She's Daddy

Four: Disappointments

Dom’s POV

I watch Shawne walk away with that Angie chick wrapped around her, a considering look on my face. I’m not mad at the interruption, the night is still young and I’m pretty sure Angie isn’t her girlfriend so her presence doesn’t irk me.

She was a prickly one Shawne; hard and thorny on the outside but I knew better than to believe there wasn’t more to her inside. Walls that formidable hid either scars or demons and I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to see them. After all, as she’d astutely observed, I had my own.
Chelsea and her gang are still hovering expectantly behind me and once Shawne disappears into one of the Club’s private booths, I turn to them and put on my most charming smile. No one ever tells you that the best of actors don’t work in front of a camera. They’re ordinary people who walk around with a mask on their face, one so real no one ever suspects what’s really underneath. They smile and laugh, follow all the right social cues, but behind their eyes is something hidden, a darkness normal people can hardly see let alone recognize. Shawne had eyes like that. So did I. Chelsea’s are bright and dilated with alcohol and a variety of other chemicals. They’re too ruined by drugs to show her insides but I don’t need them. I can tell exactly what’s she’s thinking from her coy smile. She’s one of the first people Chantel introduced me to since I got here and I’d been doing my best to politely ignore her suggestive hints ever since. I faintly wonder where her equally assholish girlfriend was as I laugh at something entirely nonsensical she says and let my eyes rove round the room.

Shawne was still MIA, but I was happy to see that the crowd had increased. I made a mental note to ask Paul, my head bouncer, to stop entry for a while. I expect the early evening crowd would be out in an hour or two and we could free up the space for the late nighters. One of the girl’s made a note about how fit I looked, grabbing my bicep as if to press home her point. All at once, several pairs of hands ran over my arms and back (one even grabbed my ass) with murmurs of appreciation. I tried not to stiffen at the sudden intrusion of personal space and blatant groping, casually taking a large step back. “Ladies.” Despite my discomfort, the smile on my face never wavers “I hate to leave but it’s time for me to check on things downstairs. I’m on the clock you know.”
I ignored the myraid of pouts and bit lips, addressing Chelsea as she’s the head thot here. “In the meantime have a round of drinks. My treat. Okay?” There’s a couple of squeals and Chelsea rolls her eyes before giving me a smile that could only intend to seduce. “How long are you disappearing for this time lover?” I grab her wandering hand in time to stop it from touching my midriff and ran a thumb over her knuckles to soften my abrasiveness. “I’ll find you.” Without another word, I turned and tried not to run for the door.

I could breathe easier when I was outside. Yet another unwanted female attention avoided with minimal blood loss. I was really getting good at this. My ex Kojo would have been proud. Annoyance followed my relief and for what feels like the thousandth time I wonder at how very easily girl’s cross physical boundaries. It’s like they forget consent isn’t just about feminine people. I’d limited this section to women only because I wanted to relax and have a good time yet I still couldn’t get away from random gropes. Maybe it’s because I’m dressed very masculine, so in their fucked up heads I wouldn’t mind being felt up by hot women. The truth is, that little episode back there was just as uncomfortable as it would have been with men. Well, almost. I clap Gary on one meaty shoulder as I flit down the stairs to the main floor. If I thought it was packed upstairs, downstairs was neigh bursting. The loud base reached my ears just before I neared the foot of the stairs. It was darker here than up, a mix of men and women in different shapes, colors and sizes illuminated under flashing strobe lights pumped and grinded to the beat of a Tory Lanez song I didn’t quite recognize. I even spotted a few local B-list celebrities I among the crowd. Cutting through the dance floor to get to the entry doors wasn’t easy at all.     
After relaying my instructions, I headed to where Kira, my head bartender and assistant manager was to check that everything was going smoothly. Then I chose a dark corner of the club and decided to watch things for a bit.
Some part of me wants to call Kojo. Tell her I finally did it and hear the pride in her voice wash over me like a warm blanket but I firmly remind myself that I’m done with that. We were bad for each other my ex and I, like moths and flames─ Undoubtedly drawn together but no less likely to kill each other. Even that one phone call could pull me back into a life I was long tired of and I was doing my best to avoid it. It wasn’t really Kojo I missed anyways, although I did still miss her crazy ass even after six months apart. It was the love and security I felt in a relationship, the utter comfort and stability of it all that I wanted. At least that’s what the therapist I’d seen in Chicago had told me. Unfortunately, although there were numerous pickings here, a club wasn’t likely to be the place I find ‘the one’. A certain one upstairs did have my attention however. Unsurprisingly, my mind settles back on the feisty little butch as it has since our very first encounter. Would she be as stubborn as I could already sense? A small smile flitted around my lips; yes. I didn’t for one moment doubt Shawne could be stubborn but that didn’t necessarily mean she was unattainable. Some people just require a bit more patience and determination than others. She seems like someone you have to ease into, very slowly. Of course thinking about easing into her brings all sort of unnecessary horniness and I bit back a sigh. It had been only twenty minutes since I left her and already the urge to go back and exchange some more quips is strong as hell. Where the fuck was Sin when you needed a distraction? I reached for my phone in my pocket to see if she’d texted me yet. She had in fact ten minutes ago that she was here so all I have to do is find her. Remembering Chelsea’s also upstairs made my decision to stay a bit longer here less unappealing.