Page 64 of Tops
“I’m guessing Nik helped with yours,” Tanner said.
I couldn’t quite understand the jealousy between Tanner and Nik, considering they were all sharing me. Tanner didn’t seem to have as many issues regarding Colten.
“I asked him to put something together for me without spending any money,” I shrugged, knowing that was a crippling crutch Tanner used in his romance style. Mark them off as paid for their time. I needed orgasms, not pearls to clutch.
“Would you like to go back down to the party?” Tanner asked, and I couldn’t tell if he was asking because he thought I was bored or wanted to get back to Nik.
“Are you planning on coming down?”
My answer let me see the tiny slip of a smile Tanner failed to hide. Being the decision maker wasn’t in my comfort zone, but at least if I could get us to break out of the bubble of diplomacy we were in, then we could get to something that felt a little more normal.
“I’ll be down eventually,” Tanner said with a smile that felt wicked enough for dark sparks of electric current to flicker to life inside me. There was still a lot of unresolved business between the two of us, but Hannah had been right. He was a part of me already, and I wasn’t ready to let him go. Not until I took what I needed from him first.
Colten took me down to Tops. I looked over to the main stage and saw the boobs currently swinging did not belong to Hannah. Her set must have been over by now. Colten led me toward one of the small standing tables that offered no chairs to sit on, but it did have a thick metal pole that attached it securely to the floor. I decided I liked tables that did not float better than ones that did.
“Will you be alright if I go and get us some drinks?” Colten asked, and I nodded for him to go ahead. My eyes slid up to one of the many cameras I now knew that sat around the room.
The moment Colten left, a doctor in a white lab coat with a full mask and surgical head wrap took over the empty space beside me. I smiled over to Nik, and he pulled the mask beneath his chin so I could see his mouth.
“I thought about what you said about someone seeing us, so I rummaged around and put something together to help you feel better,” he said, smiling. My heart beat out in a special fluttering rhythm that was reserved for Nik and Nik alone. I appreciated how he saw something causing me to worry and simply fixed it.
On second thought, he got off on the forbidden nature of us, and sneaking around with a costume hiding him was exactly a kink he would have. My light laughter was drowned out by an announcement from the DJ.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us here at Tops for our annual Halloween costume contest!”
The crowd erupted into a roar of cheers and claps. Colten finally reappeared, placing a glass of clear liquid with a slice of cucumber floating on top in front of me.
“Just water with cucumber,” he said before I could ask. His glass held a few inches of dark liquid at the bottom, no ice.
“You have been voting all night,” the announcer continued, but I tuned him out as I turned back to the table.
“Let me guess, costume contest, cash prize, more naked people dancing and drinking until finally, the bar closes?” I asked, knowing exactly how most parties played out. Whether they were small ones in the backyard of a house or large businesses. Parties followed a predictable pattern I had mapped many times.
“Yeah, I would say that’s about right. But how many times have you sat back and watched?” Nik paused to raise an eyebrow at me. I really wished one of them could at least teach me how to do that. “And how many times have you been in the middle of the chaos, letting go of all your control?” Nik finished. He pulled the mask over his lips, using a finger as a hook. The look in his eyes dared me to let him lead the way.
Abso-fucking-lutely.
I took a sip of my water before turning toward Colten. Maybe it would help him and Tanner if they saw how Nik treated me. The perfect balance of thrilling new experiences to my heart race and the warm comfort of protection.
“Come find me when you’re ready,” I said to Colten before extending my hand for Nik to take.
Rather than staying outside the room, Nik pulled me deeper into the center and closer to the other patrons and their outfits. I refused to let go of Nik’s hand while weaving around various objects hanging off people. A glitter-coated wing just narrowly avoided hitting me in the face as we made our way into the crowd’s heart.
Nik pulled me forward while he slipped behind me, his hands resting on my hips while the vest separated his chest from my back. Deep in the mass of bodies, the energy level around me was so high that it seemed infectious. Feeling protected and safe, I gave myself over to the sensation of becoming one of the ant people I saw scurrying around. Watching from a distance told you absolutely nothing about what it was like to live and breathe inside the world.
“Alright, everyone, here they are! The finalists!” The DJ boomed into the mic, but from this close, his words were impossible to ignore as the whole crowd erupted into another cheer, and I found myself yelling and clapping along. A line of people in elaborate costumes started on the main stage.
“Good evening, everyone,” came a voice from the speakers, low and seductive. A voice I could immediately recognize as Tanner’s. My heart did a double thump in my chest while I waited for Tanner to appear from behind the curtain.
He walked out on stage to an eruption of catcalls and whistles from the surrounding females. Really, I couldn’t blame them with the deep tenor of his seductive voice to the way the stage lights bounced off the oiled, sculpted planes of his muscular chest. He positioned himself in the middle of the stage, and I watched his eyes scan the room’s edges.
“Come on, everyone, give Mr. Ryland a hand and cheer the loudest when he approaches your favorite!” The announcer said as Tanner walked over to the nearest contestant.
The crowd erupted as Tanner approached the body paint unicorn I had seen walking by earlier. Her body was a myriad of glittering, colorful swirls and lines. Leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination other than what it would feel like to have part of a tail shoved up your ass all night. As far as costumes went, I wouldn’t consider it the winning choice, and Tanner’s posture seemed to agree.
The crowd watched as he moved on toward a girl dressed like a deer. I could see myself in something like this, as she wore a brown dress while her face was elaborately painted like that of a fawn. Tanner paused longer in front of the deer, inspecting all the details despite the costume earning less applause.
“Who do you want to win?” Nik asked, bending down to talk directly in my ear while the tips of his fingers shifted down as well. The top of them rested on the band of my leggings just under the bottom of the vest. A low hum of arousal started warming inside me, feeding off the crowd’s energy as I stopped paying attention while Tanner continued to present the finalists. Every wave of applause bounced back to me, reminding me we were literally surrounded by other people while his fingers inched closer.
