“Tonight?” I ask seeing the dream of a long, hot soak slip away.
“Yeah, we’re all going out tonight.” Jackson replies. “Even Seth.”
Crap. The thought of hitting the cubs in a foreign city scares the hell out of me. Portland clubs are bad and always packed, meaning Boston is probably twice as bad and twice as packed. The last time I went out I punched a girl in the face and I’m not too keen to go through that again. Not to mention I didn’t pack anything for a night out.
“We won’t be out for long.” Seth says, coming to stand beside me. His arm hooks around my waist, pressing my side against his. “I can’t drink and I need as much sleep as I can get for tomorrow.”
“Good,” Jackson chuckles. “We need a designated driver and you can leave once we get to Polaris.”
“What time?” Seth asks.
“We want to be there at ten or eleven. It doesn’t really matter. The good shows don’t start until midnight.”
Nightclubs in Boston do shows? I relax a little. Maybe we’re going to theatre or something similar to that. I pray to God that’s the case.
***
That is so not the case. Polaris is a strip club. How the hell did I not see this coming? Seth nudges me further into the club as I awkwardly watch females grind on poles and on men in booths. I mean, it’s definitely the nicest strip club I’ve seen—correction—gentlemen’s club as Darryl says, but that doesn’t make me less uneasy. I finger the button holes on my white silk blouse, nervously as Seth places his hand on my lower back and escorts me over to a huge booth at the other side of the room. As soon as we’re seated, a topless woman with fake boobs walks casually over to us. Her skirt is short and plaid, barely covering her ass cheeks. Her nipples are hard and pointing directly at my face. I wonder if she’s cold. She introduces herself as Vivian and bends over to adjust one of her knee high stockings while her breasts rest on the table. The boys are absolutely lapping it up and when she straightens they throw their drink orders at her.
“Anything for you, sweetheart?” She asks me. Her voice is high and sugary.
“No, thank you.” I reply, unable to look her in the face. I’m so far out of my comfort zone it’s not even funny.
“That’s no fun.” She replied, pouting her overly-glossed, cherry red lips at me. She steps closer, and crouches down. Her boobs brush my arm and a pang of nauseous embarrassment rolls through my stomach. “I’ll have to show you a good time another way.”
“Uh...”
Beside me Seth chuckles, making heat seep into my cheeks.
“I’m okay.”
Her warm, soft thumb brushes down my cheek. “We’ll, you let me know, honey.”
Her dark eyes fall onto Seth. “What about you, handsome? Can I get you anything?”
He speaks to her so casually like she’s not topless and rubbing her tits on my arm. “No. I’m good.”
With a swift nod, Vivian struts over to the bar and I’m suddenly grateful my dad isn’t here. That would have made this the single, most embarrassing moment of my life.
“You’ve never been to a strip club before?” Jackson calls out from across the booth. His hair is slicked into a spiky mess on the top of his head and he’s smiling at me like I’m some strange hermit crab.
“No... I’ve never really felt the need to.”
Seth looks at me, highly amused and he’s smiling that wide smile I like so much. “What?” I say. “Am I that weird?”
“No,” He hooks his arm around my neck and brings his lips to mine. “You’re good.”
Only we understand the double meaning to that word. When Vivian comes back with our drinks, Jackson drags us all from the booth and over to the elegant lounges in front of the wide stage. The floor is illumined with white lights and three girls dance slowly to the music, shaking and swaying everything.
“Which one of you is up for a good time?” Vivian giggles, leaning over our table.
Her eyes definitely flicker between Seth and Jackson. I really don’t know how I’ll handle Seth or Jackson getting a lap dance. I’ll have to tell Selena...girl code and all that and maybe she won’t care. Jackson hands her money and flicks his eyebrows at me. I watch him, confused by his gesture. Again, Seth is laughing beside me as Vivian sets her sights on me. There’s a seductive smile on her red lips and she leans right down to my ear. “Just relax.” She breathes.
