Page 47 of In Her Own Way
“Some girls don’t know what feels good. I have to show them, even if they resist.”
“Resist?” The woman moved back enough to look Victoria in the eye. “That’s such a guy thing to say. Forcing it. But you’re obviously a woman, so maybe, just maybe, you should go hang out with all the other womanizing 304s here.” She stepped out of Victoria’s arms and said, “No, thanks.”
Victoria was stunned. Not at the fact that she’d been rejected, it happened, but by the way the woman’s attitude had turned so suddenly. “‘Even if they resist,’” Victoria quoted herself. Fuck, she wasn’t going to take the woman by force. What the hell?
With a confused sigh, she grabbed her jacket from the coat room and headed out the front door. It was time to check out Venus Rising.
It was a short drive to the bar, but the parking lot was quite full already on a Friday mid-afternoon. She had a couple of hours before she had to be at work, so she had time to check the place out, have one drink, and then go back to that diner before heading to work.
The outside of Venus Rising looked a little worse for wear, but there was a new paint job and an attempt to create an inviting entryway. Luckily, she got there early enough not to pay the cover.
“Hey, Vic,” someone called.
Victoria looked up. “Tillman, how’s it hanging?”
“Good,” Tillman said and moved her jacket off the bar stool next to her. She motioned with her head at someone behind the bar.
Aw, shit. It was Lauren. “Understood,” Victoria said and sat down.
“Get you something?” the familiar voice asked.
Victoria turned. She was going to play it cool. “Grapefruit spritzer?”
“You got it,” Lauren said. When she brought the non-alcoholic drink, she said, “It’s on the house.”
“Thanks.” Victoria put a generous tip in the jar.
Lauren reached up, rang the tip bell, and then smiled. Victoria turned away and sat with her back to the bar, watching some women play pool and others dance.
“Shit, these women look so young,” Victoria said. “I was their age when I used to come here.”
Tillman laughed. “Yeah, it’s a different game in here these days.”
“How old are you, if I can ask?”
“Thirty-one. Just turned.”
“Thirty-seven,” Victoria said and then scoffed. “Notjust turned.” Maybe she was getting too old for this shit. This prowling around, sleeping around shit. It was tiring. “Hey, Tillman, question for you.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s a 304?”
“No clue,” Tillman said with a shrug.
Victoria looked around and saw that the basic layout was the same. The pool tables still took up the front space. And the dance floor was behind that. The smell was pretty much the same, too. Stale beer and funky. “Hey, do they still have that back patio?”
“Yeah,” Tillman said. “It’s open but too friggin’ cold to go out there.”
“I may take a peek before I leave.” She pointed to one of the security cameras. It was pointed right at the bar. “When did they get those?”
Tillman looked up. “I don’t know. I feel like they’ve always been there.”
Victoria grinned as she shook her head. “They haven’t. I could tell you some tales.” A question popped to mind. She turned and said, “Barkeep?”
Lauren bugged out her eyes to keep from laughing. She came over.
“Question for you.” Victoria pointed to one of the cameras. “We’re upgrading our cameras at work. Do these have audio capabilities?”
