Skyler
I park my Porsche and walk up to the back entrance of Club Temptation. I have my dress in hand and Tony is right behind me. Jake is in the club checking things out. Mikey left me a spot right under the cameras so if anything happens to my new car it will be on tape. I knock on the back door and a huge guy opens it.
“Hi, I’m Skyler. I’m singing here tonight.”
He nods toward Tony. “Who’s he?”
“He’s my security. I have two guys. One is already inside checking things out.” He nods and pushes the door open further for us to walk in.
“Hey, Sky!” Mikey shouts. “I thought I heard that beautiful voice of yours.”
I smile at him and give him a hug. “Hey, Mikey. How’s it going?”
“All is good, my friend. Follow me and I’ll show you where you can change and then we’ll do a mic check. The doors open shortly.”
“That sounds good to me! By the way, this is Tony, my other security guard. Jake is already here and I assume you met him.”
“Yeah. Logan is worried, huh?”
“Yes. The creep showed up at a diner I was at and was chillin’ on my car. It was pretty freaky he knew I was there.”
“I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. Well listen, you only sing until about 11:00, and then we switch over to a DJ so you don’t have to sing all night. Come see me before you leave, okay?”
“Sure.”
“This is your changing room. Go ahead and get dressed, and then I’ll meet you out at the stage for a sound check and confirm the list I want you to sing.”
“Sure. See you in a few.” I head in to change. It’s a small room with a little vanity that has a mirror with lights so I can check my makeup. I set my bag down on the side of the vanity and hang my dress on the rack, then take off the clothes I’m wearing. I slip on my sexy black dress and bold red heels, check my hair in the mirror one last time, and open the door to find Tony standing there waiting for me.
“All set?” he asks.
“Let’s do this.”
We head to the front of the club where we spot the stage. Mikey is already there getting things together. He whistles at me. “Damn girl, you look fantastic!”
“Thanks, Mikey. Do you have that song list for me?”
He hands it to me. “I’m going to be honest,” he says. “There aren’t too many people here during the two hours you’re singing, but my hope is to get people in here earlier with the live entertainment before we start to jam with club music.”
“I have no problem with anything on this list.” I take the mic and start my sound check.
“Mikey, the feedback is too loud.”
“I can hear it. Hold on one second.” He runs into the booth, presses some buttons, and tells me to try again.
I wink and give him thumbs up. “Can I get water with lemon for the stage? I can’t let my throat get dry.”
“Sure thing. And listen, if you need to take a break, take one. Just let the crowd know you’ll be back in five and it’s cool. Okay?”
“You got it.”
The club is open and I’m on stage doing my thing. Although I’m nervous that Billy is going to show or I’m going to screw something up, I’m genuinely enjoying myself. As Mikey said, the crowd is not large, but they appear to be enjoying my singing, clapping and hooting when as I finish songs. I’m about halfway through my night when I need a break.
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I’m going to take a quick five minute break and I’ll be back with you.”
I walk off the stage and Tony is right there. “Are you okay?” he questions, concerned.
“Yes. I need the bathroom and more water.”
He follows me to the ladies room so I can take care of business. On the way I hear him calling to Jake, “Make sure Sky has water with lemon at the stage when we get back. She only has five minutes.”
I arrive back at the stage and Mikey is waiting. “Girl, you can sing. You’re doing a great job!”
I take a sip of my water. “Thanks, Mikey. I’m enjoying myself. Thank you for letting me sing at your club.”
“The pleasure is all mine.”
I climb back up on stage. “Okay, who’s ready for some more music?” I laugh when I get a bunch of screams from the audience. “Okay, okay, here we go.” I begin the second half of my song list.
After I have completed the set, I head into the back room to change my clothes. When I come out, the DJ is playing and the club is starting to pick up a little. Mikey is on the dance floor and I head over to join him. He asks me to dance with him. I’m dancing and having a good time while my security team is talking to each other as they take positions that will allow them to keep me safe.
***
Logan
“Hey, Shane, can you handle the club for a little bit? I want to surprise Skyler at Club Temptation.”
“Sure, Logan, no problem.”
“I’ll let Jonah know I’m leaving and I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“Cool. Have fun!” he yells, running to get liquor for one of the bars.
“Hey, Jonah,” I say into the ear wig, “I’m heading to the club to surprise Skyler. I’ll be back. I talked to Shane as well, and he said he’s got everything under control.”
“No problem. See you in a bit!”
I get in my car so excited to see my girl sing. I have a huge smile on my face as I’m driving over to the club. I love my girl and I really love to hear her sing. It almost killed me to be at Thrive for as long as I have, but I needed to get some stuff done. I hope I don’t miss her. I’m not sure how long Mikey has her on stage tonight because I know he has a DJ too.
I pull up to the club and practically run to the door. I give them my name and am instantly let into the club, then am totally disappointed when I hear the DJ playing and not my girl's voice on stage. I’m bummed I wasn’t here to support her. My eyes are roaming the club because I’m trying to figure out where she is, and that’s when I spot her. What the fuck?
I push my way to the dance floor to find her dancing with Mikey. I grab her arm, spinning her around. “What the fuck, Skyler?”
“Logan, what’s your problem?”
“What’s my problem? I come here to surprise you and catch you dancing with my boy, and you want to know why I’m mad?”
“You need to stop. I got off stage a few minutes ago, and Mikey asked me to dance a few songs with him before we talked about my next gig.”
