The Stand Off

by Z. Stefani

  “I’m not… I want more,” he admitted.

  “No… no more. The only way I’m giving more is if I am in a relationship. We both know that you don’t play that game. You've never had a relationship in your entire life.”

  “Neither have you,” he reminded her.

  “But I don’t object to the idea,” she retorted.

  “Relationships are tricky, they tend to change things.”

  “How would you know? A relationship could improve things.”

  “How do you know?” he shot back at her.

  “Because anything is a step up from meaningless sex,” she explained.

  “Why do you consider it meaningless?”

  “Because you believe relationships are meaningless, and you treat women as if they are meaningless; therefore, sex with you is meaningless by default.”

  “I don’t consider sex with you as meaningless.”

  “But you can’t give me what I want,” she said, hoping he would object. She hadn’t realized until that moment that she had indeed wanted a relationship with him. She was angry with him because he was not interested in more than sex.

  “You don’t know that,” he said honestly.

  Was it possible? Could he actually be monogamous?

  “Hell no, this is Dean Blake you’re talking about,” she reminded herself.

  “Unfortunately I do; you’ve never let me forget,” she whispered before she turned and headed for the door.

  He wanted to stop her, but he could not bring himself to even speak. He sat trapped in his own body as her words echoed through his head. He was torn as he watched her leave his office. For the first time in his life, a relationship seemed like the lesser of two evils. Losing Lux due to his fear of commitment seemed as destructive as a bullet to the brain. His mind raced and his cock became erect as he sat there slightly stupefied.

  He couldn’t allow it to end; he was not ready to let her go.

  The Lounge Party

  There was a huge celebratory party at the lounge, and everyone was invited. Everyone was excited and ready to celebrate, except Lux. She was replaying her meeting with Dean over and over again in her mind. She was thinking about the things he had said as well as all of the things he had done. He’d given her the building.

  As much as she denied it, she could feel herself falling for him. It was a fool’s journey, one that could only bring heartache. He could never love her in return; he was incapable of that emotion, he’d said so himself. He was not made for monogamy, and she couldn’t allow herself to be hurt. She didn’t want to have sex again, she didn’t want to see him, and she didn’t want to talk. She especially did not want to reread one his descriptive texts; his dirty mind would be her undoing.

  Who was she fooling? She wanted to get in her car, race over to his house, slam down his door, and fuck him until she felt better or until she passed out.

  “Fuck that! I am not a piece of fuck-able meat at his disposal. I know what he’s about; I know what he does to women.” She paced back and forth.

  “Who cares, I should just fuck him anyway. I don’t really need a relationship; I’ve done fine without one thus far. I do have the music hall after all!” She headed to the door and stopped.

  “No! He’s bad. He’s poison! He’s uncontrollable; he stomps on hearts like ants. He’s been doing it for years. This is how he plays his game; he lures them in just like he’s luring you. You have no future with him, he said so himself,” she stopped and looked in the mirror, her eyes darting straight to her mother’s picture.

  Her mother had finally gotten back on her feet after what her father had done to her. Her father had been a womanizer, too, and it had broken her mother down. His womanizing ways had led to his early demise, which destroyed Pax.

  “You vowed to never be like that, stop now while you’re ahead. Stop now before you’re broken hearted over a man who puts you in the same category as the countless women he’s fucked. Stop before someone gets hurt.”

  She would force herself to stop feeling right now. As of this very second, she would never think of him again.

  Never!

  Lux heard her bedroom door open and turned to see her sister. Pixie was dressed in an extravagant fluorescent orange body suit with lots of platinum jewelry and white platforms that made Lux dizzy just looking at them.

  “Why aren’t you in the lounge celebrating with us?” Pixie asked with a slight frown.

  “I’ll be down in a minute,” Lux replied.

  “What’s wrong?” Pixie asked as she walked over to Lux.

  “Nothing,” Lux replied, trying to keep her face expressionless.

  “You can’t lie to me, sister dear, I know you. I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.” Pixie sat on the bed.

  “You know me too well,” Lux said before she sat next to Pixie on the bed.

  “Is it Dean?”

  Lux stared at her sister for a moment before she answered, “Yes. It’s all pointless.”

  “What’s pointless?”

  “Everything is. Pursuing Dean is,” Lux answered honestly.

  “I’m shocked that you would pursue anyone… you never have. I don’t think you should give up on Dean just yet.”

  “It would be a waste of time,” Lux answered with a frown.

  “No it wouldn’t,” Pixie scoffed.

