Salvaged (Embracing #2) Page 6

  “Damn Ashton, your wife drops you off at the strip club?” I laugh.

  “Hey, man, I knew you would be getting wasted tonight, so I thought it was a good idea to be dropped off so I could drive your drunk ass home. I didn’t really want to leave AJ with her, but she seemed sober. I just hope she doesn’t sell my shit while I’m gone.”

  “I hope not either. You got to do something about that. Well, thanks for looking out for me. Now let’s get our drink on. It’s been a long time coming.”

  We walk to the entrance. There are bouncers everywhere. The music that is coming from inside sounds like something at an actual night club. We walk in and there are four stages and dancers on all of them.

  “What do you think, Liam? I hear there are some very hot and erotic dancers that work here. There’s also a dance floor on the second floor. They have fifty private rooms. Do you want a private show?” Ashton asks as he cocks his head back, laughing.

  “Well, I don’t think that will be necessary. I just want to drink. I have a beautiful and very sexual woman at home that will give me whatever I want.”

  “Damn, TMI, bro. I will never be able to look at Li the same if you spill her sexual secrets. She must be doing something right to keep your ass on lockdown all these years.”

  “I told you, Lila is everything to me. Call a waitress over so we can get our drinks.”

  This place is like nothing I’ve ever seen. The tables are bar height with wraparound benches. It’s all red and black leather. The lights are red shaped disco balls. Each stage has two poles with a girl on each one.

  A young woman walks over to us and says, “My name is Trix and I will be at your service for the evening. Can I get you gentleman any appetizers to start with? Or are you two just having drinks tonight?”

  I look at Ashton. I don’t want any food, just some damn alcohol.

  “Trix, I think we will just start with drinks tonight.” Ashton tells her.

  I look over the menu and have to laugh at the names of the drinks. “I will have the Naughty Nipple,” I say. She smiles at me, probably aware this is my first time. “Can I ask what it consists of, though?”

  “The Naughty Nipple is a mixture of Bailey’s Irish Cream, Sambuca, and Kahlua. It’s our most popular drink and a favorite of mine as well,” she says with a wink. Then she looks at Ashton and says, “What can I get for you, sir?”

  “I…umm, I think I will have a Naughty Nipple as well,” he says, clearing his throat.

  “I will return with your drinks shortly. Just let me know if you need anything else. Here is a list of all the private shows you can enjoy this evening.”

  She places what looks like a menu on the table in front of us, but it has pictures of the dancers and their prices on it.

  She returns within minutes with our drinks. I drink my first one quickly and decide to go for a second one. I have a pretty good little buzz going on; I haven’t felt this good since my bachelor party.

  I’m tired of just sitting here, so I tell Ashton I’m going to go up to the dance floor. I’m normally not much of a dancer, but I feel pretty damn good. Ashton follows me and we stand next to the bar. The dance floor is pretty crowded. There are half naked women everywhere.

  “Liam, two girls have been eyeing us since we got here, so don’t look in their direction or they will be all over us. I’m okay with that, but you, my dear cousin, are ten sheets to the wind, and you have a very beautiful pregnant wife at home.”

  I down the rest of my drink. “Where are they? Yeah, my beautiful pregnant wife…pfft. My baby might not be my baby. The baby I’ve wanted, probably with my damn luck, isn’t mine. Now bring on the dancing and more of them nipple drinks.”

  I walk over to the two girls Ashton was talking about and ask if they would like to dance. They definitely aren’t my type, but hey, I’m just dancing. They both follow me and Ashton just stares at us. Through the speakers, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” blares.

  I start dancing and letting loose. Before I know it, I’m sandwiched between the two girls and Ashton is behind the other one. They’re both grinding on me, and for the first time that I can remember, another girl other than Lila makes my dick twitch. I try backing up, but the dark haired beauty keeps pushing her ass into me. I want to just slam my dick in her and forget all the pain I’m feeling, all the hurt I’m going through.

