Page 45 of Indigo Sky

Indigo and I both began to speak at once, then laughed awkwardly.

“Rev came into the club years ago,” she said, fiddling with the robe’s long sash, tied at her waist. “We talked a little bit.”

She didn’t say as much, but her eyes glittered with the reassurance that she did, in fact, remember me. The dance. The kiss. I was glad she hadn’t divulged the details of that night to her friends, and I was even gladder that I’d made an impression.

Wendy and Crystal shared a glance, then burst with laughter.

“They ‘talked,’” Wendy mocked, using her fingers for air quotes.

“Right. Talked.Sure.” Crystal snickered, rolling her eyes over her shoulder to pin Indigo with a knowing look.

My gaze dropped to the floor, and my cheeks burned with every ounce of my embarrassment, but my smile couldn’t be contained. Indigo scoffed at her friends, demanded they knock it off, and retreated to the dressing room to finish getting ready for work without missing a beat.

And me?

Well, I was relieved.

I had talked to her. I had seen her again. And it was good. She remembered me, and she knew I remembered her. If something else came from that, cool, but if not, it was just nice to know I was as worth remembering to her as she was to me.

***

Saturdays at Midnight Lotus were about as crazy as I’d expected them to be.

At all hours, there was a line lingering along the sidewalk outside the club. Every time a group left, I permitted another to enter, and for the most part, it was going smoothly.

Twice, I had to turn someone away for being intoxicated.

Once, I had to use force to make them leave.

Saul was working security detail inside, manning the hall to the dressing rooms and keeping the crowd from getting too rowdy with the dancers. I thought I might be better suited for that job. I was younger, bigger. But I didn’t push it, assuming they were still feeling me out. I’d only been an employee for about a week after all, and how the hell did they know they could trust me to protect the ladies?

Little did I know, I was about to prove myself that night.

Scott had just brought out a bottle of water for me, so I was surprised to see him come back out again so soon.

“Rev,” he said, urgency in his voice, “there’s a situation. Saul needs you inside. I’ll stand out here.”

I didn’t ask questions. I just nodded. “Okay.”

The club was dark, and though the music was thumping, there was nobody onstage. Customers muttered among themselves, asking what was going on and if they should leave. I moved around the perimeter, looking for a clue on where to go.

Then, I saw them.

The girls, huddled in the hallway outside the private rooms.

I walked with purpose toward them and asked, “What’s going on?”

Wendy grabbed my arm and pulled me forward, leading me toward one curtained-off room. “Some guy got a little too rough. Saul came in and got his ass handed to him. Sam is holding the guy back, but we need you until the cops get here.”

I glanced behind me, taking note of which girls were in the hallway. “Rough with who?”

She didn’t answer before opening the curtain, and the first person I saw was Indigo.

Her makeup was streaked from crying. Her bottom lip was split and bloodied. My gaze dropped to her exposed, naked breasts and the tattered remains of her thong. She tried to cover herself up with crossed arms and precariously placed hands, but with little success.

I turned to find Saul in a corner with a bloody gash on his forehead, one hand clutching his arm. Then, in the other corner was a crazed-looking beast of a man, seething and barely being held back by Sam.

I peered through the curtain and said to Wendy, “Get a cloth and some ice from the bar. You said the cops were coming?”

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