Sam
Everything was going as well as could be expected when you were spending your Saturday night at a kink club with your parents. They’d wanted to see the playroom after Corey had opened his big mouth to tell him it had been my brainchild. Somehow, I’d managed to detach myself from the space that felt like every one of my personal fantasies come to life long enough to show them around.
I’d drawn the line when my dad kept glancing toward the entrance to the back deck. I didn’t want my parents to know about my kinks and I sure as hell didn’t need to know about theirs.
It wasn’t until my dad was at the bar settling the tab when everything went south. There was a commotion deep within the bar. I heard William’s voice booming over the music blaring from the jukebox. Corey looked like a giant when he hoisted himself up on the liquor well behind the bar, trying to see over the crowd to survey what was happening.
I didn’t think. I shoved my way through the crowd, easily breaking free when Theron tried to hold me back. He could blister my ass later if he needed, but William was in distress and it was my job to maintain control over the bar.
“You stupid sonuvabitch! Let me go!” The words slurred together. Incidents like this were rare, but they happened.
“Let me through!” I demanded, barely recognizing my own voice as I parted the gawkers.
William had a burly man, who’d obviously had about six too many, pinned on the ground. John was slumped against the wall. He’d stripped off his t-shirt and someone was holding it to his face.
What in the actual fuck? Shit like this didn’t happen at The Lodge.
“William, what can I do?” I called out when I got closer. The drunk snarled at me, slurring something about the pretty little twink trying to save the day. William’s sense of humor was non-existent as he tightened his hold on the drunk. Drunk asshole cried out, saying William had broken his nose. I let him handle that situation while I checked on John. “You okay?”
“Fuck man, I don’t even know what in the hell happened.” His eyes were unfocused. There was blood everywhere. I sucked in a sharp breath, willing myself to stay calm. “He wanted to go out back and I told him he couldn’t because he’s visibly intoxicated.”
“I’m assuming that didn’t go over well?” I asked. I glanced over my shoulder, grimacing when I noticed how big of a crowd they’d attracted. I stood, turning to face the crowd. “As much as we appreciate your diligence, I need to ask that you go back to what you were doing before. As you can see, William has the situation under control.”
A few of our customers chuckled. Theron and my dad appeared by my side. I jerked my head toward William, and both of them immediately moved to shield the sight of one of our managers restraining a customer on the ground.
“Cops are on their way,” Corey told me when he made his way through the mass of sweaty patrons. He bent down, checking on his Daddy before stepping in front of me. “You have things under control here?” I nodded. “Cool. I’m going to call out a discount. You and Jack can bitch at me for it later, but we need to pull people away from here.”
“Do whatever you need.” I pulled out my phone, knowing Jack needed to be notified any time the cops were called. This wasnothow I wanted my family to see where I worked.
“Theron, help William make sure that asshole doesn’t go anywhere. Dad, can you make sure no one goes into the back deck? Until this is sorted, no one else goes back there.”
“Got it.” Dad stood in front of the door. If I wasn’t mistaken, he was all too pleased to play the role of sentry.
With that sorted, I crouched in front of John, pulling the shirt away from his face. Blood cascaded down his face and his nose didn’t look right. When I touched it, he sucked in a sharp breath as he flinched away from me. “Warn a guy next time, would ya?”
“Sorry, man,” I apologized. I looked over my shoulder. When I caught my mom’s eye, all it took was a jerk of my head towards John and she nodded before disappearing into the crowd. “We’re getting some ice for that. You want me to help you to the break room?”
“I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “Just need a minute. The guy took a fucking cheap shot.”
“I can tell.” We must have looked like quite the pair when John held out a hand so I could help him up. When he lost his balance, I was sure both of us were going to topple and that I’d be buried under a pile of burly bouncer. He pulled back the shirt again and I had to focus on my breathing to keep from hurling. That would not be an effective way to show I could stay cool under pressure. I hooked my hand around his elbow. “You can be pissed at me later, but we need to get you someplace where I can look at your face.”
John must have been in more pain than he was letting on because he didn’t try arguing with me. I made eye contact with Theron and my dad. Jack might not be pleased that I’d left them out here to help William, but I wasn’t even supposed to be here tonight. This was supposed to be the world’s most awkward birthday celebration. It would definitely be one I’d never forget, although I’d much rather be sitting at home with cake than trying to clean up a head wound.
As we passed the bar, I called out to Corey, letting him know where we’d be. A few concerned guests stopped us to check on John and thank him for keeping everyone safe. Until tonight, I wasn’t sure I’d appreciated just how seriously John took his position. Incidents like this were so few and far between that most nights he seemed bored. He knew the regulars and they all knew better than to approach him with even the faintest hint of liquor on their breath.
“I’m fine,” John protested when I lowered him on one of the couches. Ignoring him, I pulled the first aid kit off the wall and donned a pair of gloves. I had zero clue what I was doing but I had to dosomething.The entire time, John alternated between insisting I tape some gauze to his head so he could get back out there—thatsowasn’t happening—and thanking me for trying to get the bleeding to stop. Maybe he wasn’t quite as much of a prickly asshole as I’d originally thought.
The door to the breakroom opened and my mom ushered two cute paramedics into the room. This was a bizarre alternate reality for sure, but she offered me a quick smile and nod before disappearing. Knowing her, she was out there flitting from one table to the next, trying to make sure no one was traumatized by the disturbance. I stepped out of the way, making room for the people who had actual medical training.
“Hey, you okay?” I sagged against the wall when I saw Daddy coming down the hall. This was the first chance I’d had to breathe and process any of what had happened. As much as I’d like to think I would have handled everything as well as William had, I knew there was no way I could have physically restrained someone. Daddy hugged me tight as he kissed the top of my head and told me how proud he was of me. “Jack’s on his way. When you didn’t answer your phone, he called William.”
“Good.” There were bound to be questions, both from the police and from customers, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to come up with any answers. “Things like this don’t happen here. What if I’d been the manager on duty?”
“You would have taken charge the same way you did tonight.”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “But I’ll never be able to do what William did.”
“No, but you were calm in a moment of crisis. That’s huge. You took control of the situation, got people where they needed to be, and took care of John, even though we both know the two of you don’t get along. You put your personal feelings aside to keep everyone in the bar safe.” The way he explained it, I did feel a bit more confident. “Before we go back out there, we need to get you cleaned up a bit. Do you have a spare shirt in your office?”
