SATURDAY NIGHTS WERE EVEN BUSIER than Friday nights. By the time we closed, my feet were aching and so was my lower back.
I’d been too busy to even go out and check on Kyle during the night. He refused to stay at Trish’s house, and honestly, I knew I couldn’t keep depending on her. Instead, I parked our car in the abandoned alley beside the club, with plans to sneak out and check on him every thirty minutes.
He had books and a flashlight and I made sure he knew not to open the door for anyone, but still, I was a nervous wreck all night. As soon as I could, I left the bar and snuck out to the alley to check on him. I found him sitting there reading with an annoyed look on his face. He obviously felt too old to be checked on.
When I got back inside to finish up, I was met with the gorgeous guy from before. I’d noticed him staring at me earlier in the night. He was always staring, and a couple of times I thought he was going to approach me, but he never did.
Most of the men in the club had no problems with expressing their interest. It wasn’t like I was surprised by their groping hands or fuck-me eyes. We were practically wearing nothing, so it was to be expected. That didn’t mean I liked it, in fact I hated it. It made me feel sleazy and dirty.
That wasn’t the case when tall, dark, blue eyes looked at me though. There was something dangerous about him. He encouraged the extra sway in my hips when I moved through the room, and as much as I wanted to be embarrassed by it, he was the reason I pulled my shirt down a few extra inches.
The way he watched me made me think he was interested in me, but apparently it was because he was the owner and I was obviously doing something wrong.
I followed him over to the bar and he motioned for me to sit down on one of the stools. I sat and he moved to stand in front of me. He turned his baby blues on me and reached up to tuck a stray hair behind my ear.
His simple touch heated my skin and my breathing got harder. I felt embarrassed by my reaction to him. Experienced girls didn’t fall apart at such an innocent gesture. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the motionless bodies of the staff and if I strained, I could hear their whispers.
It wasn’t normal for the owner of a club to tuck the wait staff’s hair behind their ears.
“Jessica,” he said with a seductive grin.
I almost didn’t realize he called me by the wrong name. His voice was so dark and deep—hypnotic. I shook my head, my correction on the tip of my tongue. “No. My name is—”
He stopped me with a rough finger over my lips.
Sparks tickled my lips, making me roll them together.
“No. When you’re with me, you’re Jessica.”
And then it all made sense. The owner of Clive’s was certifiable. It was a shame for such an attractive man to be totally crazy, but there you go.
“Sir, I’m not really sure what this is about, but…”
“My name’s Sebastian.” His words were rough and clipped.
“I’m sorry, Sebastian…” I said slowly, not wanting to make any sudden movements. “Is there something I can do for you? I really need to get back to work so I can get out of here as soon as possible.” My eyes flew toward the club doors and I was ready to flee any minute. But Sebastian, a.k.a. my crazy boss, obviously had other plans.
He put his head down and chuckled softly to himself. It was a deep, erotic sound that punctured all the right places.
“As a matter of fact, there is something you can do for me. A lot of things actually, but we’ll get back to that later.”
The bartender slid him a drink across the bar, and he watched me over the rim of his glass as he took a quick sip.
“I hate to do this, but I have to let you go. We at Clive’s appreciate you applying for the job, but I don’t think this is the right position for you.”
He said the word position like it was the name of a dirty movie. Listening to his smooth voice and staring into his never-ending pools of blue, I almost missed the point behind his words.
And then, his words sank in and gutted me.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not with my brother, outside parked in our home, waiting for me. I had to do something. I wasn’t certain I could find another job quick enough. Things were already sitting at rock bottom. I wasn’t sure I was going to come back after this hit.
“Sir…” the word slipped from my lips. It sounded broken and afraid.
“Sebastian,” he corrected.
“Sebastian, I—”
He cut me off again. “I love how you say my name.” He appeared to be thinking to himself.
“You’re actually the first one to know my name. It’s inconvenient, somewhat forbidden, but I kind of like it.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. Of course people knew his name. Before I knew who he was, I distinctively remember Trish talking about the owner who was named Sebastian Black.
I didn’t know how to respond to him, so instead I chose to ignore what he said. “I can’t lose this job. Please, let me try again tomorrow night. I know I’m not perfect, but I didn’t drop anything tonight. I’ll be even better next time. Please, give me—”
Again, he silenced me with a single finger. What was with this guy?
“I have something else in mind for you, my beautiful, perfect myth.”
I didn’t hate that he was flirting with me, and I already gave up trying to understand what the hell he was blathering about, but I sensed if I wanted to keep my job, it was best to not respond.
“A proposition of sorts.” He grinned before turning on his drink again.
I watched his smooth lips close around the edge of the glass and a strange tingle ran down the length of my spine. I wondered what it would feel like to feel his lips against my skin.
My thoughts surprised me and I shifted them back to his last comment. “Anything’s better than nothing. Tell me what it is, and I’ll do it.”
