“Baby, I know you miss me,” she purred. “What the hell can that little goody two shoes do for you? She probably doesn’t even know how to give a decent blow job.”
Annie wrapped an arm around my shoulders as I burst into quiet tears. Tiffany was right. I wasn’t enough for Austin.
“You’re a fuckin’ idiot, Tiff,” Austin snapped.
“We could share,” she offered. “I wouldn’t mind. She’s pretty in a Little House on the Prairie kind of way. A little chubby, but still kinda pretty.”
It was like the woman was in my mind, saying out loud every insecurity I’d ever had. Before I could fully break down, Austin was pushing a very naked Tiff out of the room, his hand wrapped around the back of her neck.
“What the hell, Booker?” she squealed, trying to cover herself with her arms.
With his free hand, he pulled out his cell phone and put it to his ear. “Buzz, get the fuck up here. Now!”
It wasn’t long before Buzz was rushing towards us.
“You let this skank in my room?” Austin snapped.
“She said you wanted her to wait for you,” Buzz answered.
“On notice, yeah? If she ever shows her face within a hundred miles of anywhere Dogs related, I will ruin her.”
Tiffany’s face went white. “What?”
“You get me, Buzz?” Austin asked.
“Yeah, Booker. Sorry,” he stammered.
“But, it was just a joke,” Tiffany rushed to say. “I meant it as a joke. Everyone knows you’re with Dani. I wouldn’t have done anything.”
“One fuckin’ night with you and I’ll regret it forever,” Austin said, his face contorted in rage. “It wasn’t even good, but I tried to be respectful anyway. Can’t believe I wasted my time on you when just a few days later I was given someone near perfect.” He still had his hand wrapped around the back of her neck. “You’ve gone through pretty much everyone here, Tiff, so you can head on downstairs and see if there are any other takers before you get the fuck out of here for good.”
“I’m not going down there naked, Booker,” she snapped.
“Why the hell not? You said you’d share. So what makes me so special all of a sudden? You want a threesome so bad, go see if anyone wants to take you up on it. But it’s your last chance, Tiff, so make it count, because I see you anywhere near the club, me, or my woman again, you’ll find out what I’m like when I’m pissed. Got me?”
She nodded and he shoved her away in disgust.
“What about my clothes?” she asked.
“You wanna play the whore, babe, you don’t need clothes.”
I covered my mouth with my hand, both liking the way Austin was standing up for me, but also a little sad at another woman’s humiliation... even if she did bring it on herself.
“Buzz, no one in my room except me or Dani, yeah?” Austin demanded.
“Yeah, Booker. Sorry.”
Austin scowled at Tiff. “What are you waiting for? Fuck off.”
She started down the hall, her head bowed, her countenance very different than it had been a few minutes ago. I stood in stunned silence, Annie’s arm still around me, and watched as Austin stepped back into his room and emerged holding Tiff’s clothes. He shoved them at Buzz and then grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. Annie followed.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest and I couldn’t stop myself from crying into his shirt.
“Baby. It’s okay,” he whispered.
“I thought... I...”
“I know.”
