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Deep down, even at the beginning, he was pretty sure he’d known it was going to be like that. Though he hadn’t thought it would be this difficult. He hadn’t anticipated it would hurt this much.
It was supposed to be easier, leaving everything behind on the island and returning to real life. Though, of course, it would help if real life didn’t insist on talking about her. He wasn’t sure who had sent Morgan the text, but when he found out…
“So… are you and Rae in a relationship now?” Morgan asked, turning her attention back to Brian.
“No,” he said shortly, his tone clipped. He pushed himself up to his feet. As much as he didn’t want to hurt Morgan’s feelings, he was done with this conversation. He needed to be alone and to rest and to get some distance from all of it. “And we’re not going to be. For us, it really was just for the trip. Now, I need to go rest.”
Morgan looked like she was about to say something, but Asad reached out and put his hand on her arm, and she subsided. The last Brian saw of them, Asad was leaning over, speaking softly into her ear. Maybe trying to explain, maybe trying to distract her. It didn’t really matter as long as Brian didn’t have to talk about Rae anymore.
Hideaway Island had been the very last and final hurrah.
It was time to leave behind the fantasy once and for all and find a babygirl who actually wanted something real with him.
25
Rae
Somehow, she ended up at Marquis. She hadn’t had a plan when she’d started driving. She definitely hadn’t thought, Oh, I should go to the center of the gossip hub for the club.
She just… needed somewhere familiar to go. Somewhere she felt safe. Somewhere she knew the rules. And, for once, that hadn’t meant Domi’s. Was it partly because she didn’t want to admit to her friend that she’d been right about Rae’s parents?
Yes.
Eventually, she would, but she needed a little bit of time, so it wouldn’t smart so much when Domi said, “I told you so.”
Her parents had lied to her. As much as she understood her mom’s motivations and why they’d done it, she still felt deceived. Wildly misled.
And incredibly stupid.
That was it—she felt stupid. She couldn’t believe she had just taken their lack of fighting at face value. That she’d built up a whole romance around how they never fought. That she’d based her own decisions about romantic relationships off that fiction.
Putting the car in park, she headed into the restaurant portion of the club. The second floor was where all the kinky stuff happened. The first floor was a regular restaurant and bar. On the first floor, there was nothing to indicate what was happening overhead. Plenty of customers went in and out of the restaurant for a good meal without ever being the wiser.
That was where Rae was headed now. She shook her head at the hostess as she walked in, angling toward the bar instead. While she was hungry, and part of her was regretting questioning her mom before dinner because that chili had smelled amazing, she didn’t want to sit at a table and eat. It felt too formal. Too confining.
Instead, she went to the bar. As a member of the club upstairs, they had a card on file for her. If she felt the need to flee again, she’d be able to do so and tip the bartender later. They all knew her because she came here often for girls’ nights with Domi and Iris. Avery worked in the kitchen, so that allowed her to come and join them when her shift was over.
Tonight, there were several bartenders since it was a weekend and the bar was crowded. Thankfully, there was a solo seat open between two couples, and Rae slid right in. On the other side of the bar, Shane, one of her favorite bartenders, gave her a smile.
He was a Dom, though she never saw him around the club. He and his wife tended to play in private, but everyone knew he was a Dom. If they didn’t, and they misbehaved in his bar, they’d figure it out soon enough. In his fifties, with a bald head and a salt and pepper goatee, he wasn’t very tall. In fact, he was about the same height as her, with a fit figure and a kindly smile that made him seem like a thinner Santa Claus.
But step one finger out of line and it was like something inside him shifted. He’d give the offending subbie a look that would have them meekly falling back in line. She didn’t know how he did it; she just knew that it was impressive to watch—and slightly terrifying to be on the receiving end of.
“Welcome back home, Rae. What can I get for you?”
“The pretzel and a dirty martini.”
Shane’s eyebrows rose. Yeah, she came here often enough that he knew her ‘something is bothering me’ order. Putting a napkin down in front of her, he went to put in the order. When he came back, it was with both the martini and a glass of water. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes, but she didn’t protest.
She knew better.
“Want to talk about it?”
The couples on either side of her were completely involved in their partners, and she didn’t recognize either of them from the club, which probably meant they were regular restaurant goers rather than members. And while the club ran on gossip, Shane himself was like a vault. He heard everything, knew everything, and told no one anything.
And he never, ever said, ‘I told you so.’
Not that he could in this case because he’d never offered her relationship advice before. But he’d offered other people advice, and it always turned out well.
