18. Leo
Leo
Igrab the guy and pull him off of Lucy.
Then I slam his hand on the table. Hard.
The beer in the nearby glasses splashes over the rim, spilling onto the tabletop.
“Ow, fuck!” he yells.
He tries to pull his hand out of my grip, but I press harder.
“What the fuck is your problem, dude? Let go of me.”
I glower at him. “No.”
His face twists in pain. He tries to shove my arm away with his free hand, but I smack it away.
“What the hell are you doing?” he hisses, in pain.
I lean down over him. “You don’t like it when a stranger comes up and touches you without your permission, right?”
He leans back. “N-No…”
“Then why the hell did you touch her?”
I glance over at Lucy, who’s standing away from us, her eyes wide as she looks between us.
I push my hand harder against his against the tabletop. He cries out.
“Jesus, dude. Stop.”
“Yeah, man, take it easy,” his friend says as he stares up at me. He sounds nervous. I can tell he’s sizing me up, wondering if he can help his friend by fighting me off.
But I’m bigger than both of these guys. If they wanna start shit, I won’t hesitate to throw down.
His friend stays in his chair, his eyes darting nervously between the two of us. I ignore him and focus on the handsy motherfucker.
“I asked you a question, asshole. Why’d you put your hands on her if you knew it was wrong? She clearly didn’t like it.”
“I-I just…” He groans in pain. “Okay, it was fucked up, what I did. I’m sorry.”
I lean all of my body weight on his hand. His head falls back as he grits his teeth, muffling another pained cry. “Apologize to her, dipshit. Not me.”
A sweat breaks out across his brow as he turns to her. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever fucking touch her again.”
I let go of him. He yelps as he cradles his hand against his chest.
“I think my hand is broken,” he whines.
He stands up from the table and starts to walk off with his friend, but I grab his shoulder, stopping him.
“Don’t you dare stiff her.”
His friend drops a bunch of cash from his wallet onto the table before the two of them run out of the strip club.
When I turn back to Lucy, she’s still standing there, her sapphire eyes big as saucers, her mouth parted open.
I step toward her. “Are you okay?” I ask gently.
She nods, then closes her mouth. “That was…um…”
I run a hand through my hair, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden.
When I saw that guy grope Lucy, I didn’t think. I just reacted. I fucking hate guys like him, who think they can touch women without their consent.
But now I’m realizing I probably look like a psycho.
I rub the back of my neck and take a step back. “I’m sorry.”
She blinks at me. “Why are you sorry?”
“That was kind of intense, right?”
She shakes her head. “No, I…” She bites her bottom lip. Then she grabs my hand and leads me through the crowd to the back of the club. We’re in a darkened hallway near the bathrooms. It’s a little quieter back here.
“No one’s ever defended me like that,” she says.
My chest aches at the surprise in her tone. I hate to think of how many times Lucy’s had to deal with guys like that. Not just in this job, but in her everyday life. She’s a small woman. She’s young and attractive. Creepy guys are probably all over her constantly.
That rage from minutes ago spikes through me once more. So many men are such pieces of shit.
She doesn’t deserve to deal with this crap. No woman does.
She reaches out with her free hand and gives my arm a soft squeeze. “Thanks, Leo. You’re a really good guy.”
“You don’t need to thank me, Lucy. Any decent person would have stepped in.”
“Yeah, but a lot of times, they don’t. People see a woman getting groped or harassed, and they don’t do anything about it. But you did.”
Intensity flickers in her gaze as she looks at me. She looks down at the ground like she’s shy all of a sudden. “I’m sorry for getting mad at you earlier. For calling you controlling and bossy. You’re not. You were just trying to help.”
I start to say it’s okay, but she shakes her head.
“No, I need to say this. I…I’m not used to people doing nice things for me without expecting anything in return.
” Pain flashes in her big blue eyes. She blinks a few times, and it fades.
“Sometimes it’s easier to assume the worst in people because for so long, every time I hoped for the best, it blew up in my face. ”
Her words hit me like a punch. How many times has she been let down by the people she trusted? How many times has she been screwed over?
She hesitates for a second. “Right after my stepdad kicked me out of the house, I went on Craigslist to try and find a cheap place to live. A couple of times, I answered ads where someone was looking for a roommate. The guys always seemed nice at first, but then, right when I was ready to move in, they’d say I’d have to sleep with them to keep the rent affordable. ”
She hugs her arms around herself. Rage hurtles through me. Jesus.
No wonder she has her guard up. No wonder she got upset when I stormed in here, insulting her job and demanding she get another one.
Guilt throttles me. I’m an asshole.
“I’m so sorry, Lucy. Those things I said about you working here? That was out of line.”
