Page 11 of Bloom in Darkness

“Your time belongs to me while that debt exists.”

I force myself to keep looking at her. “Not tonight. Not like this.”

Neither of us moves until Sabine smiles. My stomach drops before she says, "Fine." She takes another sip. "I'll add the cancellation charge to your balance."

My jaw tightens at the thought of another number appearing on a screen I don’t control. “Of course you will.”

Sabine smiles into her drink. “You’re learning.”

I walk away before I say something that costs me more than the cancellation fee already will.

The rest of the shift drags. I finish the two sets because I already agreed to them, and the feeling from the first one never comes back. Every time slick shifts between my thighs I want to crawl out of my skin.

By the time I get back to the dressing room the high's thinned, and the jitter's starting under the warmth again, faint if I keep moving. I start to strip, peeling the thong away wet from my skin. I stare at it, then drop it in the laundry bin and head for the showers.

Hot water helps, though not enough. Even after I scrub until my skin goes pink, I can still smell the sweetness of my own scent beneath the soap. I dry off, pull on shorts and a loose hoodie, and sit at my station to count the cash.

The stack’s better than usual, and I should be happy about that. Instead I split off the portion I can hide later and start dividing what’s left between food and the bus. Everything else goes toward a debt that somehow keeps getting bigger, with another cancellation charge sitting on top of it now.

Ren’s at the next vanity, already dressed and halfway through wiping glitter off his face. “You taking the bus?”

I keep my eyes on the bills. “Yeah.”

He sniffs once, and my shoulders tighten before he even opens his wallet. “Take a cab.” Two twenties land beside my stack of cash.

“Ren, I’m fine.”

“You still smell like slick.” He shrugs, not unkind about it. “I’m not judging. I’m saying half the bus is going to smell you before you get three stops.”

I look from the money to him. “I have cash.”

“Then use yours for the cab and keep mine for food. Pay me back next shift.”

I almost argue anyway, but I take the twenties and book the cab before I can talk myself into saving the fare. “Thanks.”

Ren waves me off and goes back to his mirror.

My phone buzzes while I wait outside, and I reach for it fast enough that I nearly fumble it when Bryn’s name lights the screen.

Bryn: Get home safe.

Three words, and somehow that’s enough to make me smile. I was about to ask if he’s busy, if he wants a repeat, or if I can pretend it’s only sex when what I actually want is his bed and my face in his neck until my brain shuts up. Instead, he texted first, and I’m still smiling when the cab pulls up.

By the time I get home the Bloom's mostly worn away. My hands have a fine tremor again when I turn the tap as I fill the tub because I don't want to stand, and I sink until only my head and shoulders stay above the water. I grab my phone and stare at Bryn’s name in my contacts, then press call.

It rings twice before someone answers, a low “Shit” coming through underneath a swell of voices and the sharp clang of a bell. I sit up enough to send bathwater sloshing against my ribs because that definitely isn’t Bryn.

“Sorry. I meant to silence it.” Another burst of noise rises behind him before he pauses. “Wait. Astra?”

Water slides down my chest as I settle back against the tub. “Oh. My bad. I thought Bryn had his phone.”

“He left it with me. He’s in the ring right now.” Caelan’s voice gets clearer as the crowd fades behind him. “Are you okay? I can go get him.”

I sink until the water reaches my collarbones, tightening my fingers around the slick edge of the phone. “No, don’t pull him out of a fight because I called. I’m fine. I just wanted to talk to him for a minute.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” I drag my toes through the water and watch the surface break around my knees. “I’m sure.”