  “Yes it would. Dean will never settle down… never. He thinks monogamy is a form of torture and equates relationships to prison terms. Trust me; it’s pointless as well as hopeless.”

  “But you weren’t much different. I remember when your beliefs were very similar to Dean’s.”

  “Not anymore.” Lux shook her head.

  “Really? I can’t believe you’re actually considering a relationship?”

  “I finally decide to try this relationship thing, and I pick the one man who could never commit. Again, it’s hopeless,” Lux sighed.

  “I wouldn’t consider it hopeless; stranger things have happened.”

  “Nothing stranger than getting a womanizer to settle down. We’ve already seen how that can turn out,” Lux scoffed.

  “I never thought you would be interested in romance. I was beginning to believe you may have been part robot. So like I said, stranger things have happened.”

  “I guess.” Lux shrugged her shoulders.

  “Come on, let’s go party. Everyone’s downstairs in the lounge celebrating, but you’re the one who deserves to celebrate the most.”

  “That’s not true, we all worked together.”

  “No, you pulled us out of that hole, Lux, all by yourself. Again,” Pixie said before kissing her sister’s cheek. “Let’s go.”

  “Okay,” Lux nodded. She would party with her friends, and she would celebrate their win. She would also force herself to forget Dean, if just for the night.

  ***

  The front of the lounge door was decorated with various colored balloons, large silver bows, and a large sign that read, “Back in business.” On the inside of the lounge, on the wall next to the front door, was a copy of their deed to the property in a bright silver frame. The rest of the lounge was decorated for the celebration. There were balloons, party favors, all different types of food, and music. Everyone they’d ever known was there to congratulate them and celebrate.

  “Wow, even the private Dick came,” Graves said as Clifton walked towards them.

  “I invited him,” Pixie informed them.

  “Who else did you invite? Dare I ask,” Graves asked.

  “The man who made this all possible.” It was at that point that Pixie managed to get Lux’s attention.

  “Dean?” Lux asked with wide eyes and a slight scowl on her face.

  “Duh, he’s the one who gave us the building.”

  “Pixie, you didn’t?” Lux asked, hoping that her sister was joking.

  “Of course I did. Not only did he give us the music hall back, he sent over a lot of champagne. And not the cheap shit.”

/>   “Did he?’ Lux asked as she turned to look at the bar to see the bottles of champagne being lined up.

  “He most certainly did; he said they were for the reopening.”

  “How did he now about the reopening?”

  “Mom told him, I guess,” Pixie answered with a shrug.

  “When did he talk to Mom?”

  “She called him to thank him.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me?” she said I astonishment.

  “I thought that you liked Dean?” Pixie asked in confusion.

  Lux stared at her for a moment as a million excuses rolled through her head. She realized they were excuses, excuses to hide her true feelings.

  Pixie smiled and then turned to Clifton as he approached, “Hi Clifton.”

  “Hi,” he responded, but he was looking at Lux. “Congratulations Lux.”

  “Thank you.” She nodded with a slight smile.

  “I knew if anyone could take down the big, bad wolf it would be you,” he said with a wink as he stepped closer to her. “It’s a beautiful party.”

  “Thank you.”

  “If you’ll excuse us,” Pixie smiled as she led the girls away but not before she saw the scowl on Lux’s face.

  “Please tell me you are not trying to set her up with him?” Graves asked once they were far enough away.

  “You know that would be a waste of time. I prefer the Dean mission instead,” Kiki chimed in.

  “What Dean mission? I thought you gave that up after the abduction?” Graves frowned.

  “Like I’d tell you; you’d just go right back and tell Lux.” Pixie shook her head.

  Clifton stepped closer to Lux, but she didn’t notice.

  “This is a great song,” Clifton smiled again.

  “It is,” Lux nodded.

  “I would love to dance,” Clifton said.

  “You should.” She nodded.

  “I’d look awkward dancing with myself.”

  “There are plenty of females dancing… go find a partner. Look at those gorgeous ladies over there; they’re just waiting for you to ask them to dance.” She smiled.

  “I’d prefer to dance with you,” he admitted.

  “No, I’m not big on dancing,” she lied and looked down for a moment.

  “Just one dance… one harmless little dance. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.” He smiled sweetly.

  “Okay, one dance,” she reluctantly accepted.

  “Thank you.” He bowed.

  Clifton attempted to lead her to the dance floor, but Lux was already a step ahead of him. She faced him, with a smile that did not reach her eyes. She felt strange when he stepped close and put his arm around her. His arm felt foreign; it felt uncomfortable.

  She had an intense flash of Dean’s muscular arms and the way they wrapped around her. Her legs wobbled at the thought of Dean picking her up in those strong arms.

