Archer's Voice (A Sign of Love Novel)(56)

I glanced quickly over at Travis and back at the road. I didn't especially want to talk to him about this, although if I had fully trusted him, I might have wanted to ask him a question or two. But I didn't. Until he proved otherwise to me, I was going to assume that he was mostly untrustworthy.
"Okay, I get it, you don't want to say anything about Bree." He was silent for a minute. "Can I at least assume you haven't gone all the way?"
I shrugged my shoulders and nodded. I guessed it was okay to tell him what we hadn't done.
He smiled, and in the dim lighting of his truck, his teeth flashed and a shadow crossed his face, and for a second, he looked like one of those evil clowns I saw in the stores at Halloween. I blinked and it was just Travis again.
"I'm assuming you want to though, right?"
I looked over at him and narrowed my eyes, but nodded. Of course I did. Who wouldn't? Bree was sweet and beautiful.
He smiled again. "Okay. Well I'm gonna tell you how it is, Archer, when you're… seeing a girl as beautiful as Bree. She most likely has some experience, and she's going to want you to know what you're doing when you take that big step. That's why I'm taking you to this club. There are women who will let you… practice with them. Get it?"
My heart started pounding in my chest. Not really, I wanted to say. Instead I just stared at him, narrowing my eyes slightly again to let him know he'd need to explain this further. So far, I wasn't liking it. Not one single bit. But most of all, I didn't like thinking about the experience Bree might have, the men she might have been with in the past. In fact, it made my blood run cold and made me feel like I wanted to punch something. I'd rather not think about that at all.
Plus, Bree had told me that it didn't bother her that I didn't have any experience in that area. Had she been telling the truth? Doubts started to settle in my chest, making it difficult to swallow.
Travis seemed to read my thoughts. "Girls will tell you they don't mind if you're inexperienced, but trust me, she's going to appreciate you knowing what you're doing when you get her in bed. You don't want to fumble around like a damn fool with her, do you? Embarrass yourself?"
I looked out the window, wishing I could tell him to turn his damn truck around and take me home. This was not my vision of what tonight was about.
"Hey, don't look so pissed, man. All men do it, trust me. Single, married–my friend, Jason, has been married for almost ten years now, and he still takes advantage of the girls in the back rooms. His wife looks the other way because she benefits from it too. Get it?"
I continued staring out the window, thinking about uncle Nate and how he had gone out sometimes and come back smelling like women's perfume and had lipstick all over his shirt collar. He didn't have a girlfriend or a wife, so he must have been seeing women like the ones Travis said worked at this club we were going to. And Nate was a good man. I wished he was still alive so I could ask him about this.
I knew I wasn't stupid, but I also knew I had a lot to learn. I read all these books constantly, but when it came to the real world, to the way people related to each other, to the way they acted and reacted, I felt like I was constantly playing catch up–I didn't like the way it felt.
We pulled up in front of a building with dark windows and a big parking lot out front. There was a huge pink and black neon sign that said, Teasers, in flashing letters.
We pulled into a parking spot and Travis turned to me. "Listen, don't feel like you have to do anything you're uncomfortable with. But trust me when I say, if you do see someone you like, go for it. Bree will appreciate it. It's what men do, Archer."
I sighed and pulled the door open. I'd go inside with Travis. If nothing else, Bree would be happy that I had the guys' night out she was so enthusiastic about.
We walked up to the door and a big guy with a shaved head and a t-shirt that said, 'employee,' asked for our ID's. Well, there went that. I didn't have an ID. I started to turn around, but Travis grabbed my arm and leaned in and flashed his badge and said something to the big guy. He nodded and waved us in.
Inside the club, the music was blaring–something about sex and candy–and I squinted in the dim lighting as I took in the room. There were small tables placed around a big runway in the center of the room, and my eyes widened as a half-naked woman slid down a gold pole. For a few seconds, I simply stood there and stared at her before Travis grabbed my arm again and pulled me forward to a table where two other guys sat with half-empty drinks in front of them.
"Hey, *s," Travis said, swinging one of the chairs around backwards and sitting down on it, looking at me and pointing to the chair next to him. I took a seat.