Immediately, I go rigid and stare wide eyed as her bum cheeks grind against my lap. Jackson and everyone else—including Seth—are having the time off their lives watching and laughing at my frightened expression. This is so not happening right now. What do I do? How long does this go for? When will it stop? Questions fill my mind one after the other and I’m too scared to voice them. She presses her back against my chest and rubs her hands around my neck. I swallow hard, keeping my hands balled into fist at my side. I don’t like this. This isn’t fun...not to me. She turns on me, rubbing her hard breasts against my own. I look at Seth, who’s still smiling away.
“Seth...” I say, giving him my best ‘get me the fuck out of here’ expression. He nods his head and shuffles toward me, but he’s too late to stop her as she brings her my lips to mine and sucks my bottom lip into her mouth. I gasp. What the fuck? Are strippers even allowed to do that? How much did Jackson give her? Instinctively, I shoot out from underneath her and my hands fly up to cover my mouth. She smiles innocently up at me and Jackson and the rest of the team clench their sides in fits of laughter. I went along with it as much as I could, but a line has been crossed and I want to go home.“Well, well, well.” A deep, skin-crawling voice chuckles from behind. A heavy hand plants itself on my hip, pulling me backwards slightly. I whip my neck to the side, immediately seeing Don’s bald head and scruffy jaw. “That was quite the show. I wouldn’t mind seeing another.”
Seth jumps to his feet and the rest of the team follow him. Vivian smiles sweetly and takes her leave. Seth’s stare flickers from Don’s hand on my hip to his face. Darryl is talking in a low tone to Seth, but he doesn’t look like he’s listening to a word he’s saying. He’s seething. I can see his jaw work and clench, his fingers flex at his sides and his chest rises and falls in deep pants. I try to step forward, but Don increases his grip, limiting my movement.
“Don,” One of his team members warn him. “Let the girl go.”
Don chuckles and I don’t think he gives a shit about the tournament. He just wants to get back at Seth. Normally, when I run into Don at the fights, he isn’t touching me and I’m able to slip away before he does... but today is different and I’m worried if I move, Seth will do something stupid. His thick finger flicks hair over my shoulder and I flinch away from his touch. “She’s a little timid, but if you leave her with me for the night I’m sure I can straighten her out for you.”
Seth starts forward, but Jackson and Darryl stop him. His nostrils are flaring, his eyes wanting blood.
“You heard your team.” He growls. “Let her go, this is between you and me.”
A deep laugh rumbles through Don’s chest, vibrating against my back. “You brought her into this, not me.”
I glance around the club, a few people are watching, but they’re intrigued not frightened or worried. They want to see something happen here. I try to step forward again and Don’s hand clamps down. I wince at the pressure and Seth surges forward, dragging a useless Darryl and Jackson behind him. Don shoves me aside and I fall toward the floor. The hip he had a hold on slams into the tiles, sending a sharp pain down my leg. I push myself up on my elbow and watch Seth’s closed fist connect with the side of Don’s face. Strippers begin to squeal and call for security as Don and Seth exchange punches blow for blow, their teams powerless to stop the two beasts. Soon, everyone is in on it—team against team—beating each other senseless. My nerves are electrified and my heart is rapidly pushing blood around my veins. I become dizzy with adrenaline and fear. This is it. Seth is out of the competition and it’s all my fault.
“Seth!” I call over the grunting and screaming.
Tears threaten my eyes and I force myself up onto my feet. “Seth!” I call again.
The security guards are on them like flies, pulling them off each other. Seth’s eyes lock with mine and when I see his face, tears pour over the brim of my eyes. There’s a cut on his eyebrow and it’s leaking blood down his cheek.
“Seth, Go!” Darryl shouts. “I’ll handle everything here.”
Seth storms toward me, scooping me up into his arms like he had all of the energy in the world. I wrap my arms around his neck and it’s damp with sweat.
“I’m so sorry.” I cry into his shoulder.
He pulls me tighter against him and I squeeze my eyes shut. Soon, the busy noise of the street and the cool night air coax me into opening my eyes. The valet brings Seth’s car around and they stare at us, but aren’t brave enough to ask questions. Seth sits me in the passenger seat and shuts the door with a slam, startling me. He climbs into the driver’s seat and speeds off, not saying anything the whole way back to the hotel. I have no idea what’s going through his head and I want to pry, but respectively remain silent. We pull into the hotel and he jumps from the car and storms around to my side. He pulls the door open and scoops me from the car before carrying me into the lobby. I feel silly because I am more than capable of walking. Other residents try not to stare while some openly gape at us and Seth ignores them all. When we’re safe in our room he finally puts me down.
