“No,” I smile. “It still holds most of my clothes.”
“Damn,” she says with a smile, clicking her fingers dramatically. “Oh, and it’s just us tonight. Kensi and Jeremy had a falling out.”
“Really? What happened, you were all over each other just last weekend?”
“Bedroom malfunction. He thought he could get all up my back door without discussing it with me first, so I threw him out,” she says, licking some sort of sauce off the back of her hand as she shrugs like it’s no big deal.
“Couldn’t you have just said ‘no’ and moved on?” I ask.
“She doesn’t want a guy who just takes from her,” Jessica explains. “Supposedly, he wasn’t that great with his tongue either.”
“Yeah, he was fucking hopeless. But he was plenty happy to have me lollipopping all over him whenever he got the chance. Nope. No thank you. You don’t get to ride the Kensi train indefinitely based on your looks alone,” she comments, heading back into the kitchen to tend to the drinks. “Are you drinking with us?” Kensi yells after me as I begin to climb up the stairs.
“Yes. I’ll just take a shower first,” I call back, as I grab a few things from my room and make for the bathroom.
Unlike Damien’s, this bathroom is littered with beauty and bath products. It’s clean, but it’s cluttered, although I don’t really have the right to complain. At the moment, I’m kind of spending an exorbitant amount of money for storage space. I know I could give up the room, but I just don’t feel comfortable doing it. We’ve only been together for a couple of months, despite how I feel about him, it’s way too soon to make anything permanent.
Here’s the thing, while I with him, I’m in Damienland. It’s this place where everything is wonderfully blissful and I rarely question anything. It’s filled with sex, orgasms and clouds. Yes clouds. That’s what I feel like I’m walking on. I don’t know how he does it, but if we ever figure it out, we could bottle it and make a fortune – then he wouldn’t feel the need to do all of this other shit to make money.
When I’m away from him, although it’s not often that I am, it’s as though my mind starts to clear, and all the questions that surround him and his actions start to present themselves. I promise myself I’ll get to the bottom of his issues. That I’ll be that one person he shares himself with completely. But ultimately, I know that’s not going to happen. He’s far too guarded. I just need to decide whether that’s something I can live with. Although I’m not sure I’ll have a choice. Because one thing I’m very sure of, is that I need him, and he needs me - we fucking need each other.
Taking my time, I slowly soap up my body, enjoying the warm stream of water as it flows over my body. The tattoo pen has worn away on my thigh, but I now have a new design on my stomach, this one is an intricate array of feathers and stars – it kind of looks like a peacock tail. It sweeps down from beneath my breast, curving around my belly button, until it sweeps across my abdomen.
I have to admit, I love being his canvas. I asked him if he wanted me get one of his designs, tattooed permanently on my flesh but he replied ‘no’, he just wants to keep drawing on me.
Omitting my bra, I have chosen to wear an emerald green, strapless dress that fits tightly around my bust, but flows freely, stopping only a couple of inches beneath my buttocks. For dignity’s sake, I wear a pair of black silk panties. I’ve owned them for a while, but never found occasion to wear them. Tonight, I plan to dance, drink, and have fun, then go home with my man and spend the night in his arms. And hopefully, he’ll make enough from the bets that he won’t have to do this again for a while.
Curling my hair so it brushes gently across my bare shoulders, I apply the minimal amount of makeup, not wanting to look like I’m trying too hard. As I press my lips together, I hear the honk of Damien’s horn outside.
Grabbing my purse, I shove my feet into my black peep toe heels, and make my way down the stairs.
“Tell him to come in,” Kensi calls after me as I run for the door.
Nodding, I rush out into the cool night air, my eyes desperate for a glimpse of him, an hour just feels like too long.
“Holy fucking shit,” Damien breathes when he sees me. “There is no way I can leave you alone looking like that.”
“Well you’ll have to,” I grin, taking his hand and indicating that we’re going inside. “You have a job to do.”
