I step back automatically from her when she reaches for me, thinking of when she saw me at the club. Saw me withhim.
“So I can be your guest,” Jonah says, gripping my wrist as we walk into Sins. I shoot him a knowing grin and nod, bowing my head longer than I really need to. His attention is totally focused on me and I’m drinking in the attention. “They don’t care about my info?”
“You passed the background test,” I remind him, reaching across with my other arm to rub his bicep. I love that he’s so tall, so big. I have this thing for ridiculously tall men. “An alias is at your discretion, but you don’t have to actually pay the membership fee until after your second visit. Until then it’s a trial period.”
He gives me a sly grin, moving his hand from my wrist to my back so he can tuck me into his side. “Don’t worry babe, by the time we reach the second visit you’ll be begging me to come again.”
I don’t know if that’s an orgasm joke or not, but I laugh anyway and smile at him. He fingers the lanyard around my neck with his free hand for a moment, before reaching back up to grip my hair. I follow the pull of his hand, giving him the smile I know he’s seeking.
We recently met at another club called Feel Good. I told him there were better places, so now we’re trying Sins. I know he won’t be disappointed here.
“Be good babe,” he tells me, tightening his hand, “obey, and we’ll be so good together.”
I want to ask him what that means, but his hand slips out of my hair and I look up. I told him we could explore while there’s a show in the theater, but when I look in that direction my heart stutters and stops.
Laci. And Emilio. I shouldn’t lust after the guy when he’s clearly disinterested, but my eyes linger on him despite myself. I try to step into Jonah’s grip, to show off a little, but his arm doesn’t even wrap around me.
Uncertainty pricks at my mind. Is he suddenly so distracted by Laci that I'm no longer important? I don’t know if my pride can handle losing two men to her in less than two months.
"Oh," Jonah says, surprised to see them. He looks between me and Laci like he’s not sure who he should focus on, and my stomach hollows. I’m not even good enough to keep his focus when I invited him to the damn club. "I didn't know you came here, Laci."
Laci leans away from him and into Emilio, who’s glaring daggers at Jonah. Em raises a brow, waiting to see what Jonah’s going to do next. With the way the three of them glare at each other it hardly feels like it matters if I’m standing here or not.
Something in Jonah’s eyes goes dark when he stares at Laci again, and finally his arm tightens around me. His voice is cold when he speaks. "So you two are together now."
Laci digs her nails into Emilio’s arm. Her voice is strong when she speaks, even if she looks like she’d like to curl intoEmilio’s body and hide from this entire situation. "We are. Now pay attention to your partner. She’s looking a little rejected."
Surprised, Jonah glances down at me, and I try to not feel as put out as I do. I don’t look away from him as the couple moves on, and Jonah’s frown deepens.
His hand is back in my hair before I can process it, his grip tight as he tilts my chin up. “Sorry, babe. Just a little surprise is all. Why don’t you show me where the best tools are for some impact play, hmm?”
“Are you okay?” Laci asks, jarring me from the memory. She’s still sitting there, holding a nail file, looking at me with a frown.
I stumble back another step, and I can feel Anita’s eyes on me too. But I can’t look away from Laci. “You knew him.”
“Who?” she asks with a frown.
Just say the name. They don’t know.I swallow, tightening my arms around myself. “Jonah.”
She scoffs. “Ew, don’t tell me you’re still letting that prick drag you along? I can’t remember the last time I saw him so I’m assuming you came to your senses and realized that he’s a dickhead, right?”
My hands are sticky from the blood, even when the paramedics make me get up. It’s all red.“Yeah.”
“You don’t look so good,” Anita interrupts, shooting Laci a look. She drops her voice a little when she continues. “I told you showing up and forcing people to be your friend is awkward as hell.”
“This is how I deal with everyone,” Laci says, looking between us. “People typically feel better after self care. That’s the point.”
“Well we should’ve called first,” Anita hisses, before looking back at me and forcing a fake smile. “Or we could’ve just asked Tyson to call I guess. That would have been a good idea.”
“Well, we’re here now,” Laci counters, shooting me a look. I can’t tell if she’s annoyed or concerned, but there’s a headache forming and I can’t quite focus on her. I press one hand to my chest. “We can’t exactly have a redo.”
“You should go,” I say, but my voice sounds small. I grip the wrist of the hand pressing to my chest, clinging to myself. “I’m sorry.”
Anita stands up, worry etched across her face. “Maybe you should sit down for a moment, Kimber. You look a little pale.”
“It’s just nails,” Laci says, dropping the file to hold up her hands. “Tyson said it would be nice, and we couldn’t bring Kat or Myla along as a buffer.”
“Or Callie,” Anita says awkwardly. “Or Serenity. I don’t know if you even know Serenity very well.”
