Page 48 of Unbreakable

Arizona

Aftertheordealyesterday, I cleaned up as much as I could of the destroyed coffee table before crashing in bed, wanting to put it behind me and be nothing but a potato. Who the hell am I lying to, I cried like a baby until I fell asleep. Only waking long enough to see the message from Vee that Ash was in fact okay and Ryker sustained a shot to the arm but was doing good as well. I turned my phone off after that, going back to bed until this afternoon. More than twelve hours of sleep and I’m still exhausted.

Dragging myself out of bed I head straight for the shower, turning the water to hot and strip, ignoring the fact I went to sleep in what I was wearing yesterday. Normally I would feel dirty knowing this, but at this moment I couldn't care less.

Standing under the shower, as the heat of the water beats down on my body, I let the events of the last twenty-four hours wash away. It’s for the best, I beat into my brain even though my heart protests it. I stand under the stream of water, long after it changes from hot to warm to freezing cold, making sure to let all my tears fall, promising myself these will be the last tears I shed.

Turning the water off, I carefully step out and grab a towel from the rack, drying off my body before dropping it to the floor in a pile alongside my discarded clothes. Usually that would have my OCD going crazy, but today I’m oblivious to it.

I pull on a thong and a pair of leggings, pairing it with a cami and oversized t-shirt, knowing I will only be changing once I get to the club so why not be comfortable.

Slipping on my flip flops, I toss my makeup, hair brush and the new costume I’m wearing tonight for a new number in my overnight bag and head to the door, picking my purse and keys up on the way.

I should probably eat something at home, but opt to grab a burger from the drive thru on the way. A greasy hamburger always makes the heart feel better. An hour and a full belly later, I’m pulling into the parking lot of Hell’s Desire. Looking to the left I notice a line of bikes parked in front of the front door, knowing instinctively members of the club are here. What seemed a bit off were the two bikes parked together at the edge of the parking lot.

Heading inside, I see Hank in his normal spot perched at the entrance, Bash standing with him. A smile flashes across my face as I gaze at him, expecting a similar response but he quickly looks away.

“Hey Hank, Bash. What kind of crowd do we have tonight?” I ask, my focus still on Bash who isn’t even acknowledging my presence.

“It’s a full house in there doll. You got a new number for us tonight? Heard Carlos talkin’ bout seein’ ya practicin’ it.” Hank asks, standing from his chair.

“I’m gonna get inside, I’ll talk to you later brother.” Bash tells him, as he gives him a fist bump before heading inside and out of sight. Never once saying hello or anything. What the fucking hell!

“Don’t worry ‘bout him. He’ll get his head out his ass.” Hank tells me knowingly.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about Hank. But yeah, I have a new number tonight, dancing to some Nine Inch Nails just for you.” I wink before heading inside. I see Bash off to the side with Javier, but I keep walking to the back, feeling the intensity of his eyes on me the whole time, burning a hole in my head.

In the dressing room, I see Jade seated at her vanity putting on the final touches to her makeup.

“Hey girl, are you okay? You look a little down.”

“Peachy keen girl, peachy keen. Are you about to go on?” I ask her, plopping down in the chair at my vanity, dropping my bag to the floor.

“Yeah, I have about ten more minutes before I need to be on the stage.” she says, blowing out a deep breath of air.

“Are you going to do the new move I taught you? You've had it down perfectly the last few times you tried.”

“Yeah, unless I chicken out at the last minute. I just wished I had the confidence that you have in me.” she says shyly.

“You’re going to be better than all of us. Just keep practicing and if you mess up keep going, no one will be none the wiser.” I try to convince her, knowing some mistakes will be blatantly obvious, but show some boobs and ass, flash some pussy and men will forget all about it.

I plug in my flat iron and begin to brush my mop of unruly hair, which has grown a mind of its own since I let it air dry without putting hair product in it to take care of the frizz.

“Well, I’ll see you on the floor, wish me luck.” Jade says, walking out of the room, holding her crossed fingers up in the air. All I can do is laugh at her. The girl is absolutely crazy, but I love her.

I turn back to the mirror and work on straightening my hair. I’m so caught up in what I’m doing I don’t hear anyone until they’re right behind me and placing a slip of paper on the desk in front of me, causing me to jump in fright.

“I’m sorry I scared you.” Bash tells me in a low, gravely voice.

“Oh, now you want to acknowledge and speak to me.” I cut him off quickly.

“Sorry, just want to have this conversation in private. That paper is for you.”

I look at him, confusion running rampant as I pick up the paper and open it, reading the contents slowly, before shooting a death glare at him.

“What’s this for?”

“Well, we didn’t use protection, just wanted you to know I was clean. That’s from my STD test from two weeks ago. I didn’t know if you had one, just thought we should both know if we were clean or not.”

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