“I didn’t know you were going to look like this,” he counters, pausing before we go inside, pressing a soulful kiss against my lips.
“There isn’t a man in this world who turns my head like you do. I want you to want me – nothing more,” I whisper as he grazes his mouth along my jaw, sucking on my ear lobe.
“I want you in a paper bag,” he murmurs, pulling on my lobe with his teeth, sending chills through my body.
Laughing, I press against his chest, to separate us. “We are required inside. Kensi is trying to make cocktails,” I inform him.
“This will be interesting,” he says, taking my hand as we head inside. I lead him into the kitchen, where Kensi is preparing some sort of concoction. All I can hear is her swearing as the blender cuts in and out, rocking back and forth across the counter as she tries to steady it.
“Fucking piece of shit,” she yells at it before noticing that we’re in the room.
“Oh hi! Oh wow – that’s a very fitted shirt you have on there Damien. Did somebody call for a stripper?”
“Oh my god! Kensi!” Jessica admonishes. “You can’t talk about Etta’s boyfriend like that.”
“Sure I can. Come on Damo, if you’re going to stay, you’ll be required to remove your shirt. And since you’re going to piss off on us to go play fisty cuffs with some other guys. I’m declaring this a girls’ night. So we plan to do a lot of ogling.”
My mouth falls open when Damien tilts his head in acceptance and moves to lift his shirt. “No!” I call out, not wanting to share one part of his body with anyone else. My stomach turns sour at the thought of anyone else drooling over his abs except for me. “Don’t you dare,” I warn him over my shoulder.
This only elicits a panty dropping smile from him, and I actually witness both girls turning into puddles at his feet.
Normally, I’m not a jealous person. I was fine when I was dating Aaron. Other girls would always go on about how wonderful he was. I could handle that. I actually took pride in them sighing over my boyfriend. But with Damien, I’m feeling a little irrational and have to keep a firm hold of my tongue or else I’m going to tell them to keep the fuck away from my man.
Jesus. What the hell is happening to me?
Gripping his hand tighter, I keep a very firm hold on him, not letting go for the next hour. I don’t think he minds though, he seems to enjoy having me as close as possible and drops light kisses on the bare skin of my shoulders whenever he gets a chance.
When it’s finally time to make our way into the city, I’m feeling a little disappointed that he won’t be staying with us for the whole night. I’ve already had a couple of cocktails, and I’m well and truly happy for the evening when he drops us off in front of the night club.
“Aren’t you coming in with us?” I ask.
“I have to meet the guys. I’ll be back. No more alcohol for you. Understand?” he tells me. “I’m trusting you.”
“I understand. I more than love you,” I tell him, wrapping my arms around his neck as we say goodbye.
“I more than love you too. Now go. Be good,” he says.
“I promise,” I grin, following Jessica and Kensi as we join the line to enter.
“Bye lover boy!” they call out, giggling as we make our way inside and pay our cover charge.
Once inside, it takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the hazy dark of the club as Trance music vibrates through my breast bone.
“I need more drinks,” Kensi calls out, dragging us all over to the bar.
“That cocktail you made was pretty strong Kens,” I tell her, leaning do
wn to speak into her ear. “I think I’ll just grab some water.”
She shoots me a look over her shoulder that says ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ and proceeds to order a round of drinks for all of us. “Here, I got you lolly water instead – there’s like, no alcohol in those things at all.”
I hold up the bottle of poison green fluid and note that it’s still 1.3 standard drinks and decide to drink slowly. I’m not interested in starting a fight with Damien over the amount I should or shouldn’t drink.
Scanning the room, I watch as people mingle and dance, but really, I’m just waiting for Damien to come back.
“Drink up,” Kensi instructs me. “I’m ready for another round.”
“Already? Jesus Kens, you have to slow down. You’re going to destroy your liver,” Jessica says from beside her. She’s only halfway through her drink, slowly sipping it as she people watches and dances where she stands.
