“And what’s that?” I ask him, and his response makes my heart skip a beat. He grins and offers me his hand.
“I know a place where we can forget about all this fucking bullshit,” he tells me.
“Where?” I ask, but I already know the answer before he even opens up his mouth. There’s only one place we can go to right now.
“We’re going to Python.”
Natalie
“What the hell happened to Python?” I ask Sloane, looking at the cavernous main room we just stepped into. There are hundreds of people lounging there, drinks in their hands, and there’s a cheery atmosphere to the place. On the stage, three guys are dancing around a woman sitting on a chair, a crown propped up on her forehead; there’s a bachelorette party going on.
But that’s normal. Python has always been a crazy place where anything can happen. I’ve never been a regular, I just visited once or twice, but the first thing you noticed when you walked in was that Python was a place where you had to leave all taboo and prejudice at the door. That remains the same, but the place is completely different.
To start with, it’s not even in the same building. And while the old Python was just one floor, this one seems to have taken over a whole building, like some office tower, except instead of having floors packed with pencil pushers, they’re packed with horny women.
“The owner, Austin, got married,” Drake tells me offhandedly, his eyes wandering over the place as he tries to look for an empty booth—not an easy task.
“So?”
“He married Destiny, the one with the club on Broadway. They decided to expand, I guess, and they kicked it up a notch.”
“Yeah, that’s for sure,” I whisper, looking around the place completely in awe. Jesus, this place is like heaven on Earth. The old Python was completely amazing, but the new one just blows it out of the water.
“Sloane!” I hear a voice cry out, and I turn on my heels to see a man in a tailored Armani walk toward us. He’s a few inches taller than Sloane, and he looks as ripped as my stepbrother. And these eyes… Jesus, just looking at him makes my insides clench up.
“Austin!” My brother greets him and shakes his hand, clapping his arm. Austin? The owner? “It’s been a long time, man.”
“Yeah, too long. And this is…?” Austin asks, turning to me.
“She’s my… uh, she’s my sister. Well, stepsister. We’re not blood related, you know?” Sloane stammers, but Austin just smiles at that.
“I see. Nice to meet you,” he shakes my hand, and then winks. “Remember, you’re at home in Python. Real life problems stay at the door. Here, let me hook you up with a decent place.”
He leads us to a secluded place in the room, a luxury booth in the VIP area. Austin explains to us that Python doesn’t really have a VIP area, everyone is a VIP in here, but he reserves these b
ooths for personal friends.
“Have fun,” he says with a wink, and then disappears back into the crowd. But not before whispering something into Sloane’s ear.
“You didn’t tell me that you knew him,” I whisper at him as a waiter comes to grab our order. Sloane simply shrugs.
“I met him through Drake. They’re good friends, and Austin’s a cool guy.”
“What was he telling you just now?” I ask him, curiosity getting the best of me.
“Well… I called him before we came here. He was just telling me that everything’s ready,” he flashes me his grin, and I feel my heart tightening up inside my chest. A surprise? At Python? Oh, God. “If you feel up to it, of course.”
“Of course I am,” I find myself saying even though I have no idea about what Sloane prepared for me. But it doesn’t matter; I trust him and, right now, all I want to do is forget about the mess Drake puts us in.
We go though a few cocktails—well, Sloane went for the whisky—and watch the men dance on the stage, the atmosphere in this place making me feel more and more relaxed with each passing second. No wonder the place is packed, this is amazing.
A shirtless ripped waiter comes to our booth again, but instead of taking the empty glasses and taking another order, he just nods at Sloane.
“We’re up,” Sloane whispers, getting up from his seat and offering me his hand. I go up to my feet, take his hand in mine, and that’s when the lights go out. I stand there in the darkness, having no idea about what’s going to happen, and then a single spotlight focus on me and Sloane.
He leads the way toward the stage, and my heart skips a beat when I realize what we’re about to do. Oh God, what have I agreed to?
We climb the narrow stairs that lead to the stage and, the moment I step there, the spotlight around us widens and a barely audible music starts coming from the overhead speakers.