Chapter 6
Emerson
I gave myself a critical look in the mirror, wondering who the stranger was staring back at me. The girls' night out that had been planned on the eve of our spa day had been cancelled and rescheduled for tonight. That worked out better for me because I was off on Sunday, which meant that I could party all night if I had a mind to.
I'd gone out and purchased new clothes to go with my fresh, new look. The treatment I'd received at the spa had left my skin clear and glowing, and smooth and hairless where it needed to be, including my pussy. I still couldn't get over the fact that I'd had it waxed for the first time. The girls had practically ganged up on me and held me down on the table in order to get me to do it. I giggled looking back on it now. They had been insistent that if I did manage to hook up with someone he would appreciate a smooth pussy.
Hooking up wasn't on my mind, but a good time was. The little black dress I had planned on wearing was still hanging in the closet, replaced by a tight, clinging, red halter dress. The plunging neckline revealed a lot of the girls, but I couldn’t deny that it was flattering and sexy. So was the fact that it was backless, and very short. Daringly short. My black stilettos made my legs appear long and sexy. I'd arranged my hair in a messy bun on the side, my makeup was minimal, and I’d finished it all off with a light spray of perfume.
A knock at the door revealed that the girls had arrived. I opened the door to five smiling, sexy ladies all dressed to kill.
"Wow!" I couldn't help exclaiming, taking them in. "Are you the same women who belong to the Sentinels?" I teased. "It looks like you're all on the prowl tonight."
Laughter erupted. "You have a lot to learn about our men," Della quipped, taking me by the arm.
My eyebrows rose as she dragged me outside. Someone closed my door behind me. "Really?” I snorted, believing that I probably knew the habits of their men far better than any of them. "You mean like how big and tough they all act? How possessive they are of you, or how they can't keep their hands off you when you're in the room?" More laughter. "Or how about how they are dangerous, controlling, highly sexual, over-the-top alphas?"
"She knows our men," Ruby laughed.
"You forgot they're unpredictable and easily angered," Judith added.
"And they can be take-charge, don't-take-no-for-an-answer assholes," Cookie joked with a smile.
"Sexy as hell," Lonnie added to the conversation.
Everyone nodded their heads at that.
"Built like freaking gods," Della said dreamily. "But that's not what I was talking about." We were walking toward Ruby's SUV. "We're dressed for our men. This is how it's going to play out. Right now they are all at After Hours, killing time, tossing a few back. They know we're having a girls' night tonight, and they'll eventually begin phoning us to make sure we're okay and not getting into any trouble."
Judith cut in. "They'll give us just enough time to hit a couple of clubs, do a little drinking and dancing, and then they'll show up."
Lonnie giggled. "One by one they'll lead us out onto the dance floor and then gradually we'll all be dragged home for a night of hot and heavy sex."
We climbed into the SUV.
"They want us to have a good time, but the truth is they can't stand when other men ogle us or come on to us." Cookie ended up in the back with me. "Did we forget to mention that they're jealous as hell?"
"They like to stake their claim in public, too," Della grinned, looking back at me.
"So, um, while all of you are being dragged away by your cavemen and having hot and heavy fuck fests, what happens to little ol’ me?"
"Well, if you haven't met someone by then, I'll take you home," Ruby promised.
I was pretty certain that she was going to take me home. I didn't plan on meeting anyone that I'd want to take me home--Stranger Danger, and all that. I wouldn't mind attention from someone of the opposite sex, maybe a little dancing and a drink or two, but I wasn't a one-night-stand kind of girl.
"You girls aren't planning on throwing me to the wolves are you?" I joked.
A chorus of no’s echoed through the vehicle. In little to no time we were arriving at our first destination. I knew the club, amply named Girl's Night Out. I'd been there before. It lived up to its name, providing the perfect place for women to wind down after a hard day at work, or just to get away from everything and everyone so they could be themselves. It didn't surprise me to find when we went inside that the ratio of men to women was extremely low.
We found a table and took a seat, each one of us scoping the place out, possibly for other friends.
"We love our men to pieces, but once in a while it's nice to go to a ladies only zone just to remember what it used to be like before them."
"Like our spa day," Ruby added.
"Yeah, our men wouldn't be caught dead in here," Lonnie grinned. "We won't be here long."
I could understand their sentiments. I didn't have a man, but After Hours was a biker's bar, so I had to serve a lot of guys who were crude, loud, rough around the edges, and loaded with testosterone. After five days of that, I was ready for a break.
