Tangled desires

Chapter5: Lingering temptations

The ride back home was quiet at first. The night air still clung to Selene’s skin, carrying the echo of music, perfume, and shadows that refused to let go. She sat in the passenger seat of Mina’s old car, staring out of the window as the city lights blurred into streaks.

Her heart hadn’t slowed since they’d left the club. Images replayed in her head like flashes—women moving like liquid gold under the lights, the velvet walls, the sharp laughter of men who had more money than she would ever touch in her lifetime. And Cassandra’s eyes… heavy, sharp, like she could see into Selene’s bones.

Mina broke the silence first.

“So,” she said, glancing sideways as she drove, “what did you think?”

Selene exhaled softly. “It was… wild.” Her voice was low, uncertain. “Not like anything I’ve ever seen. It felt… dangerous, like the kind of place that swallows people whole.”

Mina smiled knowingly. “Dangerous, yes. But also freeing. You felt that, didn’t you?”

Selene’s fingers twisted in her lap. She didn’t want to admit it, but she had felt something—something electric, something that made her chest tighten in ways she couldn’t explain. It wasn’t just fear. It was temptation.

“You don’t have to answer now,” Mina continued gently. “I didn’t take you there to force you. I just wanted you to see there’s another world out there. Something beyond that grocery store, beyond Ethan and his constant mess.”

Selene pressed her lips together, guilt pooling in her chest at the mention of Ethan. “Mina… stripping isn’t exactly… it’s not what my parents would have wanted for me.”

Mina’s hands tightened briefly on the steering wheel. “Your parents wanted you alive, Selene. They wanted you happy. And this—” she flicked her eyes toward her friend, voice softening, “—this doesn’t make you dirty. You’re not selling yourself. You’re just performing. Dancing. Using what you have to survive in a world that doesn’t care if you drown.”

Selene’s throat ached. She looked back out the window, watching the neon signs fade into darkness as they reached the quieter streets. Mina’s words sat heavy on her chest, pulling at something deep inside her.

“Think about it,” Mina added. “I won’t push you. Take your time. But money like that…” She whistled softly. “It changes everything. It buys freedom. It buys choice.”

Selene nodded faintly, but the storm inside her didn’t ease. She thought of Ethan’s debts.Of the way exhaustion gnawed at her bones after endless shifts at the grocery store. And then—unbidden—she remembered the way the club had pulsed with life, the way people looked powerful just by being there.

Maybe Mina was right. Maybe it was worth considering.

They pulled up in front of the run-down apartment building Selene called home. Mina put the car in park but didn’t unlock the doors right away. She turned fully toward Selene, her expression serious now.

“One day, you’re going to have to choose,” she said softly. “Keep drowning for people who don’t deserve you… or climb out, even if it means getting your hands a little dirty.”

Selene swallowed hard. Her heart thudded painfully against her ribs, because Mina’s words cut too close.

Before she could answer, her phone buzzed in her bag. The sound was sharp in the quiet car. She froze, dread crawling through her veins.

It was Ethan.

Mina gave her a look. “See what I mean?”

Selene’s hand trembled as she pulled out the phone, the screen lighting her face. One message blinked on the screen:

“Where the hell are you? Don’t make me come looking.”

Her stomach dropped.

Selene’s pulse hammered as she climbed the narrow stairs, each creak of the old wood pulling her deeper into dread. Mina had left her with a tight hug and a whispered, “Don’t let him drag you under, Sel.” But as Selene pushed open the door to the apartment, the weight of her reality came crashing back.

The air inside was thick with cigarette smoke and the sour tang of stale beer. Ethan was sprawled on the couch, his messy hair shadowing his face, one leg bouncing restlessly. A deck of cards lay scattered on the table beside him, along with empty bottles and a half-crushed pack of cigarettes.

"Babe,” he said without looking at her, his tone sharp.

Selene slipped off her shoes quietly. “I was with Mina.”

Ethan’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowing. “With Mina? At this hour?” He sat forward, suspicion tightening his jaw. “Where exactly did you go?”

Her throat dried. She didn’t dare say the word club. “She… just wanted to get a drink. Talk. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

Ethan laughed, but there was no humor in it. He dragged a hand through his hair, leaning back with a scoff. “You think going out while I sit here dealing with everything isn’t a big deal?” His eyes flicked to her, sharp and accusing. “Do you even care how much stress I’m under?”

Selene bit her tongue. She wanted to scream that his stress came from the poker tables, from his reckless nights at the casinos, from debts she was forced to patch with her own sweat. But she swallowed it, her nails digging crescents into her palms.

“I care, Ethan,” she said softly. “I just… needed some air.”

He studied her for a long moment, his gaze dragging over her like a net. Then he stood abruptly, closing the space between them. Selene stiffened as he cupped her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his.

“You’re mine, Selene,” he murmured, his breath laced with smoke and alcohol. “Don’t forget that. You don’t go sneaking around behind my back. If I find out you’ve been lying to me…” He let the words hang, unfinished, his thumb pressing just a little too firmly against her jaw.

Selene’s chest ached. “I’m not lying,” she whispered.

Ethan’s expression softened instantly, his shift from threat to tenderness so fast it made her dizzy. He brushed a strand of hair from her face, lips curling into something almost gentle.

“That’s my girl,” he murmured. “You’re all I’ve got, Sel. Don’t make me think I can’t trust you.”

He kissed her forehead, almost tender. To anyone else, it might have looked loving. But Selene could still feel the invisible collar tightening around her neck.

She moved to the kitchen, setting her bag on the counter. The silence between them stretched thin. Ethan turned his attention back to the television, the flicker of neon lights painting his face, but Selene wasn’t watching him anymore.

Her mind was elsewhere—still caught in the memory of Mina’s words, of Cassandra’s gaze at the club, of the wild, dangerous world that had both terrified and intrigued her.

That place had been alive. Fierce. A world that could devour her whole but might also free her from the suffocating weight of this apartment, this man, this endless cycle.

Her hand brushed the countertop, trembling slightly. Mina had said she didn’t have to decide right away. That she had time. But staring at Ethan’s hunched figure, at the smoke curling from his cigarette, Selene wasn’t sure how much time she really had before something inside her broke.

Ethan’s voice cut through the silence again, sharp and jarring. “Don’t think you can start acting different, Selene. You belong here—with me. Don’t forget that.”

Selene froze. He hadn’t even looked away from the TV, hadn’t even noticed how her breath had caught in her throat.

Don’t forget that.

The words clung to her skin like shackles.

And yet, somewhere deep in her chest, another voice whispered back, stubborn and defiant: Not forever.