[Jul]
The club was ensconced in what had once been a multi-level movie theater situated next to a now-defunct shopping center. The marquee was still framed by long strips of flickering red neon which gathered at the center to form a radiant spire. We drove past the front entrance, which was covered in scaffolding, and turned into a narrow alley.
Kay's stepfather owned a chain of night clubs in the best parts of Manhattan, so I was anticipating a high-end, pedestrian-packed neighborhood. This street was more like a ghost town. "Why is your stepdad putting a club here?"
"Gentrification," Kaydrien replied. "This whole area is leveling up. You wouldn't believe the hotel that's being built one block down. Sanny would have to blow her mom's life savings to spend one night there."
"Thanks for choosing me as your prime example of poverty in America," Sanny said.
"Don't worry," he replied sympathetically. "Out there somewhere a wealthy heir is waiting for you to spend all his money."
"As long as it isn't just his money I get my hands all over."
Kay chuckled. He pulled into a parking lot behind the club. It was empty and dark, save for a lone light hanging above a padlocked door. There was no activity indicating that a concert was starting in a few minutes. We followed Kay inside. As we walked past unpainted drywall and exposed support beams, it became undeniably clear that the club was still under construction.
"This has got to be the wrong address," Sanny said.
"I may have exaggerated about there being a performance," Kay admitted.
"Are you telling me it was a complete waste of what was left of our freedom to come here?"
"It's worth it. Trust me." We entered a hallway that seemed like it was from another building. Decorative sconces lit our way. The walls were painted a warm blend of colors, and plush carpeting pressed down like a sponge underfoot.
"Did we go down a rabbit hole?" Sanny asked.
"The step-ass finished this part of the club first because his office suite is here," Kay explained.
"Doesn't the construction noise drive him crazy?"
"Soundproofing. Only the best for Mr. Singh, Music King." He stopped next to a door marked PRIVATE. "We're here."
"The Mad Hatter's tea party?" Sanny guessed.
"That would make one of you Alice," Kay replied as he pulled out his vape. He glanced at me. "And the other a door mouse."
"And you the vaping caterpillar who speaks in riddles," Sanny said.
Kay gave her a sly look, then rapped the door with his knuckles.
The door opened. The drummer for W~cked poked his head out. "Hey."
Sanny stared at him. "That's not your stepdad."
"The step-ass is on a business trip." Kay stepped through the open doorway. "Come through the looking glass, Alice?"
Sanny glanced my way.
A room full of sexy musicians doing who knows what, no parents for miles, no wall between me and their mockery. No wall between me and Dae's kindness. I couldn't go in there. I shook my head.
"Come on." Sanny hooked her arm around mine. "Time for you to start living."
As we passed Gun, he scrutinized my body in a way I wasn't used to. I moved closer to Sanny, slipping my hand into hers. She gave it a reassuring squeeze.
Kaydrien's stepfather spared no expense in furnishing his suite. The members of W~cked were scattered through a large entertainment room, taking full advantage of the fact that they had a kitchenette with a fully-stocked bar, a large flat screen embedded in the wall, and an abundance of oversized couches to lounge on. There was a desk in the back corner, but it didn't look like it got much use.
"Juliet Abrams."
I turned to see Dae standing near me. I blushed.
He moved closer. "I was hoping to see you again before we left town."
As I stood there in nervous silence, Sanny came to my rescue.
"Nice 'office' your stepdad has," she said to Kay. "A home away from home."
Kay followed Gun to the bar; the drummer pulled a beer out of the fridge and passed it over. "A place my stepfather can retreat to when he wants to take a vacation-without his wife."
Sanny and I exchanged glances.
Did he mean what I thought he meant, that his stepfather cheated on his mother-and Kay knew about it?
"Want the official tour?" Dae asked. "It takes all of sixty seconds."
"You go on the tour, Juliet." Sanny walked up to the bar. "I'm thirsty."
"If you'd rather not..." Dae left the offer open.
"Okay." I didn't know if I was saying, "Okay, yes," or "Okay, no."
Dae took me by the hand. He didn't hold on too tight, giving me the option of pulling away.
"That would be everyone's favorite spot after a performance," he said of the bar. He led me past a bathroom. "And that's where we spend most of our time after the bar."
A smile crept onto my face, but nervousness drove it away as he opened the next door and led me into a bedroom. "And this is where we sleep it off."
There was one king-sized bed set against the wall, buried in smooth black sheets and thick satin pillows. I tried to imagine all five guys sharing it.
I quickly revised that idea to a more realistic one: Dae claiming the bedroom because it was his band, and everyone else sleeping on the couches in the main room.
There was a soft click. Dae was leaning against the door. It was shut. "I have a confession to make." His lids lowered slightly. His eyes were like the surface of the ocean before a storm: deceptively still. "I've been thinking about you."
I felt anticipation instead of anxiety. When I was near him, everything was different, as if his presence set me free from the terrors that normally held me down. I found myself drifting closer, pulled by an invisible tide. "And I've been thinking about you."
He touched the fabric of my hood. "May I?"
I hesitated, then nodded.
He drew the hood down. I stood still as he carefully tucked a section of my hair behind my ear, exposing my scar. His hand drifted lower. His forefinger hooked underneath the silver chain I wore, sliding down toward the onyx nestled against the collar of my blouse.
"There was someone I wanted..." His voice was raw. "...long ago." He lifted the chain, careful not to touch the stone as he studied it. "She left me..." His finger ran back up the length of the chain, around to the hook on the back of my neck. "...all alone."
"I'm sorry."
His fingers released the clasp of my necklace. He carefully drew away the pendant I had never removed, not once in the twelve years since my brother made me swear to let no one do what I was letting Dae do now.
"It's time to let them go." Dae gently lowered the pendant and chain onto the night stand beside us. "The ones we lost are gone forever."
When did we move away from the door? Did it matter?
"Let me heal you," Dae's breath warmed the scar on my cheek. "As I promised I would, the first time I looked into your soul."
And then he kissed me. Waves of passion rolled over my skin, their current sweeping me into his arms.