Katie
The SUV stops, and I catch the neon from Voltage in the window. Sarah and Luca are already standing on the sidewalk across the street, waiting for us. I reach for my seatbelt, but Michael’s hand covers mine.
“Not yet.”
“Dude, what?”
“You are so impatient,” he says, and then he’s kissing me again, his hand on my face. His tongue enters my mouth and—fuck me.
I lean into him, trying to get closer, but the belt’s tight across me.
I push forward anyway trying to force the space to disappear.
His hand leaves my face and drops down, and I feel him go for the seatbelt.
There’s a click, and I’m free. I don’t even get a second to move before he’s dragging me into his lap straddling him.
“Is that better?” he asks against my mouth.
“Much better,” I breathe, and press right back into him.
That’s when the privacy screen starts to slide down. Panic hits me.
“Oh my god,” I whisper into his neck embarrassed.
“Up. Now.” Michael’s voice cuts out, pissed.
I start to move, trying to get off him, but his hand catches me and keeps me right where I am.
“Not you, Doll.”
I freeze, still in his lap, my face burning as I hear the screen shifting again behind us. Right. He’s not talking to me. He’s talking to Sal.
“Hey,” he says, lifting my face until I meet his eyes.
I push myself up and immediately wish I could disappear. My face is on fire, and I don’t even have to ask, I know exactly what I look like right now.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” he says, brushing my hair back out of my face. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Michael—“
He shakes his head and presses his finger to my mouth.
“You’re my girlfriend. We’re allowed to do this.”
I squint at him. “I’m still embarrassed.”
He tilts his head as he runs fingers along my jaw. “You want to go inside and dance?”
I can’t help it. I smile. “Yes. You gonna dance with me?”
He laughs. “We’ll see.”
“You wait, Michael Amato. I will have your fancy suit wearing ass on that dance floor sometime tonight.”
I climb off his lap and step out onto the curb, the June heat hitting me the second I’m out of the car.
I turn back and lean into the open door. “Hand me my purse.”
He looks at me. “Are you taking that in with you?”
I don’t answer. I reach in, pull out my ID, hand it to him and go back for my card, slower now, dragging it out because I know he’s watching me.
“Nope,” he says.
He takes the purse out of my hands and tosses it back onto the seat.
Then he holds up my ID between his fingers. “This is all you need tonight.”
He steps out, towering over me. I look up, holding his gaze and smile. Then I turn to cross the street, but he stops me.
“Give me a second, Doll.”
“Why?”
“I just need to talk to Sal. Wait over there.”
He gestures a few feet away, so I do what he says.
“Don’t ever fucking do that again,” Michael says to Sal. It’s low, but I hear it anyway.
“Yes, Boss.”
I should turn away, but my body won’t move. I just stand there staring at him.
“I will not have Katie humiliated because of stupid fucks like you.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Sal’s eyes slide past Michael’s shoulder and land on me. We hold eye contact for a second before I look down. I move to the backside of the SUV and focus on the line outside the club, the noise, anything that isn’t him, and try to shove that voice out of my head.
A second later, I hear his footsteps behind me. When I turn, he’s rolling his sleeves up as he walks, exposing more ink. He’s stepping back into himself after whatever that was in the car.
“You ready?”
I give him a faint smile. It feels forced even to me.
“Hey.” His arms wrap around my waist, pulling me in. “You okay?”
“I don’t know, Michael.” I press my hands into his chest, holding him there instead of letting him pull me closer. “You’re kind of a dick to your employees.”
His jaw flexes.
“I need to know something,” I say.
“Okay.” His voice is strained.
“If we keep doing this.” I gesture between us. “Are you gonna start talking to me like that?”
He stills and leans down, bringing his face level with mine.
“How I treat you and how I treat them are completely different,” he says. “And that won’t change. You are not my employee.”
His hand tightens slightly on my waist.
“You’re my girl.”
I search his face, not letting him off that easy. “How do I know you won’t change your mind?” I shake my head a little. “Because I don’t like that version of you.”
“Does it scare you?”
“Yes.”
“Then I won’t do it again.”
I study him for a second. “You don’t even have to think about it?”
“No.”
I huff out a breath. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“Katie!”
Sarah.
“We should go,” I tell him, but he pulls me closer.
“Doll.”
I stare up at him. “Michael, we’re fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.” He takes both sides of my face in his hands.
“I don’t sugarcoat shit. If I think it, I say it. That’s how this works.”
He exhales.
“I promise. I’m fine. See.” I smile. “Big smiles.”
He grins.
Fuck me.
He leans down and kisses me.
“Okay,” I say pulling away. “Let’s go. You’re making this worse.”
I turn and start across the street. He’s right next to me, and as we walk, his finger hooks into my belt loop.
“My girl!” Sarah screams, throwing her arms around me when we reach the other side.
I laugh and hug her back. “Hey.”
“Michael,” she says.
“Sarah.” He gives her a nod before his attention shifts.
“Hey, Boss,” Luca says.
I tip my head up at Michael. Not this shit.
“It’s Mikey tonight, Luca.”
There’s a flicker of hesitation before Luca nods. “Uh…yeah. Sure.”
“We going in?” Michael asks.
Sarah and I start toward the line, but I barely get a step before his finger tightens in my belt loop and pulls me back. I stop.
“Doll,” he says. “I don’t stand in line.”
Oh.
He walks us straight to the front, past everyone waiting. No one stops him. The security guard looks up, and the second he sees Michael, something in his expression shifts. Michael hands him our IDs.
“They’re with us too,” he says, nodding toward Sarah and Luca.
They pass theirs over, but the guard barely checks them before handing them back.
“Go on in,” he says, already opening the door.
Michael steps inside first. I follow, glancing back as we go. The guard lifts his hand to his earpiece, eyes still fixed on Michael. The second we step inside, a man in a neon orange button-up appears out of nowhere, directly in our path.
“Mr. Amato,” he says, reaching for Michael’s hand. “Kellen Ash. Manager. What brings you in tonight?”
I look up at Michael just in time to catch the ghost of a smile he’s trying to hide. He’s already irritated.
“Just here to have a good time.”
“Excellent,” Kellen says, way too eager. “I’ve set up one of our VIP rooms for you.”
I grab Michael’s arm.
“We want to be out here,” I hiss.
Kellen turns toward me, and I snap on a smile.
“We’re here to enjoy the atmosphere out here tonight,” Michael says smoothly.
“Oh.” Kellen deflates a little. “We do have some VIP seating areas right off the main dance floor.”
That’s better. We follow him through the crowd, past the bar, until he stops at one of the sections Sarah and I always obsess over when we come here, the ones we’ve definitely made up entire lives for the people sitting in.
“How’s this?” he asks.
Sarah and I don’t even answer. We look at each other and squeal before throwing ourselves onto the couch. I glance back at Michael, and he’s watching us, tongue running over his top teeth, a smirk settling in.
“It’s perfect,” he says.