Page 55 of X's and O's

Aloha chuckled and slapped me on the back. “Everyone needs this sort of party, brother. Especially a man who hasn’t had his cock sucked in six years.”

They all laughed. I didn’t get it, but I didn’t care. Any job was better than nothing. It was all one step in front of the other until they led me back to Violet.

15

VIOLET

“What do you wear to a sex club?”

Toby and Devin looked over at me from the small, round kitchen table where they were eating two-minute noodles.

I stared at them, waiting for a response.

Toby choked on his ramen. “Oh shit. You’re serious?”

“Of course I am.”

Devin’s mouth dropped open. “You’re going to a sex club?”

“They have a job open, and I potentially would like to be the recipient of such a position.”

Toby reached over and clutched my arm. “Honey, when they talk about positions at sex clubs, I don’t think they’re talking about the same thing you are.”

I made a face at him. “Ha, ha. You’re hilarious. I’m not that innocent.”

He just chuckled into his bowl.

Devin pointed a chopstick at me. “Well, I think it’s awesome. And you will look amazing in anything youwear.” He studied me, his gaze running up and down. “But, honey, not that.”

I was literally wearing the overalls I’d once painted my bedroom in, so it was a fair statement.

An hour later, my entire wardrobe was spread out on my bed, and Devin and Toby were having the time of their lives dressing me up in different outfits, accessorized with things from Toby’s collection.

I ended up walking up to the entrance of Psychos in a pair of black leather pants and a flowing top that flattered my curves rather than clung to them like so many of the ill-fitting clothes I owned. A pair of chunky, low-heeled ankle boots, the only kind I could wear because thick-calved girls had a hell of a time finding anything longer, covered my feet, and a pretty pair of earrings dangled from my lobes. Toby had swept my hair up into a high ponytail, and Devin had expertly teased out a couple of soft, loose strands to frame my face.

By the time I got there, there was already a line, and I really had no idea whether I was supposed to join it or go straight to the front. Bliss had only told me to come down and make sure I was comfortable working here, but she hadn’t said I would actually be working tonight.

I suddenly wished I’d asked to bring a friend.

I joined the back of the line, clutching the card Bliss had given me. While the wordPsychoswas scrawled across the center of the card in cursive script, there was no terrifying clown logo that adorned the outside of the club. This card had a completely different feel to the dive bar Psychos was during the day. The card had a little black lace mask as its logo, and it shimmered in black-and-gold glitter.

The line crept forward, and I hid behind the other people, watching with big eyes as cars rolled into the parking lot and people got out. I was used to the old, half-rusty or cheap vehicles that most people in Saint View drove. I had not been expecting a complete mixture of vehicles. Everything from family sedans to a Maserati.

The people who got out of them were just as varied. Some men wore suits, some wore jeans. Some women came in sparkling dresses, some came in overcoats.

My outfit wasn’t out of place because there didn’t seem to be a dress code at all.

A roar of engines had the entire line twisting to watch a group of bikers ride into the parking lot. Their leather jackets all had the Saint View Slayers emblem stitched into the back.

I narrowed my eyes, anger filling me at the sight of them.

I knew all about the Slayers. About how their old president, Army, was the whole reason Levi had lost six years of his life to a prison.

Even if Levi had rejected me, I was still furious with them on his behalf. That sort of feeling didn’t go away just because he’d changed his mind.

My feelings were still there. I doubted they’d be going away anytime soon.

The first couple of bikes parked, the guys getting off and hanging their helmets over the handlebars. They walked right to the front of the line, like they owned the place, and straight inside.