In the arms of evil

Date night

"Doll? I-I mean, Brook?" He sounds stunned I called. I chuckle at him fumbling over his words. Huh. Maybe he isn't such a bad boy. "That date? Really? Umm, yeah of course, I'd love to!" I chuckle at the excitement radiating through the phone. "Umm, I mean, ahem, yeah sure. I think I'd be free in a couple hours" and the rough and tough exterior is back. I laugh loudly this time and I swear I could hear him smile through the phone. "How's eight sound to you?"
"Eights perfect. I live at number 305. The streets called... umm, sorry I forgot. One sec" I go to check through my mail but then I hear him say "if it's house number 305 and you live by the old man and his dog, don't worry. I'll know where to find you" and with that, he hangs up and leaves me two hours to find something to wear. I'm already behind schedule.

I call Cara immediately and she does not hesitate to answer after three rings. "No way. You don't want to look slutty" Cara stays on FaceTime helping me decide what to wear. I take off the silver laced vest top and opt for something more elegant. A red dress, 20cm from the knee. A dipped v-line neck line with skinny straps laced in crystals. The back of the dress dips completely just 5cm from my butt. I pair it with two chains. One short and covered in diamonds. The other long with a ruby hanging off the end. Crimson lipstick, slightly darker than the dress, minimal make up. Mascara, gold eye shadow and a smudge of foundation. Along with a pair of black heels, about four inches high, I'm finally ready. "You look prefect, Brook. He's gonna become smitten in no time" as Cara stops talking, we hear a knock at the door. "Go get him girl" Cara whispers, blowing me a kiss before she ends the call.

"Wow" I open the door and he turns to face me, throwing away his cigarette. He eyes me up and down, biting his lips and rubbing his chin. "You look gorgeous" I chuckle at his loss for words as he continues to stare at me in awe. "You clean up pretty good yourself" I say back, taking in his appearance. He's wearing a white button shirt paired with a black blazer and black jeans. His shoes are formal and his hair is slicked back and combed. I notice a watch on his wrist. He finished the look with a silver chain. He does look breath-taking. "Come on. Follow me" he leads me to his car. It's a red 1967 Shelby GT50. "You drive a 1967 Shelby?" I blurt our in wonder. "Hey, what do you know. The doll knows something about cars" he says, opening the door for me. "My dad used to own an auto shop. I used to help out on some summers there." He gets in the drivers seat "lucky man. I always wanted my own shop" he starts the car. "Yeah. He was" I mutter beneath my breath, looking out the window, going back to a time where my family and I were happy. I remember us going to a diner after he would close the shop midday on Tuesdays to spend time with my mom and I. That was all before him though. I wrecked it.

He notices my somber face and asks me what's wrong, "did I say something wrong?" He sounds genuinely upset that he might have done something to make me feel so sad. "No it's not you, Colton. It's me. Sorry, I just remembered something from when I was younger. When my dad would take me and my mom out to a local diner to spend time with us. It wasn't anything you said. I just miss it."
"Oh. Well, I'm sure you can go back to wherever you came from and see them sometime, right. No need to be sad about it"
"That's the thing Colton, I can't." I think my face says it all. Because he doesn't ask why. He just falls silent and takes my hand in his, squeezing it tight, rubbing it with his thumb. "I'm sorry, Brook. Really, I am" he lifts my hand and gives it a kiss. My face forms a soft smile at his gentle touch. "It was a long time ago. I guess I miss my life before- well it doesn't matter" I whisper, cutting myself off before I ruin the night. He doesn't push it. He just drives onwards, never letting go of my hand.

Within twenty minutes or so, Colton pulls up at a restaurant. "How did you know sea food is my favourite?"
"I didn't" he says, "we live in Nantucket,doll. Every restaurants a seafood restaurant" he smirks, turning towards me, shutting the engine off. He steps out the car and rushes to my door when he sees me reach for the handle. He opens the door before I could, and I chuckle at his chivalry. It's very attractive.