  I let the alcohol take over and I grab her hips and grind into her ass as hard as I can. She must like it; she throws her arms behind her, grabs my head, and pulls it down to her neck. It’s wrong, I know it is, but goddamn, it feels good as fuck. She turns to face me and the song changes to “Yeah” by Usher.

  “My name is Arizona. What’s yours, handsome?” she says as she slides her hands down my chest.

  God, what am I doing? This girl is a damn spitfire. She is hot and I mean hot as hell. I look over and see the other girl is dancing with Ashton.

  “Arizona, like the state? My name is Liam, but I have to be honest with you. I’m a married man, sweets,” I say as I back up a little.

  I’m still close enough that I can smell the alcohol on her breath. She edges a little closer to me and cups her hand over my strained pants. She rubs her palm back and forth across my bulge. It’s screaming to be touched.

  “Yes, my parents loved the state. Well, I didn’t say I was looking to get hitched. I was just looking for a good time, if you know what I mean,” she says as she leans in and licks my neck.

  Next thing I know her tongue is wrapped around mine and my very hard cock is pressing into her stomach. I place both hands in her hair and pull her into me as close as possible. I kiss her hard and rough, but it doesn’t mean anything. Finally, I pull away.

  “Hmm, someone wants to come out and play.”

  She shoves her hand down my pants. Holy hell, it feels so good. I have to stop her, though. I can’t do this shit. I grab her hand and pull it out of my pants.

  “Come on, let’s get a drink.”

  I lead her to a nearby table. Ashton is occupied with her friend. He isn’t as drunk as I am, but I know he’s been drinking. I order her an Apple Martini and myself a shot of Patrón.

  She sits on my lap. I drink my shot and stare at her. She wiggles in my lap a little as she runs her hand over my arm.

  “Do you work downstairs?” I ask.

  Smiling, she retorts, “No, but if you want me to give you a private show, I can do that for free, handsome.”

  “No I…uh…I just wasn’t sure if you were here looking for someone or worked here.”

  I scoot her off my lap and farther away from me. I can feel the Patrón kicking in. I need to leave, like now, before I let the alcohol take control of my body and do things I shouldn’t be doing.

  I stand up and stumble over to Ashton, who has his hands wrapped around the blonde’s waist, still grinding all over her. I tap his shoulder and she shoots me daggers.

  “You okay, man? You need to go?” Ashton asks.

  “I need to get out of here, now,”

  I start walking in the direction of the door. I see Arizona talking to the blonde. They both look pissed. The blonde runs over and shoves her number in Ashton’s pocket.

  Walking out into the night air, I feel relief floating through my veins. I don’t know if it’s the breeze or just the California night air, but I feel damn good about leaving when we did. All I can think about is my family and what would happen if I was ever unfaithful to them. Not only would I be cheating on Lila, I would be cheating on my children as well. I could never do anything to separate my family.

  I notice I have several texts from Lila. Although I need to talk to her, I’m not really in the mood to talk right now. My head is pounding. Right now isn’t the right time. I ask Ashton if he’s okay with driving.

  “I’m good, dude. You need to go home? Or would you like to go to a bar? The night is still young,” he says with a wink.

  Fuck, I’m really not ready to go home, but I feel like I should before I
get myself into trouble. Although Lila cheated on me, there is no way in hell I’m sticking my dick in some skank. I love my wife too goddamn much.

  “You know what, man? Let’s take my car and drop it off and then take a cab to another bar so we both can get torn up and fucking enjoy it. Sound good?”

  I know I shouldn’t, but I don’t want to deal with my wife right now. I know I’ll regret this tomorrow. But right now, I just can’t deal with my feelings. Plus, alcohol makes me forget, at least for now.

  “Sounds like a plan to me. What if Lila sees us and makes you stay home?” Ashton asks in a serious tone.

  I look at him and say, “Lila isn’t the boss of me. I’m a grown ass man. I own my house and my company and I can do as I please.”

  “Okay. Let’s roll, then. Wait, you didn’t do anything with that chick, did you? I mean, she was all over you and you both walked away.”

