Chapter Fourteen
Rawr
I didn’t want to go home where memories would plague me and corners of my apartment would whisper to me until whatever was left of my heart would deteriorate into irreparable ruins.
Stephan had to work. He wanted to call off and stay with me, but I opted to go with him instead.
The Hot Spot was his baby.
He bought it with the inheritance money his parents sent him a few years ago. They never did fix that broken marriage but seemed to get along anyway.
Stephan loved the club. He treasured it and put everything he had into it.
Different nights of the week meant different events. Mondays were poetry readings, which usually pulled in a good crowd. Tuesday was open mic, and Wednesday night was chaotic because of dollar drinks, quarter chicken wings, and karaoke.
On several occasions, I had taken that stage for him when someone was a no-show and he had a spot to fill.
I can do anything from hip-hop to belly dancing – without the snake, of course.
Sometimes, Stephan will take the stage with his guitar. His raspy voice is hypnotic.
The place was crawling with girls in revealing outfits and guys stumbling all over the place while they still clung to that last drop of beer from their bottle.
Smoke was so thick over the dancing crowds that you could have cut it with a knife. There was a small dance floor in the middle of the bar, and it was packed with sweaty bodies pressing against each other to the drum of the music.
Stephan walked me through the crowd – high fiving a few guys and two girls on the way – and found me a seat at the bar.
“Sammie!” Stephan yelled to the tall brunette behind the bar wearing cut off shorts and a small purple top. She looked up at Stephan from the drinks she was pouring.
“Get her a drink!” Stephan ordered.
She nodded.
How could anyone work in such a loud place? What if you can’t hear someone’s drink order? Would they get frustrated enough to punch you?
Probably.
“Who said I want to drink?” I tried to smile.
“Um…you’re in a bar.” Stephan gestured with his hand. “And you could really use a drink. A few actually. Just try to unwind, Duchess.” He winked. “And I don’t care what you say, I’m getting you some food. I have to work now. Behave.” He kissed my forehead and disappeared behind double black doors that read STAFF ONLY.
I took in the environment, the feel of the crowd, their energy and tried to relax.
But how?
The smell of desire was too strong. As was the smell of hot bodies and warm blood beneath salty skin.
I rested my elbows on the bar and tried to block it out.
“Yo!” the bartender yelled and pushed a drink in my direction.
I caught it but not without spilling a bit.
“Long Island iced tea!” Sammie hollered. “Takes the edge off whatever you got!” She winked and went back to her business.
An hour later, after finishing some boneless buffalo wings and mozzarella fries Stephan had brought me from the kitchen, I had made best friends with the colorful wall beside me.
Occasionally, I moved aside for people ordering drinks or reaching for napkins.
The Long Island iced tea didn’t do me any favors. If anything, it just added to my ailments.
Upon the request of the crowd, Stephan took the stage with his guitar looking awfully handsome in his faded jeans, white shirt, and gray beanie.
He decided to do a John Legend cover “All of Me.”
I melted to the words and the intense look in his eyes as he locked them with mine.
“If you get any closer to that wall, you’ll put a dent in it,” a male voice said too close for comfort. I looked up from my drink.
A man with shoulder-length dark hair, brown eyes, and a wide smile was leaning close to me.
I managed a courtesy smile.
“I’m not drunk enough to be interested, thanks.”
The man actually smiled wider. “Who said I am?”
I shrugged. “Guys don’t look for casual conversation with a sober woman in a bar.”
“No, they don’t. I was looking for a lighter.” He pulled a cigarette pack from the back pocket of his black pants and put a cigarette in his mouth.
“And I look like a smoker?” I asked.
“No, but there are matches behind you.” He pointed.
I turned around and saw a small cart behind me stacked with glasses, straws, ashtrays, and matches. I took a pack and gave it to him.
He took it and lit his cigarette, taking in a deep pull of smoke and letting it out expertly. “Thanks.” He put out the match. “I’m Chris.”
“Jade,” I said and I was happy that he didn’t offer his hand. I wouldn’t have taken it, and he would have interpreted the gesture as an insult. Most people did.
“Well, Jade. You are stunning, but you look exhausted.”
I almost laughed. “That’s one way to compliment a woman.”
He laughed. “If I was hitting on you, I’d lie. But I am not hitting on you in any way, shape or form. So what’s the point of lying?”
“Guess just to spare someone’s feelings doesn’t count.”
A woman in a very short black and silver dress and ridiculously big heels approached us. There was a sour look on her face, which was smeared with black liner around her pale eyes.
“Chris!” The woman slapped him on the back and then scowled at me. Chris turned to look at her and then his face tensed like he was in trouble.
“Don’t ever do that to me again!” the woman yelled and then turned to me. “Who the hell is this?” she asked him.
“Relax, Kylie. I just needed a light.” Chris assured her and then gave me an apologetic face.
“Yea, my ass.” Kylie pushed his face away from her and then leaned closer to me. “Find your own man, bitch!”
Okay, I had just about enough fun for one night. “If I was looking for one, I wouldn’t start with yours,” I said as I got off the barstool.
Kylie grabbed my arm, and I immediately turned, fisted a hand in her hair, slammed her head into the bar, and pinned her left arm behind her back.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” I growled.
It felt like the entire scene had moved in slow motion after that. Drinks spilled and glass shattered around my feet. I was soaked but didn’t care.
Chris and Kylie’s two accomplices moved back with a gasp. I felt something inside me stretch and a low rumbling growl escaped from my throat in a long breath.
Chris tried to move in, but I stopped him with a high kick to his chest. He stumbled backward and fell into a group of guys.
“What the fuck!” someone yelled. “Call the cops! Call the cops!”
I felt large hands around my waist.
“Let’s go, Jade,” Stephan was saying over and over again, but I couldn’t register his voice.
I caught a glimpse of my eyes in the mirror behind him. They were icy blue. He gasped at the noted changed. “Jade, please. I don’t want to hurt you.”
In a moment of lucidity, I dropped my hold on Kylie, but the woman was fucking relentless. She shrieked and lunged at me with her manicured nails.
What could I do?
I smiled invitingly.