, and I'd guess they keep checking to see if she comes back and is available."
"No, they are definitely looking at you and it's getting mighty irritating."
Nate sounded more than just irritated. Hearing the tone of his voice, I'd say he was pissed, which didn't make a lot of sense. He'd already explained there wasn't ever going to be an "us", so if some stray eyes landed on me, it shouldn't have concerned him.
"Please, there are so many other women here and I haven't seen anyone who doesn't look better than me. Most people are actually dressed up like they were planning a night on the town. I came straight from work in jeans and a t-shirt."
"Well, maybe they're taking what the t-shirt says as an open invitation," he replied.
Yeah right, like I'd have people lining up to bite me. Only if I came across the Donnor Party and I was supper. Even then, I'd probably be rejected for some reason.
Nate moved his chair to sit closer to me and wrapped his arm across the back of my chair. I felt little tingles where his skin touched my arm and leaned forward a little.
He inclined
down, whispering in my ear, "So, how long before you think Frannie will be ready to leave? This doesn't seem to be either of our scenes and I'd like to make it an early night."
Since it was a bit after ten o'clock, my idea of an early night had already passed, but leaving sounded good to me. I had a book waiting at home for me.
"Let me go find Frannie and I can just tell her we're going to catch cabs home."
Whether I left when Frannie did or not, I was more than likely going to have to find my own way home. We could've just left, but I didn't want Frannie to get the wrong idea about where we went.
"Sounds good. I'm going to run to the bathroom, but I'll meet you out front," he said as he stood up. I watched as he made his way to that side of the room.
I considered warning him to watch out for dead bodies, but chances were good he already thought I was weird, and revealing my plans for Frannie and obnoxious breath weren't the best idea.
I quickly found Frannie out on the dance floor. She and Gary were close enough that the Jaws of Life were going to be needed to pry them apart. Giving me a wink, she told me she'd see me in the morning.
She obviously missed the part about us getting cabs, plural, as in separate. She clearly hadn't wasted any time watching our table to see how far the crevice between Nate and I had been. I was going to have to set her straight, because me telling her I didn't think anything was going to happen wasn't good enough.
That would wait until morning. She hadn't had much to drink, but I didn't think spelling things out for her on the dance floor would stick any better than anything else I'd already said.
Nate was already outside trying to catch a cab by the time I made my way through the hordes of people dancing. The stench of alcohol and sweat was something I was happy to leave behind. It took a second for the clearer air outside to start working into my lungs.
Sadly, I'd been in the nightclub long enough that my clothes were probably going to need to meet an incinerator before I'd wear them again, which basically meant I wasn't planning on ever donning them again. It was a good thing I had more shirts at home that offered the same sentiment as the one I was wearing.
Successful at getting a cab to stop, Nate turned to face me. "For you. Why don't you send me a text later so I can make sure you made it home safe? Like I said earlier, you had a lot of admirers in there tonight, and I don't want anyone following you home."
"I still think you were seeing things, but I'll send the text. I guess I'll see you in the morning. Our class is at seven, but we like to get there early, which for me is usually around six-thirty." I wasn't looking forward to it, but it seemed inevitable that he'd be there.
"I'll see you then."
After a small peck on my cheek, he verified my knee was in the cab and closed the door between us. I blushed slightly and sat back for the ride home. I usually would've caught the train instead of spending the money on the cab ride, but I'd had enough of crowds for one night.
Picking up the mail, which was nothing but bills, I checked my answering machine. I didn't usually bother, because I rarely ever received any messages. Seeing the red light flashing with a message, I hit play.
"Hello, Avery. It's your mother. Well of course you know that, you can tell by my voice. I just wanted to let you know that your father and I are going to be in New York for a visit next weekend. We have hotel reservations, so don't worry about having to put us up in your apartment. I'll call later to discuss this with you in person and give you our flight information."
That was just what I needed, a friendly visit from the folks. I didn't understand why she'd brought up worrying about putting them up in my apartment. My apartment was tiny and they knew it. There was no way two people could cohabitate in it, let alone three. At least I kept it clean, so when they did come over it wouldn't be a total embarrassment.
After taking a shower to scrub the layer of bar film that seemed to attach itself to my skin, I sent Nate a quick text stating I was home, and hit the sack, not bothering to wait to see if he replied.
I woke up in the middle of the night not happy with a dream, or nightmare depending on how you viewed it, of a very erotic nature staring Nate. I didn't need the image when I planned on seeing him first thing the next morning. I fell back asleep rather quickly, praying for dreams of monsters or something to get the thoughts of a naked Nate out of my mind.
CHAPTER 6
What a coinkydink