  “No, she did stroke my Johnson a couple times. But goddamn, dude, I thought I was going to come all over her ass when we were dancing. She had my dick doing jumping jacks.”

  “Dude, she and her friend were pretty damn sexy. I just wasn’t feeling her, though. I knew she wanted to have her way with you, married or not.”

  ***

  Ashton drives to my house. I just need to think and relax; that’s all I want. I love my Lila, so I’m not looking to meet anyone or to hook up.

  As the gate opens, I see Li standing by the door. I haven’t returned any of her calls. I know she is probably very pissed at me right now.

  “Ashton, did you text her?” I whisper. He just looks at me. Fuck, he did. Damn bastard! He is supposed to be on my side.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to do anything you would regret. I think you should just talk to her and tell her your exact feelings. I’m going to crash here tonight, if that’s okay with the two of you?”

  “Motherfucker, you’re a damn traitor. Yeah, you can sleep in the guest room. I will thank you when I’m sober.”

  “Hey, Li. What are you doing up? I thought you would be sleeping by now. Ashton and I went and had a few drinks.”

  “Spill it, asshats. I’ve been calling both of your phones for hours. So where the fuck were you?”

  “Um, actually…You know what? I will be honest. We went to a strip club. I danced with some girl, and she, well she…”

  Shit, I don’t feel so well.

  Chapter Eight

  Lila

  What the hell? Ashton texted me about an hour ago and told me to be waiting, but I didn’t expect that he and Liam would both be coming here, drunk. To make matters worse, Liam was in the middle of telling me about some skank before he passed out. Even though he’s had a couple drinks himself, Ashton manages to catch him before he hits the ground.

  Oh my gosh, he fucked her! He knows how my hormones are, and to go to a damn strip club with an almost six month pregnant wife at home…I’m going to kill Ashton first. After I kill him, I will break every bone in Liam’s body. Then I’ll beat the fuck out of the damn skank that fucked my husband.

  “Okay, mister, you got some fucking explaining to do. Why in the hell would you take my husband to a damn strip club and get him drunk? And what the hell did he do with some girl?” I ask Ashton as he drags Liam in and puts him on the couch.

  Liam smells like cheap perfume and tequila. He rarely drinks, so he must have had a pretty good time.

  “Li, look, I’m sorry. He needed a break. He kept drinking the nipples and then there were these tram—I mean, girls, but I don’t think he did anything with her. That’s why I sent you that text. I didn’t want him to regret anything. He’s hurting. I know you guys have shit going on. That’s none of my business, but babe, he needs you and he needs you to talk to him. Be honest with him and love him the way he loves you.”

  “First off, you dickweed, don’t call me babe. You ruined that shit years ago. Whatever goes on with me and Liam is none of your goddamn business. I don’t go sticking my nose in your and Christa’s business. If she tells me stuff, then I just listen, so whatever you think is going on, you need to step back and look at your own marriage before you walk your drunk ass in my house and tell me about mine. You and Liam both smell like fucking dollar store perfume. And cheap alcohol. Now, what were you saying, babe?”

  God, I’m so fucking pissed. If Liam told him about Evan, I will castrate his ass. It’s none of Ashton’s business. I like him and all, but he’s no goddamn saint. I know he and Christabella are having issues, but he should have thought twice about marrying a stripper he knocked up. I know that’s why he married her. She’s from the other side of the tracks; she’s definitely not from the valley where we grew up.

  A few seconds later, I feel bad for yelling at him. I need some damn Funyuns. We are out and it’s almost three in the morning.

  “Lila, I’m sorry ba—I mean swe—ah, goddamn it, I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. I hope you will forgive me and please, whatever my wonderful wife is telling you, don’t believe it. No, we aren’t happy, but that’s her fault. I try my best to be a good husband. I love my son more than anything, and I will always make him my priority.”

  “I’m sorry, Ashton. It’s these damn hormones. You can talk to me whenever you need to. You are my family now, and I would never turn my back on you for what your wife says. Speaking of AJ, he is upstairs in bed. She dropped him off around eleven-ish and said she had things to do. I didn’t question her. You know we love having him here. Now, go take a shower and get in bed with your son. I’ll bring you some of Liam’s clothes. Don’t get in bed with that baby smelling like them skanks!”