He made a soft noise resembling a growl. “I love the sound of that, especially from those lips.”
I swallowed hard.
“Stay behind once everyone’s gone. We’ll talk about this privately. Understood?”
I nodded, even though I knew leaving Kyle in the car any longer than needed was a bad idea. Still, I couldn’t lose my job, and if that meant staying an extra five or ten minutes, I was doing it.
“Okay,” I agreed.
I stood to go back to work, and he stopped me with a hand on my arm. My flesh prickled and that same, strange sensation from earlier worked its way up my arm.
“No, sit until everyone’s gone,” he said before casually strolling away. His confidence filled the room like water.
I ended up sitting at the bar, while the other waitresses stared holes into the back of my head. I couldn’t imagine what it looked like. The new girl, sitting on her butt, flirting with the owner in a remote corner of the bar. Great. Just perfect.
Once I convinced Trish I was staying behind to ask some questions, and the last worker left, Sebastian made his way across the club in my direction. His walk was slow and deliberate, making me feel like prey.
I swallowed hard, trying my best to keep my eyes off his tall frame and orgasmic eyes. Yes… orgasmic fit him nicely. I knew the meaning of the word, but I’d never actually experienced it. Either way, he was the equivalent of the definition.
“You stayed,” he commented after he sidled up to me. “Good girl.”
He was too close again; Sebastian obviously didn’t care about personal space. It made me uncomfortable and tingly at the same time.
“It’s not like I had a choice,” I oozed sarcasm.
I could hardly believe the way my words sounded. I was never rude to people and I’d never had such a tone in my voice before. Instead of getting angry, he just smirked down at me, like he enjoyed being snapped at.
“A little bit of fire in heaven, I see. I like that. However, everyone has a choice. You could have left, but you didn’t.”
His words were true, so I didn’t respond.
He took the seat beside me and held out a glass. “Would you like a drink?”
“No, thank you. I’m not much of a drinker.” I responded.
“Good to know.”
Even the way his words rolled off of his tongue was sexual. He could be talking about politics or something equally as boring and still get your panties wet.
“You mentioned a proposition earlier?” I asked.
I hadn’t even thought about the fact he might be asking me to stay behind so he could rape and kill me. Desperation erases your mind of all fear, apparently. Then again, was it considered rape, if the other party is willing and ready?
Shaking my train of thought, I tried to focus. Willing and ready? Did I really just think that?
“Yes.” He turned toward me and the side of his mouth lifted, drawing my attention to his perfectly sculpted lips and the hint of a dimple that begged him to smile bigger. I wanted to finger it. I also wanted to run my fingers though his thick hair. “I’d like to buy you.”
And just like that, my new found sexual fantasies went up in smoke. Surely I’d heard him wrong. I really needed to get out of my head and pay attention. I’d been around men before. What the heck was wrong with me?
“Excuse m-me?” I stuttered.
“I said, I’d like to buy you,” he repeated.
I sat and gawked at him, positive he’d lost his marbles. For the life of me, I couldn’t speak. Part of me was mad at Trish for not telling me her boss was a total head case.
“I’ve shocked you. Okay let me finish. I find you extremely attractive. If I was a man who enjoyed being in a relationship, I’d ask you to go on a date with me, but I’m not that kind of man.
“I don’t like complications of any form, and I find that when emotions get involved, things become problematic. So, I’d prefer to have the sex, without the relationship. Your company, without the hassle.”
I looked around the room to find a hidden camera somewhere. This wasn’t actually happening to me for real. At any moment, a show host would pop out and the joke would be on me. But there were no cameras, and there was no host to relieve me from the awkward situation.
“Here’s what I’m offering you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little black book. “I’ll put your number in my book, and when I want you, I’ll call you.” He leaned in close and I could smell his cologne. It smelled like hot sex, and spice. At least, what I imagined hot sex smelled like. “And when I call you, you’ll come, in more ways than one. I promise, beautiful girl, it will be mutually pleasurable for both of us.”
My mouth dropped open and with a single finger to my chin, he closed it.
“I only have two rules.” I stiffened when he ran that same finger down the top of my breast that I had foolishly exposed for him earlier tonight. “Don’t ever deny me. And don’t fall in love. As I said before, emotions are messy and I’d prefer not to get involved.” He tucked his book back into his pocket. “If you break either of those rules, I’ll remove you from my book and payment stops.”
When I found my voice again, I spoke. “Payment? You want to pay me for sex?” I sounded as shocked as I felt.
“Not just for sex, your company as well, but that will be on my terms. And yes, at some point, I’m going to want to fuck you.”
He lifted his drink to his lips, while keeping his eyes trained on mine. His throat worked up and down, swallowing the remnants of his glass. Then, there was his dimpled smile once more. “So what say you, Jessica? I can make it worth your while.” A single brow lifted in emphasis.
