I needed a new outfit, that much wasdefinitelygoing to happen. I wanted to look nice for Qwill. More than that, I wanted to chase away my usual wear of cowboy hats and fringed underwear. And now that money wasn’t reallysomething that I needed to worry about, I could dress however I wanted. Until this moment, I hadn’t realized how much Troian’s generosity would affect my life, if and when I chose to let it.
I could dwell on other ways to spend this exuberant amount of money at a later date. Right now I had another date to worry about, and all I had to do was get through my busy work schedule this weekend and Monday before Qwill’s handsome face was finally staring back at me.
Chapter 10
The weekend wasa blur of work, sleep, repeat. There were several bachelorette parties through the weekend and it was a struggle to get through, but the money wasnice. The nerves for my impending date with Qwill didn’t start setting in until Tuesday morning as I got off work and prepared to head to bed for the day. Knowing that I was just a few hours away from writhing my body up against his at Gossamer contributed a healthy amount to my troubles sleeping.
Inevitably, sleep found me and nursed me back to full strength, not stirring until my alarm went off at six that evening. As soon as my eyes lifted, adrenaline coursed through me. I was ever closer to my first date with Qwill and I was, to say the least, a little fucking eager to make it happen.
After showering and ordering some Chinese takeout, I was now anxiously scrutinizing what to wear for the date. I’d made time after work on Monday to go shopping for numerous outfits, getting several choices so I had my fill of different avenues of fashion to display. It was also the first time I was able to flex the contents of the new amount sitting in my checking account, courtesy of Troian, of course. Not that Macy’s,HotTopic, or H&M were terribly expensive, but they were, in my opinion, more than I’d like to spend on clothing. It was going to take a while for me to truly splurge.
Agonizing in the mirror had taken longer than I’d expected, and before I knew it, it was eight thirty. I wanted to get to the club a little early, despite living so close to it. I decided to wear the dark gray button up I’d gotten from Macy’s, paired with the Nightmare Before Christmas tie I’d gotten from HotTopic and the tan pants I’d gotten from H&M. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the best outfit ever, but I wanted to show Qwill that I had a personality, that I was more than just the stripper he’d fantasized about.
Every step I took down through my apartment building until I was down on the street was torture. I wanted so badly for this date to go well. Even if it didn't, I knew my feelings were too far gone for me to just let go of Qwill. He'd dug his invisible claws into me, puncturing my previous nonchalance when it came to dating. I didn't want him to let go of me.
Working my way on to the sidewalk outside my apartment building, I knew that it was now or never on whether or not I was going to properly steel myself. Gossamer was just a very short walk from the apartment, so the opportunities to do soafterI got to the club were very quickly diminishing from my hypothetical grasp. Forming an invisible cage around my quaking feelings, I soon found myself outside the fashioning line to get into Gossamer. I took a brief look within the waiting crowd, but I didn’t spot any sign of Qwill.
After flashing my ID to the bouncer and once again sauntering down the neon hallway that proceeded the main hub of the club, I was fully immersed into the nightlife I was overly accustomed to. Gossamer was a fun time and it had its own certain appeal, but it was lacking compared to Downpour. The club I worked at was more of a performance club, and that’s where the real money was. At least as a performer. As I sidestepped and apologized my intrusionaround the crowd to make a beeline for the bar, I couldn’t help but wish Gossamer would put in at least an upgraded stage so that the local performers could put on bigger numbers.
I arrived at the bar and shook my head. I might have been keeping my nerves in check about being on a date with Qwill, but I sure as fuck didn’t want to drown those nerves in contemplating how this club could improve its offerings. Work was the last thing I wanted to think about. Tonight was the perfect opportunity to let loose and completely lose myself in an atmosphere I usually only got to attend as a biased employee.
The bartender moseyed over in my direction and asked me what I wanted with the least interested tone and facial expressions he could possibly muster.
“Can I get a rum and Coke, please?”
“Sure thing.” He said with ice monotony, turning his back to me as he worked on making my drink.
I twisted around to face the engorged assembly on the dance floor, mesmerized by their discarded inhibitions. That’s what I wanted for myself tonight. To throw caution to the wind, to let myself be free, to let fucking go. I never wanted anything more, except for maybe a kiss from Qwill. Just the thought upturned my lips, thinking about the last time we’d kissed, the memory shooting electric charges straight to my dick.
“Hey beautiful.”
The speed of my turning neck threatened to pull a muscle, Qwill’s scaled appearance making my heart quicken and my smile to pull my features taut. He finished dipping and dodging the dancing bodies until he was standing next to me. He opened his arms up for a hug and I reciprocated without hesitation.
“Sorry I’m late.” Qwill said as we eliminated the hug.
“Oh, you’re good.” I felt a tap on my shoulder, getting a wordless nod from the bartender as he set down my drink in front of me. I shifted back around while I had the bartender’sattention and gave Qwill a head tilt as I grabbed my glass. “Do you want a drink?”
Qwill beamed at the aloof bartender, who looked completely unfazed and altogether annoyed by his sudden presence. “I’ll take a vodka cranberry, thank you.”
Nodding, the bartender left us to it as I delivered a scoff and shook my head at my date. “I never would have pegged you as a vodka cran guy.”
Shrugging, Qwill smiled moreover. “What can I say, I like what I like and stick to it.”
Feeling the unspoken connection to his infatuation with me, I kept my eyes trained on his as I lifted my cocktail. “Yeah, you certainly do.” Winking, I took a hefty sip of the rum and Coke, feeling the mutual calm of my usual flirty confidence returning to me at the same time the comforting burn of the alcohol etched its way down my esophagus.
Qwill scoffed incredulously at my remark, taking his drink as the bartender swiftly placed it before him. It was the virces’ turn to shake his head at me, pressing his drink to his lips in earnest. Now that I was feeling more in my skin, I was ready to down a few drinks and get Qwill out on the dance floor.
With my free hand, I silently lead Qwill to a vacant spot within the confines of the crowd, swaying to the techno beat that throbbed and reverberated against the walls.
We started dancing, sipping our drinks and talking about how glad we were that we were able to do this. Honestly, despite the fact that this was our first date, it was kind of refreshing that we weren’t talking all that much. Instead of diving into our sordid backstories and furthering our bond that way, we were able to live in the moment, to enjoy each other’s company without the standard protocol that came from most first dates. Most of our commentary going forward was centered on the music and our varying tastes of said music,heading back to the bar to refill our respective cocktails, and dancing close together.
I felt weirdly liberated by it. It was as if my body was speaking for me and there wasn’t a need for my words to overcomplicate what we were doing. By the time Qwill and I were onto our fourth (or was it fifth?) drink, the current song we were grooving to was wrapping up and I looked into Qwill’s eyes and saw an edge to his stare that hadn’t been there before.
“What is it?” I laughed, thinking he was being silly for the way he was looking at me, like I was a prized possession among mediocre commoners.
But he kept that seriousness as I felt him place a hand on my hip, stalling the way I kept moving them from side to side to the music. “You’re so goddamn beautiful, Thayer.”
The deep tone of his voice made my breath hitch, gasping as I felt his scaled fingers spread out over my clothed hip, stirring the fabric of my shirt like he wouldn’t be satisfied until he could feel my flesh underneath his. My heart was beating a mile a minute as we held the gaze, locking our eyes in a silent battle of what might happen next. I could barely register the song shift, hearing the opening sounds of Katty B’s remix ofLet’s Hear It For The Boy, which would have been a little too on the nose if I could have focused through the fog Qwill was putting me in.
