© ItalRT4u, 2012

     Gage had been calling me incessantly for most of the week.  By the time Friday had come around, I had had enough of simply ignoring his calls.  I was scheduled to start my bartending job tonight over at Slicks.  That's right, the same club I love to let loose at incidentally, the one where I've nearly killed a man with a simple makeout session; is the same club that occupies my weekend nights starting tonight.

     Joe, the owner of the place had requested that I keep everything I wore for work to solid blacks and whites and avoided showing too much skin.  Needless to say, it was an upscale establishment and he prided himself as having classy looking workers, not slutty trash.  Knowing that I would be on my feet all night, I opted to wear my black leather knee-high boots, black skinny jeans with a white halter that hung loosely around the waist.  I brought some extra sparkle to the outfit with some bangle bracelets, pendant earrings and my makeup which I made sure accentuated my green eyes.  Opting to put my hair up for the night, I tied it up in a messy loose bun which allowed for some loose tendrils to fall on either side of my face.

     I walked into Slicks and headed to Joe's office, where the employees stored their belongings in the few lockers he kept there. 

     “How's it looking out there?”  Joe asked me as I walked in.  I told him that the place was starting to fill up relatively quickly and it was barely nine at this point.  “Good.”  And he looked down and kept typing away on his laptop; tackling what looked like some invoice payments.

     Half an hour later, I was introduced to Holly, my partner behind the bar for the night.  She was a tiny but extremely beautiful woman with a pixie looking haircut, and her small features were played up with dramatic looking makeup.  There was no questioning why Joe had hired her seeing as she had amazing skills behind the bar; especially when it came to bottle juggling.  I swear, it was something out of that Tom Cruise movie – please tell me you’ve seen Cocktail.

     After a bit of small talk between customers, I discovered that I liked Holly; she was definitely someone I could see myself hanging out with from time to time outside of work.  She was spunky and despite her size, she knew how to handle her own with belligerent drunks or so I had come to realize on a few occasions earlier this evening.  Joe had come to help us out a little after eleven, when the crowd got larger than anticipated.  It seemed like the live entertainment for the night had generated a substantially larger than usual influx of people that simply were looking for a good time, to put it mildly.

     “Damn if Tina picked the wrong night to call in sick.”  He had muttered in passing as he caught his breath from a wave of mixing drinks that finally had dwindled in intensity.

     “What'll it be?”  I asked a group of self-assured men that had just walked up to the bar.  I'm not sure if it was because of them or if it was just me but I was beginning to feel uncomfortable.  Perhaps it was something they were projecting.  I was sort of beginning to regret taking this job at this point.  Being around a bunch of inebriated people, where the urge for sexual exploits are at their highest,  might not have been ideal for a new succubus; one who had yet to fully control her urges and know everything she needed to about her abilities.

     “I'll take three Bud Lights and a piece of you on the side.”  One of the guys, most likely the leader of the group said and threw a chuckle toward the male duo behind him as they stood there devouring me with their eyes.  Despite the crawling feeling on my skin, my body began to feel heated and channeling my empath side; I was able to tell that the leader of the trio wholeheartedly planned on acting out his fantasies with me, given the chance.  Those thoughts excited me yet petrified me to my core all at the same time.  I didn’t understand why my body wanted to betray me in this moment.

     “Dream on.”  I chuckled, ducking down below and reached for the beer fridge and pulled out three Bud Lights for them.  Popping the caps off of each bottle, I handed them over and accepted his payment.  As I turned to head over to the register, his hand grabbed my wrist and held on.  I turned and looked at his hand on me and then up to his eyes with a look that heeded warning his way.

     “I suggest you let go of me now before you regret it.”  The guy didn't budge.  If anything, I felt his grip tighten as he pulled me toward him, leaning toward each other over the counter of the bar.  For once, I actually wished I could let myself lose control and give this guy exactly what he wanted but most importantly, what he deserved.  I can't believe I was contemplating draining him.

     Joe had come to my rescue and made sure the guys were escorted out of the club before anything serious could happen.  He was very protective of his workers and I appreciated that of him.  Someone caught the corner of my eye as I turned to take care of a freshly washed load of glassware.  Gage was here and I couldn't help the feeling of annoyance that had now just overcome me.

     “Joe?  I'm taking five, if that's alright.”  He nodded seeing as I had refused to take him up on his break offers earlier.  I felt like it wasn’t fair to leave them hanging and tending to the orders when it was so crazy busy.

     I grabbed Gage and pulled him to the back of the bar near Joe's office door and cornered him.

     “We need to talk.”  He tells me, quickly moving around me so I was forced to turn to face him leaving me with my back against the wall.  “I can't stop thinking about you.”

     “Gage, you need to go.  I'm working.”  I tell him, gulping as I feel him nuzzling my collarbone.  If the circumstances were different, I might have entertained the idea of seeking sexual release from him but it wasn't the time or the place.

     “I know you want this as much as I do.”  He whispers into the soft skin of my neck.

     “Just because I want something doesn't mean I get it, Gage.”  I push him away.

     “Let’s do this some other time.  Please?”  I gave him a slight pleading look.

