by T A. McKay
“Get yourself all dolled up, we’re all going out tonight.” I look at him as though he’s dumb. I’ve never been invited on one of their nights before, it’s usually a guys only kind of thing. I haven’t even seen them invite Paul out.
“Who is we? And who says I even want to go?” I definitely want to go out, to be accepted by the guys would be a huge thing but I don’t want to look to eager, got to make them work a little for it.
“Me, you, Gabe. We are hitting Roxy’s tonight and you’re coming, you have no option.” I smile at his demanding ways. I don’t think I would put up with that from anyone else, but from Clay it’s endearing.
“Fine. What time do I need to be ready?” I had no intentions of turning this night down and I definitely don’t want to keep them waiting for me. The last thing I wanted to be was that girl, the one that takes forever to get ready.
“We’re meeting at Roxy’s, shit, I mean White Castle at nine. Gabe will pick you up on his way past to save you getting a taxi. He says you can share one home too, he doesn’t live that far from you.” I wonder why he’s agreeing to share a taxi home. I know for a fact that Gabe lives nowhere near my house, in fact he lives in the opposite direction to me. I’ll talk to him later about getting my own lift home, he’s obviously just trying to be nice.
“Okay, I’ll be ready for him.” Clay wiggles his eyebrows as he walks away and I can’t help but laugh at him. I wish I had friends here like Gabe does, especially friends like Clay but I have never been that lucky. The awkwardness that resulted from being bullied at school has continued into adulthood, making talking to people very difficult and making friends a no go. Maybe the guys will invite me out more after this if I behave.
****
I throw my head back finishing another shot before slamming the glass on the bar. I’ve lost count of how much I’ve drunk but I know it’s too much. Tonight has been so much fun that I’ve let my usual uptight self relax and just go with the flow. I think it helps that I'm with Gabe and Clay, I know that they won’t let anything happen to me. A point that was proven when some guy approached me but only managed to get a hello out before both men joined ranks blocking me and I swear they growled at him. That set me off into a fit of the giggles, which going by their faces, didn’t amuse them. Now I'm propped up at the bar in between the two huge bodies wishing I hadn’t had that last shot. Why is it always the last shot that is just too much?
I stand up from the stool needing to go to the bathroom, my only problem with that is I can no longer feel my legs. I hold onto Gabe’s shoulder while I try to steady myself but it seems to be taking longer than it should.
“Where are you going, Shorty?” He smiles as he talks to me. I’ve noticed recently that’s he's started calling me that, Shorty. I poke him in the chest as I speak, trying to make my point.
“I … I am going to the place. Back there. You know I need to pee. The bathroom! Yes, I'm going to the bathroom.” I try to walk away with purpose, try to show them that I’m not as drunk as I may look. My head is sorted, it knows what it needs to do, but unfortunately my body isn’t cooperating and doesn’t get with the plan. I feel my body going down and before I can register it I’m grabbed by a strong hand on my arm, holding me up as we move around the dance floor.
“Let me help you. Your feet don’t seem to be working for some reason.” I would pull my arm away from the smart arse if I thought I wouldn’t fall. He thinks he’s so clever, that he has legs that work so he’s in charge. Just let me get something to lean against and I’ll show him.
I make it to the bathroom door and I use the wall to brace myself before turning to face Gabe. I need to make my point here, show him that I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.
“I’ll have you know that I have been walking for a very long time now. Probably longer than you have Mr Smarty Pants. So I am going to take myself into ... this room. Shit! The bathroom! I am going to go into the bathroom all by myself. Ha!” I turn with a dramatic swish to my hair and nearly fall again but manage to catch myself as the door slams behind me. That showed him.
I laugh to myself as I watch her sassy arse make its way into the bathroom. I shouldn’t have let her drink so much but she looked like she was having fun and I’ve never seen her smile so much.