She straightens up and shrugs. “I was out of line for calling you a hockey golden boy.”
“You’re not wrong. I don’t work because my family has money. I’m a spoiled brat.”
A small smile pulls at her lips. “You’re not a brat.”
For a long moment, we stand there, the air between us thick with something I can’t put words to.
I just met Lucy, but I feel protective of her. This thing between us…it’s different.
Yeah, she’s a new friend, but it’s deeper than that.
Because you’re attracted to her.
I shove aside that thought, even though it’s true. Yeah, Lucy is beautiful. Yeah, I’m attracted to her.
But that’s not why I’m doing any of this for her.
I want to be her friend. I want to help her. I want to protect her.
“I should get back to work,” she says.
She starts to walk back to the main part of the club, but I stop her.
“Lucy, wait.”
She looks up at me, her pale skin flushed a pretty shade of pink.
“I’m gonna stay here for the rest of your shift, just in case you need anything. Would that be okay?”
I learned my lesson earlier. I don’t get to call the shots or boss her around when she’s living her own life. But I can’t stand the thought of her working here and getting harassed again. I want to be nearby in case she needs anything.
But I need to ask if that’s what she wants too. And I need to be okay with whatever her answer is.
“I don’t get done until midnight,” she says.
“That’s okay. My night’s free.” I remember Wally and how I promised Lucy I’d look after him. “Blake and his girlfriend are at the house taking care of Wally, so he’ll be okay.”
She swallows hard as she stares at me. “You really wanna stay here for the next few hours?”
“Yes. I need to know you’re safe.”
Surprise flickers in her sapphire eyes. “Okay. Thank you.”
She walks off. I follow behind her, then grab an open seat at the bar. I order a beer and keep my eyes on Lucy as she works.
Every once in a while, she comes up to me.
“You’re really nursing that beer,” she teases.
“It’s not that good.”
She chuckles. “The alcohol they serve here isn’t the best. But that’s not really the reason people come here.”
She nods at the main stage, where a blonde woman spins around on the pole wearing nothing but a thong.
The guys at the tables in front of the stage clap and whistle at her. Cash rains all over the stage.
She finishes her set and blows kisses to her adoring audience before picking up the money.
Just then, one of the other waitresses hauls herself onto the bartop to sit. She waves a one-hundred-dollar bill in her hand while smiling at a guy who’s standing in front of her. She grabs his shoulder and pulls him to stand between her legs.
She turns to the bartender. “This naughty boy just ordered a hurricane shot.”
“Oh god,” Lucy murmurs. “I can’t believe guys pay to do this.”
We watch as the bartender sets a glass of water and a shot of whiskey on the bartop. The waitress hands the shot glass to the guy, who downs it. Then she throws the glass of water in his face and slaps him. He’s smiling the whole time.
Everyone around the bar cheers.
Lucy shakes her head. “He paid a hundred bucks to get slapped in the face and have water dumped on him. Unbelievable.”
“I can see the appeal.”
She turns to me, her brow lifted in surprise. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. I’ve done hurricane shots a few times. It’s fun.”
Her smile turns teasing. “Really?”
I nod, trying to hide my smile behind my beer glass as I take a sip.
I set the glass back on the bartop and shrug. “Some guys like it a little rough.”
The second I say it, I wish I could take it back. That was kind of creepy.
I turn to Lucy to apologize, but she’s just chuckling, a glint of amusement in her eyes.
“You like it a little rough, huh?” She bites her bottom lip and holds my gaze. The look in her eyes turns teasing. “Good to know.”
She walks off to serve more customers.
Well, damn. That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting her to have, but…I think I like it.
I pull the collar of the hoodie I’m wearing, feeling hot all of a sudden. I can’t help but wonder what Lucy would think if she knew just how rough I like to get…
I imagine Lucy sitting on that bartop and me standing between her legs. But instead of me downing the shot on my own, she pours it into her mouth, then spits it into mine.
I imagine her slapping me across the face…I imagine the sting of the slap…how good the burn feels.
My dick twitches in my pants, and I shift on my barstool.
“Fuck,” I mutter to myself.
What am I doing? Imagining something so filthy with a girl I barely know?
You shouldn’t be thinking about her like that. She’s your new friend who you’re trying to help out. She’s in a vulnerable situation, and you’re having filthy fantasies about her? Knock it off, you creep.
Guilt rams through me. Yeah, Lucy’s gorgeous. And yeah, if I saw her in a bar or at a party, I’d definitely approach her to chat her up.
But that’s not our situation. She’s my friend. I’m trying to help her. She can’t be anything more than that.
I silently promise to keep all thoughts about her strictly friendly…no matter how hard that might be.