“I have to agree. We need to have another meeting of the Nabokov book club…” Next it was Kyle Lucky’s (or whatever the hell his name was) turn. The musician really rubbed me the wrong way. He had his long hair pulled back in a ponytail, and his frosty blue eyes looked sly, not at all friendly. He stared at Babygirl and lingered on her cleavage.
That was when my instincts forced me to get closer until I could put my arm around her and pull her tightly against me.
Selene went stiff and craned her neck back to look at me.
She was pissed, and I couldn’t blame her. One minute I was refusing to hold her hand, the next I was acting like a possessive freak.
The rest of the group looked at me fearfully. Several of them took a step back, and they all exchanged quizzical looks. No need to tell me; I could see from their tight faces that they weren’t loving my presence there in the club.
“Good evening,” I said, smiling. I could almost taste their fear on my tongue. Each one of them knew that I wasn’t anything like Logan, that I ran with the Krew, and the kind of reputation I had. They all just stood there stiffly, watching me.
“Neil’s with us tonight,” Logan announced firmly, and their expressions went from confused to alarmed in a nanosecond.
I laughed like the fucking asshole I was.
“Are you two…um…together?” asked Julie, a girl I always used to spot holed up in the library. She was cute but anonymous, someone I never would have taken note of if she hadn’t been a friend of Logan’s. She looked curiously from me to Selene.
“We’re hanging out,” I answered vaguely, and Babygirl peeled my arm off her, even more annoyed.
What was her issue now? She knew perfectly well how things were, and I wasn’t going to give her any illusions to the contrary.
“Hanging out?” she repeated sharply, her frosty gaze boring into me. She shook her head, compressing her lips into a bitter line. “You’re such a jackass,” she fumed and tried to pull away, but I reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could escape.
“You need to get your head right instead of putting on airs for your little friends,” I whispered into her ear, making sure she knew not to cross the line. I was unsettled by how outraged she was, especially with Kyle right there watching every move we made. I had no desire to put on a show for him or to lose my cool in front of the rest of them.
“And you need to not be an asshole for once in your life,” she shot back at me.
Then, with juvenile obstinance, she smiled at Julie and walked into the club with her, completely ignoring me.
“Keep calm and just…hang out.” Logan said as he patted me on the back, prompting me to move inside the club along with the rest of them. Reluctantly, I followed him, and we all moved through the doors past a powerful man who checked our IDs before letting us inside.
The club was just another spot.
It wasn’t anything new or different from all the other clubs I used to hit up with the Krew.
Lusty women, guys looking to score, irritating music, and the reek of alcohol and smoke in the air.
My eyes scanned the room for Tinkerbell, already annoyed, but all I sawwere some square tables, the flash of colored lights, and some indistinct figures. My girl seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
She’d checked her coat at the door and then walked into the crowd without looking back.
“Fuck,” I snapped in frustration. After a wary look, I headed over to the bar, which was lit up with alternating red and blue lights. I propped my elbow up on the empty surface and continued scanning the room, trying to spot Selene. My one consolation was that the musician was not far away, talking with Adam, so I at least knew he wasn’t with her.
“Quit worrying. Since when are you so jumpy anyway?” Logan, meanwhile, had positioned himself right next to me exclusively to bust my balls. I rolled my eyes at him.
“I didn’t realize you’d taken us to such a sketchy place,” I answered when I noticed the girls slinking amongst the tables. They were all over the customers as they took their orders.
They were shameless and crude, the kind of women I’d usually love to spend a few hours with.
“Afraid you won’t be able to be a good boy with Selene here?” Logan teased as he also watched the young waitresses prance around on their high heels, shaking their asses.
“Fuck you and your advice,” I shot back. He just laughed. He had no idea how much I’d rather be at home alone with Babygirl than doing any of this shit. I liked it when she opened those incredible eyes wide and watched me ecstatically as I moved inside her. I liked it when she whispered to me that I was the only man she wanted in all the world. I liked it when she finally lost control and gave herself over to me completely, scratching up my back and sides.
I liked it when she fell asleep right next to me, one leg tucked between mine.
Knowing that one day soon all of that was going to drift away, however, was upsetting me.
Someone else was going to take her plush lips and kiss away all her doubts and fears and insecurities.
