Thicker Than Water

Chapter Four

            The ride to the club was amazing. Missy and I had climbed into the limousine and sat next to each other. The two men had seated themselves across from us, and immediately Apollo had locked eyes with me. His intense gaze was heating me from the inside out, and it took all my restraint not to jump on top of him for another make out session right there.

Hermes helped himself to the mini bar, quickly downing a couple of glasses of whiskey. He looked fairly uncomfortable, and given the little I knew of his personality, I figured he wasn't a fan of crowds or partying.

"We look good, don't we?" Missy grinned, as if I were a masterpiece that she had hand-painted onto canvas.

I smiled back, nodding. "I've never been out... with other people. When I used to go out, it was because I was looking for-" I paused, deciding not to finish my sentence. "Well, I wasn't going out to spend time with friends."

She laughed. "You can go out and still do more than one thing... or guy." she whispered under her breath, her cherry red lips curling up into a smile. Clearly, she was on a mission tonight.

I glanced over at Apollo again, and he was still looking at me like he was a lion and I was a helpless gazelle.

You're making it pretty damn hard to be a gentleman.

I smiled. Yeah, that was the goal.

You know you deserve it, right?

Mmm, deserve what? My mind raced with all the different activities he could be referring to.

A gentleman. Someone who treats you like you are the absolute center of existence. Someone who looks at you like you are everything they need. Someone who will do anything for you. Someone who respects you, puts you first, and wants what you want.

I swallowed hard. This was not the conversation I was prepared for. Years and years in the system basically made me feel completely unwanted. My self-worth was tiny. I'd learned long ago that being wanted made me feel good, so I got it where I could- from guys that had absolutely no interest in who I was. The morning after, I always felt terrible again.

But there was a guy in front of me who seemed like he really wanted to get to know me, and it was way scarier than anything I could imagine. What if he didn't like what he saw? What if he was disgusted by my past? What if I let him into my heart and he hurt me? I shook myself out of it, hoping he didn't hear those last few thoughts.

No. Tonight was about fun. I wouldn't say no to Apollo if he wanted to do something nice for me, but I was not going to sit on some couch next to him while everyone else danced and had fun. I was going to enjoy myself, whatever that meant.

Uh, thanks, Apollo.

You're welcome, Bridget.

I glanced over at Hermes. He was staring at me with a peculiar look. The moment he realized I saw him, he turned away, pretending to be interested in the whiskey bottle he had poured from.

Missy turned on the radio to drown out the awkward silence for the next fifteen minutes as we drove. Thank GOD.

Finally, the limo pulled up in front of a very plain-looking black building. There were no signs or neon lights- nothing to indicate it was a club. There was no line of people, waiting in the dark for a hope to enter. There were no sounds of music or heavy bass coming from inside, either. The only thing that would make you feel like it wasn't an abandoned building was a security camera above the door and a man in a black suit standing directly underneath it, blocking the entrance.