It was Clay’s idea to invite her out tonight but I soon realised that there was an ulterior motive and he knew exactly what he was doing. She’d told us she doesn’t have any friends here and I wish I had invited her out sooner, everyone needs to get out. When we arrived at the bar she was a little quiet. She was sitting between us and drinking some girlie drink, but soon she relaxed and that’s where the problems started. I could see the guys around us starting to notice her and even though I can’t blame them it pissed me off. I know there isn’t a man in here tonight that wouldn’t look at Rhys, she looks seriously fucking amazing. She’s wearing a black skirt that barely covers her arse, black knee high boots over thigh high socks and a top that leaves her back completely bare. I’ve been a walking boner since I first laid eyes on her, so as I say, I don’t blame the guys for looking at her.
When the first guy approached her I knew she was too drunk to be left alone with him and after a look at Clay I knew he agreed. It didn’t take much to scare him off using our size and make sure others knew what would happen if they approached her. It didn’t take long for word to get around that Rhys was with me and even though a few looked, no one else approached. The only person who didn’t seem to take our threat seriously was Rhys and she laughed at us while trying to stay upright on her bar stool, making me want to shut her up by kissing her.
Yeah, I have to admit that this night has increased my attraction to Rhys. I always thought she was pretty but now I see that she is sexy and sassy, making me want to do things to her that I shouldn’t.
A girl leaving the bathroom smiles at me as she goes past and I nod my head automatically. On any other night I would follow her and get to know her a little bit better but not tonight, not when I need to look after Rhys. I look at my watch and see that she’s been in the toilet for a while now. I start worrying knowing that she is really drunk. I take note of the time, and decide that if she isn’t out within the next five minutes I'm going in after her. I don’t care how drunk she is, that’s more than enough time.
I continue to watch the women enter and leave the toilet and decide I’ve waited enough. I walk towards the door deciding to forego the knock, there is no way they would hear it over the music anyway. I walk into the mass of female bodies not caring about the shocked gasps and squeals. I look around all the women standing in line waiting and the ones at the sinks and I can’t see her.
“Rhys?” I start to call her name as I walk down the cubicles and see that are all filled. There is no way she would have gotten past me so she must be in here.
“Rhys?” I shout louder as the panic starts to rise in me. I shouldn’t have let her drink so much. What if she has fallen in those bloody shoes and hurt herself?
“Gabe?” A little voice says my name and I relax my shoulders. At least I know she’s conscious. I walk to the cubicle that I think she’s in and lean my head against it so she can hear me talk.
“Are you okay, Shorty?” I hear a dramatic sigh from the other side of the door and I know I have the right one. A thud sounds and I can almost picture her with her head against the door like mirroring mine.
“I’m stuck.” Her voice is low and I hear what she says but I don’t believe what I hear.
“Say that again, there is no way I heard you right.”
“Oh God. I'm stuck! Did you hear me this time? I'm stuck … look.” I don’t know what I'm looking at since I can’t see through the door but I look around and, in the gap above the door, I see a hand appear holding the unlock knob. I know I shouldn’t, that she will be mad as hell but I just can’t keep it in and I laugh like I haven’t laughed in a long time.
“Gabe!” Her shouting at me just makes me laugh louder and I ca
n almost feel her fuming from inside the cubicle. I manage to get myself under control enough to ask the girl next to me to go and get Clay and the manager so we can get Rhys out.
“I want you to stand on the toilet. I need you out of the way of the door.”
“Seriously?” Her voice holds a little squeak as she talks and I work to hold in my laugh.
“Yes I'm serious. Put the seat down and stand on it … and for the love of God take those shoes off before you do it.” I hear the toilet seat go down before the muttering starts. I know she’s bitching about me in there. I turn when I hear Clay’s laughs as he walks through the door of the ladies.
“Please tell me I can video this. This girl is epic.” I'm about to answer him when Rhys starts shouting.
“You tell him if he videos this I’m gonna kick him in the balls. Do you hear me, Gabe? In the balls!” I see the humour on Clays face as he stands and listens to her.
