Page 73 of Mercy
I give Ivy a quick hug and whisper, “It’s going to be okay, sweet girl. I promise.”
We walk out to his car, and I ask, “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean exactly?”
I slide into his vehicle, “Why am I in your car?”
He closes my door and gets in on the driver’s side, “You didn’t think you’d be going alone tonight after-?”
“Liam, it’s a girls night. He won’t be there.”
Shaking his head he says, “I am going. That’s not open for discussion but I won’t sit with you. I’ll just be there to make sure you’re okay.”
“And if he comes in then what? You’re going to beat your son up?”
I glance over at him as he pulls out of his parking spot, he grips the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white, “If I have to, I will. I won’t let him hurt you. No one will hurt you.”
“I hate this.”
“I’m going to tell him about us next week. He needs to find out from me rather than someone else. It’s only a matter of time before someone says something. We haven’t kept it a secret. And the sooner I tell him the sooner he’ll adapt,” he says as he turns down the street to the bar.
I exhale a deep sigh as he pulls into a parking spot at the back of the bar, “He’s not going to take it well.”
“I know.”
“Let’s go celebrate you, baby girl.”
I nod, but I’m hardly in the mood to celebrate with the thoughts running around in my brain. Ivy. Nash. Liam. It’s all a little bit much so I do the only thing I can do in this situation. I plan to get drunk; tequila will be my poison tonight.
We walk in and Jessica already has a table. She brought some other friends with her and I hate it when she does that. Jess thinks that it’s about the number of people at a so-called party, but I think it’s quality over quantity. So, now I have people here that I really don’t even know. I’ve met Marissa, Michelle, Denise, Iris, and Giada before, but I don’t really know them. In fact, I could almost guarantee that they don’t even know what I do for a living, nor do they care. They know nothing about me other than the fact that I’m friends with Jessica. But here we are celebrating my birthday with strangers.
“The birthday girl sits beside me,” a drunk Jessica squeals. I slide in beside her and she giggles.
“I’ve got something for you to wear tonight.”
I turn to her confused as she reaches into her purse and pulls out a penis tiara and places it on my head. I’m likely ten shades of red right now, “It’s not my bachelorette party.”
She laughs, “Your birthday is a good enough excuse for a bunch of dicks on your head.”
I glance over at Liam who is sitting at the bar watching us like he’s, my bodyguard. He shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head.
Pointing to the table I ask, “What’s with the insane number of shots sitting here?”
“Twenty-four shots of tequila in honor of you.”
I gasp loudly, “I’m not drinking twenty-four shots.”
Jessica laughs, “They are for the entire table. You take what you want but I think you need to start now. Bitch, you need to loosen up.”
Six shots later, and we’re dancing to the music. There’s no dance floor so we make our own. I turn around as we’re dancing, sweat dripping down my neck, and I catch Liam’s gaze. He stares at me with a dark look that is deadlocked on me. Never taking my eyes off him, I tell Jessica that I’ll be back. I walk over to him, ignoring the giggles behind me.
“Mercy, what are you doing?”
I arch an eyebrow at him, “It’s my birthday. Should I not get whatever I want?”
He runs his tongue along his bottom lip, “You should always get what you want.”
“Dance with me, Daddy,” I whisper in his ear.
