Viewing Room

by L. P. Dover

  “Hey, I can’t help it you and Dad decided to retire to California.”

  She lets me go and smiles. “I know, but it’d be nice to talk to you more. I know you’re a busy woman.”

  Her gaze finds Hunter’s boxes that are stacked in the living room. “Is he moving in?”

  I glance over my shoulder and nod. “Today marks the official date, but he’s been staying here for a while now. I thought it was time.”

  Hunter and my dad stroll back in, their chuckles so loud it makes me smile. He meets my gaze and winks as they walk into the kitchen. My father opens his arms and I hug him hard, loving the familiar smell of his cologne. “I’ve missed you,” I murmur.

  “Maybe if you called me every once in a while you wouldn’t feel like that,” he jokes.

  I step back and sigh. “I know. I promise to do better at calling. It’s been a hectic few weeks.”

  He nods. “We understand. Hunter told me about this hard case you’ve been working on. Maybe when it’s over, you two can fly down to California and stay with us for a weekend.” He slaps Hunter on the back. “I’d love to have your beau go with me to a football game.”

  Hunter beams. “I’m down for it if your daughter is.”

  My mother clasps her hands pleadingly and smiles when I nod. “All right, we’ll come down there. We can celebrate Hunter’s graduation.”

  Hunter agrees with a grin. “Sounds good to me. I’ve never been to California.”

  He and my father go to the living room and I can hear him telling Hunter about all the things they can do when we visit. I’m glad to see he likes him. Even if my parents didn’t approve of him, I’d still be with him. However, it does make things easier.

  “Are you in love with him?” my mother asks.

  “I am,” I confess, knowing I’ve felt that way for a long time now. “One day I’ll be sure to tell him.”

  Kennedy and I stand on her front porch waving to her parents as they drive away. A massive wave of relief washes over me when their car disappears around the corner.

  “Thank God,” I mutter, moving to step inside. When I turn, Kennedy is standing there, crossing her arms over her chest. “What’s wrong?”

  “You don’t like my parents?”

  I pull her into my arms. “What are you talking about?”

  “You just said ‘thank God’. I’m assuming that’s because they’re gone.”

  “It is, but only because I have to go work and for the last hour I couldn’t think of a plausible excuse as to why I’m leaving.”

  “Oh.” Her face softens and she tightens her hold around my neck.

  “Exactly. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t approve of my lifestyle. The last thing I want is them trying to turn you away from me.”

  “Even if they tried, it wouldn’t work.”

  She gives me a look that causes me to smile. I pull her harder into my arms and kiss her nose. “Give me a kiss, woman. I have to go or I’ll be late.”

  Kennedy stands on her tiptoes to reach me and doesn’t hesitate to slide her tongue into my mouth immediately. I rub my hands down her back, sliding them over the globes of her ass.

  I squeeze her before letting her go. “If I stay any longer I’ll never make it to work. You better think about me tonight.”

  She winks. “Always.”

  I hurry down to my car and honk as I pull away from the house, wishing this was my last time. Even when I do quit I can’t imagine I’ll give a notice. It’s not like they can’t replace me right away for the floor. The routines will be another story.

  Pulling into the parking lot is challenging. Two stretch limos are clogging up the space and they’re hard to maneuver around. Glancing at the clock on my dashboard, I see that I have five minutes to get inside and be on the stage.

  “Fuck,” I scream as I slam my car door and take off running to the door. My name is called out numerous times, but I ignore it. Bryce frowns upon tardiness. The shows always need to start on time, despite the lines outside.

  “You’re late,” Donnie barks out as soon I make my appearance in the dressing room.

  “Traffic,” I lie, throwing my shit in my locker. My jeans are hanging on the hook from last night, along with a fresh pair of boxers. I strip down and change, listening to the catcalls from the guys. After squeezing a shit ton of lotion into my hand, I start rubbing it in everywhere I can.