I yank her arm and pull her toward the door. She snatches her arm away from me. “Let go of me. You’re embarrassing me and your friend. Who the hell do you think you are?”
“I’m your fucking boyfriend, and you’re coming with me.”
“The fuck I am. You need to calm the hell down, and when you do, call me.”
My jaw drops because I can’t believe she said that to me and then walked away. I don’t even know where she went, but Tony and Jake have followed her so at least I know she’s safe.
Mikey comes up to me. “You’re lucky you’re my boy or I would punch you in the face right now. Come with me.” He pulls me into his office, slamming the door shut. “What the fuck is your problem?”
“I don’t know, I freaked out when I saw her with you.”
“Logan, I know Lindsey did a number on you, but you better figure your shit out because Skyler is for real and you may have lost her over your jealous bullshit.”
“Fuck, Mikey. What the hell am I going to do?”
“If I were you, I would let her cool down and then beg for forgiveness. Have you told her about Lindsey?”
“No.”
“Looks like you will be, because explaining that shit may be the only thing to save your sorry ass.”
I yank at my hair in frustration. “Mikey, man, I’m so sorry.”
“Listen, I get it and you're my boy. Don’t sweat it, but don’t do it again either. Yeah I was dancing with your girl, but I would never disrespect you by pulling what Nate did. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it. Listen, I need to go make some calls.”
I walk out to my car, and the first person I call is Jonah. “Hey, have you heard from Skyler?”
“No, but Sadie called and said Skyler is sleeping at our house tonight. What the fuck did you do?”
“I fucked up, and now I have to figure out how to fix it. I’m on my way back to the club now.”
I cut the call and drive straight back to the club.
***
Skyler
I need to slow down or I’m going to get myself killed. I’m so upset I don’t even care right now. I can’t believe Logan did that to me in a club that I’m trying to build my name in. I’ll never be able to sing there again because I’m now known as the singer with the jealous boyfriend. It isn’t like I was dancing with some random guy either; it was one of his good friends. I seriously have no idea what his problem is.
I slow down to take the exit from the freeway and hit a red light. I take a deep breath, trying to keep my tears at bay. He can’t tell me he loves me one minute, then not trust me the next. That doesn’t work.
I stomp on the gas as soon as the light turns green, and because I’m upset, I don’t see the cop hiding around the corner. He immediately pulls me over. I punch my brand new twenty thousand dollar steering wheel, pissed because if I wasn’t driving this fucking Porsche I probably wouldn’t have been pulled over.
Please be John, please be John, I think to myself as I wait for him to approach.
The officer taps on the window and I roll it down. It isn’t John. I automatically hand over my license and registration.
“Going a bit fast tonight, aren’t you?”
“Sorry, officer, I had a fight with my boyfriend and I was upset.”
“I can see that, but it doesn't give you the right to drive crazy. You’ll get over a broken heart, but you may not get over your injuries if you smash this car.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll slow down. I’m right up the street from my friend’s house where I’m spending the night.”
“I’ll be right back,” he says, walking away from my car to run my plate and make sure the car is mine. While I wait for what feels like an eternity, I send Sadie a text.
Skyler: Got pulled over for speeding. Be there in a few.
Sadie: Slow down and get here safe.
The cop walks back to my car and hands me a ticket, my license, and registration and tells me to have a great night.
I roll up my window. Wonderful. I fought with my boyfriend and now I have a seventy-five dollar ticket. Thank God he didn’t catch me on the freeway.
I pull up to Sadie’s, and as soon as I ring her buzzer she lets me in. I go running up the stairs and she’s waiting with a hug for me.
I burst into tears. “I can’t believe him. He was like a raging lunatic, and it was so embarrassing.”
“Aww, sweetie, it’s okay,” she says, rubbing my back to soothe me. She hands me a tissue and a glass of wine she has already poured and pulls me toward the couch. “Tell me what happened.”
“I went to the club to sing like I was supposed to. When I was done, Mikey asked me to find him so we could talk about my next gig with him. He was on the dance floor with some friends so he asked me to join him. I was off the clock and figured it was no big deal.” I dab my eyes and take a deep breath. “All of a sudden I feel someone yank on my arm and when I turn around it’s Logan, livid that I’m dancing with Mikey. He screams at me, ‘What the fuck are you doing? You're coming with me!’ That’s when I told him the hell I was, that he needed to calm down and call me when he did.”
I take a sip of my wine. “That’s when I got my stuff and called you. I do not want to go back there. I don’t even know how I’m going to face him at work tomorrow. I don’t want to be unprofessional and call out sick because that will make it worse.”
“I agree. You need to go to work so you can show him that you two can work together, not to mention you don’t want other people at the club to start thinking every time you two fight you’ll disappear.”
“Would you mind going shopping with me tomorrow so I can get an outfit for work? I don’t want to go to the house unless he has called me much calmer to talk things over.”
“Me? Have a problem shopping? Come on, girl, really? Of course I’ll go shopping with you. I also think you should call him though. I know he screwed up, but I do believe he loves you.”
I shake my head. “He screwed up, so he should be calling me.”
“I partially agree with that, but this is a relationship, and if you love him, give him the chance to explain.”
I finish off my wine and ask if she has more. I want to get drunk and not think about it tonight. I’m disappointed because for the first time in my life I allowed someone in and didn’t screw up. Yet here I sit on my best friend’s couch, heartbroken and not knowing what Logan is doing or how he’s feeling.