Chapter 14 #3
“This is Kira, Janessa, and Lexie!” I introduce them, and then tell the girls their names.
After their initial surprise over my female guests wears off, my crew absorbs us like a protective shield made out of body glitter and hair gel, and suddenly the party is a lot more fun.
They’re funny, and interesting, and now we’re really dancing as the girls feel safer in the company of these obviously unthreatening friends of mine.
“Is one of them your boyfriend?” Lexie yells at me once we’re close enough to hear each other.
I shake my head, smiling and breathing hard, sweating because this is exactly what I needed.
Sam slides behind me and then to my front, and we dance for a little while, and I’m passed around their group like a prop, the bigger dance partner they get to use when they want to grind on someone without worrying about getting flirted with or being harassed.
Even Georgie, the new guy, dances with me and smiles with me, taking cues from his friends that I’m safe to flirt with.
I don’t mind them using me for a little fun, or if they tell guys I’m their boyfriend or that they’re my harem or whatever they tell people to get them to back off; I enjoy dancing, so we all get something out of it.
“You need some?” Maggie asks when he’s with me again, slipping his hand toward the tiny pockets in his skirt. “You know I always save some for you.”
My whole gut lurches with want, and it takes real effort to shake my head. “Nah.” I lean down to his ear so he can hear me. “I better not. I’m watching the girls tonight. Can’t have too much fun.”
“We can watch them for you, you know we can,” Maggie reassures me. He’s not trying to be a bad guy, or get me in any trouble, he’s just trying to help, and I know that, so I just smile and shake my head again.
“Next time.”
“How long has it been?” he asks.
“A while,” I answer begrudgingly. “Come on, Maggie. Let’s just have some fun. I can’t do that right now.”
He drops it, and we spend the next hour dancing and taking the occasional trip to the bar for drinks. I keep the girls on the weak stuff, and the bartender makes sure to water their drinks down once I signal him.
It’s after one of these breaks, as we head back toward the dance floor for a remix of a popular song that I do a quick headcount and realize–
“Hey, where’s Georgie?” I ask Ry.
He jumps like I’ve shocked him and whips his head around like an owl, then grabs Maggie. “Hey, where’s Georgie?”
“He went to the bathroom,” Jules says, overhearing us. “That was a while ago, but sometimes the lines take ages.”
“How long ago?” I ask, then shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. Watch the girls, I’ll go find him.”
“Thanks, Tommy,” Sam calls after me as I cut through the crowd. It’s probably nothing. In fact, it usually is nothing. I’ve seen one of my dance partners disappear and then pop up again countless times. I’ve gone looking for them, worried they’re in trouble, countless times. Usually, they’re fine.
But once or twice… Once or twice, they’re not fine. So I go look for them, every single time they go missing.
Just in case.
The hallway for the bathroom is dim, the sounds almost muffled from the narrow acoustics.
The line to the women’s room is hella long, the men’s is shorter but I don’t see Georgie.
I shove past the line and check who is in the urinals, bang on the stall, but he isn’t there.
He’s new to me, but I remember his voice, I remember his face, and he’s with my crew, so I keep looking.
I check the nook by the pool table, I ask the DJ, I ask the bartender. I look to the dancefloor and see the girls safe with my group, dancing and laughing, but Maggie is watching me. I shake my head, and he pulls his phone out with a nervous expression.
“Billy,” I push toward the ID booth. “You see one of my crew, the new guy, Georgie? You remember him? Did he leave?”
“Went out about fifteen minutes ago with Oscar.”
“Oscar?” I ask, my blood getting hot. “My Oscar? Jail time Oscar?”
“Oh shit, jail time Oscar? Since when?!” Billy asks, but I’m already jogging out the door.
“Duke, have you seen Oscar?” I ask the big guy holding the line.
He rubs his jaw, thoughtful and pensive. “Yeah, he went around the back with a guy, said they needed a smoke break and asked to be let back inside in half an hour.” He emphasizes ‘smoke break’, because we both know it was something else.
It sounds consensual, sounds like Georgie is just going to have a little fun in a semi-public place, which, I’m not gonna kink shame, is fine if he wants it. But I don’t trust Oscar, and if he were on fire, I wouldn’t even piss on him to put it out. I circle the building, on the hunt for trouble.
And trouble is exactly what I find.
The lighting out here isn’t great, but there are a few bulbs overhead, and I can see Georgie leaning back against the brick wall, Oscar in front of him, looming over him, and two strangers right behind him. Georgie’s hair is a mess, Oscar’s pants are open.
