Split Love

CHAPTER 43

The two huge men at the front were intimidating, and Jasmine tried not to shudder as one of them looked her over from head to toe and nodded, allowing her to walk in.

She walked down the hall, fighting the urge to look back. Her eyes roamed over every detail, she didn't want to miss anything. The hallway was wide, but not long, and ended in a staircase. The floor was a burgundy tone and a red LED surrounded the entire baseboard, giving a feeling of fire - like the name Volcano. The further she entered the place, the louder the music became.

The first time Jasmine went to a nightclub was years ago in Hartford, on one of her visits to her ex-boyfriend, Jordan. He had started medical school months before and she convinced him to go. That was also Jordan's first time in that place, but not the only one, as it was for Jamie. She hated the loud music, the drunk and crowded people, the line to get in. Everything.

So, as she walked down the stairs, the only thing she had in mind was that it was going to be a hateful night in a noisy place.

The stairs were long and wide. She went down, holding on to the golden handrail that looked like fire reflecting the red of the LED. The club was hidden underground, invisible to those who didn't know it, and incredible.

Jasmine had to concentrate not gape as she took in the size and design of the place. That wasn't just any nightclub like she imagined.

On the long wall in front of the stairs, there was a bar, with a low ceiling and chandeliers with yellow light creating an intimate climate. A few people were asking for drinks, but it wasn't as busy as Jamie remembered it being at the other club she had been to. But that wasn't the place's proposal, she realized. The dance floor in the middle was not that big and a large part of the place was taken up by curved brown leather sofas, facing each other, forming small, intimate lounges with dim lighting.

She walked up to the bar and ordered a cocktail, which she planned to be her only drink of the night. Jamie wasn't used to drinking alcohol, but she needed to loosen up a little to blend in. With the glass in hand, she leaned her back against a free space on the counter. Men and women, dancing side by side to the music, filled the dance floor. She watched their fun, but her restless mind was not in the mood for it.

Her gaze swept over the people until they reached one of the couches on the other side of the dance floor. There were four wide steps to enter that area, making them higher, and the black marble floor and the ceiling also lowered like that of the bar, insinuating that it was a restricted area. Waitresses with short black skirts and white button-down shirts walked around, serving drinks to the men, who sat like princes. They weren't just anyone. From their appearance, posture, and dress, it was clear that everyone there had a generous amount of money in their bank account.

Some glamorous, model-looking women paraded in their arms. Some were sitting on their laps while others had their arm around their shoulders. Did they show them off like trophies or were they just lapdogs? Their dresses were apparently expensive, along with the jewelry on their necks or ears. That place was a playground and they were living the good life that money gave them. Blood money perhaps?

All thoughts of Micah raced through her head. So, was that his life? Surrounded by women? Nothing but anxiety grew in her as she carefully observed those people. Suddenly she wasn't afraid of her eyes crashing with his. Maybe she wanted him to know she was there. What would be his excuse?

Jamie sipped her drink through the straw. She looked up and found a man, sitting on one of those couches, looking at her. With dark hair and beard, he wore a white shirt under his blue jacket. She swallowed and turned towards the bar, ignoring him.

- Looking for someone? - The bartender who was preparing a drink in front of her, asked.

- What?

- You stood there for a long time.

- He isn't here. - She confessed.

- Oh, so it's someone specific? - He raised an eyebrow. - Tell me who it is and maybe I'll have some information.

She examined him carefully. He was busy stirring one drink into another, letting the liquid degrade from yellow to orange and then red. Several times he looked at her but kept his head down. He couldn't be seen talking to a customer or was he just focused? Her tongue itched to reveal that she was Mikhail Romanov's girlfriend and that she was there to see if he paraded around with other women while she was at home hours away from that place. But for what? Would this be worth the price? Maybe the price was too high, and Jamie wasn't willing to risk it.

She took a deep breath and rested her arms on the counter, leaning her body closer to him.

- I'm not a golddigger, not a trophy or a puppy.

The man leaned in too, closing the distance between them.

- Then you're in the wrong place.

He turned and walked away with the drink in hand. She watched him hand it to a woman not far away. She gave him a wink and left with the straw in her mouth. Jamie clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, ignoring them, and decided to go to the bathroom.

Weaving through drunk people was a little difficult, and she sighed with relief when she pushed the bathroom door open and saw that there was only one other woman inside. They exchanged a small grin and she entered one of the cubicles. She was almost done with her business when she heard the door open and two heated voices.

- I don't know what else I can do to have him all to myself. - One of the women spoke.

- Try something new, different. - The other instructed.

- What, Margot? I was once good, once bad, I tried to defy him.

- What about sex?

- Didn't you understand? I don't just want just sex with him. I want his attention, I want him to love me.

The friend, Margot, laughed.

- Are you crazy? How can someone who has no heart love another person? With him, it's just sex.

- Yeah, crazy and intense. But in the last few months, I've been the one to go to him.

- And he...?

The one who wanted that man's love snorted.

- I -

The bathroom door opened and the conversation stopped. Had they left the bathroom? Jamie flushed the toilet and left the cubicle. A woman almost bumped into her to get into the next cubicle and then she saw the two women, in front of the mirror. One had light brown hair, and green eyes and was wearing a red dress. This one seemed a little nicer than the other with tanned skin and long, wavy black hair. She was wearing a fur coat over a tiny black skirt and top. Was that a top or a bra? Her black eyes gave Jamie a nasty look before she pulled the one in red out of the bathroom.

- Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. - She whispered to herself in the mirror, quoting the famous line that perfectly fits her current situation.