I Stand Before You (Judge Me Not #2)(65)

“Okay, okay.”

Missy starts to slip out of the booth, but it’s too late. Nick has spotted me. He waves enthusiastically, and heads to our table, his friend following.

“Hey, isn’t that your manager from when you worked at Pizza House?” Missy asks as she settles back into the booth. Before I can answer she adds, “Ooh, he’s cute. And who’s his friend?” She licks her lips. “Mmm, I want to meet them both.”

I roll my eyes. Not to be crude, but Missy is like a bitch in heat sometimes. Nick and his friend close in on our table; there’ll be no escaping now.

Damn, I’ll have to talk to him.

His friend-that-I-don’t-know is, in fact, cute, just as Missy has observed. This guy actually looks a lot like Nick, same dark hair, olive-toned skin, similar dark eyes. He’s most definitely tall, dark, and handsome, like Nick.

The guys reach us and an awkward greeting is exchanged. Nick introduces his friend as his cousin, Tony. No wonder they look so similar.

As Missy begins to flirt shamelessly with Tony, Nick kind of chuckles and turns to me. “Do you want to dance?” he asks.

“Uh, I…”

I look to Missy for help, but she chimes in with, “Actually, we were on our way out to the dance floor to do just that.” She loops her arm around Tony’s.

Oh, great, this is so not what I wanted.

The four of us make our way to the dance floor, Tony and Missy lead the way and Nick guides me forward with a lightly placed hand on my back. We fight through the crowd and stop somewhere in the middle. And then we carve out a little space of our own in between packed bodies and start to dance.

I’m just relieved the song is a fast one, since there’s no way I am pressing my body up to Nick’s for any slow songs. Not only would Chase surely not like if I did something like that, but leading Nick on is the last thing I care to do tonight.

While I dance facing Nick, I also make sure to keep a respectable distance away. The up-tempo makes it easy enough, but it sure doesn’t deter Missy. She dirty dances with Tony like there’s no tomorrow, grinding her ass right up into Nick’s cousin’s groin. Not that Tony seems to mind. He appears to love it.

Nick laughs and looks pointedly at me. Is he kidding? I just shake my head.

The song changes to something a little slower and Nick tries to wrap his arms around me so he can pull me closer. I slip under his grasp and tell him I have to use the ladies’ room. Really, I’m just done dancing for the night.

“I think I may leave soon,” I yell over the music to Nick.

He just shrugs and says dismissively, “Whatever, Kay.”

He steps away and turns to where his cousin and Missy are really ramping up the grinding. When Missy sees Nick alone, she puts her arms around him, effectively sandwiching herself between the two cousins.

I turn and make my way through the crowd. When I reach the edge of the dance floor, I glance back. Through the crowd, I catch a glimpse of Nick, Tony, and Missy. The two men have their hands all over Missy, right there in the middle of the dance floor. They’re basically feeling her up. No one seems to care though. The whole scene starts to become very dirty and wanton, and there’s no doubt the three of them will move and escalate elsewhere sooner rather than later.

The margarita I drank earlier churns in my stomach. Why am I even in this place? I wish I were somewhere with Chase right now, anywhere but here. There’s nothing at the Anchor Inn for me.

I go to the ladies’ room and splash cool water on my face. Whatever alcohol I consumed has long since left my system. I just want to leave. A night I thought had the potential to be fun is shaping up to be something far different.

I go back out to the bar and look for Missy, so I can tell her I’m definitely going home. However, she’s nowhere to be found. I go over to our table and pick up the tab our waitress has left us. When the waitress comes back around, I hand her the money for our drinks, plus a generous tip.

“Hey, thanks,” she says, tucking the money into her apron. She adjusts her high-on-her-head ponytail, and starts to clear off our table.

“Did you happen to see where my friend went?” I ask. “I wanted to let her know I’m leaving.”

The waitress points to the area from which I just came. “I think she went back there.”

“By herself?”

The waitress shakes her head. “No, there were two guys with her.” Nick and Tony, no doubt.

Now, I’m torn. Do I leave, or do I first check on Missy? She seemed pretty much into what Nick and Tony were doing to her, but I want to be sure. Missy isn’t some close friend, but I do like her, and I’d never forgive myself if I left and later found out she had needed rescuing.

I take a deep breath and head back to the hallway leading to the restrooms. Beyond the men’s room, there’s a heavy-looking door marked as an exit. Another closed door in between the restrooms is marked stairs. I place my hand on the handle of the door marked stairs, but hesitate when I hear muffled grunts and groans coming from the other side. I try the doorknob, but it’s locked.

“Missy?” I pound on the door. “Are you in there? Are you okay?”

I hear skin-slapping sounds and Missy moan-answers, “Go away, Kay. I’m—Oh, God—fine.”

A man’s voice—not Nick’s, so I guess it’s Tony’s—calls out, “Hey, come on in and join us.”