Topsy Turvy Kinda Love
to two wives, and you know how I feel about that kind of thing.”Wait, did he say there are others? “Who else?”
“Thomas and Samantha.”
I can’t help the thousands of questions currently pounding my brain. I’ve thought he was gone for years, and now he’s here right in front of me. Living and breathing. “What do you do for work? Where do you live? Man, I thought you were dead for years, and now you’re here out of nowhere.”
“I own an adult club called Pelle. I changed my name too, so no one could find me. I go by Donatello Knight these days.”
“Ok… Donatello… What’s an adult club?”
“Oh, come on, Brooks. I know you don’t live that far under a rock.”
“Hold up… you own a sex club?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Damn, that’s a 365 flip from life in the compound, isn’t it?”
“Told you. I wasn’t cut out for compound life. You should come some time. Let’s just say it’s a night you won’t soon forget.”
“Um…”
“Tell you what, I’ll leave your name with my doorman, and if you show up, cool. If not, also cool.”
“But why are you here at Topsy Turvy?”
“Oh, right.” He points to Zara. “I can’t get her out of my head. Sexy little thing shows up at my club a couple of nights a week, and she’s like a drug I can’t quit. Has a taste for domination, and I enjoy letting her live out every fantasy. I’d say she’s my new flavor of the month, but there’s something more than that going on. Something about her…. I just can’t put my finger on it.”
“You like her.”
He takes a drink of his gin and tonic and swallows. “Something like that. It’s just that I’ve never met anyone like her. Zara doesn’t back down from a challenge, and she doesn’t always let me get what I want. She pushes back, and I live on it.”
“I get it. Seems to me I’m having my own challenges these days.”
The door to the bar opens, and a whiff of cotton candy blows my way. My gothic, combat boot wearing pixie is here. My eyes lock on her endless blues as she walks through the front door. Wearing the same clothes from earlier. Her small body doesn’t even take up half of the door frame, and she looks like absolute perfection.
He turns to follow my gaze before clearing his throat. “Yeah, there must be something in the water. The girls here are quite different from the ones back home, and I’ll be the last to complain. We can chat later.”
Maybe I am wearing rose-colored glasses, but damn them, because she’s perfect for me, even though her actions cut deep. I’d done something nice for her, and she’d blown up in my face. The worst part is that I’m willing to let her hurt me again and again if it means eventually I’ll get through to her.
But I still firmly believe that I didn’t deserve to be treated that way, so I don’t smile at her. Not this time. Ignoring her, I walk back and attend to the guy at the end of the bar and a few college girls that dropped by to drink.
Sophie walks up behind me at the bar and winks when I turn around, but it falls flat. She’s a pretty blonde, but she does nothing for me. I want to flirt back so badly, but my cruel, stupid hurt won’t let me. It keeps whispering that even flirting is cheating and although I know it’s true, I hate it. We aren’t even together, so why does it matter?
I want to be mad at her. To hurt her the way she hurt me. It’s idiotic. To blame her for being so closed off, for not letting me in, but the truth is I can’t. Stupid, stupid heart.
She makes her way to the bar and sits down. Walking toward her, I pretend to be oblivious to the little tick in my heart every time we’re in the same room together. “Hey, Brooks.” Her voice is smooth like honey—the voice of an angel in devil clothes.
“What can I get you?” I keep my voice monotone as if she’s just another customer.
“I want to talk.”
“What’s changed from the gallery?”
“Don’t be cruel, Brooks.”
My heart does that damn tick again. “Don’t be cruel? Really, Mia? I did something nice for you. Something really nice, and you treated me like I was the fucking scum of the earth for doing so.”
“So, what? You decided to come here and flirt with fucking Sophia, Brooks? You thought that was the best decision?” Sophia huffs and leaves the bar with a mumbled bitch under her breath.
“For the record, she was flirting with me. Did you see me once flirt back? No. You didn’t. Because my stupid fucking heart wants only you. Every time you’re near me, it rapid fires. When you’re not around, I can’t stop thinking about you. I want to do nice things for you. Be with you. So, sue me. Why is that so wrong?”
I run my hand through my hair roughly. “I know the word boyfriend is too much for you, but Mia, that cuts really fucking hard when you dismiss me like I am not a part of your world. I’ve been inside you. We’ve made love, whether you choose to believe it or not and I refuse to accept that there’s nothing between us. Refuse to because I know there is and if you choose not to accept that, then so be it, but I’m tired of hiding my feelings when I’m around you. I won’t hurt myself anymore.”
“Brooks…”
“I don’t know what you want from me, Mia.”
“We never said we were dating Brooks. We were fucking. I made it clear. You weren’t supposed to go and fall in love with me. I made you promise not to break that rule. There was always an end game with us.”
“Well, that’s my fault because it looks like that’s what happened. I broke my own damn