Bite Me

Chapter Four: On The Hunt

Over the next four days Jade came and took her usual booth. And each night she got a dance from Tori. The same routine happened each time. Jade gave her five hundred dollars and the two had a conversation. Tori would ask the occasional question about what Jade was up to and how her latest script was going. Jade found it therapeutic in a way and found more often than not that she went home and was able to work through any roadblock. Tori had told her how things were going but still kept her composed, stoic face on each time. The worst part for Jade was that at the end of each visit, Tori would ask her the same question "Why did you want a dance from me?" And each night Jade would go home grinding her teeth as the stupid question echoed in her head. After a week of the routine Jade was no closer to having an answer. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't think of the answer Tori wanted.

And so as Friday rolled around Jade headed back to the club, paid her cover fee, walked in and saw her table was taken. She thought about going over and starting something but decided she better not. After all, while she could take the three guys sitting at the table with ease, she quite enjoyed the location and didn't really want to get herself banned for kicking the shit out of some assholes. She groaned and turned towards the bar. She pulled out one of the chairs and sat down leaning on her elbows over the bar.

She probably would've been chilly if she had been wearing anything else but Tori said she was tired of seeing Jade in the same jacket each night. Jade opted for a pair of ripped jeans and an old Rolling Stones shirt instead tonight. She looked like she could've just come from performing at any club in town, not someone interested in a strip club. Jade looked up and found herself face to face with Cleo.

Cleo had been on bar duty since Jade had spent the night with her. "Hey there stranger. Been missing you while I've been on bar duty." She flashed Jade a smile.

Jade sighed, she really didn't want to have to deal with this. 'This is why you don't mix buisiness and pleasure.' Jade thought. "Hey yourself."

"She's not in tonight. Just figured I'd give you a heads up." Cleo said pouring a beer and handing it to a server.

"Huh?" Jade asked confused.

"Your little crush." Jade looked shocked. 'Crush. No way.' "She'll be back tomorrow but she's busy tonight. It's cute you pining after her like this."

"I'm not pining after anyone. I slept with you after all." Jade said bitingly.

Cleo put up her hands defensively. "Hey relax. I'm not accusing you or anything. And please your heart wasn't in it with me. You don't need to pretend. I didn't think we'd date or anything. I just thought you were hot and why not. You didn't need to sneak out though. How did you sneak out by the way? The door was locked when you were gone."

"Window."

"It's three floors." Cleo said surprised. "How didn't you brake anything?" Jade just shrugged tapping her fingers on the bar. Cleo sighed leaning back against the back side of the bar. "Look nobody has a problem with whatever you and her are doing. Just don't hurt her. She deserves better than what you and I did." She let that hang in the air a minute. "Want a drink?"

Jade shooke her head standing up. "Nah. I'm just gonna get out of here. I'll be back tomorrow. And I want my table back."

"Of course you will be." Cleo said slightly disheartened. Jade could tell she watched as she left.

Jade walked out onto the street and sighed. 'A whole night wasted for nothing.' She looked around and saw a sleezy looking guy in a suit eyeing her. 'Well maybe not entirely wasted.' She licked her lips. Couldn't hurt to get in a little snack.

"You weren't here yesterday." Jade said as Tori climbed on top of her lap and started dancing. The dancing at this point was more of a formality. Jade was pretty sure Tori kept it up as a method of making sure Jade knew she was nothing more than a customer and nothing else.

"Very observant of you. I was busy." Tori said as she tossed her hair back.

"Where were you?"

"Busy."

The two girls locked eyes in a battle of wits. Tori had been very secretive about her life in the past year outside of dancing. Jade knew she was actively avoiding answering the questions and it bothered her. Jade shoudln't have been bothered, after all she hadn't been very forthcoming either with details about her life. Mostly because how could she just casually say, "Hey I'm a vampire" without freaking her out.

Jade decided to drop the topic. "You know you don't need to keep dancing."

"You paid for a dance so that's what you're getting." Tori reached up undoing her top.

Jade gripped Tori's hips holding her still. Tori stopped with the bra halfway off her shoulders. "Yeah I know rule two. But you don't need to keep dancing. And you don't need to strip for me."

Tori tossed her bra aside and grabbed Jade's legs pushing them apart and straddling Jade's leg. She pressed her knee up against Jade's crotch and Jade instinctively let out a surprised grunt. Tori leaned down ghosting her lips over Jade's. "Why do you keep coming back Jade."

Jade felt herself shiver, not from the cold, but from excitement. This was new and different. "To see you." She whispered out.

"Then why did you want a dance from me?" Tori said softly. Jade could feel Tori's breath against her lips and the urge to capture her lips in a kiss was so tempting.

"I don't know." Jade said breathily trailing her hands down Tori's legs until they fell flat against the bed in defeat.

Tori climbed off of Jade and put on her bra. "Go away Jade." She started for the door leaving Jade behind.

"That's it? First you go off about dancing and then won't do that. Then you practically fuck me on the bed and then get off like nothing happened?" Jade said standing up and straightening herself out.

"Nothing did happen Jade." Tori said turning around anger across her face. Jade was surprised to finally see some emotion on her face.

"No. Instead all you did was ask me that stupid question. Why did you want a dance from me? Every single fucking night Vega. What do you want. Huh?" Jade said advancing on Tori.

"I don't want anything from you Jade. At least nothing you could give." Tori turned away and put her hand on the doorknob.

"What is it then? What's the answer you want Vega? What's the answer that will make you happy?" Jade shouted actually frustrated. She wasn't sure if it was with Tori, herself, or the situation but she was practically pulling out her hair over that question.

"Make me happy? The question won't make me happy Jade. It will make you happy. It was never about me. Why do YOU want a dance from me? Why do YOU keep coming back? Why won't you answer for yourself just once and decide what YOU want." Tori turned around walking over to Jade and getting in her face. "It's the same thing that happened all those years ago. What. Do. YOU. Want. Jade." She spat out anger and spite in each word. "Tell me Jade. Or can you even do that? Have you been lying to yourself for so long that even you don't know."

Jade was frozen. Every inch of her body stuck on the edge of a cliff. She couldn't focus or react. Her thoughts raced at a mile a minute trying to grasp on to Tori's words. She hadn't said anything wrong but wasn't it Tori who wanted the answer. Jade knew what she wanted, didn't she? She knew who she was, didn't she? She wanted the same thing as always right? But what was it? She didn't want to torcher Tori, she just, she didn't know. She didn't have an answer to any of it. To any question. To Tori. Who was Tori to her. What was Tori to her? Jade wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted something, but nothing came. "I- I don't know."

Tori sighed and reached up cupping Jade's cheek. "Come find me when you do know Jade. Until then, you're banned. You can leave on your own or I'll have you escorted out. Either way, I don't want to see you. I can't keep doing this, not with you, not anymore. Figure out who you are Jade." Tori let go and walked away leaving Jade alone in the room.

Jade walked out of the room, out of the club, and onto the street in a daze. Her cheek felt electric where Tori had touched it. She didn't know why her entire body felt in pain, but she knew Tori was right. And Jade finally realized one thing, Jade was the broken one, not Tori.