Page 105 of Kneeling for Them
And all this time, I thoughtIwas the sick fuck.
“Get out of my life,” I say.“I never want to see you again.I don’t want to see you around Ella.You’re poison.”
“I’ll telleveryonewhat you did,” she says.
Those were the words I’ve spent the past seven years dreading, but they no longer have power over me.
Leaning back in my booth seat, I fold my hands in front of me.“Go ahead.I have a statement prepared.”
Trina’s mouth opens and closes.She didn’t expect me to agree so quickly.She thinks I’ve been hiding from this all along.Well, I have.But I’m done hiding.I’m giving Ella a chance to do what she thinks is best, but once Ella finds out what happened, I’m ready to come forward.
“Get out,” I say.“If you approach me again, I’ll file a restraining order.I’m documenting everything.”
“You’re going to be so fucking sorry,” she hisses before turning on her heel and leaving the club.
My body is rigid with unspent rage.It’s extremely difficult to calm the fuck down, but I take deep breaths until I feel like a normal person again.Then, I fish my phone from my pocket.I’ve been ignoring it all evening, but I’m starting to feel like an asshole.Well, notstartingto feel like an asshole.I’ve felt like one since I let Ella walk out of my apartment yesterday.I should have grabbed her, talked to her, and then thrown her over my lap for the kind of spanking that wouldn’t be punishment, only pleasure.
I tap the screen and the usual barrage of notifications pops up.Nestled among them, though, is a text from Ella.Trina lied.You never hurt anyone.
My breath catches in my throat and it feels, for a moment, like my heart stops beating.Fuck.Fuck.Can this be real?
I text her back.I need to talk to you.Where are you?
There’s no response.She must be at work.I call her anyway, hoping she’ll pick up, but nothing.
If she’s at Bartleby’s, she’s just down the street.It’s only seven, though, and the earliest she’ll get off is eight.Sometimes her shift doesn’t end until nine.I don’t want to distract her, so I keep my seat and order another iced tea.Drumming my hands on the tabletop, I wait.
I always dreamed I’d be someone’s knight in shining armor.
But I think my little princess might have saved me.
Ella
At Bartleby’s, Natasha grabs my hand and drags me behind the soda machine.Her eyes are twinkling with mischief.“Did you hear about Nicholas?”
“No,” I say slowly.“What happened?”
“He called in sick last night, and Kevin had to scramble to find someone to take his shift, and then Nicholas showed up here at the pub with a huge crowd of friends, drunk off his ass.Not sick.”
“Damn,” I say.“Did Kevin fire him?”
“No.”Natasha pouts in the direction of where Kevin’s mixing drinks.“He’s giving him another chance.But the person Kevin found to work is Kevin’s nephew, and he’s chill AF.Now we all want the nephew to work here instead of Nicholas.He’s worth, like, two Nicholases.”
“Maybe that’ll happen,” I say, “if Nicholas screws up again.The nerve of him, telling me I sucked because I had to call in once.”
“Well, maybe his mistake will knock him off his pedestal,” she says.
I have to be honest—this low-key drama with Nicholas is refreshing after all of the intense revelations surrounding Sebastian and his past.Natasha and I chat for a little while, until I notice a couple at one of my tables looking around because they need something.
Only an hour left of work, and then I can ask Kingston to help me track down Sebastian.I texted Sebastian earlier, but last I checked, he hasn’t texted back.Maybe he’s still processing the news.It’s got to be a lot to take in.
The last hour passes, and all I have left to do is wait for one last table to pay their bill.While I wait, I sneak into the back room to check my phone.Sebastian still hasn’t gotten back to me, so I text him and Kingston together.We need to talk.I’m nearly finished at the pub.
Kingston’s response is immediate.Wait for Garth, I’m sending him now.
Okay, Daddy, I write back with a winking emoji.
The table pays and I grab my things, say goodbye to Natasha and Kevin, and head outside.Traffic moves swiftly along the street—a hectic Friday night crush of cars, all of them speeding along to get their occupants from one engagement to another.Dinners.Movies.Clubs.Parties.I hang back along the edge of the building to wait for Garth.
