Page 82 of Pray for the Damned

It feels so good to have a real friend, to have someone to laugh with, to tell about my relationships and worries. I never thought my life would look like this, but God, am I grateful for it.

I bite down on my bottom lip to tamp down the smile that tries to take over my face. “I mean, I’m not going to tell you that didn’t happen.”

Another squeal quickly followed with her entire body colliding with mine, stealing the breath right from my lungs.

“Fuck yeah! My girl got double-teamed by twins.”

A startled laugh tumbles from my throat, and I wrap my arms around her. All these years I put off making friends, I was missing out.

But I don’t want to miss out anymore. I want to live my life to the fullest, and that means no longer pushing people away that care about me.

The front bar is so different from the one I’m used to at the center of the club.

For one, everyone around me has their clothes on, and I can’t hear the faint sound of skin-on-skin contact as someone gets spanked on stage.

And strangely enough, I miss it.

But it’s a nice change of pace.

Kitty, the girl that was supposed to work out here tonight, had to take her kid to the doctor, and seeing as Abigail is basically naked, it made sense for me to be the one to fill in out here.

I slide a beer across the bar to one of the patrons, and he thanks me quietly before I turn my attention to a newcomer who just sat down at the darker end of the bar.

“Hi!” I say with a smile. “What can I get you?”

“Whiskey. Top shelf. Neat,” he snaps out, and I don’t bother hanging around to tell him I’ll be back. He doesn’t care. I’ve worked in customer service for long enough to know when someone is interested in the niceties and who just wants whatever they’ve asked for without the hassle of small talk.

I reach up and grab the bottle from the shelf, my ribs aching slightly. They haven’t been giving me as much trouble as I thought they might, especially with all the extracurricular activities I’ve been partaking in the last week. But stretching still seems to be an issue and probably will be for another week or two if my past injuries are anything to go off.

I prepare the drink and walk it to where the customer is scowling at me.

God, I’ve really done something to upset him without even trying.

“Here you go.” I smile and slide the drink toward him. “Anything else I can get you?”

He shakes his head, and I take that as my cue to move on to the couple sitting two seats down, whispering to one another as they sip their wine. I’m fairly sure they’re members of the club, and I’ve seen them inside before, but they haven’t made any move to head into the heart of the club.

“You doing okay?” I ask, wiping down my side of the bar out of habit.

“We’re great, thank you so much.” The woman beams at me. “How’d you draw the short straw working out here tonight?”

I laugh softly. “It’s not so bad. But Kitty had a family emergency. It’s a nice change of pace to be honest.”

“Much less distracting, I’m sure.” She smirks, and I give her a knowing smile.

“You’ve got that right.” I lean back against the serving area behind me, taking a moment to look around the entire room to check no one needs anything. There’s another waitress on shift with me, but she’s on her break, and I don’t want anyone waiting until she gets back if they don’t have to.

My eyes fall on the rude guy at the end of the bar, and he’s still glaring at me, making my stomach roll uncomfortably. He doesn’t seem familiar. His salt-and-pepper hair is slicked back, and his dark eyes seem almost black in the dull lighting.

Almost black like…

My eyes widen, and my stomach rolls.

It can’t be.

Tearing my attention from him, I reach beneath the bar for my phone but remember I left it in my bag inside the main club.

I’m probably overreacting.

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