Inside The Penalty Box

Elite

"No f*****g way, you lie!" Danielle exclaimed. We were on our way back home after dropping Ben off at his place. I was filling her in on my conversation with Jackson.

"Honest D," I said, "He was like a giant teddy bear"

"So you're telling me you had a super good looking doctor stitch you up, then Jackson f*****g Knight came in to check on you, and he asked for your number," she said throwing her hands in the air. 

"Well technically, I asked him if he was going to ask me for it," I muttered. "Then he invited us out to the club that Tyler was dragging him to, but I told him you had work in the morning so toni--"

"b***h!!!!!" Danielle screamed to interrupt me. "Are you insane!" She put her hand to her forehead then hit my shoulder. "Text him right now and ask what club, WE ARE GOING! I'm calling Jackie and telling her I can't cover her shift tomorrow." She grabbed my bag from the center console and pushed it in my lap. "And don't give me the 'my face is all banged up' excuse, you still look smoking hot."

"Fine, I'll ask him where they are going," I said. "But he's probably too busy to answer." I grabbed my phone from my bag and sent Jackson a message. Within half a second he replied back with the name of the club followed by a winky face. "They are going to Elite." I told Danielle.

"How are we going to get in?" She asked. "Don't they only let in VIPs?" She turned the car around and merged onto the expresssway towards the club. "Ask him how we are suppose to get passed security." I turned my phone over and another message from Jackson came through. Danielle looked at me and said, "Oh my god, you are SO red. What does it say!?" 

I could feel butterflies in my stomach as I read the message out loud, "The doorman tonight is Frank tell him you're with me. He will ask for a word, and that word is beautiful. The best word to describe you, Liv. Can't wait to see you." 

"Awh babe, that is the sweetest thing." Danielle said. "I can't wait to meet him....and Tyler. s**t do I look ok should we go home and change into something sexy for a night out?" I could see she was starting to panic. I had to say something before she started hyperventilating.

"Danielle it's going to be fine. When I saw Jackson earlier he had on sweats and a white tee. I'm sure they won't care what we are wearing." I tried to calm her down by adding, "Look at me, I have blood on my shirt and I'm not freaking out." She stopped the car at a red light and glared at me. "What?" I asked.

"Jackson already knows you're beautiful, Tyler has never seen me!" The light turned green and she pushed down the gas. "I guess if he doesn't find me sexy like this than he isn't the one for me." She sighed.

"That's the spirit!" I said. "If he can't see how beautiful you are than he isn't worth your time. But there's no doubt in my mind that he won't find you smoking hot!" The thing about Danielle, is that she can be the most beautiful girl in the room and she still feels insecure. She is half Latina with naturally wavy, dark brown hair that reaches her tiny waist; she just adds water and it springs to life. Her eyes are pale brown with thick, long lashes so she never has to wear mascara. She's drop dead gorgeous and doesn't even realize it. 

"What would I do without you, Liv." She said as she parked the car into an empty spot. I gave her the best smile I could without popping a stitch. "Well here goes nothing. Are you ready?"

I took a deep breath then exhaled it a little shaky, "Absolutely!" We walked around front to the doors to find a long line of people begging to be let in. Next to them were a row of poparazzi flashing away on their cameras. "I guess the guys must be here already." I whispered to Danielle. 

"That or another celeb is here. Either way, lets find out," She said with a wink. I looped my arm in hers and we headed passed the line and to the front door.

"Can I help you?" A big buff man I'm assuming is Frank said. His black shirt had SECURITY written in bright yellow letters.

"I'm with Jackson Knight." I said. 

The man laughed in my face then said, "Yeah sweetie aren't they all. Now run along with the rest of the whores." He waved behind us towards the long line of girls screaming for Jackson. Did this motherfucker just call me a w***e! Who does he think he is!? I felt my cheeks get hot and I balled my fists. I may be 5 foot 4 inches but I'm not afraid to fight outside my 'height class.' "What are you going to do little b***h, hit me?" He spat. 

"Uh oh.. You shouldn't have done that man," Danielle said taking a step back. 

I closed the distance between us and stuck my finger at him, "Listen here you juiced up f**k! Jackson told me to meet him here, I'm not some desperate w***e!" I heard Danielle say something behind me but I couldn't hear, I was seeing red. "You picked the wrong woman to disrespect." Frank grabbed my wrist tight and I f*****g lost it. With my free hand I broke his grip by pressing the pressure point in his wrist. 

"You'll regret that b***h", he said. He grabbed both my hands and yanked me towards him. I raised my arms up and twisted my body around so now my back was facing him. Bringing my elbow down hard I hit his side knocking out his air then used his own weight against him and flipped him over on his back. I had his arm at just the right angle to snap it in two. 

I started to twist and said, "Now you'll think twice about disrespecting a woman." Frank's eyes were wide with shock and he was gasping for air.

"P-Please don't break my arm ma'am. I-I'll do anything, just please don't break it," he pleaded.

"I think you owe her an apology, Frank." I turned to see Jackson leaning against the door frame of the club entrance with his arms crossed. He didn't look very happy, in fact he looked ready to take over the beating on Frank. "Go ahead, or I'll have her break it, then I'll break the other arm."

