Page 68 of Shameless
About a Month Later…
We’d drivento San Francisco from Vegas to celebrate Thanksgiving with my brother and his family. My parents had flown in and were staying at Brandon and Spencer’s while Sarah and I had booked a dog-friendly hotel in the city.
It seemed like forever ago that I had been chasing my dreams of owning a nightclub and now, with the help of my brother and Jason, I was co-owner of three Club 24 locations. Well, the third was waiting for escrow to close on a building Club 24 had purchased in Las Vegas. I was also packing up my shit and moving in with Sarah.
Wanting to show Sarah the first club I opened, we headed to Club 24 after having dinner in Chinatown. Having been a bartender for most of my adult life, I knew the day before Thanksgiving was the busiest. Also called Black Wednesday, it was widely known that bars would be swamped with an influx of out-of-towners and the start of a four-day weekend.
“Are you ready to get your dance on?” I asked as I drove Sarah’s Jeep toward the club.
“I’m excited to see your club.”
Vegas was going to be different and wasn’t going to have a nightclub at all. After a long chat with Brandon and Jason, we decided that location would be their signature gym only. Las Vegas was famous for its party spots, and we didn’t want to compete. After realizing I wanted to be a part of the Vegas location because of Sarah, Brandon and Jason decided to let me get it off the ground alone. I’d more or less done that with Houston, but they had overseen the gym aspect of that location. This time, I would be making most of the decisions and my role would have nothing to do with being a nightclub owner.
“And I can’t wait to see you out on that dance floor. Remember what happened last time I watched you dance?” I asked and kissed the back of her hand I was holding.
I was referring to when we were in Cabo and crashed the wedding. When the groom had approached me, I’d thought the jig was up. It was, but he also didn’t give a shit. He’d asked my name, where I was from, and when I explained I was a club owner, he told me he’d hit me up if we ever opened a location in New Mexico.
As Levi and I had been shooting the shit, I’d glanced over at Sarah and my world had changed.
I wasn’t sure if it was because we only had a few hours left in Mexico and I didn’t want to miss my chance to be with her or what, but at that moment, I had to have her. Had to know what her mouth felt like against my lips. What her kisses tasted like. What her moans sounded like. How she looked naked and spread out beneath me. What her hair smelled like as I buried my face in the crook of her neck before kissing my way across her entire body.
And starting that night, I’d experienced everything and then some. Repeatedly.
“How can I forget?” Sarah asked. “It was the best sex of my life.”
“Damn straight.” With my ego inflated, I continued toward the club. Until I realized … “Wait. Are you saying sex hasn’t been that good since?”
“Meh.” She shrugged.
“You better take that back.”
“Maybe.” She stuck out her tongue.
I was seconds away from telling her where she could stick her tongue when her eyes widened. Before I could ask what was wrong, I was jolted in my seat. The sound of metal on metal pierced my ears, and a sharp pain exploded in my head before everything went black.
25
Sarah
Once my eyes fluttered open,I stared up at the stark white ceiling. Tilting my head, I noticed an IV stuck in my hand, and an oxygen probe on my finger. It took a moment for me to recall what had happened.
In and out of a daze, I remembered help coming and pulling me from my Jeep. When I looked over at Blake, he was slumped against the airbag and covered in blood.
So much blood.
I had tried to fight, to go back to the car and help him, but resilient arms held me back. The next thing I remembered was waking up in the hospital room.
Glancing to the door, I saw Aimee standing just outside, talking to another woman I didn’t know. They were whispering, and it looked as though they both had been crying.
My heart sank.
Where was Blake?
“Aimee,” I whispered, but it was barely audible to my own ears. My throat was scratchy and sore. I swallowed as much saliva as I could and tried again. “Aimee.”
She turned my way, and when she saw me looking at her, her eyes widened and then she rushed toward me and grabbed my hand. “Honey, you’re awake.”
“Where’s Blake?” I continued to speak softly.