     “Fine.  I'll wait for you to get off work.  We can talk then.”  He tells me in his classic pouting manner.

     “Do whatever you want.”  I mumbled with annoyance and walked back to my post behind the bar, leaving him staring after me.

     Gage had sat at the bar in silence, even when Cane came walking through the door.  We had spent some time making small talk and laughing between customers.  The band was phenomenal and I felt myself wanting to stick around.  My body was feeding on the surge of emotions that floated in the air.  You could literally choke on the lust, excitement, and envy that hung everywhere around us.

     Returning from clocking out after my shift, I felt hands on my hips, pulling me backward; into that ever so popular corner I seem to be spending my off time in lately.

     “I'm taking you home now.”  Gage tells me.

     “No thanks.”  I say.  “I'm going to stick around, have a drink, maybe a few dances and go home.”

     “Fine, I'll drive you home after you're done having your fun.”

     “Whatever.”  I say as I walk away from him.  “Joe, I'm gonna need a shot of Jack.”  I call out to him, taking my place beside Cane.

     “You wanna dance?”  Cane asked me as I turned back from noticing that Gage had come up on my other side.  Smiling, I took his hand and let him lead the way, ignoring Gage completely.

     I'm not sure if it was the shots I had taken, my empathic abilities or any other outstanding factor that evades me at this point but my body was beginning to hum and feel heated.  I hadn't spoken a word to Gage for nearly an hour.  Annoyed at his childish shenanigans, I had chosen to ignore him resulting in him giving Cane and I death stares as we had fun dancing to the live music.

     “What are you doing?”  Gage came up to us and asked me after a while of fuming while he stared.

     “I'm dancing.  What's it look like?”  I smirked as I swung my hips, slightly rubbing the front of my body against Cane's.

     “Are you ready to go home now?”  He asked me with a yawn.

     “No.”  I say and turn to look at a smirking Cane quickly before turning back to Gage.  “Just go home Gage.  I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

     “I'm not leaving you here with this guy.”  He blurts out so that both Cane and I had no problem hearing him over the music.  If you'd asked me, it seemed like he was looking for a rise from Cane; one he didn't get.

     “Don't worry man.  I'll get her home safe.”  He winked at me.  “I always have.”

     The look of fluster and confusion on Gage's face had been priceless.  I was thankful that he hadn't embarrassed himself further by causing a scene.  I'm not sure how I would have dealt with that and I was dreading the next conversation between he and I.  He would definitely make me explain myself, not that I owed him any answers in the slightest.

     “So you know I'll have loads of explaining to do tomorrow, right?”  I giggled.

     “Who is he anyway?”  Cane asked me.

     “My ex.  He just came back into town and thought that perhaps I had forgotten about his cheating ways.”  I explained.

     “Now why would anyone in their right mind want to do that to you?”  He asked the very question I had been wondering to myself all this time.

     “Can't you think of a reason at all?”  I said smartly.

     “No.”  He paused.  “Look around you, almost every man in this place has been gawking at you.  I don't see why he'd find someone else appealing if he already had you.”

     “Well, well Mr. Bright Eyes.”  I teased him.  “You're making me blush.  Are you coming on to me?”

     “I'm speaking the truth.”  He plainly said with a smirk.  “And maybe just a little.”  And I swear I could feel him pulling me in closer as I chuckled at his statement.

     An hour later, I was home, Cane leaning on the doorway beside me as I unlocked my front door.  I heard a car door slamming shut on the street and all hell broke loose.

     “So you're fucking him now?”  I heard.  Turning to face a raging Gage, I didn't know what to do with myself.  Cane positioned himself between Gage and me.

     “What I do and with whom isn't of your concern Gage.”  I told him from behind Cane.

     “Bullshit!”  Gage screams.  “I told you I needed you back and instead of talking to me, you find yourself a boy toy.  How so very convenient for the shutdown Queen.”

     “Get the hell out of here and don't come back!”  I yelled at him.

     “You heard her.”  Cane spoke calmly.

     “Mind your business.”  Gage spoke to Cane.  And that's when something odd happened.  After a few silent seconds too long and some weird stare down between the two guys, Gage pulled a one-eighty with his attitude.

     “I'm s-sorry.”  Gage stuttered softly.  “I'll leave you be.”  Turning around, he left where he had come from.  I hadn't expected that, in fact, I had expected the complete opposite; and so, I had braced myself for swinging fists and a few bruises between the two of them.  Clutching the back of Cane's shirt tightly with my hands and pressing the side of my face into his back, I hoped that the blowout I was expecting would never ensue.  When Gage drove off, Cane finally turned around and pulled me away so he could look at me.  What happened next I never anticipated.

     “I don't know how you do it but I just can't take it anymore.”  He whispered against my lips as his hands found my waist, under my shirt.  His fingertips, playing a delicate pattern on the tender skin located there.

     “Why...  How...”  The words weren't coming out for me as I felt him nibble the soft skin below my ear, causing me to arch into him.  “Oh...  Never mind.”  I managed along with a light moan.

                                          *************************************

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