Page 69 of Getting It Twisted
Bikes and cars litter the overgrown lawn, and a Rottweiler tied to a hook in the wall is barking like mad. A bouncer stands by the entrance: a Wolverine-looking dude who seems vaguely familiar, with a leather vest and dark sideburns.
I make a beeline toward the dog.
“Hey,” the bouncer says warningly, “stay away from him, he’s a beast.”
I kneel and reach out a hand to the dog, fingers folded into my palm in case he lunges for a bite. He doesn’t. When I come within reach, his shoulders slump, and his tail starts a tentative wag.
“You look scary, but you’re just scared, aren’t you?” I scratch behind his ear and take his face in my hands, rubbing him up and down his sides. “All those noises and people freak you out, huh? It’s okay.”
“Nate,” Daniel calls. “Let’s go.”
“Sorry, buddy,” I tell the dog. There’s nothing I can do for him. I ignore the uncomfortable feeling it leaves me with and march toward the entrance with Daniel beside me.
The bouncer stops us with an outstretched hand. “Not so fast.” His gaze roams over me, from my slutty outfit up to my face, and his eyes widen in recognition.
Oh. It’s that biker from Moe’s—the one I tried to hook up with before Daniel cockblocked us. Feels like ages have passed since then, but I suppose it hasn’t been that long.
The biker shoots Daniel a glare, and I don’t blame him. For this man, Daniel will forever be remembered as the guy who robbed him of a fuck. I can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if I’d gone with him instead. Well, it’s not that hard to figure out. After I’d used him up, I would’ve fucked my way through town, accepting anyone who would have me. After that, I’m not so sure, but one thing I do know: I wouldn’t havebothered to be here, paying off my debt. Hell, I might not have beenanywhere.
I take Daniel’s hand and look up into the biker’s face with a challenge in my eyes. “Gonna let us in or what? Joshua’s expecting us.”
The biker scowls, but he steps aside and opens the door.
We’re in. The living room is huge and sprawling. Music blares from low-quality speakers, and dozens of people are dancing, while others sit on sunken couches, snorting lines of cocaine.
I start moving toward the couches. “I wanna try some of that.”
Daniel grabs my shoulder. “No, you don’t.” He pulls me close, his breath hot against my ear. “Keep walking.” His possessive hand on my lower back as he leads me through the crowd should annoy me, but the opposite is true; it turns me the fuck on.
“Let’s at least get a beer.” I fish one up from an ice-filled barrel and flick it open. Daniel accepts, and I get one of my own. I chug it down while feeling people’s stares at us.
Their eyes are judging, attracted, disgusted, intrigued. Women and men alike. A few guys with girlfriends stop and gawk at me. I give them a wink, but as soon as I do, I feel weird.
Long ago, I lost count of how many men I’ve slept with. Likewise, I’ve lost count of how many of them had girlfriends or wives. I know exactly what to say and how to act to get a guy’s attention—even guys who claim they are straight. Funnily enough, Daniel’s the one I’ve had to fight for the most to get into bed. Maybe that’s why I can look at these men and not feel a single stir in my pants at the thought of sleeping with them. As I wade through the crowd with Daniel by my side, all I want is him. All I need is him.
I sling my arms around his neck. “Come on, dance with me.”
“Let’s find Joshua first, then I’ll dance with you.”
Way to ruin my mood, but I suppose he’s right. I lead us into a second, smaller room where the music isn’t quite as loud.Joshua sits on a couch with a group of his asshole friends: bikers, like the bouncer, but these are older, with hard-set, grim expressions and beards reaching down to their chests.
Joshua stands. “Look who decided to show up.” He turns around the room with his hands splayed wide in a cocky gesture. “You like what I’ve done with the place?”
I roll my eyes. Dude’s playing kingpin, but he’s really just a cog in the wheel—a small player in a tiny pond. He wouldn’t stand a chance in a bigger town.
“You mean how it’s even more of a dump than it was? Yeah, sure. Real cute.”
I feel Daniel tense up next to me.Don’t worry, babe, I want to tell him.I’ve got this.
Back when we were small-time dealers ourselves, Daniel knew better than to get himself involved with Joshua. I didn’t plan on it either, but after Daniel and I had our first falling-out after that game of spin the bottle . . . Well, I suppose I flipped out a little bit. I started hanging out here with all sorts of sleazy people. Did shit I’m not proud of. At least the money I made came in handy later on.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Joshua says. “Chop, chop. Five years is long enough, don’t you think?”
My fingers clench and unclench. Part of me wants to offer him a different deal. A deal that involves me working for him. I had it all planned out in the back of my head—how I’d make my choice if I got the right vibes for it.
But now . . . I glance at Daniel, and the urgency in his eyes makes me wince. Much like how I won’t hit George because it would piss off Daniel, I won’t entangle myself with Joshua again because Daniel would disapprove.
Gee, look at me being all righteous and shit. Does Daniel even know how fuckingspecialhe is? No one in the world can makeme go against my own interests like this. No one but Daniel. Anything for him.