Savior (An Impossible Novel) (9 page)

“Me,” I admitted quietly.  “I guess I’m the problem.”

Penny’s expression softened and she lowered her fist to rest her hand on mine reassuringly.  “You’re not a problem,” she said gently.  “But if some issue is holding you back, maybe you should talk to him about it.”

I bit my lip, uncertain.  “I’m not really good at talking about my issues.”

“Really?
  I hadn’t noticed,” she said drily.

I had always figured
Penny thought of me as her carefree, hard-partying friend.  But apparently she knew me better than I realized.  The thought made me uncomfortable.  I didn’t want her to stop hanging out with me if I became too much drama for her to handle.  Because my life was loaded with more drama than an episode of
The Real Housewives of New Jersey
.

Keen as ever, Penny seemed to recognize my discomfiture and gave me an out.  She picked up her martini glass and
clinked it against mine.  “Bottoms up.  Last one to finish buys the next two rounds.”

The little cheat already had her glass to her lips before I could even get my hand around mine.  But as experienced a drinker as Penny was, she was no match for me.  I hated to rush
through a ten-dollar cocktail, but I didn’t like losing.  And my wallet definitely couldn’t afford to take another hit.  My cosmo was gone in a matter of seconds.

“Off to the bar with you then,” I decreed as I slammed down my empty glass.  Penny’s was still half-full.

“Damn.  How do you do that?”

“I just open my throat.”  I winked at her.

“You hear that, bro?  She just opens her throat and takes it down.”

“I’ll bet she does.”

I looked over to see two college-aged boys standing at the bar near our table.  One of them was grabbing his crotch obscenely while the other high-fived him.

Penny’s gorgeous features twisted into something terrifying and livid.  The boys froze, and one even took a step back in the wake of her ball-shriveling glare.

“You think you can do better?”  I asked them coolly as I slipped off my chair.

“What are you doing?”  Penny hissed at me.

“I’ve got this,” I assured her.  The corners of my lips turned up in my most devious smirk as I sauntered over to them.  Their mouths were hanging open slightly, and the one guy didn’t seem to realize that he still had his hand on his dick. 

If I was a lioness, then I was going to rip these boys apart with my claws.  And I was going to get a few free drinks in the process.

I didn’t stop walking until I had entered their personal space.  The deer-in-headlights look they were both giving me was priceless.  I addressed the one who was touching himself.

“Do you have herpes?”  I asked bluntly.

He looked confused for a moment, but then his eyes lit up.  “No, don’t worry baby, I’m clean.  Why?  You interested?”

“Not particularly.”  I glanced down at his hand pointedly.  “But it looks like you have an itch.”

“Wha-”  His face turned scarlet as my words registered, and he jerked his hand away as though his dick had morphed into a red-hot poker.  The other boy laughed at his friend.

“No, baby, he was just trying to hide his boner after he saw you
open your throat
like that.  Looks like you’ve had a lot of practice.”

Inside, I bristled at the insinuation.  It hit a little too close to home for my comfort.  But I remained outwardly calm.  Oh, I was going to make these guys pay. 
Literally.

Penny had come to stand b
eside me now.  It was clear she thought I was acting crazy, but she was a good enough friend that she would stand by me even if she did think I had gone insane.  Besides, getting crazy on a night out on the town was kind of my thing.  She was used to it.

I just smiled at him.  “And I believe I alre
ady asked you if you think you can do better?”  My eyes flashed challengingly, and I was pleased to see the look of interest on the boy’s face.

The one who I had embarrassed was still pissed, though.  “No, baby, we don’t suck dick.”

His friend punched him hard on the shoulder.  “Hey, don’t be an ass, dude.”  He looked at me apologetically.  “I’m Jeff,” he introduced himself.  “This douchebag is Sam.  And he doesn’t have herpes, but he does have crabs.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, rubbing his arm where Jeff had punched him.  “I got them from your mom.”

“Your mom” jokes?  Really?

