He let out a sigh and sprawled in the corner of the limo. “No, I didn’t come up with the original idea, but I should have. A fight like that at one of our venues would have been epic.”
“I’m sure there will be another chance for you,” I assured him, patting his firm leather-clad thigh.
Damn, clearly the gym wasn’t for show.
When we pulled up to the building, it was showered in purple and blue lights with the name Club Illusion projected on the building with different animations changing it into different shapes. There was already a line down the block with police making sure they didn’t get in the way of traffic. Four bouncers stood at the top of the stairs that led down into the club, checking IDs and bags before letting people enter.
“Braxton, this is amazing,” I gasped, gawking out the window.
We pulled to a stop, and the driver opened the door allowing Braxton out first. He then turned and offered me his hand, helping me out of the limo onto the sidewalk. Music was playing from speakers outside the building, giving those who were waiting something to listen to. Another car pulled behind us, and three men dressed in all black exited and spread out. It would seem my days of being anywhere without a bodyguard were over.
I took a moment to take in the city around us, noting it was in a warehouse district. That meant it didn’t have the same noise ordinance a more populated area would have.
“Shall we?” Braxton asked, offering his arm.
Smiling, I nodded. “Yes, let’s.”
With the other two flanking us and the bodyguards trying to stay out of sight, we made quite the scene.
“Astin. Hey, Astin,” a man hollered from the line.
I looked over and spotted Nick, the bartender from the martini jazz bar. Grinning, I waved back as I released Braxton’s arm to wander over and greet him. “Hi, what are you doing here?”
“What do you think, trying to get into the hottest new club in Eastrose,” Nick answered. “Wow, you look amazing.”
“Aww, thank you,” I responded, taking in his tight jeans and shirt hanging half open. “Lookin’ good yourself. Come on, I’ll make sure you get in. Least I can do for the drama I’m sure I caused the other night.”
“You sure? I don’t want to get you in trouble or move in on your night,” Nick commented, glancing at the guys behind me.
Grabbing the rope, I unclipped it and waved him to step out of the line. “Let’s go, or else I’m gonna leave you here on your own. Could be hours.”
He gave in and stepped out, making others around him irritated. “What the hell, bitch. Why does he get special favors?”
Clipping the velvet rope back in place, I just gave the man a disapproving look. “First off, because he didn’t call me a bitch, and second, it’s none of your fucking business.”
“Yeah, it’s my fucking business when some piece of ass like you comes and plucks your fuck boy for the night out of the line when you already have three other guys who I’m sure were under the impression they paid for your undivided attention,” another prick yelled, shoving forward to get right up in my face.
That would be the moment one of the bodyguards stepped up next to me, his large bulk hard to miss. I held up a hand, letting him know I had this.
“You two must be friends, right? I’m guessing you tried to find dates to come with you tonight, but you struck out, and now you’re taking it out on me. Word of advice, you might find the fairer sex is more open to going out with you when you don’t actually hate them,” I suggested.
Prick one puffed up while Prick two seemed to catch on that maybe I wasn’t someone to mess with as he glanced at the bodyguard. “Chad, let it go.”
“No, fuck that. It’s bitches like this who make everything so much harder for guys like us,” Prick one, I mean Chad, growled out.
“Wow, okay, I’m not going to ask what that even means because I’m sure it’s all a bunch of bullshit, but you guys have a nice night… if you get in, that is,” I offered as I turned away.
It seems Chad wasn’t pleased with that answer, so he came after me, but Wreck-it Ralph intercepted him. With his arm twisted up behind him, he just stood there swearing, trying to get loose.
“What would you like me to do, Mistress?” the bodyguard asked.
This is when I realized this was the same guy who was standing outside Daddy’s office all day. “Toss him to the back of the line. I feel like he needs to cool down a bit before getting into the club. Who knows, he might learn that treating people with respect will get him farther in life.”
Ralph hauled Chad away and headed for one of the other bodyguards to hand him off. Once he was done with that, he returned to me. “So did you get stuck with me after a long day because you did something wrong?”
“No, Mistress, I requested to be on your security team,” he answered.
“Really? You asked to be here tonight?” I questioned. “By the way, what’s your name? I can’t keep calling you Wreck-It Ralph in my head.”