Oh, I had no doubt in my mind he could “make it worth my while,” but hell would freeze over and the devil himself would ice skate on it, before I sold my virginity to him. I mean, for the love of all that’s holy, he was attractive... But I just couldn’t. It wasn’t in me to sell my body to some stranger, regardless of the amount of money.
I lifted my head, even though I wanted to hang it low and disappear. I knew for sure I was walking out of the club without a job, which meant things were about to get a lot worse.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t do that. I appreciate the offer, but I’m no one’s whore.”
As I stood to move away, he pulled me against his body. I looked up at him in shock, and to my dismay a little bit of excitement. My breasts crushed against his chest and he was very much aware as he bent over to whisper in my ear.
“My name’s Sebastian, not sir.”
I shook off the chills from his whispers, and walked away without looking back. As soon as I stepped into the cool morning air, I let the tears fall.
I’d just lost my job.
I made sure to wipe away my tears before I got back in the car with Kyle. He was asleep on the back seat with a smile on his face. I knew it would be gone the following day.
I DROPPED KYLE OFF AT school, and then slept for an hour on the back seat, before using almost all of my gas to job hunt. I didn’t tell Kyle I’d lost our only source of income because it was clear he was starting to worry even more. He was old enough to know things couldn’t get much worse. We were already living in a car. He didn’t need to know that pretty soon our car would be out of gas and we’d really be screwed.
Once I picked him up, we got some fast food and ordered from the dollar menu again. It was all I could afford to buy without a kitchen to use for preparation. I had to make the tips I’d received stretch as far as possible.
I parked near his school, so I wouldn’t have to drive back and waste gas, and we sat and did his homework together. When night came, he curled up in the back and I got as comfortable as possible in the front passenger’s seat.
Kyle set the alarm on his watch, so I let myself fall into a deep sleep. It had been days since I’d actually gotten any sleep. I was in the middle of a decent dream, starring Sebastian Black, when I woke abruptly to the sound of thumping on the window above my head.
I jumped up and pulled the blanket closer to my body. Once my eyes adjusted to the early morning light, a police officer came into focus.
He looked down at me with furrowed brows, tapping on the glass again. “Miss, we need you to open the door.”
Looking past him, I saw two other officers. One as round as he was tall, and one who looked like he’d just graduated from high school.
We’d overslept. I knew this because teachers were already starting to pull up and make their way into the school. All eyes were on my car, as it was surrounded by police cars. I didn’t understand why they had to have their flashing blue lights on. We weren’t criminals on the run. It didn’t make any sense.
I reached out and popped the door open letting in the cold air. Kyle sat up at that exact minute with wide, shifty eyes.
“Roz?” he asked nervously.
“It’s okay, Kyle. Just stay back there.”
I crawled out of the car closing the door behind me and rubbed at my arms. It was freezing and I’d left my jacket inside the car.
“We had some reports about an abandoned car outside of the school. Some of the staff were worried.” The police officer’s expression changed and he shook his head. “Are you and this young man living in this car, miss?”
I didn’t want to answer him, but I didn’t have any other choice. “No. I accidently locked us out of the house last night and I didn’t want him to be late for school this morning. I’m sorry, officer. I’ll move the car right now. Thank you, but all is well.” I started to move closer to the door.
I thought I was home free, until I felt a hot hand on my wrist. I looked up to see the round officer staring back at me with pinched lips and knowing eyes.
“I’m sorry, miss. We’re going to need to take the young man into custody until it’s verified that everything is indeed well.”
I shook him from my wrist and turned to open the car door. I obviously wasn’t thinking clearly since all I could think about was outrunning the cops. “No. That’s not necessary. Like I said, we’re fine and I’m taking him home right now.”
No matter how many times I said those words, the police officer didn’t listen. He pushed me to the side and pulled open the backdoor.
“Roz!” Kyle said in a full on panic. His tone tore at my heart and fear roared through my body.
He struggled in the officer’s arms and reached out for me with tears on his cheeks, as they pulled him to the car with the blue lights on.
“Roz, please help!”
I pushed and fought against the other two, while my little brother was thrown into the back of the police car like a common criminal.
I lost it. Pulling free from the hands that held me, I ran to the car and pounded on the glass. Kyle’s tear-stained face stared back at me.
“Miss, if you don’t stop, we’re going to have to take you into custody.”
I heard the cop talking, but I wasn’t processing it. I lost all track of reason. Reaching down, I picked up a rock and threw it at the window. The rock went through, leaving a gaping hole in its stead.
It was then reality hit home. I was thrown against the police car and my arms were pulled behind me. The cuffs were too tight, and when I was tossed in the backseat next to Kyle, I knew I’d sunk lower than I ever thought I would.
There was nothing I could do. I fought. I fought with all I had left, but it didn’t matter. All that it got me was a one-way ticket to jail. Me—the virgin who’d never drank or done drugs.
I’d failed Kyle. I’d failed the last person left in my life and there was nothing I could do to make it right. Turning away from his sad eyes, I stared out the window and cried.