Chelsea (The Club Girl Diaries Book 2)

by Jane, Addison

  I wasn’t afraid to stand up for myself, I could throw a punch just as well as any guy. The need to prove that had arisen more than a few times growing up. But I also knew when I was outnumbered and needed to get out of a situation before things turned to shit. There was an aura coming off those two men that I didn’t like, and I wasn’t about to sit around and find out if my instincts were correct.

  The nightclub was busy and I managed to hide us in the crowd. Rose moved her body, closing her eyes and swaying as she sang along to the pop music that the DJ was blaring. I bopped as I stood beside her, not even attempting to dance really, but instead searching the room for Ham. We hung out there for a few songs, every so often I would yell that I was having a great time and she would grin and nod. I cursed not bringing my cell phone with me or I would have just text messaged Ham to meet us somewhere. Even as a prospect, Ham was tall and broad and with a Brothers by Blood cut on his shoulders, people instantly stepped away.

  “Damn it,” I muttered as another sweep of the club found not Ham but the two men I was trying to avoid, pushing their way through people and heading straight for us. Obviously they were done waiting.

  I felt a body come up behind me. I was ready to turn around, punch whoever it was, grab Rose and run until a voice I recognized cooed into my ear, “Fancy seeing you here.”

  “Deacon,” I exclaimed, a sense of relief flooding me as I spun and took him in.

  Rose stood just to the side, her eyebrows creasing together in the middle as she stared at him. I gripped his T-shirt and pulled him closer, not missing the look of surprise in his face as I plastered my body to his and tiptoed up so my mouth was next to his ear. “There’s some guys coming over that want us to go to a party with them. They give me the creeps, but Rose is really drunk and wants to go. Help!”

  I felt his arm wrap around my waist, holding me snug against him and I couldn’t say that I hated it. With my heart and my head running one hundred miles an hour, I appreciated the comforting feeling of protection.

  “Let’s go,” I heard the deep voice thunder from behind me. I turned, but Deacon held me firmly against him, his head resting on my shoulder.

  “Sorry guys. Seems like the girls have had a change of heart,” Deacon called, stepping backward and pulling me with him.

  Lead creep shot an angry glare at Rose, who was standing there looking a little shocked, her eyes racing back and forth between us.

  He clenched his fists and bared his teeth. “We found them first. They’re coming with us.”

  Deacon laughed softly. “Ain’t about who found them first. It’s about who they want. And Chelsea here was just telling me how much she wanted me, right babe?”

  I felt his lips on my neck and my body instantly tingled. It felt strange but good at the same time. I nodded and murmured a yes, even though I knew they couldn’t hear me over the music.

  Rose looked torn and as Deacon began to back me further away, I grasped her hand and pulled her with me. Deacon wasn’t an intimidating looking guy, so I was surprised they simply let us walk. That was until we were surrounded by three large men who helped him usher us to the front of the club and out the doors.

  The brisk air hit me hard, it wasn’t cold but being in the middle of those bodies dancing had made me sweat. Rose crossed her arms across her chest, clearly upset by the change in events. We walked down the pavement a little, away from the crowd before finally coming to a stop. Deacon’s arm never left my waist, even as his friends lounged against the building, two of them lighting up cigarettes.

  “What the hell, Chelsea!” Rose finally growled, throwing her arms in the air.

  “There was no way in fucking hell we were going anywhere with those guys, Rose. They were dangerous, I could feel it,” I snapped.

  Her temper seemed to calm a little. “He was hot! We could’ve just hung out with them, seen where things went.”

  “Where I come from, where things go with guys like that is a place I’ve visited, and let me tell you it’s not fucking nice.” I was getting angry—I’d been around men like that before. At first I’d loved the attention and brushed off the bad feelings, but I soon learned to follow my instincts and they were always right.

  Her face fell. “I just thought it would be nice you know, meet some new people. I thought that was what you wanted now you’d left the club?”

  Deacon’s arm tightened around me, him and his friends had stayed silent, letting us hash our crap out until now. “You left the club?”

  “Yeah,” I muttered, thankful he was still at my back so I didn’t have to look at him.

  Rose looked like she was completely drained, her shoulders sagging as she scuffed at the concrete. So much for night out round two. This night was almost worse than round one.

  “You girls want a ride home?” Deacon asked, his chin resting on my shoulder.

  “Yeah,” I murmured.

  I felt as though I should be pushing him away, I didn’t know why I wasn’t. Maybe after Optimus’ rejection I just needed some sort of comfort. Whatever it was, it felt nice to have him there.

  “So...” Deacon said awkwardly as he sat in our living room with a cup of coffee.

  I rolled my eyes. “Just say it, Deacon.” I took a seat at our kitchen table, the apartment so small that we could still have a casual conversation between the spaces.

  “You left the club!” He said it like it was some huge milestone, some big feat I’d overcome. What he didn’t realize was how just the thought of it was eating away at my insides.

  Instead of letting him know just that, I shrugged. “I never meant to be with the club forever. I would’ve walked away eventually I suppose. It was just easy— a way to work my way through college like any other student would.”

