AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Witha couple more rounds of drinks,Ifound myself unraveling, starting from my childhood.
ZainaMittalonly wanted one child but accidentally ended up with a spare.Shewas supposed to be done with that portion of her life sinceMilanwas grown.Thelast thing she expected to do was take care of a little one while her career was on the rise.Asa result, most of my childhood was dealt with by nannies.
Therehad been a rift in our relationship from the beginning.MomandMilanalready had an established bondIcould never infiltrate.Milanaspired to become aCPA, likeMom.Theyexcitedly spoke about colleges and later which firms he’d apply to.Meanwhile,Ihad shown an early interest in all art-related things.Artwasn’t regarded as a respectable profession, andMompushed practical career choices, such as asset management or medicine.Itdidn’t take.Momnever saw the value in attendingJuilliard, and even after the prestigious degree had helped put me on the map, she often expressed her dissatisfaction over my choice.
AmitMittal, in turn, was a meek-mannered man.Dadnever criticized me, whichIappreciated.Hewas disinterested in interfering with family affairs and often followedMom’slead the timesIwas shunned, whichIhated.
Despitethe discrepancies in my relationship with my parents, my childhood was all around satisfactory, with both good and bad memories.Myprivileged life hadn’t endured real hardships until the passing of myDadi.Shewas a great cook, andIlearned to do the same by following her around in the kitchen.Ihad a weakness forPradaandLouisVuitton, sparkly items, and all things pink.Ihad no long-term goals and whenAxelasked about my five-year plan, the only thought to pop into my mind was purchasing this collector’s edition piano that had caught my eye.
Axeldidn’t tear his gaze away whileIunloaded.Helistened with such intensity that my insides quaked during various points of the conversation.Somethingunfamiliar amplified a fear in my chest.Thisnight would be over beforeIknew it, and so would this man’s undivided attention.Astrange grief gripped me by the chest, already mourning the loss of it.Axel’sundivided attention was unlike anythingIhad experienced before.Despitethe half-naked servers and the fully naked women on stage, his gaze never wandered.Hewas single-minded, focused… almost to the point of obsessive.Hadhe blinked even once?
Iwas vaguely aware of the announcement welcomingStuffedCandyto the stage.Hootsand cheers echoed around us, but they appeared hazy and in the backdrop of a more critical conversation happening at this red corner booth.Axelstill hadn’t taken his eyes off me when a woman missing her top approached our booth.Herass jiggled in a pair of yellow bottoms and matching high heels.Long, dirty blonde hair was styled to one side over her shoulders, shimmery glitter covering her exposed breasts.
AsIsaid, a little sparkle never hurt anyone.
Sheput her hand on the booth behindAxel.Battingher lashes a few times, she said in a syrupy sweet voice, “Higuys,I’mThickCupcake.Howare the two most beautiful people at this club doing tonight?”Thoughshe asked both of us, her attention was solely onAxel.Infact, most of the female staff’s attention had been onAxelsince our arrival.
“We’regood,”Iresponded upon realizingAxelwouldn’t acknowledge her.Hegenuinely didwhatever the fuckhe wanted.
“Doeither of you good-looking superstars want a lap dance?”WhenAxeldidn’t glance away from me, she followed up slyly, “Orperhaps a tour of the private room?”
“Um.”
Ididn’t care to do either of those things but realized we had done a poor job of participating in the debauchery of the club.Iabsentmindedly reached into my backpack and stuck a couple of twenties inThickCupcake’sG-string, hoping a good tip would be enough of a contribution to the club’s economy.
“Oh, thanks, sweetie,” she gushed.Herfocus was suddenly on me, the short-lived lust forAxelall but forgotten. “That’senough for the special treatment.Buckleup.”
BeforeIknew it,ThickCupcakehad climbed abroad the circular booth.Imeant the money as a tip, but she took it as an invitation to perform a lap dance.Buthey, when inRome, right?
Icheered her on as she started gyrating on my lap.Approximatelytwo seconds was how long it took forAxelto be out of his seat, ripThickCupcakeoff me, and shove her aside.
“Touchher one more time, and it’ll be the last thing you touch in your miserable life,” he growled with so much menace that everything came to a screeching halt.
TheMCbroadcasting the announcements and playing the songs, along with the guy shining spotlights on the girls, ceased on both accounts.Withthe music coming to an abrupt halt, all eyes landed on us.Ihad no doubt that we were seconds away from being thrown out.Theonly favorable account was the bouncer’s absence from the floor.Hehad been going back and forth between the private rooms and the main floor all night.LuckyforAxel, the bouncer was currently in the private room.
ThickCupcakeappeared mortified, andIwas out of my seat in a flash. “Dude, what are you doing?”Clearly,Imisunderstood the tipping structure and gaveThickCupcakean amount equivalent to the cost of a lap dance.Evenif it hadn’t been my intention to get a lap dance,Ididn’t protest once she started dancing.Thiswas hardly her fault. “ShethoughtIwanted a lap dance, and hello, this is a strip club.Whatdid you think we were going to do?”
“Apparently, not let random women ride you for their entertainment.”
“Oh, myGod.Areyou seriously jealous?Thepoor woman was just doing her job.”
Heignored me and turned to the woman, seemingly angrier atThickCupcakebecauseIdefended her. “Ibetter not see you again,” he chewed out.
“Leaveher alone.”Itilted my head toward the woman. “I’mso sorry about this.”Ihanded her a couple more twenties to make up for whatever loss of business this drama had caused her.Sheclutched my hands as she took the money and held onto me, most likely out of fear of the giant man towering over her, ready to tear her limb from limb.
Bigmistake.
Axelappeared homicidal. “WhatdidItell you about touching her?Getyour filthy fucking hands off her.”Hetook a step forward.ThickCupcakedidn’t need to be told twice.Sheretracted her hands and bolted.
Ishoved at his chest.Thetemporary truce we had invoked while disclosing my life story was all but forgotten. “Wheredo you get off bullying people?Shecan touch me if she wants to; it’s none of your fucking business.”
“Youthink so?” he growled back. “HowaboutIprove you wrong?”
Istared atAxelwith round eyes. “HowaboutIditch your lunatic ass?Youdon’t get to be possessive over me; we aren’t dating.”
“Yet,” he added.
Mytemper threatened to break loose.Theurge to walk away from this maniac was overwhelming, but so was my willpower to defend a fellow female.Girlpower, girls stick together, and all that jazz.
