Changing Seasons

Thirty-Eight

****

"I wish you didn't have to go in tonight." Atira hugged him from the back after he'd dried himself.

"I know, baby. Got to pay the bills though." Krist belted his khakis, pulled a white tee over his head, and turned around to embrace her. "You're gonna be sick of me come spring."

"I could never be."

He kissed her, running his fingers along the inside of her arm, feeling for her Nexplanon implant. "Are you gonna be taking this out for me when you move in?"

"You are crazy." Atira looked slightly offended but hid it with a smile. "That's a discussion we can have later, we still have plenty of years ahead of us."

"I love you so much, baby," Krist told her, kissing her.

"I love you, too."

He finished dressing, "You going over to my mom's?"

"I am."

"Tell my boy I love him," he told her, hugging her again.

"You got it."

****

Krist left for work at 7:15 that evening, the rain was coming down hard and he'd been concerned traffic would be shitty. That night he'd been feeling anxious and insecure. It happened from time to time, especially when he was in a relationship.

Being with Atira made his insecurities somehow worse. He knew she was out of his league. At his core, he was desperate that she would realize that and leave.

In the few weeks since they'd rekindled their relationship, he'd gone from wanting to take it cautiously slow to wanting her to live with him and even wanting her to become pregnant. From a logical standpoint, he knew these feelings were not rational and his need to possess her could push her away. His anxiety, on the other hand, wanted some kind of undeniable proof that she belonged to him and wouldn't accept her word actions as that proof. It was an internal struggle to convince himself that it was right to take things slow.

Krist arrived at work fifteen minutes early. Bryana was standing out front, having a smoke, wearing one of the other guy's hoodies over her dancewear. It was so large on her that it for like a baggy dress.

He said what's up to Dominik, Latrell, and Bryana.

"Hey, let me get one of those." He pointed to her cigarette. Krist didn't smoke cigarettes often but his anxiety was getting the best of him that evening.

Bryana handed him a smoke, lighting it off her own cigarette. "How's everything going with you?" She asked.

"Good, Atira came down today."

"Nice, we should get together with the kids."

He took a drag off the cigarette, exhaling. "That reminds me, Rocco's got his birthday party coming up next Sunday if you guys want to go. It's gonna be at the 4th Plain Megabite Pizza."

"Oh yeah, we will totally be there."

"You guys ready for Christmas."

Bryana put her dropped her cigarette butt, stomping it out with her stiletto. "Mostly. I have everything for Zoey, just trying to figure out what to get Erika. She's got pretty much everything she needs." She pulled out her phone. "Shit, I need to get back in."

"See you later." He nodded.

Krist finished his cigarette and dropped it into the ashtray before shooting a text to Atira letting him know he had made it to work and was about to start his shift.

Once he clocked in, he did a sweep of the club, giving a nod to Drake, the bouncer who worked in the private room, and greeting a few of the girls out on the floor. He went behind the bar for a glass of water before sitting down on his stool for the night.

It had been a pretty average night overall, the stream of obnoxious twenty-somethings and lonely middle-aged men made their way to the club.

Adriana, the new girl in the club, stopped by to say hello. She was barely twenty-one, cute, and far too nice to be working in a strip club. Bryana had taken her under her wing and had expressed concerns to Krist that the new girl "had trouble using her voice". Adriana was quiet and came across as naive. Bryana was worried that she would end up in situations that were out of her control with men who would recognize her weakness and take advantage of her.

Krist had taken a liking to her due to the fact she reminded him a lot of Nina when they were young. He wasn't attracted to her but did have a want to protect her.

"Having a good night so far?" he asked her.

She leaned against his table, "It's ok, it's been kind of slow and I'm not making nothing on the stage."

Krist took a sip of water, "It's still early, you'll make some money."

"Man, I hope so with Christmas coming up. I still gotta get my kids their presents."

"I feel ya."

She stood and chatted a few more minutes Jeordie called her up to the stage.

"Don't stress is, you'll do fine." He assured her as she walked up to the stage.

Adriana wasn't the best dancer, in the sense she was clearly uncomfortable with what she was doing. Krist had no doubt that once she learned to relax, she would look good up there. A few guys had taken interest in her, tossing ones on the stage. At least she was making money.

Krist checked his phone, it was just after nine. Atira had sent him a photo of her and Rocco smiling together on the couch. He smiled to himself, texting her that he was happy to see that Rocco was warming up to her.

Around ten, a commotion had begun in the VIP section, one of the patrons had gotten way too touchy with a dancer and was refusing to leave. Dominik had been called over his walkie-talkie to assist, leaving Krist and Latrell up front.

Apparently, the dude who was putting up a fight had been part of an entourage who had joined in. Between Drake, Dominik, and the other bouncers, they'd been able to finagle the men outside.

They all stood, panting and out of breath. "What the fuck happened?"

"Fuckin'...dude...tried to put his finger in Adriana during...a lap dance," Drake told him, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"What the fuck, dude." Krist could feel himself becoming angry.

"I'm gonna go check on her, she was pretty upset," Drake told him, disappearing into the club with Latrell.

Barely a minute had passed when two of the men from the group had appeared, swinging on Dominik. Dominik, being hella built was handling them well but Krist wasn't about to leave him hanging and jumped in. He had gotten one of them hemmed up on the ground, battering his face.

A third had jumped into, hitting Krist with two sharp blows to his left side and a final one to the back of his head. It was the third blow that had alerted him that he hadn't been punched. Bryana's screams had confirmed it. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he continued to fight.

Someone had grabbed him, pulling him to his feet. Latrell.

"Fuck!" He swore as the group scattered, fleeing in multiple cars.

Bryana had forced Krist to remove his shirts, holding them on his side. "You're bleeding so bad." She informed him frantically.

Everything happened so fast after that. The next thing he knew, he was in the back of an ambulance, his vision blurry and ears ringing. Bryana was crouched next to him, clasping his hand in hers, her torso and face covered in blood.

"His blood pressure is really low," he heard one of the EMTs tell the medical staff as they rushed his gurney inside.