AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Leo, unfortunately, was the curveball. Without it, I might’ve been able to figure out how to navigate through this mess, but the added twist that the new owner was him was nearly incomprehensible. Closing my eyes, I let out a long sigh. Of course this would happen. Of course the second I allowed myself to be vulnerable, to let my guard down with something that felt real, it all went to hell in a handbasket.
But I was strong. I’d already proven I was a fighter.
Opening my eyes again, I felt a sense of calm determination wash over me. A sense of knowing that, even though this all felt hard, I could and would overcome it. I didn’t build this life for myself just to see it all thrown away because of my own insecurities. My reluctancy to be vulnerable.
I’d already done that, and I wouldn’t let it happen again.
I wouldn’t give Leo—or Robert—the satisfaction of bowing out. Leo may have bought the club, but he didn’t know what he’d gotten himself into because that club was mine, and I wasn’t going to give it up so easily. I sat up in my bed, wiping away the remaining tears from my cheeks. The time for crying was over. Now it was time for a fight.
I jumped out of bed and toward my closet, sliding it open to sift through my assortment of branded Larkspur shirts. Despite the brisk October temperatures, the club was always pretty warm from the hundreds of bodies swarming the bar, so I opted for a tank top. It was one of my favorites—soft black cotton with the words THIRST RESPONDER printed across the chest in a bold, neon green font. The added benefit of showing off some cleavage while I knocked Leo down from his new-owner pedestal certainly didn’t hurt.
I grabbed my smallest pair of spandex shorts and a pair of nude tights from the dresser, as well as a matching neon green bra, knowing it would peek out a little from beneath my shirt. I’d finish the outfit off with some white crew socks and sneakers.
Laying everything out on my bed, I smiled. It was still early, but if I started getting ready now, I would have plenty of time to crimp my hair to the heavens and apply my favorite set of fake eyelashes. So, I bounced toward the bathroom and flicked on the light, renewed with fresh energy and the desire to take back what was mine.
In the bright light of the bathroom, I turned on the faucet for my second shower of the day before I focused my attention on the mirror, scanning over my face. I needed another round of scaling heat against my skin to wash away the evidence of my heartbreak. My eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, my hair crumpled from lying on my bed while I sobbed—but both of those things would be remedied soon.
As I pulled my fancy black blouse over my head—the one I’d worn earlier to meet Robert and had since cried all over—something dark and purple flashed in the mirror. Bobbing my head out of the shirt, I squinted toward my reflection and found an angry purple hickey on my neck.
A hickey! On my fucking neck!
I hadn’t noticed it . . . Not after my run when I’d showered the first time, and not when I’d gotten dressed for the meeting. Admittedly, I’d been in a bit of a fog, but the mark of color was a stark contrast to the paleness of my skin. I had to have been blind not to see it.
Oh my god. I catapulted myself toward the mirror, looking at it more closely as I remembered how Robert’s and Leo’s eyes had flashed to my neck at Larkspur this afternoon. It was because they’d seen this . . . this monstrosity of a bruise on my neck. A mark that Leo had left last night. I breathed through my mouth as the waves of embarrassment crashed through me.
Robert would have thought it unprofessional. And as I stood there, angry at him for his betrayal, I’d been parading this proof of my inadequacy. And Leo . . . He would’ve known he was the culprit. Did he think it was funny? I scowled. I bet he’d been laughing inside at the entire fucked-up situation.
I backed away from the mirror and quickly noticed another hickey on my chest, just below my collarbone. It, too, was a dark shade of purple, left by Leo’s mouth. I shucked off my pants as fast as I could and twirled around, searching every inch of skin. There was another one on my left hip, and a deep one inside of my thigh.
Tears stung my eyes, threatening to break free again. Seeing my body riddled with bruises like this was . . . unnerving. Though my rational mind knew that they were hickeys, marks of passion that had been consensual, my irrational mind was screaming that I’d been hurt again. That I’d been used again. And the swell of that familiar emotion was almost too much to bear.
Steam from the shower filled the small bathroom and ripped my reflection from the mirror, so I forced myself into the scalding water where I could scrub myself clean—again.
Two and a half hours later, I left my apartment and headed in the direction of Larkspur. The sun was beginning to set in the mountains to the west, and the sky was arranged in fragmented color—pinks and oranges shaped by the scattered clouds hanging loosely in the sky. There was a light scent of rain in the air, though it didn’t look like it would come tonight. I breathed in deep, filling my lungs with it as I set off with sharp focus.
I wore my faithful hoodie—the same one I’d worn last night—to keep myself warm during my walk. My hair was crimped into large waves by my trusty three-barrel iron, and it bounced along my shoulders and back in a cascade of blonde, purple, and green. I went all-out with makeup tonight, the smoky purple shadow and false lashes making my naturally green eyes look bigger and brighter.
I knew I looked good. I’d taken a quick selfie in the glowing light of the sunset from the biggest window in my apartment before I left, posting it to social media with an invitation to come and see me at the bar tonight. If it wasn’t already going to be a busy night, I had a feeling it would be one now.
It took me twenty minutes to walk to the club, and instead of going through the back door I decided to enter through the front. I wanted to see how long the line was to get in, and I also wanted to check in with the bouncers to make sure they were okay. Of all the staff at Larkspur, the bouncers held a special place in my heart. At a busy, vibrant nightclub like this, safety was so important.
Especially to me.
Ethan stood at the small podium near the front door, dressed in a black button-down shirt and black dress pants. His bright blue eyes were crisp in the fading daylight as they landed on me. I watched his mouth curve into a lazy grin as I approached, but I could see the worry set in his face. “Mara . . . man, am I glad to see you.”
My brows cinched. “Why? Is everything okay?”
He nodded, taking a quick glance at the line in front of him before returning his gaze to me. “Yeah, but word on the street is there’s a new boss in town, and people are worried.”
I sighed, feeling the sharp stabs of guilt as they pierced through me. I should have been the one to break the news to the staff. Or at the very least, I should have been here while it happened. In my knee-jerk reaction to run out of here this afternoon, I’d forfeited the opportunity to announce the change and simultaneously help everyone else navigate it.
Ethan studied my face. “Based on your lack of shock, I’m assuming you already knew?”
I rolled my lips between my teeth and exhaled. “I found out this afternoon. What has everyone been told?”
He shrugged. “There was a new guy at the bar when we all got here, drinking expensive whiskey like he owned the place—literally. He asked us all to sit down and told us he was the new owner, that we should go about our work tonight as normal and to let him know if we needed anything. And then he poured everyone a shot. It was . . . odd.”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. Leo was going to get Larkspur’s liquor license revoked if he thought it was okay to feed the staff shots before their shifts. Didn’t he know that? “I’m sorry you found out that way,” I said with sincerity. “The whole thing is a little fucked but . . . we’ll get through it.”