Kensi waves her off dismissively and turns to push her way back to the bar, her small frame disappearing amongst the crowd.
“I’m worried about her. She drinks far too much,” Jessica informs me.
“Yeah, I’m noticing. She’s only tiny. Where does she put it all?”
“She can’t handle the amount she drinks. Every time we go out, she ends up getting sick, and I have to get her home. She’s my best friend, and I feel responsible for her, but it’s getting a bit much. I had to stop her from having sex with some guy on the dance floor the other week,” she says, shaking her head at the memory.
“What do you want to do about it?” I ask, thinking that maybe we could talk to her and try to convince her to slow down.
“What can I do? I’ve tried talking to her and refusing to come out with her, but she just does it anyway. At least if I’m with her, I can keep an eye on her so she doesn’t do anything too crazy,” she shrugs.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around more,” I say, feeling bad for moving in, but never being a good housemate to them.
“Don’t be silly. You’ve been busy with Damien. Speak of the devil,” she notes, nodding toward the club entrance where Damien is entering, accompanied by the two friends we saw him with last time as well as one other.
The moment I look over at him, his eyes find me and he smiles, it’s like a cord connects us and pulls us together, pushing out everything else around us. I can barely hear the music, just a static sound created by the whooshing of my blood through my ears as I stand still and wait.
“What’s this?” he asks, taking the bottle of melon flavoured alcohol from my hands.
“Would you believe me if I said I was holding it for a friend?” I try, pulling at my bottom lip with my teeth.
“Henrietta,” he warns, but there’s still a softness in his tone, meaning that he doesn’t like to be pushed, but he isn’t going to make a big deal out of this.
“Damien,” I return, reaching my hand out and hooking my finger into the belt loops of his jeans, pulling on them to urge him closer to me. “Dance with me,” I whisper in his ear.
Handing off the bottle to one of his friends, he has eyes only for me as he wraps his arms around my waist and manages to melt us into the pulsating crowd to reach the dance floor.
We dance to a beat of our own, the music throbbing around us, at odds with our slow movement. His hands roam over my body, as his eyes drift over my face, he always seems to be studying me, like he needs my image burned into his memory.
I find that he communicates so much with me through his gaze and his touch, it’s as if tendrils of emotion rise up out of him and enter me, entwining with my very being, connecting us in some kind of strange symbiosis.
When he dips his head to take my mouth in his, everything stops, all time, all sound, is gone. All that exists is the two of us in a world built only for us.
I have no idea how much time passes while Damien and I sway together on the dance floor, our bodies pressed tightly together and our mouths connected like we’re drinking in each other’s life force.
Eventually though, we’re interrupted and catapulted back to reality when one of Damien’s mates taps him on the shoulder and whispers something in his ear.
“Who was that?” I ask.
“Just a friend,” he says, before adding, “I need to go. We need to find your friends.” Extending to his full height, he scans the room seeking out Kensi and Jessica. “Over there,” he says, pulling me through the crowd.
“Hey!” Kensi yells, her grin broad and her face shining.
“She’s smashed,” Jessica explains, looking fairly unimpressed.
“I’m leaving Harry with you. Stay here,” Damien instructs, eyeing Kensi warily. “I think she needs some water.”
“I’ll get her some,” I say before adding, “Wait a second, who the hell is Harry?”
Damien shifts his gaze to the space over my left shoulder, turning around I spot a well built, dark haired guy with Asian features who looks more like a Special Forces security guard than somebody’s actual friend.
“Seriously – I’m being babysat?” I ask disbelievingly. “I thought we were supposed to trust each other?”
“I do trust you,” he murmurs into my ear as he runs his finger along the edge of my dress, skirting the flesh of my breasts with his fingertips. “I just don’t trust everyone else.”
He turns his head and leaves a lingering kiss on my cheek before stepping away. “Do not leave this club,” he instructs. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Come on Damo!” one of his friends calls from behind him.