I giggled to stroke his ego, and he grinned at me.  Apparently I was easily forgiven for mocking him about having herpes.  What he didn’t realize was that I hadn’t even begun to truly fuck with him.

“This is Gloria,” I hooked my thumb at Penny.  “And I’m Stella.”  I always tried to come up with a new fake name.  It was like being someone else for a night. 
Rose
had a bitchy boss and a junkie brother and the FBI breathing down her neck. 
Stella
could be anyone she wanted to be.

Penny rolled with it, not confused in the slightest.  This wasn’t her first rodeo with me.

“Are you boys up for a drinking competition?”  I challenged.

Jeff puffed out his chest a little.  “I don’t think that would be very fair.”  His eyes roved
over Penny and me in a way he probably thought was flattering.  “You two ladies don’t look like you could handle much booze.”

“It’s not about volume, it’s about speed,” I stipulated.  “I couldn’t help but overhear you two commenting on my skills.  I asked if you thought you could do better.  I still haven’t gotten an answer.”

I pouted slightly and put my hands on my hips in a way that thrust out my breasts.  Jeff made a visible effort to maintain eye contact, but Sam’s gaze riveted on my chest.  God, these guys were easy to manipulate.  And I had to admit, playing with them was pretty fun.  Especially because they deserved it.

Jeff’s smile was slightly condescending, as though he sensed an easy victory.  “Okay, then.  You’re on.  What are we drinking?  Do you ladies like Bud Light?”

Penny snorted derisively.  “Light beer?  Where’s the challenge in that?  We’re talking hard liquor, boys.”  She looked at me questioningly.  “What do you think, Stella?  Dirty Grey Goose martinis?  You like it dirty, right?”

Oh, she was good.  She was going to make them pay through the nose.  The conspiratorial grin I gave her was genuine.  “You know me all
too
well, Gloria.”  I touched her arm lightly as I spoke, the way girls do when they’re trying to get attention from guys.

Jeff’s and Sam’s mouths were hanging open
again.  I was pretty sure Sam was about to start drooling.  It took effort not to laugh as I stared at them expectantly.  Jeff, who seemed to be quicker on his feet – if only slightly – shook himself and turned to the bartender to order the martinis.  He looked a bit sick as he handed over a wad of cash for our pricey drinks, and I felt a surge of vindictive triumph.  But I wasn’t done with them yet.  A little more humiliation was in order.

I allowed my fingers to brush his forearm as I reached for my glass, and was pleased to see lust flare in his eyes.  His balls were going to be aching by the time I finished with him.  Allowing my touch to linger, I leaned into him until my lips were at his ear.  His breaths were warm against my neck, and they quickened as I made him wait.  Smiling evilly, I finally whispered, “Go.”

With that as his only warning, I pulled back from him and raised my glass.  He stared at me dumbly as I raised it to my lips and poured it down my throat, never breaking eye contact with him.  I finished in a matter of seconds.  No one else even came close to touching me.  Penny came in second, no doubt because she wasn’t encumbered by a penis getting in the way of her brain.  Even then, her glass was still about two-thirds of the way full.  Sam had managed a swallow, but Jeff was just staring at me in awe, his drink untouched.

I wasn’t sure if the rush I felt was from the alcohol or my victory.  It was a shame to have downed Grey Goose rather than enjoying it, but it was either drink it or toss it in Jeff’s face.  I had always wanted to throw a martini at a deserving douchebag, but that wasn’t the lesson I was trying to teach tonight.

“Looks like I win!”  I said brightly.  “What’s my prize?”

Jeff’s expression was almost reverential.  “Anything you want, baby.”

A sly grin spread across my face, and I leaned into him again, splaying my fingers across his chest this time.  “Anything?”  I asked huskily.  He nodded enthusiastically.  I touched my tongue to my lips, pretending to consider my options for a moment.  “I think I’ll have another martini for now,” I declared.  “And as the losers, you boys have to do three shots of gin.  Each.”

Sam had something to say about that. 
“Shots of
gin?! 
No way.  That’s fucking disgusting.”

