Chapter 14
1061 Words
Saturday night came faster than I could have anticipated. I’d skipped class on Wednesday and had avoided Amelia at work as much as possible. But I couldn’t keep skipping school when it was coming out of my pocket. The money I was dishing out for this degree was suddenly becoming more a problem the more I tried to not think about it. There was one thing clear that I couldn’t let happen which was letting my parents find out that I was barely making ends meet on my paychecks.
They weren’t in the position to be helping me out. But it was also pride that made me not want their money. As petty as it might have seemed, I knew I could figure something out on my own. Without their help.
I think that’s why I was here tonight. In The Red Emblem. It seemed crazy at first to even think about setting foot inside the club. After what had happened last week, I would have thought I would be scared out of my mind to even walk on the same street as it. I wasn’t. When I walked up to the sidewalk and gazed up at the red sign that glowed upon my face, my heart had skipped. My entire body had frozen and it wasn’t in fear. There had been a strange feeling that had taken over my body. I was excited to see what was waiting for me inside.
Amelia and Nate were going to be in there. It might have been a set up for Amelia to get more revenge on me or perhaps they might have more sinister reasonings for inviting me tonight. I couldn’t see past it. Well, I could, but I didn’t want to believe an ounce of the logic my mind was feeding me. Every fiber of my being wanted to know what was going to be inside the club. Curiosity was a weakness I didn’t know I had.
It took me another minute to gather up the courage to enter the line.
There were a group of giggling girls who didn’t look old enough to get in. They all wore short cocktail dresses and high stiletto shoes that showed off their calves. I admired their smooth legs as the line moved forward. The bouncer at the front of the line was the same as last week which I silently thanked for. He took one look at the group of girls and denied them entrance.
“Are you serious?” The girl with light brown hair was the leader of the group by the looks of it. She was in a tight fitting red tube dressed that didn’t do any favors for her flat chest. My eyes raked over her body, not sure if the features I saw worked for her or not.
The bouncer shook his head as if he didn’t even have the time to deal with her. He nodded at me.
“ID and invite.” I showed him my ID and held out the black card. He took it and then waved for me to enter.
The black ink door looked more intimating now that I was being let in. Somehow there had been a little hope that he would have stopped me. It would have saved me from having to make the decision on my own.
“Step back.”
I turned to see the bouncer push the girl back. Her friends were huddled together with shared looks of unease on their faces. They looked like they didn’t want to be here anymore, but the girl wasn’t having it. She wasn’t going to leave until she got in.
I don’t know what made me stand there and watch. There was something about the scene that made it hard to look away. It was kinda f****d up for me to watching something so embarrassing when I should have been heading inside.
The girl screamed, yelling curse words at the bouncer. One of the girls walked away from the group and the others watched her leave.
A gush of cold hair fanned over my back. The door to the club entrance closed. I felt a hot body behind me and before I could move, a voice broke the fight up.
“Ladies.” I stiffened as I felt another wave of air, warm this time, fan over the back of my neck.
To my shame, my n*****s hardened. Goosebumps ran up my arms.
The girl gaped at the man behind me. Her face blushed a deep red.
“I-I—” She stuttered while flubbing with her purse.
“Do you have an invite?” The deep voice wasn’t recognizable. We’d never met. I should have been uneasy about a strange man standing so close behind me, but I didn’t feel threatened. The only thing I was afraid about was embarrassing myself by my oversensitive body.
I hadn’t realized I was such a slut.
It was my turn to blush as I finally admitted the words. It had been floating around in my head for a while. Hearing it in my head was harder than I thought it would be. I blamed it mostly on Mel, Nate, and Amelia for destroying me.
The bouncer crossed his arms and moved to stand in front of the fumbling girl. It seemed to hit her then that she was losing this battle. As she turned, slight hesitation painted on her face, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She walked away. I swear when she wiped her face it was to wipe tears from her face.
The door opened.
“Coming in?”
I slowly turned.
The tall tanned man wore a pristine navy blue suit that fit well with his dark hair and eyes. He was taller than Nate and I had to crane my neck to actually meet his gaze. My lips parted as I started to put the name to the face. He knew that I’d figured it out. His lips upturned into a smug smirk.
Xander Kingston. The owner of The Red Emblem.
- Writer
