Page 57 of Trick or Treat

“Grrrrrrr! You asshole!” She took off one of her shoes and threw it at him. It bounced off his back and landed in the yard. He whipped around so fast and stormed back up into her face, Michelle had to backpedal to get away from him. “This,” he twirled his finger around, meaning this whole mess tonight, “Michelle, this is strike two.”

“Wh-what was strike one?”

“When you didn’t pick our son up at school the last time.” There were too many other instances to name, so he went with her last offense. He stared at her a moment longer, shook his head, then turned to leave. He could almost guarantee that same shoe would still be lying in the yard when he brought the kids back tomorrow. He hopped on his bike and tore off into the night. He was so pissed off, he didn’t trust himself to be around anybody right now. The club was having its annual Thanksgiving weekend party and the place was packed. He should be balls deep in Tori right now, not contemplating buying his children from Michelle. Fuck! He couldn’t do this anymore.

Walkingalong the sidewalk on the opposite side of Bliss, Lindsey couldn’t help but notice the vibe of barely contained energy emanating from the crowd waiting to get inside. The door opened briefly, the man at the door allowing a group of three men and two women to enter. As the door swung open, the hypnotic beat of the music escaped, weaving it’s seductive spell throughout the group closest to the door.

Lindsey and her friends shared an excited smile and crossed the street. She led the way to the bouncer at the velvet rope and gave him her name like Kurtis texted her to do when she got to the club. The overly muscled man in his pristine black suit smiled and gave each of them the once over before waving them through.

Cami grabbed her arm and squealed as they exited the short hall and got their first look at the inside of Bliss. “I can’t believe we’re here! It’s so hard to get in here.”

“I know. Did you see the looks everyone in line gave us? They were probably wondering who we were and why we’re so important that we got to go straight in.” Jenna’s eyes were bouncing around, trying to take in everything at once. “Wow.”

Wow indeed, Lindsey thought. The place was amazing. The floors, the walls and the ceiling were all black. The wall behind the bar was a huge mirror with glass shelves filled with bottles of booze. Strategically placed lighting shone down on the display. There also appeared to be lighting under the bar that illuminated the bartenders’ work area. The barstools, chairs and booths were all done in black with the tabletops done in a mosaic pattern of mirrored glass. The whole thing felt classy and intimate. Speakers appeared to be discreetly mounted throughout the bar, funneling in loud, thumping music. The dance floor was already filled with a crowd of people bouncing and swaying to the music.

Checking out the crowd, Lindsey saw the men all appeared to be dressed in slacks with button-up shirts; some with jackets, some without. The women wore the bare minimum to keep things covered, but left nothing to the imagination as was evidenced when a woman on the dance floor bent at the waist to run her hands up her legs, flashing her G-string-covered twat. Lindsey shook her head. Classy.

She’d been worried her little black dress was too short, but compared to some of these women, she might as well be dressed like a nun.

“Holy shit! Was that woman not wearing panties?” Jenna shouted to be heard above the music.

“I’m not sure. Might have been a G-string,” Cami replied.

“I need a drink.” Lindsey turned from the sights on the dance floor and maneuvered them toward the bar. “I’m getting a Cosmo. What do you guys want to drink?”

“Make that three.” Cami wedged her way through the crowd, following Lindsey.

She spotted someone vacating their stool and swooped in. She hopped up on the seat, Cami and Jenna squeezing in on either side of her. She waved to get the bartender’s attention.

“Hey there, beautiful. What’ll it be?” The man was around six feet with sun-streaked chestnut hair that he pulled back into a man bun. He had a trim beard and the most beautiful laughing blue eyes she’d seen in a long time.

“Three Cosmos, please.”

“You got it.” He moved down the bar a little ways and set about mixing their drinks.

“I can’t wait to dance.” Cami was bouncing to the beat, checking out the people on the dance floor.

“How did Kurtis get us in here, again?” Jenna asked.

“He said he knew the owner. They’re friends I think.” Lindsey watched the cute bartender flirting with another woman sitting across the bar from where he was mixing drinks. The guy was cute, but nowhere near as hot as Trick.

What the hell? Why was she always comparing every man to Trick? Yes, she’d thought he was the perfect man, but seeing another woman’s scratch marks on him had her rethinking that. She’d thought Doug was perfect, too, until she’d finally caught him cheating. Would Trick, who had women readily available to him 24/7, be able to keep from cheating? Especially after what his ex put him through. She doubted he’d ever want to settle for just one woman again. But then again, he’d told her that he wasn’t the kind of man who would cheat on his wife and she’d believed him at the time.

And why was she even worrying about it? She supposed she was questioning his word now because of his ability to move on so easily from her.

“Here you go. Three Cosmos.” The bartender pulled her out of her inner thoughts and slid the drinks toward her. She reached for her debit card and slid it across the bar, intending to start a tab.

“No, Lindsey. I invited you here. The drinks are on me.” Lindsey’s gaze shot up to find Kurtis standing on the other side of the bar, smiling at her as he pushed her card back toward her. He nodded at the bartender who returned the nod and moved down the bar.

“What?” She couldn’t believe she heard him right. “I can’t ask you to do that, Kurtis.”

“You didn’t. I offered. Scottie will run a tab for you guys. My treat.” Kurtis stood with his hands shoved in his pants pockets. He was dressed in black slacks, and a shimmery gunmetal gray long-sleeve button-up shirt, with the cuffs rolled up to his forearms. He wore an expensive Tag Heuer watch on his left wrist that probably cost more than she made in a month. Peeking out from the collar of his shirt she noticed he had a couple of long scratches on his neck and wondered how he’d gotten them.

“Thank you for that, Kurtis. We appreciate it.” Lindsey smiled as the other two both thanked him for his generosity.

“So, what do you think of Bliss?” Kurtis held his arms out at his sides about hip level. “Is it everything you hoped it would be?”

“Yes. It’s amazing. Thank you for getting us in.” Lindsey smiled and took a drink. Kurtis continued to watch her with an appreciative eye. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was undressing her with just a look. Given that he was a very good-looking man and appeared to be quite successful, she should be flirting back with him. She didn’t know what it was, but something kept holding her back from seeing him as someone other than a friend. Even calling him a friend felt off for some reason, too.

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