Page 25 of Loco

I thought about his words for a minute, recalling how Loco had acted with the other prospect who’d been occupying the chair that I was now sitting in. “So it’s kind of an initiation into the club?”

He nodded.

“Until then, what can I call you?”

He laughed, showing me a row of perfect teeth. “Rylie.” His eyes fell on something behind me, and then he suggested a little too quickly, “Ah, why don’t you stay here and keep me company ‘til Loco takes you home?”

I wondered why was he suddenly acting so nervous. I didn’t know Riley, but I knew when someone was acting weird. A feeling at the back of my neck made the hairs stand up. I sensed that I wasn’t going to like what I saw when I turned my head, but I slowly looked behind me anyway. At first all I saw was a room full of people who were mingling, laughing, dancing, and fucking. I scanned the room, and then I did a double take.

I’d found Loco.

Relaxing in a booth while talking to the man sitting next to him.

A half-naked woman had straddled him and was rocking against him.

I scowled and narrowed my eyes at them. Were they actually fucking?! It was hard to tell. It didn’t matter, their movements were telling. They might as well have been.

I froze, barely breathing. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The truth of who he was was right there, and it was killing me. And why? I didn’t own him. He wasn’t mine. Yet the hurt that was suddenly filling me was almost unbearable. It felt like the kind of betrayal that would be difficult to recover from. Again, I asked myself why I was feeling this way, when Loco had made his feelings clear. He’d been open about the kind of man that he was. Maybe this was just another way for him to make sure there were no misunderstandings between us.

That going forward this was what I could expect from him.

I swallowed and felt the telltale burn of tears at my eyes, but clenched my teeth to hold them back. He didn’t deserve them. He wouldn’t care. And do you know how I knew that? Because he glanced up and caught me watching them. With a smirk, he motioned me over to him as if nothing were wrong. Was he fucking kidding? The jerk was too much! But I went over anyway, determined to prove to him that I was unaffected by what he was doing.

I wasn’t going to let him hurt me.

“Millie…”

I heard the concern in Rylie’s voice. Was he worried that I’d cause a scene? I waved him off. “I’m okay. It was nice meeting you.”

I don’t know where I found the fortitude to make my way over to Loco’s table, but I did. I was proud of myself for keeping my head held high and a look on my face that I hoped would convince him that he wasn’t ripping my heart out. The woman grinding against his cock gave me the side-eye and then dismissed me. The noises escaping through her parted, scarlet lips almost caused me to roll my eyes, they sounded so fake.

“What?” I asked him from the other side of his table. There were others there, I could feel their interest in me, their curiosity, but I ignored them. It was all I could do to keep my eyes on Loco and not look down to see if he and the woman were actually doing the dirty.

“I’ll bring you home in a few.” I watched as his hand dropped to the woman’s bare breast, toying with her nipple. His face was cold and revealed nothing. “Have some fun in the meantime.”

I didn’t think that I could hate anyone more than I did him in that moment, other than myself for getting into this position in the first place. But I’d been fooling myself to think that a man like Loco would be interested in anything meaningful with me. I just stood there for a minute digesting what I was witnessing, unable to take my eyes off his, satisfied and a little surprised when his filled with something like regret. But it didn’t change anything. He was still sitting there. The woman was still grinding on him. After a few seconds more, I gave my head a shake.

I would not react.

Reacting would show him that I cared.

“I can always find someone else to take me home,” I said. I had to get away from there soon or I was going to throw up or start blubbering. “That way you can take your time.” Before Loco could respond, I turned around and went back to the bar.

Riley was still there, watching my approach. “That was a dick move, what Loco did to you. You okay?”

I forced a smile, realizing that I would be. “I’m okay. I’d heard he was a man-whore. It’s better I realized that now. If you think about it, he was really doing me a favor. Opening up my eyes.”

Riley gave me a look that said that he didn’t believe the crap spewing from my mouth, but he didn’t know me. I’d been hurt worse, and by a man who’d said he loved me.

“You want something stronger to drink?”

I laughed, but shook my head. “I need to find my way home.”

“That’s gonna be hard, sweetheart. There isn’t a soul in here who isn’t high or drunk.” He leaned in as if to whisper something to me. “You want my advice?”

Smiling, I nodded, wondering what kind of advice someone as young as him could give.

“Give him a little taste of his own medicine. Get your pretty ass out there on the dance floor. I guarantee you one of my single brothers will hit on you. There’s a lot of good men out there. Men who’d appreciate a woman like you.”

---