Frank looked up at me with sincere eyes and said, "I'm so sorry ma'am. I won't ever disrespect another woman, as long as I live." I released Frank's arm and he rose to his feet slowly. His head hung low as he approached Jackson and said, "My apologies Mr. Knight, I didn't know she was your guest. I had thousands of girls come up to me tonight claiming to be here for you and they all gave the incorrect word. I thought she wasn't coming so I stopped asking for it." 

Jackson put his monster size hand on Frank's shoulder and squeezed, "You touch her again Frank and we are going to have a problem." He released his grip then crossed to me. Extending his hand, he said, "Come on Angel."

As we entered the club, there were hundreds of flashing lights in every color and glistening sweaty bodies all around. The music thumped loud and shook the place as we made our way to the VIP lounge. Jackson lead us to a corner booth farthest from the music, which I was thankful for. He waved over towards the bar and Tyler's head popped out from the crowd. "Ty, this is Liv." I stuck my hand out waiting for Tyler to shake it but he grabbed my fingers and kissed the top of my hand instead. I giggled then looked up at Jackson. "I'll let that one slide Ty, but don't try that again," he said.

Tyler threw his hands up in defense, then smiled, "My bad man. Firm handshakes from now on." He looked to my right and asked, "And who is this beautiful lady? Is she off limits too or can I ask her for her number?"

"I'm not off limits, but I am a hard catch. It's going to take a lot of drinks to get my number," Danielle said with a seductive wink. Tyler growled real low and gave a wink back.

"Well I better find out what's taking the waitress so long on our drinks then," he said. As if right on queue the waitress brings over a tray of beers."Ah, here they are." Tyler distributes the drinks and hands the waitress a 100 dollar bill, "Thank you Madeline. Keep the rest for yourself." His eyes met mine as he said, "So it's nice to meet the woman who has my big guy so smitten. I've never seen him this way about a girl before. He really f****d up Davis for you."

"Well Davis did have it coming. You can't give out a blind crosscheck and not expect retaliation. If you can't back it up, don't dish it out," I said. 

"And you can back it up Liv. You should have seen her take down the security out front." Danielle said from beside me. Tyler's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait.. You took down Frank!? You're half his size! Are you a ninja or something!?" Tyler said. 

I chuckled as I sipped my beer. "Or something.." I smiled. 

"Oh come on, you can't leave me hanging. What is it? How were you able to take down a full grown rhino like Frank?" He asked. 

I choked on my beer, "Full grown rhino?" I laughed. "But seriously, it's nothing really, I've had a hard life and I had to learn how to protect myself. I was the only one looking out for me until Danielle came along." I looked at her and she flashed me a smile.

"And you made it so easy to love you, Liv." Danielle said sarcastically. She turned to Tyler. "I just tapped on her shoulder to introduce myself and she broke my nose." 

"Hey you snuck up on me," I defended. 

"We were 6!" She said laughing. 

The evening was dying down and I was really having a good time. Tyler and Danielle seemed to be hitting it off. They slid into a booth by the bar to talk among themselves. Jackson leaned over, stretched his arm over the back of the booth and said, "I'm really glad you changed your mind, Liv." 

I looked up at him and said, "Me too Jackson. I've had a great time."

"So do you think we could do this again, maybe at a restaurant this time?" He asked. I've enjoyed our time together and I would like to get to know him more, so my answer came out easily.

"I'd love too." I blurted. 

Jackson smiled, "Can I pick you up at 8 Friday night? And if Danielle doesn't mind, I'd like to drive you home tonight." 

"O-oh, absolutely. It's a date! And I don't think Danielle will mind, she might not even be going home tonight." I said. Jackson followed my gaze to see Tyler and Danielle sucking each others faces off. "I'm completely positive." I laughed. 

He looked back at me and smiled. "You have a beautiful laugh." He said. He held my gaze, starring at me like he wanted to scoop me up and drive me to his bed. "Would it be too forward of me to ask to kiss you?" He asked with the sweetest smile.

I tucked a hair behind my ear and blushed. Butterflies went crazy in my stomach as I stretched up to reach his lips. I didn't even give an answer; I just kissed him. He responded by wrapping his big arms around my small waist pulling me closer so our bodies were touching. I was in a state of pure bliss. Everything around us vanished like we were the only two people in the world. Sparks danced across my vision and electricity went throughout my whole body. His tongue swept my lips and I eagerly granted him access. Fire was rising to my cheeks and I was getting hot. I wanted more of him but I remembered we were in a public place. "Jackson.." I breathed. "Get me out of here." 

"Are you sure?" He asked between breaths. I nodded unable to speak anymore. "Okay then." He waved down our waitress and paid our tab then signaled to Tyler we were leaving. He turned to me and said, "My car is out front." 

Jackson lead me out the back doors to avoid any unwanted attention. A black town car pulled in front of us as we stepped outside. He reached down for the handle and ushered me inside. "You have your own driver?" I asked as he shut the door behind us.

He nodded. "I like not having to worry about getting home after a night out." He watched me as I took in the beauty of the car. It was nice and clean inside with a sleek black interior. My car looked like it had been through hell and back, it hasn't been cleaned in months. I closed my eyes and ran my hands down the seat to feel the smooth leather on my palms. I opened my eyes to hear Jackson chuckle. "If you like my town car.." he said with a low voice, "then you'll love my bed sheets." With a flip of a switch the blackout window closed the open space between the driver and us. "Now where were we?"