03.

FELIX.

I was wrong when I said today was a good day for me. Thanks to Brynn Addams, I no longer feel that way.

But I plan to turn things around. I’ll not let her successfully ruin this day for me. It started nicely, and it’s got to end on a pleasant note too.

A smile is on my face as I park my bike by the building, the echoes coming from inside promising me the fun I’d have—one I’m here for.

After chaining my bike to the ground, I throw the keys inside my back pocket and proceed to enter the building with an even bigger smile. After one glance down my body, the curtains of the room of fun are opened to me and I enter with an enthusiastic heart and my hands inside my pocket.

I rock my head to the music that’s coming from the upper floor as my eyes try to adjust to the darker lights. Once I’m adjusted, my gaze roams across the room in search of the special girl who’d take away my frustrations tonight.

All I see is bodies. Hot bodies sliding against each other. Wrapping. Colliding. Touching. And is that guy licking her? Gross.

I continue to rock my head to the music as I try to find a girl who doesn’t already have hands all over her body. When my eyes zeroes in on a girl standing by herself in the far right corner of the room, I smirk. Her back is turned to me and the only thing I can make out is her brown hair. Or is that dark? It’s hard to tell from here. Most importantly though, what’s caught my attention is how she’s all alone, seeming to need a sexy boy to recuse her–which will be me–and how high over her thighs that small dress is.

I start to move and I’m only one step forward when a hand suddenly lands on my shoulder.

“Hey!” The high-pitched voice pierces through my ears and I lower my head in reflex before spinning to face the person, causing the hand to drop from my shoulder.

She flashes a bright smile at me. “I saw you standing by yourself from over there and thought you might need some fun.” She’s holding two cups and she offers one to me. “Here.”

“Oh hi,” I mutter as I take the cup from her and have a sip. The familiar taste of ginger lingers on my tongue before it dulls, and I return my attention to the smiling girl before me. She’s blonde; her hair is quite long. Might have fun with that later. She’s in ripped shorts and a shiny tank top that barely holds her breast. If she tries a little jump, she might as well be flashing me—not that I wouldn’t like that.

She keeps that smile on her face as she just stands there and stares at me, almost as if she’s inviting me and who am I to decline? She’s just what I’m looking for. That pretty face of hers is just a bonus.

“Oh, yeah.” I send her a smile too as I take another sip from the cup she offered me. “All by myself. Care to keep me company?”

“Not refusing if you’re asking.” She winks, and I chuckle as I drown the rest of the drink and set the cup on the table by my side.

I grab Blonde’s hand and start to drag her away. Having been here several times, I know my way around here like the back of my palm and I’m currently heading to one of the empty rooms most people here don’t know exist so I can thrust inside something warm and finally turn this shitty end the day is trying to take around.

“Hey, hey. Slow down.” She suddenly pulls her hand back a bit, but not enough to snatch herself from my hold. I stop and turn to her with a raised brow. “What? Why? Thought you agreed to keep me company?”

“Yeah, but I thought we’d start with a dance first. And try to lighten up the mystery? I mean…” she pauses and laughs. “You don’t even know my name.”

I drop her hand and tilt my head. “Do I need to, to fuck you?”

She seems caught by surprise by my bluntness because she blinks a few times with her lips parted. Two more blinks and she closes her mouth. Smiles a bit. Then reopens to speak, “No, you don’t have to. But I want to know you.” She closes the distance between us and wraps her right hand around my middle. “Listen, you’re hot. Incredibly sexy.” A once over at me. “Probably the sexiest guy in this room, and I do want to get under you, but that’s not the only reason you caught my interest.”

“I don’t do serious,” I say blankly and she nods. “I know that.”

“You do?”

She nods again. “Of course. Took the hint when you started dragging me away.” A laugh and then, “And I don’t do serious either. But I also do not jump into bed with strangers. Will give some sort of assurance if I at least know your name and your…”

“Felix. There you go. Can we leave now?” I cock my head in the direction we’re taking and she smiles as she removes her hand from my middle to stretch it between us. “Layla. And I’m…” I don’t know why my eyes go to the upper floor at that moment. Probably because the girl before me keeps talking, which is the last thing I like to do with girls, but I wish my eyes hadn’t cause somehow, they land on the last person I want to see.

They see her. Or I think they see her.

There’s no way she’s here. Right here. In this local club. And is that… a cup in her hand?

I can only see her from the side so it’s possible it’s someone else…

It’s not. I’d recognize that shiny long black hair and that side profile. I hate that I do cause now I’m staring. I watch as she takes a sip from the cup in her hand and then drops her head.

A sigh leaves my lips and I shake my head.

Why should I care that she’s here? It’s her life and her decisions. And after the last encounter we had, I should be avoiding her.

“Hey, are you still with me?” Layla’s call brings my attention back to her and I nod. “Yeah, sure. You were saying?”

“Don’t think you’d care much about it.” She chuckles and then stretches her hand to me. “Let’s go fuck now.”

My grin is so big, I’m almost afraid I’d tear my lips further than they should go. “I knew you’re my type of girl.” I grab her hand and continue my way down, only for my head to turn on its accord and my eyes to steal another glance at the girl by herself on the upper floor.

