“Is that right?”
“Oh, yeah. Real deep in thought. Not something you’d understand.”
She laughed, only because she didn’t get the jab. Diamond, the hot brunette with a nice rack and even nicer smile, gave me a wink and said, “Come find us later.”
“Yeah, sure thing,” I answered, even though I wouldn’t.
I let out a pitiful sigh as I reached for my beer and took a long pull. When I set it back on the table, Seven side-eyed me and said, “Damn. You’re gonna make me do it, aren’t ya?”
“Do what?”
“Ask what’s wrong with you, and you know damn well I don’t wanna ask.”
“Then don’t. Nothing’s wrong.”
“Well, now you’re just pissing me off.” Seven tossed his towel on the counter and crossed his arms. “We both know something’s eating ya, so just spill it.”
And here’s where I would’ve gotten all deep and insightful, and bared my soul like it was some kind of late-night documentary. But before I could even open my mouth, before the words ‘I know, man’,could crawl their way out, I glanced to my side and spotted Davis sauntering through the front door.
That’s right.
My long, lost brother.
He looked good. Almosttoo good.
He had on a clean shirt, his hair was combed, and he was sporting an easy smile, making it look like everything was going his way. And maybe it was, because he wasn’t alone.
He had his arm slung around a woman’s shoulder, casual but in a claiming sort of way, like he’d done it a hundred times before. And the woman at his side was none other than Presley Mayes.
The Presley Mayes.
I remembered her well. She was one of the prettiest girls in our high school. She always smelled like vanilla and had perfect hair, perfect skin, and perfect clothes. I also remember her being one of those goody-goody types who always made all A’s and only dated guys who came from a good family.
She steered clear of trouble, which meant she wouldn’t give me the time of day.
And I tried. I gave it my all, and I was shot down at every turn.
And now, she was here.
At the Vault.
Looking even more beautiful than she did back then, and I won’t deny that it was a surprise to see that she was there with my brother. Seven followed my stare and muttered, “Is that who I think it is?”
“The one and only.”
Davis spotted me, and his whole face lit up like he was actually happy to see me. What the fuck was that? He started walking toward me, guiding Presley along with him. And me?
Well, I just stood there, beer halfway to my mouth and my heart hammering in my chest, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. There were a lot of things that could’ve turned my night to shit, and this one was pretty high on the fucking list.
Damn.
Things were about to get interesting and not in a good way.
4
PRESLEY
I’d heard about the Vault. Everyone had. It was one of the largest strip clubs in town, and it was very popular, especially with men. Apparently, they couldn’t get enough of it.
