"What do you want to do? If you want to go tonight, I'll be happy to go with you. I can be a buffer if you need it, or I can drop you off and go."
"I've been thinking about this all night. While I want to go, I don't know if I should. I don't see how this ends any way other than very badly."
"Regardless of what you do, you know you need to call Gemma, right?"
"Knox has kept this part of his life from his daughter for a reason. Do I have the right to tell her about it?"
"If the situation was reversed, would you let her get away with that excuse?"
I hate it when Skye's logic makes sense, especially when I don't want it to, and it doesn’t work in my favor.
Gemma is one of those rare people who is a night owl and an early bird. She can stay out partying with the rest of us and be up as late as she wants but still be up super early in the morning, so I don't even bother checking the time before I call her.
She picks up right away, and we spend half an hour on the phone going over what it was like to meet her boyfriend Dustin's parents and what they said and did. She’s so happy I don't want to be the one to ruin it.
She gives me plenty of openings where if I had not chickened out, I could have told her what was going on, but I don't. Skye glares at me the whole time because I'm not telling Gemma what happened last night. I avoid eye with her until I hang up the phone.
"This has now turned from a potentially uncomfortable situation to a very bad idea," Skye says, giving me a disapproving look.
"I know, but she's having such a good time meeting Dustin's family. I couldn't ruin it for her. I’ll bite the bullet when she's here. I can tell her in person, and she can properly deck me in the face."
I rub my cheek as if Gemma’s already punched me. It wouldn't be the first time, but the last time she was drunk, it wasn't at full force and still stung like hell.
Skye frowns. "You should wait to see Knox again. But you're not going to wait, are you?"
Skye knows me too well. I'm not going to wait to see him and not just because of the dare.
Chapter 4
Knox
All day I've been wondering if she's going to show up or if I scared her off. Was it too much, too fast? I’ve debated calling her to check in but resisted every time. Now here I am waiting on her, and I’m on edge.
One of my favorite things about the club is there’s always staff available to teach people and help them learn. Like tonight, they have a demonstration on Shikari, a Japanese rope bondage that’s more of an art form.
Though bondage may be my thing, it’s a bit complicated for my tastes. But it sure is beautiful to watch. I'm lost in the show until I sense a pair of eyes on me. I slowly scan the room until I find Summer standing with another girl.
She's watching me, so I offer a small smile. She and the girl make their way over. About halfway, the girl she's with stops. She hugs Summer, says a few words, and goes off to do her thing, leaving Summer alone.
"Who was that?" I nod in the direction the girl left.
"Oh, that's Skye."
I know of her roommate, but I haven't had a chance to meet her yet. I haven't decided if I want to thank her for bringing Summer here or curse her for it. But I guess it will depend on how tonight goes.
"Can I touch you, Princess?" She gives me a shy nod, but that's not good enough."I need your words."
"Yes, you can touch me."
"Good girl." I take her hand in mine and lead her toward the stage holding the demonstration I was watching earlier. Tables and chairs are placed on one side, but on the other are rows of chairs for those who wish to sit and watch. There's also plenty of standing room.
After grabbing us a table, I order some nachos since I know she loves them, along with some water. After years of observing her, I know she won't eat when she’s nervous, and I bet she's been nervous all day.
She shakes her head when the nachos and the water are sent to the table. "Oh, I'm not hungry."
She has a lot to learn. She’ll eat when I tell her to eat, but we need to get there slowly.
"It wasn't a question. You need to eat because you’re going to need your strength for later." I look at the nachos, and she takes a bite and starts to watch the show. But I can tell when her hunger takes over because she keeps going for bite after bite of the nachos. Once she's done eating, she settles into her chair to watch the rest of the show.