  The moment the lights go down, the six of us are in position. We step out into the pitch-dark room, barely lit by flashlights from the ushers seating people. Once the music starts, we begin our routine. I recognize one of the ladies in the crowd. I’d made the mistake of letting her suck my dick a long time ago. Our eyes meet and she smiles, biting her lip in anticipation. Unfortunately, she’s right where I have to dance. Great. It’s going to be a long fucking night.

  I roll my hips to the music, thrusting my dick in her face. Once that part of the dance is over, I continue around the stage, trying to avoid her at all costs. However, the routine doesn’t allow for that.

  By the time I’m back to her, my jeans are down and my dick is in my hand, stroking it so everyone in the room can see what I have to offer. The woman slowly pulls her shirt down, showing me her tits and rubbing her nipples. That shit isn’t going to work on me.

  The mostly women-filled room claps loudly as we leave the stage and hands are slapped on my shoulder in congratulations, followed by a string of comments from the guys.

  “She’s fucking hot, dude.”

  “Man, what I wouldn’t give to fuck those tits.”

  “Did you see that mouth? I bet she doesn’t have a gag reflex.”

  I make my way back to my locker, trying to ignore everything they’re saying. I can’t though. I have to engage or they’ll start questioning what I’m doing here. And we all know I’m still here for the money.

  “You gonna tap that?” Donnie asks, waggling his eyebrows.

  Fuck no, because what I have at home is a million times better.

  “Fuck yeah,” I say, giving him a high-five. “Probably tell her to wait for me in the parking lot.”

  “Man, that bitch is going to eat you up.”

  Don’t I know it.

  I laugh him off and reach for the board. I didn’t get a chance to check it before I went on stage. I search for my name, praying that it isn’t on any of the rooms. My stomach rolls and bile fills my throat when I see that I’m scheduled for the bondage room.

  “What the fuck?”

  “What’s wrong?” one of the newer guys asks. Since being with Kennedy I haven’t taken the time to get to know the new guys. Usually we hang out, have barbecues and shit like that, except being with her has taken every priority I have.

  “I’m in the bondage room tonight,” I mutter, unable to really process what that means.

  “Fucking lucky.”

  I half smile and replace the board on the wall.

  “Hey, Donnie, want to take my bondage room?”

  “Nah, man, that room is too unpredictable.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask him.

  “I don’t want some dude tying me up to fuck me in the ass.”

  “Fuck me,” I grumble.

  I rush to the bathroom and pray to the porcelain God. There’s no way in fucking hell I’m letting some dude stick his dick up my ass. I’d probably kill them. After cleaning up, I head back to the dressing room.

  “Hey, man, you have another one,” Donnie states.

  “What?”

  “Jared just added you for another. He was looking for you.” Donnie claps me on the shoulder. “Fucker, you’re making it now, aren’t you?”

  Pulling the board from the wall I see my name written down in the viewing room. It doesn’t say who, but I have my suspicions. I’m assuming it’s the woman who was all too eager to suck my dick the last time we were in there together.

  Unless Kennedy has booked the room and she’s surprising me. I think about texting her, but if I’m wrong then she knows
I’ve been booked and that isn’t going make things easy for us. She’s not going to tell me not to go, but she’ll expect that I don’t.

  This is a do or die moment for me. There is no way I can go into either of those rooms tonight.

  “Fuck.” I slam the board back onto the wall, hearing someone behind me say, “That’s the point” as I walk out of the room. I have to find Jared and ask him what’s going on. It takes me a good bit of time before I finally spot him talking to a brunette.

  I tap him on the shoulder. “I need to speak to you.”

  When he turns to face me, he doesn’t look happy.

  “What?” he barks out. Interrupting this transaction is risky, but I don’t give a fuck right now.

  “I’m scheduled for two rooms tonight.”

  “So? It’s your job.”

  “Right, um …” I run my hand through my hair. “I’ve never been in the bondage room.”

  “First time for everything,” he says, looking bored.

  “No way of getting out of it?”