It seems they know him here, because as soon as a waiter saw him, we were led to our table immediately, before the six row of couples in front of us. "Ah, Colton, your seats by the bay window as usual. Enjoy madam" said the little old man serving us. He seemed quite humble with a pride yet hidden modesty for his job. "He owns the place you know" Colton says, opening his menu. I smile at him as I open mine.

"How's your lobster bisque?" I swallow graciously before answering "the best I've had actually. So tell me, how comes he knows you? The owner" I nod my head over to Romeo setting another couple on a table. He looks stern, yet sweet. Like a grandfather who used to be a gangster, but has now found peace in his life.

"I used to work for him." My eyes open wide at the thought of Colton being a waiter. "What?" He chuckles. "Nothing" I chuckle back "I just don't see you as a waiter is all" he swallows hard before saying rather sternly " I wasn't. I didn't help here." A look of confusion brushes across my face "let's just say Romeo wasn't always a sea food restaurant owner". It sounds sketchy, but I brush it off. "Come on, there's somewhere else I wanna take you. You done?" I nod, scrambling one more mouthful in before he slaps a scroll of cash on the table, takes my hand and leads me back to the car.

There's tension in the car. We don't speak a word. He notices that I keep my gaze out of the window, watching trees and the sea go by in awkward silence. "Look, doll, the thing about my past is that it's not something I like talking about. It's in the past. Let's leave it there okay?" He says finally, breaking the silence. I let out a breath of air before nodding and smiling, kind of grateful he doesn't want to bring up the past. I'm hoping he won't ask for mine. "Here we are." I look in front of us at what looks like an abandoned building. "Is this the part where you kill me?" I joke, scared slightly. He laughs. "Uh, no toots. This is the part where I show you the secret life of this town for folks like me" He moves his gaze to me, and it's full of intrigue and mystery.

I follow him out of the car, take his hand in mine as he holds it out to me earnestly, and follow him to the building. He knocks twice before a bulky man opens the door in a black suit. "Colton, hey buddy. Just in time" with that, the door swings open for us as he eyes me up and down before Colton pulls me close to him from my waist, his arm wrapped around my hip. "Welcome to lucifers cage." From the looks of it, it's some sort of secret society bar. Red rgb lighting, dark walls, flashing white lights, women dancing in cages, topless men walking around serving drinks. The floor is sticky from alcohol and the air is thick with whiskey and sex. "Whatever you do, don't go upstairs" Colton whispers to me before we end up too deep into the club. I don't ask why, I just nod. He squeezes my hand to reassure me he's right next to me and that I'll be fine. I'll admit, that small gesture made me relax completely.

We ended up at a bar stuck together with leather and metal studs. "Whiskey on the rocks sammy." Colton turns to me and waits for me to ask my preference of drink. "Cosmo, please" I say hesitantly. Sammy, or so I hear, chuckles at my nervousness and begins to pour our drinks as he twirls a toothpick between his lips. Sammy suits the vibe of the club. His hair is jet black and faded. His eyes are a piercing green and his face is littered with scars. He's got a pretty boy face though. Sort of like he made some wrong choices when he was younger and if he didn't, he'd be working for a modeling agency instead.

There's all sorts of people here. Where they can be themselves and more and no one held any judgement for their preferences or appearances. There were three women kissing one man, two men that kept swapping between two women, men and men, women and women, and from all backgrounds. They danced and swayed almost euphorically, like tomorrow wasn't coming, yesterday didn't matter, and all they had was tonight. To be free and feel it.

"What do you think? A bit much?" Colton hollers for me to hear. I turn to him, eyes wide and mouth open in a wide smile. "A bit?!" He laughs at my surprise. "I love it" I say. And as I do, he stops laughing. His eyes meet mine and his gaze stays there. He looks at me like he's found what he's been looking for. Before I know it, he places his thumb on my chin and lifts my face towards his as his eyes flicker back and forth from my lips and eyes. Slowly, his lips crash on mine and finally, I feel as euphoric as everyone else. I kiss him back, passionately, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him in closer to me. He wraps one hand in a fist in my hair, and the other around my waist. It's by far the deepest kiss I've ever had in my life. The perfect beginning to something wonderful.