"Don't worry, honey. If we don't find the perfect man for you tonight, there's always next time." I returned Ruby's smile. "By the way, you're by far the sexiest woman in here."
"Yeah, if Ace could see you now, he'd be kicking himself in the ass for the way he's been treating you."
I didn't remind Judith that I was partially to blame for Ace’s treatment of me. "It's nice dressing up for a change, but I don’t think I'd want to do it every day. That's one of the reasons I like working at the bar," I told them as a server came to our table and took our orders.
"I agree there's something to be said for being able to dress casually for work, but you can get Ace's attention in other, subtler ways."
There was no way was I going to respond to Della's comment one way or the other. Denying that I wanted Ace’s attention would only make me appear guilty of just that.
"Do tell," Cookie encouraged.
"Show up to work naked—"
Laughter erupted. "That's subtle!" Ruby remarked.
"Shave your head."
"Tattoo your face."
"Straddle his lap and hump him for all you're worth."
The suggestion turned me hot with the instant visual that it conjured up.
I listened to a few more of their outrageous comments, thankful when the server returned with our drinks and they settled down. By then we were all red-faced with laughter and silliness. I tasted mine, a vodka cranberry, and made a humming sound of appreciation. "This is good."
Della and Cookie nodded. They’d ordered the same drink.
Judith was sipping on a virgin mudslide with a mountain of whip cream and a cherry on top. "I hope the baby doesn't get a buzz from this," she joked, sucking on the straw.
"This Long Island Iced Tea packs a punch!" Lonnie quipped after taking a few sips. "What did you get, Ruby?"
"Chocolate martini."
"Yum! I love anything with chocolate. I might get that next time." I eyeballed it as I sipped my drink.
"So, getting back to what we were discussing . . ." Everyone turned their attention to Della. "Seriously, this time." The force behind her words was obviously meant to stop the others from fooling around. "Forget about Ace. He had his chance. There's a man out there for you, and we want to see you happy. We've been watching you for months at the bar, noticing how you try to make yourself invisible."
I opened my mouth to protest, but she plowed right over me.
"It's obvious, honey. You're hiding."
I was guilty of trying to be invisible at work. I didn't do anything that brought any attention to myself. I kept quiet, did my job and minded my own business, but I wasn't hiding as much as I was keeping a secret.
I forced a smile on my face. "So, what, you girls have decided to take me under your wings? Fix me?"
"We want to be your friend." Ruby spoke the words with quiet sincerity. "A couple of us recognize that we were in the same place once. Hell, I was when I first came here. I was living out of my car, running away from my past. Well, my past showed up one day."
She stopped suddenly, giving the impression that she was unable, but I had to know the rest of her story. "What did you do?" I picked up my drink.
"I had to face the consequences."
I got the feeling that it hadn't been good.
"The point is that we like you, and we’ve wanted to include you in our outings, but we thought by the way you acted at the bar that you just wanted to be left alone."
"I didn't realize that I was so transparent." I smiled. "But I'm glad you decided to take a chance and ask me to join you on your spa day. I had a great time."
"Good!" Lonnie said loudly enough to be heard over the noise of the club. "From now on you're part of our girl squad."
"Spa day and girls' night out?" I laughed.
"Oh, and so much more!" Cookie chimed in. "We go on shopping trips, lunches, and we're a support group for each other. You have a problem? We'll help you with it. Man trouble? Come to us for a shoulder to cry on."
"Or you can sic us on him," Ruby suggested.
A loud slurping sound drew our attention to Judith. She sucked loudly a few more times before noticing the eyes on her. "What?"
"Let's finish up here and head out to Jumpin' Jerries, I'm in the mood for dancing."
"Sounds good to me," Della said, finishing her drink.
The rest of us did the same. We left money on the table to cover the drinks and the tip, and then headed out. Jumpin' Jerries was just down the street and was hard-core compared to Girl's Night Out. It was more like After Hours in atmosphere, loud, dim lighting, and full of action minus the truckers and bikers.
Ruby was the first to receive a call from her man, Tanner, just as we were climbing into her SUV. I vaguely listened to her murmurs of assurance that all was good and that we were on our way to JJ's, as she'd called it. Judith was the next to get a call, just as we were pulling out of the parking lot. I had to grin as one by one the girls’ phones went off, feeling sorry for myself that I didn't have a significant other who cared about where I was and what I was doing.
Someone like Ace.
I brushed the thought aside.
Maybe someday…