Page 4 of Sweet Possession
“Crystal.” I give him the same answer as before.
With a shake of his head, he smiles. “Yourrealname.”
“No,” I snap, my eyes narrowing in on him, daring him to argue.
“Fine, I will leave that question for now,Crystal,but mark my words, you will tell me. Now, how old are you?”
I scoff at his arrogance. “None of your damn business. What is this? An interrogation?”
He growls, making my spine stiffen. As if sensing that I’ve tensed, he softens his features. “I just want to know you.” His voice is soft, making me relax some.
“Twenty-one.” The lie rolls from my mouth easily.
He nods. “Now, what is a girl like you doing in a place like this?”
I groan as I rub at my tired eyes. I’ve had this question asked a couple of times. People don’t seem to understand that when you’re desperate, you will do almost anything. “I need to eat, pay my bills. It pays better than working in a diner or a grocery store.”
He seems to mull over my words for a long beat before speaking again. “Did you not go to school?”
My heart pounds in my chest as my whole body turns rigid with his question. It’s a basic question, sure, but one I could easily trip up on if I don’t think carefully. “Of course, I did. I just didn’t have the money to go to college. That’s why I’m here. I applied for community college and figured I could make good money here while studying.”
His thumb runs across his full bottom lip, drawing my attention. I lick my lips at the thought of him kissing me, of those lips running over my body, and I shiver. “Mmm,” he hums, and I bring my eyes back to his. My cheeks heat as he smirks, and I drop my eyes to the couch. We sit in silence for a while which makes me anxious. Is this all he really wants? To talk? It seems weird to me, if so.
“What are you going to study at college?” he asks, breaking the quiet.
I shrug. “I’m not sure. Maybe something like business or accounting.”
“But that’s not what you want to do, right?” Jesus this man is intuitive. “I mean it seems such a boring, mundane choice for a girl that could have anything she wants.”
I snort. Does he really believe that? I am not a girl that can have anything she wants. I’m a girl struggling to make ends meet. A girl that would love nothing more than to be a professional artist but knows, deep down, it’s a pipe dream, and I’m better off sticking with theboringandmundane,as he put it. “What’s your name? And what do you do?” I ask, ignoring what he said. The question reminds me that I know nothing about this man and that maybe I should have asked his name when he was pushing to know mine.
He smiles like he was waiting for me to ask. “I’m a teacher… amongst other things. And my name is Asher.”
The name somehow suits him, but as for being a teacher, I can’t see that. He’s just too hot. I briefly wonder what school he teaches at, but push that aside for now. “Asher?” I repeat his name in a whisper, tasting it on my tongue.
His eyes squeeze shut, and I swear he groans a little before they snap open. “Now, what’s your name?”
I push off the couch with a smile, and stride to the door, pulling it open in the next second. “Crystal,” I say before I walk out.
ChapterThree
ASHER
I continue with my newfound stalking behavior, embracing it even, over the next couple of weeks, and every night goes pretty much the same way. We sit on that dirty couch. We talk. I ask her name. I get the same answer. Crystal. Then she leaves, leaving me wanting more. So much more.
I don’t know why I have this obsessive need to know everything about her, but the emotion is so strong that I will not stop until I get what I want. And what I want is her… and her real goddamn name.
I will admit, at first it was a physical attraction; the girl is beautiful. But now, after talking with her, I know it’s more. There is just something about her. She feels like mine.
Pushing through the entrance to a place that has now become like a second home, I pay the cover fee then make my way to the stage where I know she will be appearing shortly. I’ve noticed during my time in this place that Crystal is a creature of habit. She performs her set at the same time every night, she never comes out front and mixes with the patrons like the other dancers - even though it’s obvious she is the most popular girl here - and she keeps to herself. It’s amazing the things you notice and learn about a person just from watching them. I may not know her real name, but I know these things about her.
The music changes, and I check my watch. Smirking, my eyes move to the stage, and, like clockwork, she appears. Her eyes dart straight to me and satisfaction that I have her attention slithers through me. I don’t take my eyes from her, and I watch as nervousness flashes in her gaze before she shuts it down and a fake confidence takes its place. It’s another thing I have learned about my angel. The self-assuredness she emanates is all a lie. Crystal doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do, which intrigues me. Yes, she told me she needs the money, but there are other ways to do that. And if she would just let her guard down with me for a moment, maybe I can show her how to do that. Teach her things so she doesn’t have to sell her body like this every night. A body that should be for my eyes only.
I pause, my eyes widening.
What the fuck was that, and where did those thoughts come from?
I don’t even know the girl, yet I seem to have claimed her as mine. Why have I taken such interest in someone I don’t even know when I was a mess a couple of weeks ago over Cali? It’s in that moment I realize that my ex has not crossed my mind for one second while I have been obsessing over the girl on the stage.