  “Thanks for being you. He’ll come around tomorrow, be easy on him.”

  I hug him, but I’m still very pissed at him and Liam, and I will find out what in the hell went on. Ugh, the smell makes me want to throw up. I hate the smell of skanks.

  Going to a damn strip club…If it was a bar, that would be fine, but a fucking hooker joint? A scrap of paper with a phone number scribbled on it fell out of one of their pockets. I flushed that shit down the toilet.

  I crawl in bed, alone, for the first time in months. I didn’t even bother to get Liam awake after he passed out in the middle of our conversation. I lie there and, as usual, cry. For the first time in years, I cry without thinking about Evan.

  I think about Liam being in the Army, then in that hospital for so long, surrounded by people who didn’t know who he was or where he was from. He must have been scared when he woke, knowing that his family was looking for him and none of us were there. Imagining what he must have felt all of those months makes me even sadder. I’d never really thought about it. While I was living my life, having fun and sleeping with Evan, he was lying in a strange place with no one he loved around him.

  When we found him, I was the happiest I’d been since he left for the Army. I loved Evan, but Liam was all I thought about. Sure, there were times when I was happy with Evan and didn’t think about Liam, but that wasn’t very often. I was completely honest with Evan about my feelings for Liam, and he knew, if I was ever given a second chance for a life with Liam, I would leave him.

  This is our second chance and I fucked it up. I knew the night I slept with Evan in New York would ruin everything, but, at that moment, I didn’t care. All I cared about was feeling Evan’s touch again. That night changed everything and turned my world upside down. Whatever Liam has done, I deserve.

  As I think and cry about the wrong choices I’ve made, I know I did one thing right and that was coming back to Liam. If he fucked some skanky stripper, we will get past it. It’s going to hurt, but we will overcome this, just as we have all of the obstacles thrown our way. I’ll never leave him.

  ***

  “Well, good morning, sleepy head. Did you sleep well on the couch, smelling like that cheap ass perfume?” I ask my wonderful husband as he comes strolling in our room at seven in the morning.

  Thank God everyone else is still asleep. He looks at me with tears in his glas
sy blue eyes.

  “So, what happened with you and the stripper last night? You sure did smell an awful lot like her. Before your drunk ass passed out, you were telling me quite an interesting story. Somewhere along the line, she possibly touched and kissed you? Is that what you were going to say to me, Liam Anthony Ellis?”

  He looks at me and sits down on the bed. He runs both hands through his hair. I kneel down in front of him. If he fucking tells me he slept with some tramp, I may not be able to suppress what these hormones make me do.

  “If you went to a club, got drunk, and buried yourself in some tramp, I need to fucking know now!” I yell. I’m so mad. Blood is boiling in my veins like it has never boiled before.

  “Li, goddamn it. No, I didn’t fuck anyone. I danced with her and she kissed me and grabbed my dick. Did it feel good? Yes, it did. Is that what you want to hear? I let some tramp touch me and shove her tongue down my throat. I have never wanted anyone other than you. No one has touched me since high school except for you. So yes, having some tramp grind her ass on me and touching me turned me on. But I left, Li. I love you so much. I would never be with anyone else.

  “I was drunk, and to be honest with you, I’m pissed. You went to a wedding for your friend and almost died on your way home. Then I find out you are pregnant, and the baby may not be mine. You want to know what the worst part is. Knowing that you let Evan fuck you not once, but twice and without a condom.

  “He had his dick buried inside of you with nothing between the two of you. His bare skin touched your insides. You’re my fucking wife, my life, and some other fucker had a hell of a weekend banging the fuck out of you. Now I’ll have to look at our son every goddamn day for the rest of our lives and think about you fucking Evan Martin. That’s what my problem is, Lila Rae Ellis. I know you didn’t mean to and I know you are sorry, that you love me and all that other bullshit. But it happened, and now not only do you have to live with it, but so does our family.