  Jared pulls out his phone and scrolls through something. He shakes his head. “Sorry, you were requested. You know the rules, Hunter.”

  He leaves and starts working the crowd again. It’s his job to bring in the clients for the rooms and it’s ours to keep the clients happy.

  Each time I’m on stage, I encounter the same woman, and every time I mingle through the customers I avoid her. She pays good money, but it’s not worth it. My dick doesn’t want to be up close and personal with her.

  I look down the hall that will take me to the bondage room or if I go straight through the door I’ll be in the dressing room. I need a moment and head to the dressing room. It’s empty, giving me some peace while I stand in front of my locker and ask myself what the fuck am I doing. I don’t want to be here and I can’t believe because of Kennedy I’m feeling this way. All it took was one night with her to change my perspective on everything.

  The time ticks down and now I’m faced with what I'm going to do. My name is called over the intercom, reminding me that I’m supposed to be somewhere where I don’t want to be. If I quit, I have no income and even though I left my apartment, I can’t expect to live at Kennedy’s rent-free, and being a barista isn’t going to pay my bills. More importantly, I don’t want to be a kept man. That’s not who I am.

  I make my way down the hall to the employee entrance for the bondage room. I raise my hand to knock, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I know what I have to do. It ends tonight. I turn to walk away, but then a crashing sound comes from the bondage room.

  When I enter, the room is dark. “Is everything okay in here?” I didn’t plan on entering, but I have to make sure no one’s hurt. I reach for the light switch, moving it up and down. Nothing happens.

  “What the fuck?”

  “Yes, what the fuck,” a male voice says from somewhere in the room.

  My heart starts to thunder in my chest, the incessant pounding ringing in my ears. When the hair on the back of my neck stands to attention, that’s when I know something’s wrong. It shouldn’t be pitch black in this room, not like this. “Who’s in here?” I demand. I walk further into the room and that’s when my door slams shut.

  The man chuckles. “Your worst enemy.” There’s light coming from the opposite end of the room, but it disappears as soon as the door shuts. I reach for my door, twisting the knob, and that’s when I hear a click. I turn slowly, peering around the room, and see red lights blinking in the corner. What the hell is that?

  Every step is tentative and I run into a few of the toys; one slams me right into my groin. I groan but keep moving until the red numbers are staring back at me.

  “Holy fuck.” Panic consumes me and my heart races. “It’s a bomb!” I shout, scrambling away from it.

  It feels like I’m moving in slow motion, except for the numbers ticking quickly away. I don’t know if it’s real or not, but I’m not waiting around to find out. Turning, I run smack into something that knocks me on my ass. My head hits the something hard and I can feel blood oozing down the side of my face. I hold my head as it throbs in my hands. I have to get out of there and warn the others.

  Instead of standing, I crawl toward the door, hoping that I’ll make it in time. I fumble with the knob, twisting and grabbing until I get it open. In the hall, the noise from the dance rooms vibrate, causing my head to ache even more. Reaching for the fire alarm, I pull and instantly grab my ears.

  I don’t know if anyone is moving, but I have to. I try to stand, but am unable as my knees give out, leaving me no choice but to crawl toward the exit. The red light blinks above my head and the music is still playing. Didn’t they hear the alarm? My hand comes in contact with the cold metal of the push bar, but my head injury has drained my energy. I push, but it doesn’t budge. How long has it been since I left the room?

  I push again and it budges open. I roll out, the rocks from the asphalt bite into my skin, causing me to yell. People rush around me, but there is no panic.

  “Bomb,” I say, but no one is listening to me. I try again and again, but no one cares. Can’t they see me lying on the ground?

  Before I can move, the explosion rips through the building and rubble starts to fall on me. I cover my head as much as I can while fire spreads all around me.

  Staying up late waiting on Hunter to get home is starting to wear on me. I try to go to sleep but it doesn’t work. I can’t even lie in bed because I don’t like him not being there beside me. It’s late … much later than usual. Hunter should be home by now.