I kept my attention on Jeff, making my eyes go wide and innocent.  “I think as the winner it’s only fair that I get to decide.  Don’t you?”

He hesitated, glancing over at his friend.  Penny chimed in just in time to seal the deal.  “Well, if you boys can’t handle your liquor, then I guess we’ll have to go find someone else to play with.”

“No. 
Wait, baby.  We’ll do it.”  It seemed Sam had set his sights on Penny.  She gave him a smile so dazzling he looked as though someone had slapped him across the face.

This wasn’t just easy.  This was
fun.
  I wondered briefly if this was what it felt like to be a Dominatrix.  Wielding this sort of power over men was heady.

A few minutes later, the shots were lined up on the bar and I had a fresh, expensi
ve martini in my hand – one I intended to savor this time around.

The boys looked at each other solemnly as they lifted their glasses, apprehension etched across their features.  Sam gagged and stalled out after the first shot, but Jeff took them back one after another in order to get it over with quickly.  When he was finished, he grabbed his martini and gulped it down.

“Yeah, because using vodka and vermouth as a chaser is a great idea,” Penny whispered, and I couldn’t help laughing out loud.

We finished the last of our martinis as the boys coughed and spluttered
.  At one point, I thought Sam was going to be sick, but he held it together.  He also decided his martini was a good chaser. 

“I need the restroom, Gloria,” I announced.

“Sure,” she replied, hooking her arm through mine.  “I’ll come with you.”

I smiled at Jeff.  His cheeks were pink and his eyes were over-bright.  Perfect.  These guys were going to be too fucked up to even get themselves off tonight, much less lure some poor girl home with them.  My work here was done.

“We’ll be right back,” I lied.  “Don’t go anywhere.”

“We won’t!”  Jeff called after me, a promise in his voice.

As soon as we crossed the exit and the cool night air hit us, Penny and I erupted with laughter.  It was the kind of laughter so all-consuming that it takes your breath away and makes your eyes water.  By the time it subsided, I was leaning up against the brick wall outside the bar, my chest heaving as I gasped for air.  My head was spinning, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the lack of oxygen reaching my brain or the four cocktails I had downed in the space of an hour.

“That…”  Penny gasped out. 
“Was awesome.  Remind me never to insult you.”

“You were damn good with the assists,” I said seriously.  “I couldn’t have done it without you, Gloria.”

We burst into a fit of giggles all over again.  God, I had needed this.  Teaching those mouthy college boys a well-deserved lesson had been exhilarating.  Even better, it had gotten my mind off of Greg and Clayton for a solid hour.

Fuck. 
I didn’t want to go home yet, didn’t want to have to return to being Rose and take on all of the problems that came along with her.

“So where to next?”
  I asked with false enthusiasm.

“Uh-uh,” Penny shook her head.  “I am not up for a Rose Baker all-night adventure.  I have to work tomorrow.”

“Aw, c’mon.  Don’t be lame, Penn.”  My voice came out sounding more pleading than I had intended for it to.  And Penny didn’t miss it.  She put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed lightly.

“Hey,” she said gently.  “If it’s bothering you this much, you really should just call him.”

Damn, she was perceptive.  The woman should be a therapist, not a fashion designer.  And I did want to call Clayton.  All of the alcohol was making me horny.  It heated my veins and made my pussy pulse.  I could march back into the bar and find another guy easily.  But I didn’t want another guy.

I pulled out my phone to check the time.  The numbers blurred and danced, so I blinked hard until they settled into a recognizable pattern.  10:42
.  That was still early enough to call, right?

“I need your opinion, Penn.  Is it obviously a booty call after 10 PM?”

“That depends. 
Are
you calling him for sex?”

I nodded.  There was no point in lying.

She deliberated for a moment.  “Maybe send a few texts to test the waters.  You don’t want to sound desperate if he’s not up for it.  It is a Thursday night, after all.  Not all of us are capable of working hard all day and playing hard all night and still looking flawless,” she said ruefully.