  He screwed up his face like he had a bad taste in his mouth. “I’m not sure I know a lot of girls who screwed their way through college.”

  I smirked. “You’d be surprised.”

  He lifted his cup to his lips, but I caught the glimpse of a smile before he tasted the burning liquid.

  I heard Rose tossing and banging in her room and both of us looked in the direction of the hallway. I inhaled deeply through my nose. She’d come in and stomped around before flying off to her bedroom without even a word.

  “She sounds a little frustrated,” Deacon mused. His friends had taken off not long after we had arrived. They’d come in separate cars and had piled in the other vehicle, leaving Deacon’s car for him so he could get home since he refused to leave just yet. I wasn’t really sure why.

  “I couldn’t let her do it,” I said, sighing sadly. “Men like that, they aren’t ‘no’ kinda guys.”

  “Sounds like you have experience in that field.” He sat back, nestling into the sofa and cupping his mug with both hands.

  I snorted. “Too much experience, unfortunately.” I played with my own cup, twisting and turning it on the smooth surface of the wooden table and gripping it with my hand until I couldn’t handle the heat any longer.

  Deacon sat silently like he was expecting me to continue with some kind of epic story. He was wrong. I didn’t share my stories. While I had many that could twist your stomach and break your heart, they didn’t mean anything. Not anymore. I’d been there, I’d done that and there was no way I was going back. The minute I had turned eighteen I’d left that place without even a second glance. Sure, I’d left behind what I would call friends. But not ones that mattered or that I saw as part of my future so I kept them where they should be, in the past.

  “You don’t share much do you?”

  I looked up to see him staring at me with a curious look on his face. “I try not to dwell. Ain’t going to get me anywhere, it’s not going to help me in life by looking back and recalling that crap.”

  He shrugged. “Fair call.”

  We sat in silence for a little while. But it wasn’t awkward. Deacon was still hard for me to read. He had too many extremes. One minute he’d be angry, judging my life choice
s, the next he’d smile and act like nothing bothered him. He’d act curious, but when I shut him down he just brushed it off like he didn’t even care to know.

  “Don’t suppose you’re looking for a job now?” he said jokingly, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I had to laugh. The guy didn’t miss a beat.

  “I have a little money saved up, but yeah, soon I’ll need to get some kind of work to help pay my way.” I looked back to the hall, the light was still on under Rose’s door. “That’s if she doesn’t kick me to the curb after I killed her night tonight.”

  Deacon leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees and still holding his cup with both hands. “I still have one open. I could use someone with some kind of experience.”

  I twisted my mouth, with the offer still there and the job something that would be so perfect, I had to fight to keep my lips closed and stop myself from screaming ‘Yes! I’ll take it!’ There were other things I needed to consider.

  Could I work with Deacon knowing that there was some weird vibe shaking the air between us?

  “Chelsea, you have no idea the type of people I’ve had to interview this week.” He pouted at me. “This one girl was more concerned with which mirror was the best for taking workout selfies than actually working out. She said, and I quote… ‘sweat patches are so not attractive.’“

  I almost spat my coffee across the table, having to bang on my chest several times so that I could breathe again. I could see in his face that he wanted to laugh, but he managed to hold his features straight.

  “I’m not joking. Save me. Save me from having to talk to any more weirdos.”

  I smiled, unable to keep a straight face as he hit me with a ridiculous pair, of what I assumed, were meant to be puppy dog eyes but came off more like creepy stalker vision. The longer it took me to reply, the bigger the smile on his face became. He knew the wall was crumbling. This was the job I wanted and it was being handed to me. It was like wafting a roast dinner under a homeless person’s nose.

  I needed a job.

  I groaned. “Okay, okay. I’m in.”

  Deacon pumped his fist, jumping as it caused him to spill hot coffee on his lap. I laughed at his predicament and we discussed plans for me to come in the next day just to have a look around and a feel for the space and what I would be doing. I was excited.

  I waved to Deacon as he climbed into his car and sped off from the curb before shutting and locking the apartment door. Turning, I took a deep breath as I eyed that light which still shone from under Rose’s bedroom door. I knew I needed to talk to her now rather than later and hope that she understood where I was coming from. I tapped on her door, but there was no answer.

  “Rose, I just want to talk to you.” I paused. “Please.”

  I held my ear against the door and I could hear her voice talking quietly.

  “I know, Daddy.” There was a sniffle in her words and I felt horrible that I’d caused her to be so upset. “I’m trying, I promise. It was just one time, next time I’ll focus better. I’ll try harder.”

  My heart hurt for this girl. From what I’d gathered about her family, there was a lot of pressure on her to do well in school. I understood that parents pushed their kids because a lot of the time they needed it. But the level of stress her father was placing on her to succeed was completely ridiculous.

  “Okay, I’ll see you soon,” she said sadly. “I love—” She didn’t finish the sentence, instead sighing in defeat.

  I decided to just go for it and slowly creaked the door open, popping my head around the corner. She was sitting in the center of her bed, her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them, one hand still gripping tightly to her phone. This was not the girl, who just a few hours ago, had sassed herself out of her room wearing a killer outfit and pushed me to go out.