Only she isn’t by herself now. There’s a tall guy next to her and he’s saying something. She waves him off, but he doesn’t listen. Instead, he bends to her ear, pushing her hair out of the way.

I chuckle to myself as I watch her try to fight him off, but he keeps coming back.

What did she expect when she walked in here alone?

The small smile on my face disappears when he suddenly grabs her wrist, knocking her cup over and forcing her to meet his eyes.

Shit.

“Why are we stopping?” Layla asks next to me and I let go of her hand. “Sorry. I just need to quickly…” My words trail off as I pat my pockets for my phone, but I don’t find it.

Did I forget it back at the shop?

I need to call Ash to come take care of his girl because she’s going to get eaten up all alone up there and I’m not going to her rescue. I’ve had just a day full of the judgment and the derogatory remarks.

Or maybe not cause when I look back at the floor, and she’s fighting herself off the guy’s chest, my feet start to move on their own accord.

“Where are you going?” Layla calls behind me, her voice getting drowned in the music as I step further away from her and swerve through the sweaty bodies to get to the upper floor.

“Ash is gonna owe me a great deal later,” I mutter to myself as I jump up the stairs, taking two at a time, then launch myself in her space. I grab her wrist and pull her to my side. Without making eye contact with her, I turn to glare at the guy who thinks a no means yes. “The fuck are you doing dude?”

“And who the fuck are you? Get the fuck out of my way. I was here first.”

I move before her, shielding her from his gaze with my body. “She isn’t up for auction. She’s taken and if you don’t get out of here in two minutes, I’ll seriously make you regret just touching her.”

He laughs as he steps forward and raises his head, as if daring me to repeat those words.

He’s taller than me by a few inches, but if he thinks that scares me…

I let go of Brynn’s wrist to step forward too until our chests are nearly brushing. “Make that one minute. Stay a second later and I’m gonna fuck you up.” I back my words by rolling up the sleeves of my jacket. I watch that confident gaze and stance he has slowly sink, and he peeks behind me then scoffs. “Fine. You can have her. But this better be the last time I see you.”

I wave him off and turn to Brynn, who’s now back in her seat. Unlike the ground level, which is just the dance floor and people on their feet; this place is better for a less chaotic night. It’s like a VIP session. It’s where the music plays from and you get to have seats too. Crowded like the ground level but you’re able to breathe here unlike down there. Whether ground or upper level though, it’s still a surprise to find Brynn Addams here.

“So, are you like stalking me or something? First, my shop, then my usual club?” I lift a brow at her as I take the seat opposite her. She finally raises her head, meeting my eyes, and I’m knocked out of breath for a second.

She’s… pretty.

She’s always pretty, but this is different. Her always straight and shiny long hair is messy now, probably from all that fighting she did with the dude, but not too messy. Just the right type of messy? If I hadn’t known she always had straight hair on or seen her earlier before her hair turned like this, I’d have thought she tried another hairstyle. And she cried? Her mascara is smeared under her eyes, but she somehow pulls that off too. Do girls usually pull off this look? And here’s Brynn Addams. Looking good even with a messier version of her usual self.

No. I’m just shocked, cause it’s the first time I’ve seen her like this.

“What are you doing here?” She groans as she sits upright in her seat and I cross my arms to my chest. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Did you follow me here?”

“You wish.” She utters, and I drop my arms. “Why did you come here alone? It’s dangerous. If I hadn’t come here, do you know what he’d have…”

“What? You want a thank you for doing a polite thing for the first time?” She quirks and my mouth just stays open like that.

Of course, she’s rude. Typical Brynn.

I stand to my feet and stay next to the table. “The first and the last time. I won’t do it again and trust me, you in that…” my gaze falls from her face to her body. She’s in a very short dress. A sleeveless one to tip it off, and she’s wearing stiletto ankle boots. Her nipples are scarping against the tiny dress she has on, and her white skin is just the right kick-off. It’s almost like she’s calling the attention to herself. “You should expect more of that guy. More like him.”

She doesn’t respond.

I sigh. “Look, if you’re doing this to get back at Ash, you’re making a…”

“I’m not doing anything to get back at anyone. I’m here because I want to be here. It’s one of the few places I can be without being found.” She glares at me and nods me off. “Just go away.”

“Wasn’t planning to stick around,” I mutter and start to move, my steps small and face hard. I gaze around the room as I walk away from her, and the further I go, the more heads turn to her.

I was right.

The second I’m gone from here, they’d be swarming her. And I don’t care. She asked me to go away, and that’s exactly what I’d do. I don’t care that she’s Ash’s girl. Ex-girlfriend.

Ex-girlfriend.

I repeat that word as I take the first stair down. I raise my leg to take the second one when I hear her voice behind me.

“Wait.” It’s tiny, almost forced. Must have taken everything in her to let that one out.

I drop my leg and turn to face her. “What?”

She looks even worse now that she’s standing and not sitting.

Several breaths and I’m about to ask her if I heard her speak and stop me, but she opens her mouth first. “Don’t go yet. Stay.”

“Why?”

She drops her gaze and I watch her hands turn into tiny fists by her sides. She releases them back and fists the side of her dress in her hands instead. She licks her lips, then finally raises her head again, and says, “I need you.”