Page 49 of Unbinding the Demon
“Yeah, and doesn’t he look fucking sexy?” William grabbed Oliver’s face, and they shared a quick but passionate kiss. A rhythmic beeping noise sounded overhead. “Oh shit! That’s my cue to get backstage! Can you bring me my drink when it comes out, lovecake?”
“Of course, lovedove.” Oliver flashed him an endearing grin with love in his eyes.
“Alright, I’ll see you guys from the stage!” He laughed and blew us a kiss, then pranced away, his pale hair swaying behind him.
“Thanks for coming, you guys. I know this isn’t your scene, but it really means a lot to him that you’re here,” Oliver said as he leaned on the bar with a grateful smile.
“You should only thank her,” Ashton gestured toward me. “I tried to get us turned away at the door.”
The bartender handed Oliver two drinks and then gave Ashton a weird, unnerved side glance. “Well, you must not have tried too hard, considering they turn people down left and right,” Oliver said with a laugh. Ashton tilted his head and furrowed his brows, likely wondering why his plan hadn’t worked. “I’m going to bring this to William. Thanks again, and I’ll see you guys around.” He chuckled and then disappeared into the crowd.
Ashton and I sat down on a couple of chrome bar seats and ordered two glasses of red wine from the shifty-acting bartender. He gazed at Ashton with intimidated brown eyes and nervously ran his hand through his short, light brown hair a bunch of times. Then he took off his name tag, which said “Kyle,” and peaced the fuck out like there was a ghost in the building.
As we sat with our drinks, I could practically feel the lewd gazes from onlookers slithering over our bodies. I actively tried to avoid eye contact with people. Ashton must have noticed it as well. He put his arm around my lower back in a possessive manner and menacingly glared at anyone who got too close. “You were right; this is terrible.” He laughed while pulling my seat closer to him.
“Yeah, I told you so!” I giggled and grabbed my drink. “But it’s much better than I thought it would be since you’re here.”
We both smiled at one another, then he leaned in and gave me a loving kiss. What I said was true; being at the club wasn’t so bad with him by my side. We goofed around a bit as we waited for the show to begin. I used my finger to draw a silly-looking duck in the condensation on my glass. Then he artistically one-upped me and drew a remarkably detailed dragon’s head on his. We were laughing when I felt a light tap on my shoulder.
“Hey, beautiful, can I get a dance?” A tall, very handsome man with dark hair and light green eyes asked with a wink, oozing confidence as he held out his hand. He shot Ashton a smug smile, as if he thought he could steal me away.
Ashton’s face darkened and his gaze was downright lethal. “I admire your courage. I truly do. But if you ever speak tomygirlfriend again, I will nail your scrotum to a fence post and then set it on fire.” His voice was calm, but held averymalicious undertone that sent a shiver up my spine.
The man’s face paled and he unwittingly covered his groin. “I meant nothing by it, bro.” He held his hands up in defense. “No need to get so upset,” he deflected, and then scurried away.
“Good grief, that was a bit of an extreme threat.” I shook my head, but the look on my face said,wowza.
He tsked. “I let him off easy by only threatening it.” A murderous expression crossed his features. “The next person to ask you for a dance won’t be so lucky.”
A dainty hand landed on my arm, gentle like a bird landing on a perch. “Hey Gwendolyn, I’ve been looking all over for you! Do you want to go dance?” Lacey asked with a big, goofy smile. The smell of alcohol was on her breath, and she seemed slightly buzzed.
I glanced over at Ashton, who now looked quite amused and almost a little embarrassed. “I’ll let this one slide,” he joked and took a sip of his wine.
Before I could answer Lacey’s question, she was pulling me out onto the dance floor. “Come on! Just follow my lead!” she exclaimed with a laugh while grabbing my hips and guiding me along.
“Oh, jeez. I don’t know about this.” I made an awkward attempt to move in sync with her body, which flowed effortlessly to the beat.
Lacey’s hips seductively swayed with her arm in the air, moving with a carefree rhythm. My movements, however, were stiff and ungraceful, and I was trying really hard not to touch any sweaty people in the crowd like a nervous germaphobe. The sight was probably more cringe-worthy than a giraffe at a watering hole. I wanted to go sit back down before Ashton could see how gawky I was. I glanced over at my seat, where I saw him intensely watching me with a protective, unwavering gaze. He was also chatting with Darrell, who was dressed as a detective.
Fuck, I was really hoping he wouldn’t be watching...
The music came to a steady stop, and then some hip-looking DJ guy announced that the competition would be starting. Lacey and I made our way back over to the guys, where Darrell was explaining what“Rick Rolling”was to Ashton.
“Man,I can’t believe you’ve never heard it before! The song is such an earworm!” Darrell laughed.
“I’m just as surprised as you are. And here I was thinking I was well-versed in every method of torture,” Ashton replied with an amused smile.
“Darrell, let’s go get a better view of the stage,” Lacey said, before giving him a kiss.
“Alright, I’ve gotta go keep my lady happy. I’ll see you around.” He gave Ashton a friendly pat on the back. “Well, well, now what do we have here?” He playfully held a magnifying glass over Lacey’s bosom and pretended to inspect her breasts.
“Oh my gosh! You weirdo!” She laughed, then they disappeared into the crowd together.
“Would you like to get a better view, too? Or would you rather stay where it’s less crowded?” Ashton asked as he pulled me to his side.
“I think we should go get a closer look. We came here to watch William perform, after all.” I smiled up at him.
“Let’s go then.” He kissed the top of my head, and we squeezed our way closer to the stage.