“You did it for me,” Oscar cajoles. “You hit your knees so fast. Don’t act like you’re not a slut just because my friends showed up. Come on, your mouth feels real good, show them how much you enjoy sucking dick.”
“I-I don’t want to,” Georgie says, loud enough that I can hear him from my hidden corner. So I straighten up and start ambling over. They don’t notice me at first.
“I think you do,” Oscar says, like the real piece of shit he is. His friends get closer, and Georgie starts to try and push away from the wall, but Oscar holds him there.
“You should’ve stayed in jail,” I say conversationally, and the three of them whirl around. My eyes are on Oscar, but the other two are in my peripherals. “And when I’m done with you, you’re gonna beg your parole officer to put you back behind bars.”
“Tommy,” Oscar glances at Georgie, and shoves him away. “He came out here with me because he wanted to, I didn’t force him to do anything. It wasn’t like that.”
“Georgie, go ahead inside now,” I tell the man who has hidden behind me. “I’ll handle this.”
His running footsteps on the gravel-covered pavement are loud in the otherwise quiet night. And I realize that I’m smiling, even though I shouldn’t be, but I can’t help it.
“I really needed this,” I find myself saying.
“Tommy, I didn’t, it wasn’t like that–”
“Who is this?” Oscar’s friend asks, playing tough. “You want trouble? Because we will fuck you up, so get fucking lost before–” He doesn’t get to finish the statement, since I break his jaw. His friend cusses and takes off running, while he hits the ground moaning and rolling around in pain.
“Tommy, Tommy–listen, Tommy, listen, I didn’t know you were here.
I didn’t know he was with you, okay? I didn’t know!
” Oscar rambles, backing away as I stalk him.
“He came out here on his own, alright? And I woulda let him go if he was serious, but how was I supposed to know he was serious? He just sucked my dick, he likes it, I was just asking him to do it again, I didn’t know he was with you! ”
“I think you’re lying,” I follow him step for step.
“You know I dance here. You know I’ve got people here.
And you went after someone anyway. Someone you probably saw dancing with me.
What did you think would happen, Oscar? That you’d get away with it?
That you’d pull it off right under my nose? You piece of shit, hold still!”
He turns and runs, and I chase him down like a dog, tackling him halfway across the parking lot while he howls like I just stabbed him. “Shut up!” I snarl. “You don’t get to cry. This is your own fault. This is karma, stupid bitch.”
“He wanted it!” he wails, so I punch his teeth out, punch his eyes shut, kick him until he retches up bile, until he’s screaming, until people are pulling me off him while I try to get back at him, try to kill him because he didn’t want it, he never wanted it.
I didn’t want it, I never wanted it.
“Tommy!” Maggie grabs my cheeks as some people hold me down, and I’m screaming and thrashing, but Maggie is small and soft and he isn’t dangerous.
I’m supposed to keep him safe, aren’t I?
I gulp down some air, and relax, and then I realize how much pain I’m in as my arms and legs are pinned to the asphalt, held down by several security and staff members.
“Tommy, it’s okay, it’s okay, shit.” Maggie is crying and I feel bad.
“Sorry, Mags,” I murmur.
“No, it’s gonna be okay, we’ll figure it out, alright?”
Wait. “Shit, where’s Kira?” I try to get up despite the weight on me and Duke cusses and lays harder on me, apologizing under his breath the whole time.
“She’s with Jules and Ry,” Maggie tells me quickly. “Her and the other two girls. They’re safe, and we’ll tell the cops what happened, okay? Georgie’s with Sam, he says he’s gonna tell them what happened. It’ll be alright.”
Cops? Then I hear the sirens coming closer, and it hits me that this time, I wasn’t careful, and of course someone called the cops.
Lost my temper in public, again. Should’ve taken Oscar someone private, shouldn’t have let him scream like that, shouldn’t have let him run into the parking lot where other people could see.
“Wasn’t thinking,” I say tiredly, closing my eyes. “Haven’t been sleeping. Got so mad.”
Maggie shushes me, his tears falling on my shirt, until the police haul me to my feet and toss me into the back of a car, handcuffs digging into my skin.
I let it happen, but I wish I could’ve gotten a few more hits on Oscar.
I sneer at the way he leans on the paramedics and limps to their ambulance. Whatever. I’ll get him later.
I guess being behind bars won’t save him after all, because I know that’s exactly where I’m about to end up.