  I pull out my phone and type away. I don’t care if I’m being insecure; I have to know where he’s at since it’s closing on three in the morning and he’s not at home.

  Me: Where are you?

  I wait for what feels like an hour, but it’s only a couple of minutes.

  Me: I’m getting worried. Please call me.

  Again, I wait and then all of a sudden, my phone rings. Only it’s not Hunter. Why is Chris calling me so late?

  “Chris?” I say into the phone.

  He breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank fucking God, you’re okay.”

  “What do you mean? Of course, I’m okay.”

  “I was worried you were at the club,” he says, his voice desperate.

  “At the club? I don’t understand.” There’s something about his tone that scares the shit out of me. “Why were you afraid I was at the club?”

  The line grows quiet for a second. “Because there’s been an accident, Kennedy. I don’t know how or what’s going on just yet, but Max said there was an explosion in the bondage room. The whole backside of the club is in ruins.” The breath whooshes out of my lungs. Hunter. “Is Hunter at the club?” he asks.

  For a moment, all I can think about is the sinking feeling in my stomach. Is that why he hasn’t called? Is he hurt? Jumping to my feet, I hurry into my room to change clothes. “He is,” I cry, swallowing hard. “Are you there now?”

  “Yeah. It’s pretty crazy over here.”

  “I’m on my way.” I hang up and charge out of my house, not even caring that I squeal my tires as I back out of my driveway.

  My neighbors will just have to get over it. I make it to the club in record time, and when I do everything is in chaos. Smoke fills the air as the firemen taper off the blaze. The backside of the club is destroyed, all rubble with a few remaining items of what used to be the bondage room. There are people everywhere and none of them are Hunter.

  “Kennedy!” Chris shouts, pushing through the crowd.

  I’m frozen. “I can’t find him,” I choke.

  He puts his arm around my shoulders. “He’ll be all right, Kennedy. We’ll find him.”

  “He hasn’t called,” I growl. “Something’s wrong.”

  The tears fall down my cheeks, but then someone I recognize walks through the crowd; his face and clothes are black from the ash, but I can definitely see the hint of red on his shirt. “Jared,” I call out, wavin
g him down. He looks around, and when his gaze lands on mine he walks toward me with a limp. “Oh my God, are you okay?” I ask.

  He nods and then grabs his neck with a hiss. “For the most part. I don’t know what the hell happened.”

  “Is anyone hurt?”

  “Lots of people are. The ambulances have been taking people away.”

  I grab his arm. “What about Hunter? Where is he?”

  His expression turns to one of outright terror. “The bondage room,” he whispers. “That’s where he was scheduled tonight.”

  The world starts to spin and Chris holds me up. It can’t be true. I refuse to believe it. Hunter would never do that to me. Anger consumes me, but I’m more scared than anything.

  “They took him away already,” Jared adds. “I don’t know if he’s okay or not.”

  Without another word, I race to my car and speed away to the hospital. The thought of Hunter in that room sickens me. How could he do that to me? I know it’s his job, but he has a choice. His pride won’t let him quit to work for me, but it’s either that or lose me forever. I can’t share him with other women; I refuse. My only fear is that he’s hurt and I’ll never be able to tell him how I truly feel.

  I park as fast as I can and rush into the hospital to the front desk. The lady sitting there sees me coming and her eyes widen. She knows I’m desperate. I probably look scary with my hair in a tangled mess and tears flowing down my cheeks.

  “Hunter Miles,” I blurt out. “Which room is he in?”

  “Are you a relative?” she asks, typing away on the computer.

  “Girlfriend.” Then I think about his grandmother. She has no clue her only grandson is in the hospital.

  She finishes typing and looks up at me. “He’s on the third floor.” As soon as she tells me the room number, I bolt up the stairs. I’m not about to wait on the elevator. The hallway seems as if it goes on for an eternity. When I get to his room, I freeze. I have no clue what to expect when I open the door. That’s when I hear his voice.