  “You dance beautifully,” Clifton said, obviously mistaking her weak knees for some form of dance.

  “Thanks,” she said awkwardly. Her empty smile deepened, but her eyes remained unimpressed.

  “I have a business dinner to attend tomorrow night; I would love it if you could accompany me.”

  “Um,” she began to think of an excuse to decline, but Clifton continued.

  “It’s more of a favor. I have a few business colleagues that will be joining us. It would be very beneficial to my career if you could tell them a little about how I helped assist you with your building. If you don’t mind”

  She looked a little uncomfortable for a moment but quickly composed herself. Clifton was a good guy; he had put himself out on a limb and helped her tremendously. “Okay, I do kind of owe you one, don’t I?”

  “No, you don’t owe me anything Lux,” he said in an obvious attempt to be sensitive and sexy.

  “Too bad you don’t find him the least bit sexy! Well maybe you would have if you hadn’t met Dean first,” she thought.

  “Thank you.” She nodded as her sincere smile began to reflect in her eyes.

  Maybe it would be fun; besides, Clifton was harmless. Sex didn’t control his every thought like it did with Dean. She had faith that Clifton would not make this business meeting about sex or relationships; he would keep it professional. Truth be told, she needed a little break from her aggressive thoughts of Dean. No matter how hard she tried, her mind kept slipping back to him. Maybe this would help… maybe. If anything, she would be able to thank Clifton for the hours of grueling work he’d put in to help her. He’d even put his reputation on the line trying to help. Yes, this was the least she could do.

  “No, thank you.” He looked at her lovingly, and Lux felt a bit uncomfortable. Clifton’s smile suddenly turned down as he shifted uneasily.

  “Are you okay?” Lux asked.

  He quickly gained his composure and looked back to Lux, “No, unfortunately I have to go. I almost forgot that I have a job to take care of. I wish I could stay, I am having such a lovely time with you,” he said while peeping to his right.

  “Okay.” She nodded, wondering what was wrong with him, but not caring enough to push it.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He bowed.

  “Tomorrow night.” She nodded.

  “Do you promise?” He asked.

  “I promise.”

  “Good, I know you never break your promises, and I really need your help.” With that, he was gone.

  She watched him disappear towards the side door. She turned to head towards the bar when she was blocked by a rather large chest. She knew who it was before she looked up; she knew his scent as well as her own. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the music went off, and she could hear her sister’s voice.

  “Here he is… our guest of honor!” Pixie said through the megaphone as she walked towards Dean. Kiki was next to her, holding a cake with dozens of lit candles. Pax was on her other side, smiling brightly.

  “Without this man, we would not have the music hall!” Pax said as she pulled Dean into a hug. “Thank you so very much, you have saved us.”

  “If there’s anything we can get you, don’t hesitate to ask.” Kiki smiled and gave him a quick hug.

  “Thank you, Wrecker. Sorry we ever thought you were a self-obsessed tyrant.” Pixie smiled and also gave him a quick hug.

  “Thank you so much, so very much. You not only saved the music hall, but you saved this family,” Pax said with a warm smile.

  “Now let the party begin!” Kiki yelled and the music flooded the lounge again.

  The lights went off, and the party resumed. The sound of champagne bottles popping open blasted through the room as the fog from the smoke machine crept about the crowds’ feet. The strobe lights flickered, and everyone began to dance except for Dean and Lux who stood staring into each other’s eyes. Dean took her hand and led her over to the edge of the dance floor where the music was low.

  “Who was that man you were dancing with?” were the first words out of Dean’s mouth.

  “That was no one. I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” she said standoffishly.

  He immediately noticed that she was trying to change the topic. He’d play along for now, but he vowed to find out the mystery dancer’s identity by the end of the night.

  “You didn’t think I’d come to congratulate you?”

  “No. I wasn’t sure since my win could almost be considered your loss.”

  “I gave you this building because I wanted you to have it. I didn’t lose anything; I think that I’m the one who really won. I got the better deal; I got you.” He stepped closer and grabbed her waist.

  “Sex with me was a better deal than your million dollar contract for this block?”

  “Everything about you is better than a million dollar deal,” he answered honestly as he slid his hand down to her hip.

  “Says the man who believes that everything has a price.”

  “You proved me wrong,” he admitted with a shrug of his large should
er.

  “How? By having sex with you for this building?”

  “You didn’t have sex with me for this building; you had sex because you wanted to. Because you like me. Admit it.”

  “I don’t like you,” she lied and turned her head so he couldn’t see her eyes.