2021, February 15th
(Capital City, Caspira)
AIDEN
After last night's debacle, I wanted to give Elena and I a chance to unwind a little so I took her to our home turf, Club Fortunae. Only apparently it was the wrong thing to do. Why did coming here suddenly seem like the worst possible idea?
"This is weird, isn't it?" I asked.
"No. We practically met here. Why would it be weird?" she answered, sipping hard on her cocktail.
It was totally weird.
I jumped out of my seat at the bar and held a hand out to her.
"Come on. This is a date, not a funeral."
What was I missing here? I had never seen Elena so stiff in a club before. I thought we were over the no touching thing. This was ridiculous. She was right there, her body swaying to the music just like it used to, but she wasn't all over me.
I didn't have her in my arms like I always did when it was just us. Elena felt more like my friend as my girlfriend than she ever had as my actual friend.
Just as I was about to lead her off the dance floor to ask her what the problem was, a busty blonde slipped in between us and asked me to dance. This exact scenario had played out between us a million times before. I could see every single time being played back in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Rina, was it Rina?" I said, turning on the charm to hide my nervousness.
"Sadie, Your Highness," the woman corrected, not in the least bit deterred as she dragged a finger down my chest.
Elena was glaring daggers at me, watching with folded arms to see how I handled things. Maybe it was the way she always got rid of them if it pleased her, but I was more worried about myself than Elena.
How much did she fuck with my head that this used to be my type? I couldn't even get their names right and certainly didn't remember it after sleeping with them. All I ever saw was her, even as I spent my nights with random strangers.
"I don't know what you've heard about me—" I tried, failing to remember her name once more.
"Sadie," Elena volunteered.
"Right. Whoever you are. I don't know what you've heard about me, but I'm with her now."
My eyes went to Elena and her face softened just the slightest bit. I didn't need a bandaid for the night. I wasn't in pain, because she was right there, mad as hell, but still, she wanted me. Not for a night, not for a moment or a stolen kiss. She was 100% with me.
"That's not about to change anytime soon. I'm just not that guy anymore," I continued confidently, keeping my eyes locked with Elena's.
Evidently, that was the right thing to say, because Elena beamed from ear to ear. Her arms came down. Shoulders relaxed. The ice was broken, so to speak.
"I certainly am though. Hello Sadie," said Nathan, appearing out of nowhere to claim the woman's hand.
He leaned in to kiss her cheek. And just like that, the moment Elena and I were sharing was over.
"Give me strength! Why are you here?" I hissed.
"Same reason as you. To have fun. You do remember what that is right? Fun?"
"Piss off, Nathan. I don't need a babysitter. You go back to the boss lady and tell her—"
"At the end of the day, she's just another woman, you know," Nathan said, pulling Sadie into his arms. "They all want the same thing. Your complete, undivided, special attention. They don't like to share," he said, leaning in to kiss Sadie's lips. "Isn't that right, My Lady?" he asked, shooting Elena a flirty look.
"Take your trollop and leave us be," Elena said curtly, her guard going back up.
The questions I told myself I wouldn't ask about Elena and Nathan started popping up in my head. Jealousy reared its ugly head.
"Those rose colored glasses really are blinding, aren't they, Denny? How is he supposed to know you want to be treated like the dirty girl that you are if you don't tell him, El? The sinner or the saint. You can't be both," said Nathan, winking at her before he steered Sadie away. "We'll just be over there. You two discuss."
"Interesting taste in men you have," I spat out. "Just how dirty of a girl were you for him, El?"
"You're one to talk," she said, throwing Nathan one last frustrated glance before taking my hand.
I could practically hear the clicking of Elena's heels in the flooded, bustling club as she stomped her way to the darkest corner she could find. I sighed when she finally stopped.
"Do we need to talk about what just happened?"
Elena took my hands and looked me straight in the eye. Then she put one of my hands on her ass and the other on her breast. I swallowed. We'd done a lot of grey area things together over the years, including dancing way too closely for friends, but this was definitely new.
"Dance with me," she said, leaning into my touch.
"Is this about what Nathan said?"
My hands moved along the curves of her body. She closed her eyes, her lips parting. A little sigh of pleasure left them. I watched her closely, utterly fascinated as my hands came to rest on her hips.
"Because you don't have to—"
"Do you know what really drove me insane about the other women?" she asked, her voice hoarse and unsteady. The question threw me for a loop, momentarily stunning me into silence. She took the hands on her waist and guided them back down her body and onto her ass. "You played with them right in front of me."
Words I never thought I would hear the proud woman before me say. Maybe the water under our bridge really was too much after all.