Page 24 of Hush, Hush

“I hope you’re right,” he says, his voice so low I wonder if I actually heard him at all. He exits the car, and I step out after him. We walk side-by-side down the sidewalk. At the entrance to the bar ahead of us, a few girls enter in white half shirts. Keegan smiles. “This is going to be fun.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s disgusting.”

“You don’t have to be here,” he presses.

“Youmade sure I had to, but that’s fine,” I tack on. “Maybe I’ll find some guys in there to hire, too.”

Keegan pulls to a stop. “What?”

Snickering, I turn toward him. “Fair’s fair, right? There’s a girl in the Knights now, and not to mention that there are a few Knights who swing the other way. We should have a few guys, too. Are there wet bikini contests for guys?”

He growls low in his throat, but any argument he’s decided to make is cut off when Cameron comes up behind us. He slaps Keegan on the shoulder and winks at me. “Looking hot, Delilah. Wish you were participating.”

I’d rather cut my own eyeballs out. Instead of saying that, I glare at him. Laughing boisterously, he walks inside. Keegan grabs my hand territorially, and we follow him into the bar.

Music is in full swing. Neon lights strobe over the main areas of the room while the corners stay in shadow. A musty smell I’m not particularly keen on tickles my nostrils, but the good news is, it looks like they’ve shut down the entire bar for the competition. No doubt the owners are well aware that the rich kids from Carnegie will buy copious amounts of alcohol, so it’s worth more to shut it down than open up for everyone.

Judging by the way tables are already filled with full and half empty drinks, they made the right decision. Cameron, and a couple of the other guys, are lining up a row of chairs to face the stage. Behind the raised platform is a wall of mirrors, so we’ll literally be able to see everything.

Nerves flutter in my stomach. I don’t really care about seeing the girls in their t-shirts. I’m for body positivity and all that, but I worry about what they’re getting themselves into.

I pull back on Keegan’s sleeve before he can make a getaway to the real fun already happening. “Hey, I was thinking. When we hire these girls, we should make sure they know what they’re getting into ahead of time.”

Keegan drifts his hand up to play with the ends of my hair. “Don’t worry. They know. Plus, we’ll add it to the contract along with the confidentiality agreement. If they don’t want to get buried, they’ll do as the contract says.”

I swallow, still not liking the idea. Who’s looking out for the girls if it’s a one-sided contract?

“Dee, this has happened for so many years. There’s never been a problem. It doesn’t need to be fixed, and you certainly don’t need to worry about it.”

Fine. The least I can do is help these girls not parade around in nothing though. If the rest of the committee likes my devils versus angels idea, I can at least put them in white lingerie.

“Now, relax,” Keegan tells me. “You might learn a thing or two.”

My jaw snaps shut, and I want to wipe the smirk that follows off his face.

ChapterTwelve

I’ve never seen so many breasts in my life.

I’ve also never been witness to so many horny twenty something year olds making spectacles of themselves while drooling over said breasts.

Music pumps through the speakers, and lights flash like we’re at a disco. The dive bar is filled with electricity, appearing livelier than when we first walked in. Like Keegan told me, the girls are absolutely fine with strutting their stuff on stage. Some of them have real dancing talent while others just prance around, trying to look as sexy as possible. Painted numbers adorn their shoulders so we can judge without bias. However, it also kind of feels like we don’t care enough to learn their names.

Regardless, I have a sneaking suspicion that my picks will be far different from the other guys on the committee.

Unfazed that I’m sitting right next to him, Keegan enjoys the overtly sexual display with the others, whooping and hollering for his favorites. As the night wears on, the final girls turn bolder, probably desperate to be chosen. After all, they will be paid handsomely for this. One girl, whose hair is dyed in mermaid colors, saunters up to us, giving each guy a private dance. She doesn’t get to me because Keegan pulls her onto his lap, keeping her firmly in place while yelling out for the sorority leaders to let the next girl on stage.

I guess she’s going to stay there then?

I glare over at the two of them. She appears content as can be sitting on my future husband’s lap. He runs his hands up and down her spine before peering over at me. When he sees me looking, he traces designs over her skin until she arches her back.

I can’t help but think this is in retaliation for not giving in to him yet. He’s trying to make me jealous, so I’ll get on my knees and beg, just like he wants.

I count down the seconds as she stays there. Three girls come up and finish, and I haven’t even scored them on my sheet because my body is consumed with angry heat. Iamjealous. I want to rip her off his lap and stake my claim. I want his fingers so deep inside me again that I scream his name.

When he starts to massage her knee, I’m out. I stand, marching toward the bathrooms, avoiding the bar waitresses who are keeping us steadily supplied with alcohol. I haven’t drank one yet. Not because I don’t enjoy a drink now and then, but because I’m doing a job.

Just my luck, the wet t-shirt girls have inhabited the bathroom. They’re all laughing and cleaning up, talking about how much fun dancing for us was. How freeing. A few of them even discuss how hot the panel of judges was, and clearly, they’re not talking about me.

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