Nodding at his friends, he turns to leave. From the look on his face, I can tell he’s having second thoughts about leaving me, but with one last glance over his shoulder toward me, he disappears through the club’s back door.
Kensi moves in next to me, watching after him and his friends. “We need to get out there to watch,” she declares.
“No. He doesn’t want me out there.”
“Kensi. I think we should just stay here,” Jessica puts in, looking clearly uncomfortable at the thought of witnessing a street fight.
“What’s he going to do? He won’t even see us there,” she slurs a little, her balance a little off as she teeters on her heels.
“Yes, but he’ll know we left. We have a sitter,” I inform her, pointing at Harry who’s standing with his arms crossed stoically behind me, witnessing our conversation.
Pulling on my arm, Kensi leans up to speak close to my ear. “He won’t catch us if we make a run for it,” she suggests, to which I shake my head.
“No,” I state.
Biting on her lip, she looks from Harry to me, to Jessica, her mouth curling in a grin before she bolts for the door, her tiny frame making it easy for her to duck and weave through the crowd faster than the rest of us.
“Kensi!” Jessica calls out. “Shit, we have to go after her,” she panics, pulling at my arm to follow.
I take one step with her before an arm shoots out to stop me. For the first time in my life, I react the way I’m trained to, using Harry’s momentum to tip him off balance and knock him to the ground.
“I’m sorry, I have to find my friends,” I yell as I race after Jessica and Kensi, not even knowing if Harry could hear me, or if he’s following as well.
As I burst through the back door, I catch up to Jessica as she continues to push through the outside crowd. “She’s over there!” she yells back at me, pointing to the footpath where Kensi is standing and looking both ways.
“Where the hell is the fight?” Kensi wonders out loud, as soon as we catch up to her.
“I don’t know. They must have gone somewhere else,” I state, scanning the crowd for Damien. He’s so tall that he would easily stand out, but he’s nowhere to be seen. “Maybe we should just go back in. They’ll come back and wonder where we are.”
“They can’t be too far. Let’s go,” Kensi says, completely ignoring me as she takes off down the street.
Jessica and I exchange exas
perated glances. Shrugging, we follow after her, hoping we don’t take a wrong turn and get lost.
“Kensi, I really think we should just go back. I don’t like walking the city streets and I really don’t want to see a fight,” Jessica complains, her arms folded protectively across her chest as she follows a step or two behind.
“Live a little Jess, you’re always so cautious,” Kensi responds, turning around and walking backwards as she speaks.
“Holy crap!” Jessica breaths, her eyes widening as she freezes on the spot. Suddenly, a rush of people come flying out of a side street like rats escaping a sinking ship.
The air fills with panic as everyone scatters and one guy runs toward us yelling, “COPS!”
We all squeal like a bunch of five year old girls, clutching at each other as people race around either side of us.
“Fucking run!” I hear, as strong hands grab a hold of my waist and catapult me forward. I have no choice but to run or else I’ll fall. Caught up in the panic, I look around for Jessica and Kensi, feeling relieved when I see they are running along with us, guided by Damien’s two friends whose names I still don’t know.
“Up here,” one of them yells, pulling Kensi by the hand into another side street. We all follow, slowing our pace down when we realise that we’re not being followed.
“What the fuck were you doing on the street?” demands Damien.
“We were…” I start, but Kensi interrupts as she hunches over and groans before spilling the contents of her stomach on the footpath.
“Oh Kens,” Jessica complains. “Not again.”
“Get them home,” he instructs his mates, who nods and, supporting Kensi, escorts them out of the side street and into the throng of the Friday night crowd.
Grabbing my hand, Damien tugs me out into the crowd as well, heading in the opposite direction, toward where he parked his car.
Pulling his phone out, he swipes his thumb over the screen then holds it to his ear. “What the fuck happened?” he says after a moment, pausing as he listens then grunting out a response. “Well you fucked up.” He taps his thumb again, before putting his phone in his back pocket.
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