“She does realise I can hear her? If nothing else she sounds more sober than before.” She does sound more sober now, I'm taking it that she may crash when she gets out of here. I think once we free her it’s time to go home.
“Yeah, I'm taking it that getting stuck in a toilet has a sobering effect. Any ideas on how to get her out?” Clay smiles and I don’t like it. That smile never leads to anything good. He turns towards the cubicle door and shouts to Rhys.
“Rhys, are you standing on the toilet seat?” As soon as she replies yes Clay kicks the door at full power. I don’t know what makes more noise, the door slamming against the wall or the scream that leaves Rhys. I push the now very unlocked door open and see her standing there on the toilet, shoes in hand and eyes wide. It takes her a minute to recover before her mouth gets the better of her, causing me to smile. She always seems so quiet at work, yeah she always has an answer got everything especially if you are having a fun argument but nothing like this. I think I’m going to have to give her alcohol more often, just to get the feisty Rhys to come out and play again.
“What the fuck, Clay? Was there any need for the Rambo impression, oh God you could of … Gabe, what are you doing?” As much as her little rant is cute I want to get her out of here. I walk towards her, grabbing her behind the knees and lifting her onto my shoulder before carrying her out the bathroom. I hear her shouting, telling me to put her down but I smile, making my way out the bar and into a taxi.
We pull up outside her block of apartments. I look around and hold in the pissed off growl that is threatening to leave me. I can’t believe she lives in such a bad area, especially since she lives alone. When I picked her up earlier to go to the bar I thought I had given the wrong address, there is no way that she should live here. The area is run down with most of the apartments taken by drug dealers and the homeless.
I look down at her, her head is resting on my shoulder and she is sleeping soundly. She fell asleep not long after we got in the taxi, the alcohol catching up with her finally. Her lips move slightly as she breathes and I want to kiss them so badly and see if they are as soft as they look. Tonight has been a real eye opener for me, my attraction to Rhys has never been this strong. Maybe this is why I hadn’t asked her out before, if we only spoke at work it was easy to see her only as a work colleague, not as the beautiful, sexy woman who turns me on. It was going to be hard to keep my distance from her now but I needed to, I don’t shit where I eat. Never have, never will.
I know Clay is trying to act as match maker between us, he told me earlier in my office that he thought I needed to get Rhys to open up, and then get her below me. The guy is a dog.
“So are you gonna hit that, or do I have permission to go for it?” I look at Clay and debate knocking him on his arse for about the millionth time since I met him.
“Eyes off her. She works for me and I don’t want to have to pay her off to stop her having you arrested.” He knows I hate it when he sleeps with someone I know. It never ends well with him, which means it never ends well for me. I’ve lost more acquaintances through his dick than for any other reason. He clutches his chest like I have hurt his feelings and drops into the chair across the desk from me.
“I don’t like that you’re implying. Do you think I would do anything to her that she didn’t want?” I glare at him, a tight feeling working its way through my body. I’m getting pissed thinking about him and Rhys together and I don’t know why. I can only put it down to her being a good worker and not wanting to lose her. Yeah that’s it.
“I'm not implying anything. I’m trying to make myself very clear here, stay away from her. You are gonna use her and leave her, then I'm gonna be left without a bloody good front office manager. Then I’ll really be pissed.” I see a stupid grin form on his face, the one he gets when he thinks he knows something important and he can’t wait to share it with you.
“You didn’t answer my question. Are you gonna hit that?” I start playing with the papers on my desk, making neat little piles, anything to avoid looking at him.
“I'm not gonna sleep with Rhys. That would be worse than you sleeping with her, I'm her boss. Not ever gonna happen.” There is silence between us and it isn’t long before I give in and look at him. He still has that shit eating grin on his face.
“What?”