  “Rose?”

  Her head shot up like she was surprised and hadn’t heard me knocking or open the door even though I hadn’t exactly been quiet about it. She pulled her hand up and wiped the back of it across her nose before clearing her throat, in what I figured was an attempt at straightening herself out and pushing away the emotion.

  “Hey,” she said softly, moving her legs so they were folded criss-cross style and sitting a little taller.

  I took that as an invitation and moved forward, sitting at the edge of her bed and smoothing my hands over the soft blanket that was folded there. “I didn’t mean to ruin your night. I’m sorry,” I said, finally finding the words. “I hope you get that I was just watching out for you.”

  She sat silently and I wondered if she was even going to acknowledge my apology. Her eyes stayed downcast even as she spoke. “I know,” she whispered quietly. “I’m not used to having someone look out for me.”

  The corner of my mouth turned up sadly. I knew what that was like, having no one to be there for you and tell you ‘no’ when you’re making crappy decisions. When there’s no one who steps forward to protect you when someone’s putting you down. I’d been there once. It was very much learned the hard way until I had enough balls to stand up for myself. And even then, I still struggled sometimes. That’s where friends came in, Harmony still felt the need even from miles away to stand and be my voice, my protector. It’s what friends were for. But it was obvious now that Rose lacked in that department too.

  “What are friends for if they don’t intercept when you’re about to make a huge mistake,” I said with a smile even though she was still avoiding my eyes.

  I saw her drag in a deep breath as she finally looked up at me, tears shining and making her eyes sparkle. “Those guys were pretty weird, huh,” she joked, even as tears trailed down her cheeks and she plastered on a fake smile.

  I grinned. “Honey, we need to get you better taste in men.”

  She giggled, a sob hitting her at the same time. I thought about hitting her with some questions about Blizzard, but I knew this was definitely not the right time for that conversation, so I stored it in the back of my mind for later.

  “So I took Deacon up on his job offer,” I told her, rolling my eyes.

  “Are you going to accept the invitation to the party in his pants that he keeps subtly throwing your way too?” My mouth fell open and I just stared at her, watching as the smile on her face got broader and broader until she started laughing.

  “That’s not even funny,” I exclaimed as she fell back on the bed.

  “Oh please!” she snorted. “That boy’s got a hard-on for you the size of Texas.”

  I smirked. “You know who else has one the size of a small country?” She looked up at me and I wiggled my eyebrows. “A certain outlaw biker whose name begins with B and ends in lizzard.”

  I saw the deep flush that coated her cheeks before she pulled the pillow from behind her head and tossed it at me. The girl had a good throw.

  With that, I knew we were fine.

  Deacon threw two pizza boxes on the workout mats next to where I was stretching.

  “Pizza?” I smirked. “Really?”

  He shrugged. “Sometimes healthy food just doesn’t hit the spot. I’ve also got some beer in the fridge if you’d like it?” He grinned and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “No thanks.” I held up my water bottle. “I’ll stick with this for now.”

  “Spoilsport,” he mumbled, taking a seat on the mat next to me and tossing open the lid of one of the boxes and dived straight in.

  The smell hit me directly and I couldn’t hide the moan that escaped my mouth. “Oh God. That’s so good.”

  Deacon choked on the bite he’d just taken and I quickly reached over and patted him on the back. “You should not make those types of noises outside the bedroom.”

  I giggled, squashing my resolve and stealing a piece for myself. “I’m sorry,” I garbled around a mouthful of deliciousness. “Wow, this is amazing!”

  We ate silently for a while, Deacon scoffing down at least a whole pizza to himself.

  “So … have you lived here
long? I’ve never seen you around before and we know the town pretty well,” I asked as I dusted off my hands into the box and folded my legs.

  He shook his head. “A month maybe? The coach of the local college football team actually recruited me. I worked with him when I was at college. When I say worked, I mean offered my services for free just to get some type of experience. He took over the team last year and I finally decided to take the leap.”

  “Where did you live before?”

  “New York mostly.”

  “That’s a big shift for a job,” I observed, sipping on my water.

  He moved his focus to the now almost empty boxes near our feet, shuffling them around. “Yeah, I guess. Gotta do what you gotta do and all that.” He cleared his throat and regained his composure with a smile. “What about you? What’s your story?”

  I laughed. “My story is far too long. We’d need at least a day and probably a few shots to get through that.”

  He smiled, it was soft and caring. “How about, how did you find yourself in Athens? You don’t have the Alabama accent so I know you’re not a local.”

  “Nope, I’m actually an Idaho girl.” I fiddled with the lid of my water bottle. “I grew up in the system so as soon as I hit eighteen I was gone. So many crappy memories, I hate even thinking about the place.”

  “Sorry.”

  I shook my head and plastered on a smile—just like always, grin and bear it. “It’s fine. The day I turned eighteen I pretty much pulled a map out at the library, spun it around, closed my eyes and pointed. And here I am.”

  Deacon’s face slowly morphed from sad into a beaming smile. “And is it everything you wanted it to be?”

  “No.”

  “Oh? How come.”