Page 13 of Daisy Chain
“You’ve taken me to a place where people are disappearing behind curtains to have sex. How is that better?”
She laughs. “People are doing this at every club we’ve been to. You’ve just never noticed. Why do you think the bathrooms are occupied all the time?” She pulls a face like I’m clueless.
As I take in the space around me, I see more people grinding against each other as they dance and make out. “What were you thinking, bringing me here?” I force irritation into my voice, but my gaze keeps getting drawn to the tangled bodies and wandering hands on the dance floor, contradicting my attempt at acting horrified by where we are.
“I was thinking you could put some excitement into your life. Experience more things than growing herbs and cross-stitch classes.” I glance back at where the man and woman disappeared to see them reemerging. The woman adjusts her pink dental floss dress, and the man zips up the fly of his jeans. Like he senses me watching them, he turns toward me, grins and crooks a finger for me to go to him.
Quickly, I turn my back on them. “I should go,” I blurt, my voice raised and flustered with panic. This place really is a ‘church of sinners’.
Sally stops dancing and drops her hands on her hips. “Why?”
“These clothes. These people. The music. It’s not my scene.”
“Daisy, you need to live a little. You’re only twenty-six. You rarely go out. You dress like my fifty-nine-year-old mother.” I suck in a sharp breath. Immediately, guilt crosses Sally’s face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. You dress appropriately for work and church. It doesn’t mean you need to dress like that when you go out. It would be great to see you stop worrying about your job and father and loosen up a little.”
Is she right? My gaze lands on a couple just entering arm in arm with locked lips as they walk. So engrossed with each other, they don’t care who they bump into. When they break apart, the man gives the woman a devilish grin and squeezes her butt. What would it feel like to be so free? To let go of the restrictions put on me? To stop acting older than I am?
Letting go for one night couldn’t hurt, could it?
“I’ll stay for a couple of hours,” I say. Sally claps her hands and jumps up and down. “We are going to have so much fun. I can feel it. Let’s go to the bar and get a drink.”
We push through the throng of people, and I get jostled by someone behind me. When I turn around, a man holds his arms out wide with an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry. This place is so crowded. I didn’t mean to push you. Are you okay?” He offers me a soft smile. Dressed conservatively in a gray buttoned shirt and dark, loose-fitting jeans, his brown hair is brushed back neatly from his clean-cut face. Could he be feeling out of place, just like me?
“It’s fine.” I smile back before I search for Sally, but I’ve lost her in the crowd.
“You sure?” the man asks, pulling my attention back to him.
“Yes. I’m fine. Thank you.” He’s cute. Maybe I should invite him to have a drink with us.
He slips his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and rocks back on his heels. “So…you wanna fuck?”
My jaw hits the floor. I thought this guy was sweet and feeling awkward like I was. What a bad judge of character I am. Do men not ask women to just dance or have a drink? Is a quickie in a club all they want? “No, thank you,” I say politely, like I’m refusing an offer of a cup of coffee.
“Really?” His smile morphs into a surprised expression, like he doesn’t get rejected often.
“Yes, really,” I say sternly.
Shrugging, like it’s no big deal—probably because he’ll keep on asking women until someone agrees—he pulls something from his pocket and hands me a card. “If you change your mind, you can find me here.” With that, he smiles and walks away.
I shake my head in disbelief as I look at the bronze-colored card. Flipping it over, the only words written on it are Observation Deck. What is that?Whereis that? If more hornymen like him are there, I think I’ll avoid it. I tuck the card into my purse and go find Sally.
Before I reach the bar, a man across the room pulls my gaze toward him. Tall and broad, he is a head taller than most men around him. Dressed all in black, he almost blends into the darkness of the room. In the low-lit club, I can’t make out his features, yet I swear I can feel him watching me. There is something about him that’s familiar. Then it hits me. It can’t be… Could it be Kade? Surely not. What are the chances of running into him twice?
At that moment, Sally pushes through the crowd, carefully holding our drinks, pulling my attention away.
“Where did you go?” she asks.
“Sorry, some guy bumped into me then blatantly asked if I wanted to have sex.”
“People are bold in this club. I love it.” Sally hands me a glass. She giggles and latches onto my arm. “I met this cute guy at the bar. He wants to dance.”
“Great, I’ll find a table and wait for you.” I glance past her, looking for the man who dared me to get his name tattooed next to my breast. My shoulders slump in disappointment. He’s gone. He’s been on my mind since that night, so maybe I’m seeing things.
If it was him, what would I do? Go and find him? Then what…give him a piece of my mind for tricking me? I doubt I could be so brave.
“I told him I wouldn’t leave you, so he invited us both to dance.”
Being the third wheel doesn’t sound appealing.
