“I'm not allowed to leave the house without security and I’m craving gummy worms,” I lied, opening my car door to get in.
He stayed rooted in place, clearly having an internal debate under his pissed off exterior.
Losing my patience, I poked my head out of the car and snapped, “We’ll be right back. Just get in the car.”
He released a heavy sigh, walked to the passenger side and got in. I backed out of the garage and we made our way down the driveway.
“You’re a little dressed up to get candy,” he stated as his eyes roamed over my dress. He was really good looking, despite his resting bitch face, with buzzed sandy colored hair and a good amount of scruff on his face. He looked like he was growing out his facial hair along his jaw, chin, and around his lips.
I smiled coyly. “Am I? I didn’t know there was a dress code to get gummy worms.” Approaching the gate, I hit the brakes, jolting us in the car. “Oh crap!” I gasped. “I left my phone in my room. Can I borrow yours? I want to see if Stefan wants anything.”
His eyes never wavered from their narrowed state as he reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone. He handed it over. Rolling down my window, I tossed his phone and hit the gas.
“What the fuck?!” he yelled, turning in his seat to look out the rear window.
“Chill, it landed in the bushes. I’m sure it’s fine.”
“That’s not the point. Where the hell are you taking me and don’t tell me it’s for damned gummy bears!”
“I said worms. Gummy worms,” I corrected, pissing him off more. “I needed to get out of the house. You already know I’m not allowed to go anywhere alone. No one said I had to tell them where I’m going or who I had to take with me,” I said in a sing song voice, a little too happily. I was following the rules while sticking it to the man at the same time. Was it going to piss some people off? Namely Stefan and Jamie? I sure hope so.
“Why did you have to toss my phone?”
“We both know you would have called Louie the first chance you got when you realized this wasn’t a trip to the corner store. I need a break. If you can’t be understanding of that, I will leave you in the middle of nowhere and you can explain to Stefan why you let his daughter run off on her own or worse, why her body was found in a ditch somewhere.”
“I’m going to catch shit no matter what if I don’t report in. I’m just grounds security,” he argued.
“If you watch my back tonight while I blow off a little steam and get me home safely, you won’t get more than a slap on the wrist.”
“I could make you take us back.”
I felt rather than saw his body go very still. By how deep his voice got, I knew he was really considering it.
I laughed, breaking the seriousness of the moment. “You could try. Let’s play that scenario out, shall we? I won’t go back willingly. You’ll need to put hands on me. Remember that.” I paused for a moment to let that sink in. “Something you should know about me is that I’ve been learning how to defend myself since I was a little girl. I won’t fight fair and I’ll do whatever it takes to win. If you try to take me back, two things could happen. One, I will kill you. Don’t doubt that I can’t. Look how well your colleague Greg turned out. Or two, you could try to subdue me, but it won’t be easy. You’ll have to hurt me, and how will Stefan feel about that? You will die either way.”
He deflated, body relaxing into the seat. “Where are we going?”
I smiled triumphantly. “A club downtown.”
He sighed. “Fucking fantastic.”
Located in a renovated warehouse downtown, Anarchy was a popular club that had an industrial underground feel and played live music. Tonight’s genre was rock.
We snaked our way through the dim crowded club toward the bar while loud music boomed around us. I perched on a vacant stool and patted the one next to me, gesturing for Dean to take a seat. He pulled out the tall chair but swiveled it around to face the rest of the room before sitting down. I waved a hand in the air to get the attention of one of the bartenders. One of them gave me a nod, signaling he’d be right with me. Once he finished up making his current drink, he made his way over.
“What can I get for you?” he shouted over the music.
I ordered whiskey before handing over my credit card. The bartender and I both looked to Dean. “You want anything?” I asked him. He shook his head, never removing his eyes from the crowd. The bartender nodded, taking my card and quickly returned with my drink. I sipped from the glass, relishing the burn alcohol always brought. Instantly feeling warm, I remembered I hadn’t eaten today. I might regret this later. Oh well.
“Why so glum all the time, Grumpy?” I asked, leaning closer to Dean. By the death glare he was giving me, I knew I wasn’t going to get an answer. I smirked. I’d break through his surly exterior eventually. I was patient. Crossing my legs, I turned my stool to watch the crowd with him.
Three refills later, I was sporting a good buzz. A couple of cute guys tried to approach me, but with one mean look from Dean, they spun on their heels and moved on. My head fell back laughing the second time it happened.
“You are the definition of a cock block,” I said, wiping a tear from my eye.
Dean eyed me soberly.
I shrugged. “Works for me. The last thing I want is to be bothered by men. Especially since the ones already in my life like to hurt me.” I winced, realizing everything I'd just spewed. Thankfully, he made no comment.
The music was amazing. Dean refused to dance with me. He also refused to let me go out onto the dance floor. Too many risks. His words, not mine. Therefore, I decided to go easy on him and dance in front of him by the railing that protected people from falling onto the dance floor a few steps down from the bar. I had a great view of the stage and the band, who performed a mixture of covers and a few originals. The crowd ate it up by singing along and dancing to the beat. I closed my eyes, letting my body move to the music. All the tension from today seemed to fall away with each sway of my hips. I danced until the current band ended their performance and they began to set up for the next group.
“They were great, weren’t they?” a man standing next to me asked.
Feeling like the question was directed to me, I glanced to my right and found a gorgeous man staring down at me. He towered over me by a foot or maybe even a foot and a half. I wasn’t short either at five feet six inches. He had the most striking bluish-gray eyes I’d ever seen and dark brown hair that made them pop.
Even in my buzzed haze, I took in everything about him from what he was wearing to any possible branding. I'd been raised to be cautious after all. He was wearing a skintight black V-neck tee tucked into black slacks and dress shoes. I could tell right away his shoes were designer and with the expensive watch on his left wrist, I became suspicious. I caught what looked like an eight-pointed star peeking out from under his shirt collar. Last time I checked, Stefan had an alliance with the Russian mafia.
“Yes, they were amazing.” Then I switched from speaking in English to Russian. “But that’s not what you really wanted to ask me, is it?”
His eyes widened for only a second before he quickly hid his surprise.