Adley

I watch Crew when I walk in the club. He has two favorite spots. The first is up on the VIP level. He stands there, usually dressed all in black, with a glass of something amber in his hand and a woman next to him. He'll kiss her before his hand inches down her back.

I always know the exact moment when his fingers reach their final destination. Her mouth will curve into an 'O,' her head will rock back onto his chest, and she'll start to move her hips in small circles.

To anyone else, it looks like they're dancing. His hand will be in the air balancing the glass and her hands will grip tightly to the metal railing in front of her. She'll close her eyes and move slowly.

As the tempo of the music increases, so do her movements.

Depending on how she likes it, she'll push her legs further apart to give him more of what he wants.

He'll take a drink, she'll bite her lips and then she'll shudder. Sometimes violently, other times subtly, but I always know when she comes on his hand. It doesn't matter who she is. The telltale signs are there.

His other perch is at the end of the bar.

That's where he is now. Surveying his club, watching its patrons, hunting for something.

I've seen him take countless women up to the VIP area from the dance floor, sometimes one, often two.

Waiting for them to come back down isn't usually part of my plan. It happens though. The elevator always arrives first with the woman or women he's spent an hour or two with.

Then he'll ride it back down, a look of smug satisfaction on his face, and the scent of sex peppering his skin as he walks past where I'm standing near the bar, oblivious to the fact that I've been at the club many nights when he has too.

I didn't go to seek him out. My drinks were free so when friends from work wanted a place to let loose, I'd invite them to the club for a round on me. I'd dance, have fun, talk to men and unwind. 

More often than not, Crew wouldn't be there, but when he was, he'd never notice I was there. I never approached because I knew what he was there for and it had nothing to do with me.

"You should go say hello to your dreamboat." Sydney taps me on the shoulder. "He looks lonely."

He looks ready to pounce on a brunette in a short pink dress who is bouncing to the beat of a song I've had on repeat for days. I make a mental note to delete it from my phone.

"I'm going to hang back," I say as I watch Crew stand. "Go have fun."

She's off on a dash toward a group at the opposite end of the bar. I haven't taken my eyes off Crew since he walked in. His eyes haven't left his target.

Brunette, small tits, cute ass, and a smile that could light up the darkest night.

He told me he'd call tonight. He will, but I knew he'd likely be here so after my meeting I went home, changed and shared an Uber with Sydney. She was headed here to meet her friends, and I tagged along knowing I'd find him in one of his two favorite spots.

He's always here on Monday nights, and most other nights too.

I watch from the shadows as he circles the woman, not once, but twice.

It's a scene I've witnessed at least a dozen times but never before has my heart thundered in my ears like this. It's almost deafening, drowning out the music along with all rational thought.

I shouldn't do this. I should walk up to him so he knows I'm here, but my memory is clouded with so many images like the one happening right before my eyes, that I don't move.

My breath catches when he takes a step closer to her. Her eyes meet his. She turns so she's facing him directly.

Crew holds out his hand and I almost fall to my knees. My stomach recoils and I'm afraid that the salad I had for dinner will end up all over my little black dress.

She reaches for his touch because there's no reason for her not to. He's gorgeous, imposing and it's obvious that the man knows how to fuck. That energy seeps from every single pore of his body.

He pulls her closer and then he drops her hand and his arms cross over his chest.

Another man approaches, dressed in all black too. He's security. I know that. He takes a place next to Crew. They talk, to each other and then the woman and she glances around the room, her eyes darting helplessly in despair. She's searching for something or someone.

She pivots on her pink heels but the security officer has his hand on her elbow. She tries to shake him off, tears well in the corner of her eyes and then her head drops.

That's when he turns. Crew turns in my direction and across the dimly lit space, through the crowds that filter past me on their way into and out of the club, he locks his eyes on mine and a brilliant smile takes over his beautiful mouth.

***

"I don't know what the fuck is wrong with these kids who try to worm their way into the club." He shakes his head as the woman in the pink dress is guided toward the exit by the security guard. "It doesn't take a fucking genius to see that she's underage. I swear the people who work the door all need to have their asses kicked."

He smiles through that rant.

"Sydney was carded. I was too." I shrug. "Somehow that woman snuck in under the radar."

"That girl has tried the same trick before." He looks back at the dance floor. "I recognized her from the last time I sent her home. You'd think the staff could be on top of shit like that."

"Maybe their boss should have a word with them."

He studies me for a minute. "Maybe their boss should ask his best friend what she's doing in a club looking like sex in heels."

I blush. I feel it before I realize what's happening. "You're too charming for your own good."

"We both know that's not true." He rubs his forehead. "I'm too old for this shit. I hire people to handle this for me."

"Is that why you're here? To make sure kids don't make it past the burly bodyguard at the door?" I pick up his glass and take a small sip. The liquor burns my throat but I welcome the warmth.

"I'll get you a drink." He taps his hand on the bar and Penny, one of the bartenders instantly turns in our direction.

"No." I wave her away with a flick of my wrist. "I have to work in the morning. I can't drink."

He nods before he downs what's left in his glass in a single swallow. "I have to work in the morning too. That's why I drink."

I laugh. "It's funny how we both ended up here tonight."

He slides his hand to cover mine on the bar. "Seeing as how it's only the second time we've been here at the same time, I'd say that's fate."

I don't correct him. There's no need to. I've always been invisible to him. He's noticing me now and that's enough for me. At least I want it to be.