2. Mistress Samantha #2
“Great.” Q hopped up to his feet. He glanced over at Law, wanting to ask Law about Noelle, but Law was in the middle of a discussion with Emery and he didn’t want to give Sam a chance to run.
It was better to stick by her side to make sure the drink actually happened.
He met her gaze again and offered her his arm.
“Let’s go.”
With her hand securely wrapped around his arm, he felt a lot better about his chances of keeping her around for the conversation.
“Let me just grab my jacket,” she said, slowing when they stepped into the lobby.
Q didn’t argue. It was fucking cold out, so he’d worn a coat as well, but he was surprised when he realized she meant an actual jacket in addition to her coat.
As she pulled it on over her corset, he realized why she’d wanted it.
It covered up the corset and most of the tops of her breasts.
Even though her skirt was leather, it blended well enough to make it look like she was a regular person out on the town, wearing a sexy black top and dress, but not like she had just been at a kink club.
He’d been so preoccupied at the idea of getting to talk to her, he hadn’t considered that, but thankfully she’d come prepared.
Since it was a Monday night, the bar was pretty quiet, though the booths were filled up. Marquis was a popular restaurant, so the dining room still had a fair amount of people.
“Corner?” Q asked, nodding his head toward the corner of the bar where they’d be able to sit perpendicular to each other instead of side by side.
“Sounds good.” Though she still appeared nervous, Sam quickly took a step in the direction indicated, tugging slightly on his arm as she got a little ahead of him, but Q quickly fixed that.
In her heels, she was almost exactly his height, which he liked, so he lengthened his stride to stay at her side.
There was only one other person at the bar, a woman sitting on the other side, staring at her phone. Q didn’t recognize her, so she probably wasn’t a member of Stronghold or Marquis. She didn’t glance up when he and Sam sat down, so he doubted he had to worry about her listening in.
“Hello, how are you two doing tonight?” Shane seemed to be a permanent fixture behind Marquis’ bar. About Q’s height, he was completely bald but had a well-trimmed salt and pepper goatee and sharp brown eyes that seemed to see more than most people.
“We’re good. Just came from class. Do you ever take a night off?” Q helped Sam onto the bar stool before he took his own seat.
“No, Olivia owns my soul,” Shane said, so matter-of-factly, Q wasn’t entirely sure he was joking. Sam giggled, though.
“Slow night?” she asked, and Shane shrugged in answer.
“It’s a Monday. What can I get you?”
They both ordered a beer from the tap, chatting with Shane while he poured. He headed back to the kitchen for something, and they were left alone in increasingly awkward silence. Q took a sip of his beer. He wanted to talk to Sam but had no idea what to say or how to get started.
“So, I guess you want to know why I changed my mind about going to prom with you?” Sam was staring down at the wooden bar top, not looking at him, tracing circles with her fingertip in the water from the condensation on her beer glass.
“I wasn’t going to go straight for that, but I have to admit, I am curious.” Q twisted on the seat, turning so he could give her his full attention.
One side of her lips lifted in a resigned smile.
“I was too poor,” she said bluntly, making Q blink.
His mind immediately went back to high school. Though she’d always been withdrawn in school, he’d assumed she was introverted and focused on her studies. He hadn’t noticed anything that would indicate that.
“I couldn’t afford the dress, much less my part in any of the stuff that goes with prom.”
“I would have paid for all the stuff, though it might have been a little weird if I’d offered to pay for the dress,” Q said softly, reaching out to touch her hand.
She stilled, no longer drawing on the bar top.
She finally looked up to meet his eyes, her smile sad.
He wanted to wipe the sadness away and bring back the spark he’d seen earlier.
“I didn’t want you to. I was too proud. I never wanted anyone to know we were struggling. Plus…” She sighed, looking away again. “The day you asked me, we had that big test in AP English that afternoon, remember?”
“I do.” When they’d gotten their tests back the next day, she’d stared at the piece of paper, then shoved it in her backpack. It was the first time they hadn’t compared grades on something.
“I got a C minus.” She stared down at the bar, her shoulders hunching in on themselves, then lifted her glass to take a long drink while Q blinked rapidly, trying to understand.
Sam never got Cs. They had both been straight-A students. She had been the only student to even rival him for grades. They’d both had a thirst for knowledge, a love of learning, and good test-taking skills—a combination hard to beat.
She took a deep breath.
“I got a C minus because the night before I was too busy trying to figure out how I was going to afford everything and researching prom dresses to study the way I needed to. Then my dad came home, and he was worried about being laid off, and I realized it would add another financial burden to him.” Even now her voice was thick with emotion.
Q squeezed her hand tightly. He wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms, but he didn’t know how she would react. Everything about her body language screamed that she didn’t want to be touched.
“Sam, it’s okay—”
“He wouldn’t let me get a job,” she cut him off, the words pouring out of her like she’d been holding them back for too long and now she couldn’t stop them.
“My job was to get good grades so I could get scholarships so I could go to college. Then I got a C minus on my test because I was too busy obsessing over one night with a boy I liked.” She looked up at him again, and this time he could see the sheen of tears in her eyes.
“So, I took back my yes, but I was too ashamed to explain why. I’m really, really sorry because I think I hurt you a lot more than I meant to, but I just couldn’t explain. ”
That did it. Q hopped off his bar stool and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him so her head nuzzled into his shoulder.
There. Much better.