Page 16 of Wear Me Out (The AfterGlow #3)

Lilah

I sighed as I plopped down in one of the cushy loveseats in the back dressing room after helping Braden close up the bar. “I am completely and utterly spent.”

“You look like you’ve been through the wringer,” Charlie said, a knowing smile on her lips.

She was sitting at her dedicated vanity applying her face cream. Tonight, she performed an extra-long set in the voyeur room. With the crowd Bridgette drew with her workshop, the owners wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to see their best sex artist —as Charlie liked to refer to herself.

I stuck out my tongue when our gazes connected in her mirror and laughed. “I could say the same for you. Good crowd?”

She nodded profusely. “Great crowd. I didn’t see you in the viewing area. Though I did see Brad. That was a whole thing.”

My spine straightened. “What the hell?”

She put her hand out to slow my roll. “Rider sorted it out. Don’t worry. We can debrief tomorrow. Tell me more about your night,” she prodded, adding more lotion to her hands and spreading it across the length of her arms.

I narrowed my eyes. If she didn’t want to talk about it tonight, I wouldn’t force her. “If you say so… Adam kept me plenty busy. I can’t remember the last time he shared me around that much,” I hummed. “Not only did I earn the right to call him daddy , but he kind of proposed to me, too.”

Charlie gasped and clapped her hands lightly, careful not to splatter lotion everywhere. “Holy shit! That’s amazing! But I thought you hated marriage and tradition and all that jazz?”

I kicked my feet and wiggled my eyebrows at her. “It’s a bit of a story. I’ll explain when the sun comes up, but just know I’m fucking ecstatic about it.”

A knock sounded from the dressing room door, followed by Olivia’s voice saying, “Can I come in?”

I shook my head. “She’s never going to just barge in here, is she?”

Charlie giggled while applying her face cream. “Nope. Not her style.”

“Get in here!” I yelled.

A second later, the door cracked open and Olivia rushed into the room, quickly closing the door behind her.

I patted the open spot next to me. “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,” she whispered as she crossed the room to take a seat beside me.

I put my hand on her 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.” A wicked grin appeared on her normally bashful face .

“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.”

Olivia flopped her head back onto the armrest, letting her limbs sprawl 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?”

The bright red flush that spread across her cheeks was so Olivia. Always embarrassed whenever she tried something new. Even with us. It was pretty fucking cute.

“Yes! I didn’t think I would like it, but I did .” She emphasised the last word and dragged her hands down her face. “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!” Olivia squealed, sitting up and slapping at Charlie’s hands.

They both broke out in a fit of laughter, and I 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,” I added.

She twirled her short, dirty blonde locks around her 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?” Olivia asked.

“You mean today?” I swiped my 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?”

I stood up, grabbed my purse, and slung it over my 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,” Olivia agreed, standing from her place on 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 Olivia on the cheek and waved goodbye to both of us.

I blew her a kiss and headed out the dressing room door with Olivia in tow.

“So, you guys are coming back in next week, I take it?” I ventured. With the fresh flush in her face, I assumed it was a safe bet to say they’d probably be coming in more than once a week soon.

She nodded. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Good. See you in the morning, Liv. We have a lot to talk about.” I gave her a peck on the cheek as she turned toward the elevator bank, and I went down the hallway to Adam’s room.

Technically, it was our room. It had been since the moment I first stepped foot inside it with him.

I couldn’t help but still think of it as his, though.

He took care of me, my daddy dom. He paid for the room, he stocked it with everything we could possibly want, he let me decorate it any way I saw fit.

I had my own keycard and slept there at least twice a week when I was too bushed from working behind the bar to drive forty minutes across the city to my apartment. I was fucking lucky.

I held up the keycard to the pad on the door and it beeped before the lock unlatched.

Falling into a giant, cozy bed was exactly what I needed right now.

What made it even better? The fact that Adam was laying in the middle of it with the blankets folded down on my side, waiting for me to climb in next to him.

Quietly, I clicked the door shut behind me, kicked off my shoes, and tiptoed to the bed. I slid in beside him and he stirred, pulling the covers up over my body before wrapping his arm around my waist and holding me tight.

“Goodnight, pet,” he mumbled into my hair.

I smiled into the pillow. “Goodnight, daddy.”