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I shake my head, turning away from her. I pull my hair at the sides and let out a scream. I can feel Lana come up behind me, wrapping me in her arms. I fall back against her, and we slide to the floor.
“Was it that asshole? I’ll give him a piece of my mind,” she says.
Finally finding my voice, I tell her about the car ride.
“Shit. I’m so sorry. That has to be a punch to the gut,” I nod my head at the mental picture. That’s exactly what it felt like.
“I need to get out of here. Let’s go get drinks somewhere,” I state as I stand up from the floor.
“Yeah, sure, whatever you want. Do you want to go like that or change?” She asks. I look down at my dress and I know I just want to be comfortable.
“I’m going to put on some jeans,” I tell her as I begin rummaging through my drawers.
“Okay, let me go change really quickly,” She’s out of the room the next second.
I stand there and look at myself in the mirror. I have to purge myself of the old Stormy. I’m not that girl anymore. I’m not a member of Damaged Jacks. I’m just a girl trying to make it in the big city with my paintings, not music.
I change into jeans and a black, long-sleeved sweater. I hold onto my pendant for a moment before I release it and it falls back to my chest. I pull on my Converse shoes and brush my hair.
“I’m ready.” Lana calls from the other room. I take one last look before grabbing my purse and jacket.
“Me too. So, where are you taking me?” I ask.
“Only the best place around here, The Tipsy Tap.” I laugh at the name and nod my head, following her out the door.
???
Twenty minutes later, we pay for our Uber and step onto the streets of busy New York City. Lana takes my hand and ushers me inside the bar. Of course, they have fucking karaoke tonight. I avert my eyes, heading straight for the bar. I raise my hand for the handsome bartender to come over. I scan the darkened bar. There seems to be a good bit of people here tonight. The person singing right now is butchering“Oops I did it again”by Britney Spears. It makes me cringe just from all the singing lessons I took over the years. My teachers would roll over in their graves if they heard this shit.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think they would have karaoke tonight. I thought that was just an early weekday thing.” Lana declares.
“No worries. What do you want to drink? Shots first?” I question.
“Sure, let’s do tequila shots then I want a beer, Corona.” I nod as the bartender approaches.
“What can I get you ladies?” he slings his towel over his shoulder and looks us up and down, not being discreet at all. He’s no longer handsome, more cringy than anything.
“We need four shots of tequila, she wants a Corona, and I’ll take a Long Island iced tea,” I lean over the bar and shout. I don’t miss his eyes lingering on my breasts. I sigh to myself and pull out my ID for him tocheck. Lana pulls hers out as well and we both show him and put them away.
“Thank you, ladies. I’ll get those drinks right over.” I nod, waiting impatiently to get my mouth on some liquor. I know I shouldn’t be drinking but I give very few fucks right now. I want to get shitfaced and forget all about the last few days.
The bartender brings us the shots first. “What should we toast to?” I ask Lana as I grab the salt.
“How about to totally awesome roommates?” she shrugs and I laugh.
“To roommates!” We clink our shots together, hit the counter and toss them back. Sucking the lime in my mouth, I reach for the second round. I pass Lana hers and we toss the second back easier than the first. The liquor burns my throat on the way down, but the lime is the perfect chaser. I contemplate doing more shots, but I don’t want to get drunk in a few minutes and have to leave. I can already feel the tingle in my limbs.
“Here you go ladies.” The bartender is back and handing us our drinks. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as a familiar voice echoes into my ear.
“Well, fancy seeing you here, kitten. I’ve been thinking about you,” he whispers for only me to hear. I turn to see Lana flirting with the bartender, not paying attention to what’s going on with me. I take a large sip of my drink and turn to face Jared fucking Thompson, the asshole from the meeting the other day.
“Mr. Thompson,” I acknowledge with a nod.
“Call me Jared, kitten. Where is the big, bad Sebastian Knight? Not here to save you from me again? He was pissing all over you, claiming you in front of me.” He stumbles closer. I move at the last moment, andhe hits the bar counter with a thud. He chuckles darkly and scary expression forms on his face.
“I don’t need someone to save me from you.” I utter with more confidence than I feel.
“Ha ha, you should be smarter than that. I’ll be taking you home with me tonight and claiming your sweet little ass for myself.” He says stepping closer, blocking my escape. He grabs onto my waist, pulling me flush against his body.
