Page 21 of Sweet Little Thing

“I can handle some things on my own, Stone.” This time, Jasper didn’t sound amused. I wondered about the way he had phrased that, though. “Some things” was an odd way to say it. What was it he couldn’t handle on his own?

“Sure, let’s just get this over with. I need to eat right now.”

I wanted to point out that he could eat whenever he wanted. But again, I kept my mouth shut. Jasper started talking about an upcoming party he wanted to have next weekend. It was forTate’s birthday, and that kept them busy until I was dropped off at home. I would need to make sure that I wasn’t scheduled to work Saturday night at the club. I already knew I would be needed to work the party.

Chapter

Sixteen

Beulah

The first thing I saw when I walked into the Employees Only room was the back of Shauna’s redhead as she knelt in front of Neil, who was holding the back of her head as he groaned with pleasure. I paused. They didn’t seem to notice me. Neil’s eyes were closed, and his other hand was on the wall for support, I assumed.

“Fuck, Shauna, fuck, that’s good, baby,” he said, his eyes slitting to look down, though they locked with mine instead. I expected him to stop her or, well, do something, not allow the woman to continue. A smile appeared on his face, and they proceeded.

“I’m gonna come,” he said, staring at me.

I wanted to run from the room, but my feet seemed cemented to the floor. I was in shock, I guess. “Uh,” he said, his eyes slightly closing. “Oh yeah, oh fuck, here it comes.” Heavily, he leaned on the wall, releasing a tongue-biting moan. Finally ableto move, I spun around and ran out of there.

That wasn’t what I’d expected or had been prepared to witness. I wish I’d been able to move sooner. Run faster. Jeez! They didn’t even lock the door.

“Going the wrong way, aren’t you?” Carey asked as he slowly stepped from his office. “You need to go back and get dressed.”

I opened my mouth to say something when Shauna spoke from behind me, “Show’s over. You can go get ready now. Welcome to the club life, honey.”

I couldn’t look at her.

Carey laughed, like he knew exactly what had happened, “Breaking in the new girl early?”

I needed to talk to Carey and change my hours, but at this moment, I wanted to find a closet and compose myself for the evening. My pink cheeks were humiliating enough.

I didn’t wait around for more laughter and comments. I hurried back to the room, forgetting that Neil hadn’t exited yet; however, when I came face to face with him, I remembered he was still in there.

His lips curled up at the edges. “Sorry about that.”

He didn’t look sorry at all.

“There’s a lock on the door,” I pointed out.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “But what’s the fun in locking it? That takes away the thrill of someone walking in and watching.”

I didn’t respond to that. I began to step around him when his hand touched my arm. “I’m sorry, I’d say that was a moment of lust and that I needed some relief. But honestly, you’ll need to adjust to it. Around here, it’s kind of an open thing. And Shauna gives one hell of a blow job.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied, going past him without looking up.

“You’ll eventually warm to it. I look forward to that,” he said and left the room.

I let out a sigh of non-relief. Changing in here was dangerous. I didn’t want someone walking in and misinterpreting my changing as being something else. I’d start coming to work dressed from now on. If they wanted to share various STDs from swapping and exchanging partners, I didn’t have to be part of that.

My focus was getting through the night and finding time to talk to Carey about cutting back my hours. Unfortunately, it got busy early, and I never spoke to him. But I did get over a hundred dollars in tips. It was a good night, worth the loss of sleep.

Neil and a blonde waitress flirted most of the evening. He even gave me a suggestive grin. That guy had serious issues. I’d decided he was a man-whore, until his wife came in for a drink after her work shift ended. A man-whore adulterer. Yuck.

When I finally walked into the house, it was three a.m., according to the clock. I found Stone sitting in the great room. The gas fire was going, although it was only sixty degrees, an unusual snap of coolness. He looked up from the book in his lap and didn’t smile or nod—not that I expected him to.

“Why’re you working three jobs?” he asked.

I was too tired for this, for him, “Why’re you sitting in Jasper’s house at three in the morning drinking his whiskey?”

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