Page 21 of Indigo Sky

He nodded. "Well, the patch suits you," he complimented, and it hit different than when Nate said it. This had come from somewhere else. A place of sincerity and respect. It was nice, and maybe for the first time, I wondered what it might be like to have other friends.

"Thanks," I replied.

He stepped aside, unclipped the velvet rope blocking my path to the door, and nudged his head over his shoulder. "You can head on in."

The lights from outside disappeared once the door closed behind me. I could hardly see what was immediately in front of me; I could only see where I was headed—the stage.

There was a girl on the pole. A blonde, wearing nothing but a thong that twinkled in the spotlight. Her nipples were pierced, and so was her bellybutton; the light grabbed ahold of those little jewels every time she spun around the pole. I must've been blinded by them, or maybe it was her thong … or maybe it was how damn dark it was in that place because I hadn't noticed anybody around me until a tray of drinks clattered to the floor.

"Oh!" a girl yelped in surprise as she jumped backward, away from me and the broken glass between our feet. "I'm so sorry!"

"Shit," I muttered through gritted teeth at the mess before I could take a look at who I'd just walked into.

It was too dark to make out many details, but I could see enough to know she wasn't wearing much.

"No,I'msorry," I said, brushing her apology away. "I … I wasn't looking where I was going. Fuck, um … here, let me—"

I started to crouch when she waved her hands, stopping me. "No, no, don't worry about it. I'll call the bartender over. He'll clean it up."

Slowly standing again to my full height, I asked, "Are you sure? I feel bad. I—"

"Nope, don't feel bad. Really, it's fine. I’ve been working here for a few years now, and I can't tell you how many times this has happened."

It was dark—I’ve established that already. I couldn't make out the color of her hair, or her eyes, or if that was a skirt she was wearing or just a pair of underwear. But I could see her smile, and …damn.

"You should tell them to invest in some light bulbs," I said, making a shitty joke to keep the conversation going. Because suddenly, the last thing I wanted was to hurry this night along. Suddenly, I didn't think I'd be okay with leaving until I at least had her name.

She laughed, and, hey, maybe she was just being polite, but that laugh made me wanna find ways for it to happen again … and again.

She pulled a notepad and pen out of what seemed like thin air and pretended to write. "Tell management … we need … lightbulbs…”

"I can fill out, uh … one of those comment cards or whatever. If it would help."

She pointed the top of her pen at me. "Perfect. And if you could leave a terrible review on Yelp, that would also beveryeffective."

"Consider it done."

She grinned. "Anyway, uh … I’d better get this taken care of and get some replacement drinks for the customers who are probably nowverythirsty. But while I'm at it, can I getyouanything?"

I didn't have any intentions of drinking tonight. I was driving, I didn't feel like spending the money, and I hadn't anticipated being here for very long. But things had changed, it seemed, and that was why I found myself asking what she had on tap and ordered a Blue Moon.

She nodded, scribbled it down, and told me to take a seat and she'd find me. I hoped she would, and I hoped the light from the stage could give me a better look at her.

Nate was where I'd expect him to be—at a table pushed up against the stage. He hardly noticed my arrival with his eyes transfixed on the redhead and the scrap of glittering fabric tucked between her ass cheeks. I dropped into the seat beside his and turned to stare directly at him, waiting for him to acknowledge me.

Two minutes. It took him two whole fucking minutes to turn his head with a broad grin and glassy eyes.

"I'm here," I announced belatedly.

"Oh, man, how fuckin' amazing is this place?"

"It's dark," I complained, my voice drowned out by the sound of the thumping music.

"What?" Nate shouted, his eyes drifting back toward the blonde, whose back was against the pole, grinding her ass into it.

"Nothing," I replied, taking a glance over my shoulder to see if I could catch a glimpse of the girl with the pretty smile.

His elbow jabbed my ribs aggressively. I turned to look back at him, unamused.

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