Page 13 of Tie Me Down (The AfterGlow #1)

Olivia

I slinked down the back hallway reserved for employees only. When I got to the dressing room door, I knocked quietly. “Can I come in?”

Though I’d been in the back probably five or six times by now, it still felt wrong skulking around in the employees-only section when I was clearly not an employee. But Charlie and Lilah were, and they always asked me to meet them here if I was still at the club at the end of one of their shifts.

“Get in here!” Lilah yelled.

I cracked the door open and rushed into the room, quickly closing the door behind me .

Lilah patted the open spot next to her on the couch. “Oh my goodness, Liv. You’re not going to get in trouble for being back here with us. We’re both staff.”

“Yeah, but I’m not! I’m breaking the rules,” I whispered as I crossed the room to take a seat beside her.

Lilah put her hand on my shoulder. “We literally have this conversation every time you come in here.”

“I just don’t want to get kicked out or lose my membership. Especially after tonight.” I couldn’t help but grin so big, they could probably see every single one of my teeth.

“Spill!” Charlie yelled a bit too loudly, spinning around on her poofy vanity seat to face us both. “We need all the details. Every single one.”

I flopped my head back onto the armrest, sprawling out every which way. “It was so good. I need to install an anchor point in my bedroom.”

Charlie squealed and reached between her legs, dragging her stool across the floor to close the gap between us. “He suspended you?”

My cheeks lit up like two bright red traffic lights. These two women were the people I should’ve been the least embarrassed to talk about my sex life in front of, but I still had a bit of bashfulness I couldn’t overcome. Maybe one day.

“Yes! I didn’t think I would like it, but I did.” I dragged my hands down my face. The memory of hanging in front of the mirror while Nico stroked himself to the sight of me replayed in my mind. “I really, really did.”

Charlie cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “Watch out, Bridgette—Liv is coming for your job!”

“I am not!” I squealed, sitting up and slapping at Charlie’s hands. We both broke out into a fit of giggles.

Lilah reclined on the loveseat with a smile. “Relax. She’s still out mingling at the bar.”

“Seriously, though, Liv, you should see if you can model one night for her demonstrations. I bet she’d say yes,” Charlie offered.

“Nico would eat that shit up,” Lilah added, cocking an eyebrow at me.

I twirled a lock of hair around my finger. “I think I’d be up for trying that. Maybe. ”

“Yeah, you would. Saucy little minx.” Charlie winked, stood up, and pushed her stool back to her vanity.

“What are you guys up to tomorrow?” I asked, crossing my legs on the couch.

“You mean today?” Lilah swiped her phone off the glass end table beside the couch. “It’s already two in the morning.”

Charlie threw on a soft blue baby tee and shimmied into a pair of matching shorts. “Want to get breakfast in, like, six hours?”

Lilah stood up, grabbed her purse, and slung it over her shoulder. “Meet at Twisted Fork at nine? I think I’m just going to crash in Adam’s room instead of going home. I’m too worn out for the drive.”

“Works for me,” I added, getting off the couch and crossing the room to give Charlie a hug. “See you there, too?”

“Of course. You know I can’t say no to a croque monsieur and bottomless coffee.” Charlie kissed me on the cheek and waved goodbye to Lilah and me.

Lilah blew her a kiss and headed out the dressing room door with me in tow.

“So, you guys are coming back next week, I take it?” Lilah ventured, a knowing look in her eye.

I nodded. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

Maybe we’d start coming more than once a week. The way I felt tonight…I wanted to feel like that all the time. Wracked with pleasure. On display. Looking like a goddess in my ropes. It was like no other experience I’d ever had.

“Good. See you in the morning, Liv. We have a lot to talk about.” She gave me a peck on the cheek as she strolled down the hallway to Adam’s room.

I turned toward the elevator bank and Nico stood there waiting for me—leaning against the wall, hair still mussed—with ropes in one hand and my cell phone in the other.

“Take a look at your email,” he said as I approached.

“Who would be emailing me at this time of night?” I said, swiping the phone from his outstretched palm.

He pushed the down button on the wall. “No one now. But someone pretty important might have emailed you around 10 o’clock this evening. ”

“Who?” I pressed.

He shrugged as if he was being perfectly normal and I was being the weird one in this situation. “Just look.”

Heart thumping, I opened my mail app and quickly scanned the subject lines of my unread emails. Who it could be, I had no idea. But Nico’s caginess had me nervous, regardless.

Homeowners Association, Insurance, AfterGlow Member Letter, Daisy and Mae, Discord, Vi—wait. What? Daisy and Mae? My finger flew over the message and tapped it open.

Dear Ms. Archer,

Thank you so much for your submission for our open call. We don’t normally review submissions so quickly, but when yours came across my inbox, I…

Holy shit. I scanned the rest of the message, barely taking in what it said until I got to the bottom.

We’d love to have you come in for an interview at your earliest convenience. Please contact our office staff and set up an appointment using the phone number at the end of this email. We’re happy to accommodate a time that works best for you.

Holy shit .

I closed my eyes, my fingers flying to my temple. “What, uh, how is this—I mean how did they, or why did?—”

“I sent your submission packet to the open call,” he interrupted.

My eyebrows tugged together. “When?”

The elevator ding pierced the quiet lobby and the swish of the doors sliding open echoed in my ears.

“Yesterday.”

Finally, I opened my eyes and looked at him. “How did you know I was going to flake?”

He gestured toward the open elevator cab and I entered, my body on autopilot.

“You have certain tells,” he said, punching the button for the ground floor. “But, this time, I could just feel it.”

“So, you applied for me?” I clarified.

“Did I cross the line?” His voice was soft as he stepped closer toward me.

I placed a hand on my chest. “No. I mean, they liked my packet. They want to interview me. I could potentially become an editor at Daisy and Mae. Of course you didn’t cross the line!”

Throwing myself into his arms, I squeezed him so tightly, the breath that whooshed from his lips was audible over the sound of the elevator doors closing.

“Glad you’re happy,” he whispered into my hair.

“I’m more than happy, Nico. With you, I feel like I can do anything.”

His warm hand gripped my chin as he tilted my face to look up at him. “That’s because you can.”

“Thank you. Thank you a million times. How can I ever say it enough?”

How did I end up with such a man? Someone who cared for me as fiercely as he did? Someone who championed me, even when I couldn’t champion myself? When I was too anxious and in my head to reach out and take hold of my dreams? My Italian dream man. Real. Here. In the flesh. All for me.

“Just come home with me.” He kissed my lips. “Be with me. That’s enough, cara . And maybe do a kickass interview.”

Tears filled my eyes as I chuckled. My chest expanded like a star was exploding inside my heart and radiating space dust into every cavity of my soul. My heart was weightless and full at the same time.

“I will, love. I promise.”