“Are you okay?” He demands urgently and I nod my head.
Seth paces in front of me. He can’t breathe. He doesn’t want me to know it, but I can tell. His chest is moving shallowly and his face is strained, almost desperate. He scoops up an ornament of a Greek God and throws it against the wall in the living room. I jump as the porcelain shatters into hundreds of pieces and he turns back to me, his eyes burning darkly though narrowed slights.
“Go to bed.” He orders.
I take a step back. “But you’re not—”
“Fuck! I said go to bed!” He snaps, running his finger impatiently through his hair.
His eyes are dark, the darkest I’ve ever seen them and my heart cracks painfully in my chest. He’s mad at me... I slowly turn away from him, heading up the clear, glass stairs to my left. My heels click against them, echoing around the quiet hotel room. When I get into the room, I drop onto the bed, pressing my face into the purple satin pillow. How did tonight get so shitty? I know I should have stayed here in the hotel room. I was going to, but Seth insisted I keep him company. Look how that turned out.
Somewhere between crying, listening to Seth smash things and yell at people on the phone I feel asleep. When I open my eyes, it's still dark, but the lounge room light is filtering through the cracks. I slide off the bed and wobble unsteadily in my heels. I grasp the door handle and open it slowly. Hopefully Seth has calmed down and wants my company. Like earlier, my heels click and clack down the staircase. I can’t see Seth anywhere and I can’t hear him either. At the bottom of the stairs, there’s a scattered pile of porcelain. I turn up the short hallway and open the cleaning cupboard in search of a dustpan and brush. Glass in your feet is not a good time. I crouch down and sweep as much of the glass into the pan as I can. The floor being a lush, white carpet doesn’t make it any easier.
“You don’t have to clean up after me.” His calm voice startles me, but I don’t turn around to look at him in fear of him sending me away again.
“I want to.” I reply, running my fingers carefully over the soft carpet.
I’m sure I got most of the big pieces of glass. I let go of a calm, controlled breath and I have no choice but to turn around. Slowly, I straighten myself and turn around. My gaze falls over Seth’s perfect, topless appearance. His expression is unreadable and he swishes a glass in his hand. The ice clinks against the glass filling the uncomfortable silence. I walk past him and into the oversized kitchen. I pull open the drawer under the sink and tip the shards of porcelain into the bin.
Seth sits the now empty glass on the breakfast bar in the middle of the kitchen. I look at him and close the drawer. He still has dry blood on his face and I want to tend to him, to fix the wound on his brow. I step forward once, letting him know I want to come to him. He nods his head and I practically run to him. I wrap my arms around his neck, burying my face into his shoulder.
“I’m so sorry.” I say. Oh, God. I think I'm going to cry again.
“Hey,” he takes my arms from his neck, forcing me to look up at his face. "This isn't your fault. You didn't do anything. This is all me. Only me. Do you understand?"
I’m not nodding my head. If I hadn’t freaked out and practically sprinted from the stripper that kissed me, I wouldn’t have given Don a chance to grab me. Seth wraps his fingers around my wrist and I follow him up the stairs to our bedroom, only he doesn’t stop there. He pulls me along behind him all the way to the bathroom.
He flicks the light on, bringing the dark room to life. Seth’s hands wrap around my waist and he lifts me to sit me on the bathroom counter. I watch his face and he doesn’t talk while his hands rub my ankles and slip my shoes off. He pulls me from the bench and hooks his fingers under the hem of my pants, pushing them to the floor. My heartbeat speeds up, like it always does when he touches me. He turns me around and tugs on my shirt, pulling it up over my head. My bra is the last piece of fabric to fall from my body and when I turn back around to face him, his eyes drink me in, unable to hide the flash of desire in his eyes. Then they narrow in on my abdomen and I notice his body tense and his jaw clench. I glance down. It’s my hip. There’s a dark shadow forming where Don grabbed me and where I fell.