“Nothing. I wasn’t thinking anything…oh wait I was. I think you’re full of shit. Don’t sit here and pretend that I haven’t seen the way you look at her, the only thing missing is your tongue hanging out. I swear man, you want that woman.” I stare at him, lost for words. I don’t know what to say. My first thought is to tell him to shut up, that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The second is to walk away so we can’t have this discussion but I know for a fact he will follow me and I don’t want this conversation in public.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Rhys works for me. Nothing more, nothing less. I think she does an amazing job and I don’t want to have to lose her.” His laughter booms out as he rises from the chair, making his way to my office door.
“You keep telling yourself that, Gabe. Oh, and by the way. She’s coming out with us tonight so you might want to brace yourself.”
Little did I know that he would be right. I should have prepared myself to see her in more relaxed environment looking as hot as hell.
I pay the taxi driver and I gently shake Rhys’ shoulder trying to wake her. She blinks her eyes a few times, trying to work out where she is.
“You’re home, Shorty. It’s time to get you safely in bed.” I try to ignore the reaction those words have on my dick. A boner right now wouldn’t be the best thing. I open the door on my side and help Rhys get out, only once she is out safely do I notice the police cars around the car park in front of us. There are too many of them, something has happened here and I get a sinking feeling when we make our way to her elevator.
We’re just exiting the elevator on the third floor when we’re stopped by two policemen. There’s a lot of activity down the hall and we see people entering Rhys’s door, I know it’s her door from when I picked her up earlier. I reach out and take her hand, letting her know that I'm here to support her with whatever is about to happen.
“Can I help you?” One of the police officers asks us. I look to Rhys to see if she is going to speak but she looks like she’s in shock so I answer for her.
“This is Rhys Alexander and this is her house. What’s happening?” The police officer looks at Rhys with sympathy in his eyes before answering my question and I get a sinking feeling in my stomach.
“I'm sorry, Miss Alexander, but there was a break in at your apartment. I will get one of the other officers to show you in.” The colour fades from her face as she listens. Shit, I hope it isn’t too bad.
We follow the officer down the hall and through the door into her home. For the few hours that we have been gone there is so much destruction. Her furniture has been overturned and a lot of it is either broken or damaged. It looks like someone has taken a knife to the couches while the wooden kitchen chairs
are smashed into piles. Rhys drops my hand and I watch her as she looks around, tears forming in her eyes as she tries to take it all in. I walk behind her placing my hands on her shoulders to try and give her some strength because she looks close to collapsing.
“Look at the mess. It’s all gone.” I hear the pain in her voice. I don’t know how she must be feeling at the moment but I know if it was my house I would want to kill someone. I actually have that feeling right now. I want to find who did this to her and kill them.
“I'm so sorry, Rhys. Maybe it’s just in here, the rest of the place is probably fine.” I look the officer who is standing with us and see his face developed a grimace, telling me that what I have just said is very wrong.
“Do you have anywhere else you can stay, Miss Alexander? I don’t think it is possible for you to stay here tonight.” She shakes her head as more tears fall down her cheeks. I grip her shoulders harder needing to do something with my hands.
“Don’t worry, she can stay with me. We’ll just go and get some of her belongings, is that okay?” The officer gives us the all clear and Rhys walks down the narrow hall towards a door at the end. We have to step over the mess of her belongings that cover the floor. It’s like someone has taken every ounce of anger they contain and unleashed its on everything she owns, I can’t see anything that’s escaped the fury. Pictures have been smashed or thrown leaving glass everywhere and holes in the walls. Clothes and toiletries, ornaments and bed linen cover almost every inch of floor and the closer we get to her room the more worried I become about what she’s about to find.
She walks through the door and I hear a heart-breaking sob emanate from her and I rush up behind her pulling her into my arms. Her back shakes against my chest as we both stand and look at what is left of her bedroom, and there isn’t a lot. Her furniture is broken and scattered around the room, her bed has been stripped and the bed linen is torn to shreds. Her mattress looks wet and torn up, and I try to turn my mind from what the wetness might be because the options turn my stomach. Her clothes have been shredded and I wonder if anything has been left intact.
