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“That’s my shop,” JJ murmured. “I don’t understand…”
“Why the hell is he at your shop?” Peyton put the phone to his ear again. His eyes blazed fire at my cousin. “What did you do? Dom has no reason to go into that side of the city.”
“How the fuck would I know?” JJ shot back. “He’s never stepped foot in my shop. Maybe you don’t know your boyfriend as well as you think you do.” Well, that was the wrong thing to say.
Peyton got on his feet; hand balled into a fist. “You need to explain to me why he’s there.”
JJ stood quickly, obviously not liking Peyton towering over him. JJ was a few inches shorter and had a hard edge Peyton didn’t. One that spoke to the rough life he’d had, given who’d raised him. Peyton got in his face, toe to toe.
This wasn’t good. I got on my feet as well and rounded the desk to try and get them to calm down. We needed to figure out why Dominic was there. By the way JJ was acting, I didn’t think he had anything to do with it, but Peyton’s instincts with this kind of thing were much better than mine. It was why he guarded me, watched for things I would miss.
“You don’t want to do this, Pey,” JJ ground out.
“You don’t get to call me that. You don’t know me. Now tell me why the fuck Dominic is there before I snap your neck.”
Peyton needed to take a step back. But he wouldn’t. He was worried about Dominic, and this was his way of showing it. Shit.
26
DOMINIC
My muscles ached and I was bone-deep tired, but it felt good. It was also a nice warmup for working tonight.
I glanced around my living room. Nothing looked different but it felt that way. Fawn had moved out today. I spent the day with her, Josh, and Josh’s parents getting Fawn’s stuff into a small moving truck and taking it to Josh’s parents’ house. Fawn didn’t have a ton to move. When she came here from her other place, we sold her living and dining room furniture. All she brought was her bedroom furniture. She needed the money, and I didn’t have the space for it.
Fawn and I must have hugged twenty-five times before I finally drove away from her. There were tears in her eyes. Ones that mimicked my own. But there was also this pure joy coming from my sister. It was like she was getting the family she always deserved. I was still her brother, a big part of her life. But Josh and his parents were a family unit. I couldn’t provide that. Fawn was going to flourish there and be surrounded with so much love.
As for me, I had two men who each owned half of my heart. I knew what I felt for them. Speaking the words was a lot more difficult. Those words would leave me vulnerable, something I wasn’t a fan of. Did I think Peyton loved me? I did. There was no other way to describe how he looked at me. It was the same way I’d seen him look at Perry countless times. Perry though… He wanted to be in a relationship with us, loved it when we had sex, but I didn’t know if he loved us yet, at least that way.
I sighed and dropped down onto the couch. I couldn’t walk around Fawn’s empty bedroom again. That was too sad, and I wanted to be happy. Happy for her, which I was. Happy for me now that everything was falling into place.
But I was lonely here. Fawn had been in this apartment with me and made it feel like home. Now it was a space to eat and sleep. I didn’t want to push myself on Perry and Peyton. I loved being with them, sleeping in the same bed, a tangle of limbs. It was perfect. There was no way I was going to ask for more nights with them. I didn’t want to come off as needy.
Independence was something I prided myself on. If I ever felt lonely, I found someone to hook up with for the night and I was good. Fawn changed that when she moved in with me. I had another person there when I came home. My sister who loved me unconditionally. I enjoyed seeing her smiling face when I walked through the door. It gave me peace knowing she was doing well, and I wouldn’t see her like I once had. Now Josh would take care of her.
I picked my phone up from the coffee table, debating on sending a text to Peyton and Perry. We had a group chat that was filled with more sexual innuendo than actual conversation. I shook my head. They were probably working. I didn’t want to bother them.
There was only about a half hour to waste before I had to leave for the club. I decided to take the vacuum out and do another lap around the apartment. I did one earlier when I got home to clean what we tracked in while moving and the dust that got kicked up. At least I’d have another closet to store my club clothes in. They were currently smooshed in the one in my bedroom with my suits and regular clothes.
That was what I did next to waste time. I moved my club clothes, which were now my only work clothes, out of one closet and into the other. My costumes were pretty simple. Some of the other dancers went really elaborate. The more we could take off, the more enticing the dance. Although it wasn’t about the stripping down to the G-string for me. It was the dance itself. That was my favorite part. Sure, having everyone’s eyes on my body was a perk, a great one that paid well, but it was the movement for me. I thought it was why I was one of the more popular dancers. I wasn’t merely going through the act of performing. I was living it. Breathing it. Pulling the music down into my bones and letting it flow through me.
Tonight, I was going to put on my dark purple slacks with a black bowtie and a solid black mask. The members wouldn’t be able to see it from where I’d be on stage, but the mask had tiny black beads embroidered into it, which formed small stars scattered over the mask.
My G-string would be… I went back into my bedroom and rifled through my drawer to find a silver one that would shimmer when the light caught it just right. The strings were made of matching silver lace. I thought of Perry as I held it. The way he ran his fingers along one of my other lace ones when he touched me. I shivered, deciding I’d buy a pair of lace boy shorts in black to wear for him and Peyton. At the club, everyone wanted to see my bare ass since they couldn’t see my dick. I stayed in G-strings, as did the other dancers. At home, I could explore different ways to entice my men.
I was putting my clothes into my bag when there was a knock on the door. Fawn wouldn’t knock if she forgot something and no one else visited me. Perry and Peyton knew where I lived but they didn’t come here often. They hadn’t been here since we started a relationship together.
Through the peephole, I saw Emerald on the other side. What was he doing here? He had given me a ride home once when my car was giving me issues, so he knew where I lived.
I unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Hey, Emerald. What’s up?” I knew his real name just like he knew mine, but it was a force of habit to use our club names.
He wore a pair of jeans and had his thick winter jacket zipped up. “I was on my way to the club and figured I’d stop by to see if you wanted a ride.”
“I’m good, but thanks for the offer.” Why would he visit me to ask when my car had been fine? That one time he helped me was over a year ago.
Stepping closer, his eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you understand. You’re going to come with me.”
I took a step back. “Um no, I’m not.”
