Comforting Touch (Touch #5) (3 page)

Chapter 3

However, Wednesday arrives too quickly, and I
wish
I could be mopey. Mopey is easy. Instead, I'm nervous as fuck and not good at hiding it as I meet up with Kayla, Evangeline, Brayden, and a few others for this week's subbie munch.

I'm introduced to Gabriella and Dylan—two Littles I met too briefly last week—and Gretchen arrives with three friends shortly after I've sat down with my cappuccino.

"I can't wait to see you tonight!" Kayla exclaims, grabbing my arm to give it a shake in excitement. I'm used to it though, so I made sure I wasn’t holding my coffee. "Can you come, too?" She faces Evangeline and Brayden. "Chelsea is
so
good."

"Shut it." I grin and let out a nervous breath.

"She sings like Adele," Kayla goes on, and I pinch her hand.

"I sing her songs," I correct her. "And songs by artists in that genre."

Kayla shakes her head. "Don’t listen to her." It's like I'm not even here.

"I'm game if we can drag Mark out," Evangeline says with a smile. Brayden opens his mouth to say something, but she cuts him off. "Don’t start,
mon ange
. You're a guy, so you wouldn’t possibly understand."

"Understand what?" Kayla and Gabriella ask at the same time.

"When boys get sick." Evangeline rolls her eyes. "Mark came down with whatever bug I had. And let it be known that I had an ear infection too, whereas he only had a fever and couldn’t hold anything in." I chuckle, having a feeling I know where this is going. "But it's been two days since the fever broke, and he's eating just fine, yet he acts as if he's dying."

Kayla holds up a hand. "Say no more, sweetie. When Nicholas is sick, I have to remind myself that
I'm
the Little. Because it's definitely not clear."

I nod, remembering that from my last Dom. "A paper cut turns them into babies, but a chopped-off arm is something they'll 'get over.'"

"Exactly!" Evangeline cries out. "It would take nothing short of a heart attack for both Brayden and Mark to go to the hospital. But when a man-cold strikes? Jeesh."

"I'm sitting
right here
," Brayden says.

Evangeline pouts and pats his cheek. "I know."

Kayla giggles.

"I'm on your side, buddy," Dylan offers solemnly.

Brayden bumps his fist.

"Well, you're a guy," Gabriella tells Dylan.

Dylan widens his eyes. "Thank you for noticin', darlin'. I've been wondering." He smirks and rests an arm along the back of her chair. "Hopefully our Daddies will let us play together again soon."

I tilt my head, curious about Gabriella's blush. I know barely anything about her, but the engagement ring on her finger says a thing or two. And I know flirting when I see it. Dylan's definitely flirting.

I'm guessing they're poly.

"I didn’t know you and Cade play with others, as well," Kayla notes curiously.

Something dims in Dylan's eyes. "Neither did I, but he's made that very clear."
Oh
. He wants more, but this Cade guy doesn’t? "It's all good, though." He fakes cheeriness. "Not being exclusive means I get invited to parties like the one Master Kelly is hosting this weekend."

Oh, fuck my life. I still haven't gathered the courage to call Dante and say I don't want to be there.

Maybe because you actually do wanna go?

No, I don’t. I'm not that masochistic…

Out of the corner of my eye, I see that the new topic has caught Gretchen's attention. 

"What!" Kayla drops her jaw. "You're
going
? Nicholas and I were invited too, but we declined. We don’t share, and apparently Rio is all about that."

Ouch. Nothing like crushing on a man you're not compatible with.

Dylan shrugs, playing it off as easy peasy. "Cade and I share. So…"

"I'm going, too," I admit, which
should
be a lie. "Dante invited me."

"It's gonna be so fun," Gretchen gushes.

"Good Lord, I need a drink. Information overload." Kayla rubs her temples before huffing a breath and facing Dylan. "Cade is working at Switch both Friday and Saturday, so who are you going with?"

"Mistress Judy and her sub." Dylan shifts in his seat, not entirely comfortable.

Kayla picks up on that and narrows her eyes. "Does Cade know?"

"I'm gonna tell him," he replies defensively. "He'll have no issue with it."

"Mmhmm." Kayla looks smug. "I'm sure." Then, outta nowhere, she turns and whacks my arm. "
You
. Why didn’t you tell me you're going?"

Okay, that’s it. I love my nosy little friend, but I have limits. "I think I'll have to talk to Nicholas about your fuckin' attitude." I arch a brow. "You do know I'm allowed to choose
when
I tell you things, right?"

She flushes and ducks her head. "Crap, you're right. I'm sorry. I'll back down."

"It's all right, hon." I hug her to me and kiss the side of her head. "I know you get excited and want everybody to settle down and
have a bunch of babies
."

Almost everyone cracks up at that, so I assume they've heard about Kayla's matchmaking ways, too. Even when she was single, her focus was on finding the perfect match for her friends.

*

I'll back down
, Kayla told me earlier.

I nearly snort.

If backing down meant inviting Rio—who's here with a fucking date!—to my gig, I fear finding out what
full speed ahead
would entail.

As I wrap up another love song—a beautiful Duffy tune—I kick off my heels and attach the mic to the stand. The spotlight keeps me from seeing the faces of the people in the crowd, although I was able to spot Kayla, Nicholas, Brayden, Evangeline, and Mark earlier.

Rio, too. And the woman he's here with
.

Though, unlike Kayla and the others who are occupying one of the round tables in front of the low stage, Rio and Whatsherface are standing at the end of the bar.

Feel free to leave
.

After the munch earlier today, I went home and ended up bitching to Jase and Robby about Rio. They didn’t deserve my ranting, but I couldn’t help it. I'm frustrated, confused, hurt, and pissed. Dangerous combination for any woman.

Once I was done, Jase told me I better put on my big-girl panties and confront Rio. It's the only way to get answers as to why he treats me like I stomped on his sandcastle. So my big-girl panties are on, and I'm ready to ask what his problem with me is, but I can't say seeing him here with a date makes me wanna approach him all sweet and polite.

In fact, defiance surges forward to the point where I decide to change the last song. The house band behind me already has the sheet music because I'm supposed to sing it for Ladies' Night tomorrow, but with the lyrics in mind, I want it now. Right fucking now.

I thank my little audience and announce the final song for the evening. What with it being Lovers' Night and all, I figure some explainin' is necessary. "How about we dedicate the last song to the frogs we kissed before meeting our princes and princesses." I grin into the hot spotlight, chuckles from the people giving me a boost of confidence, and wipe sweat off the back of my neck. Turning around, I murmur the song to the drummer, guitarist, and bass player, and they nod in understanding.

As the first notes of Nina Nesbitt's "Mr. C" fill the bar, I swear I can hear Kayla and Evangeline laughing. Maybe they’ve heard the song before and know where my mind is at.

The song is upbeat and fun, and it completely annihilates the poor attempts of a guy who flirts by being pompous and dry.

"
I'll take the drink, but if you think you're…coming home with me.
" I bring the mic over to the rockabilly-hot guitarist. "
Who you tryin'a kid?
"

He grins and sings the next words with me. "
You're so vain, I can't believe it.
" Then he winks, and I blow him a kiss before returning to the front of the stage.

And my reason for picking the damn song tonight… "
I've come to the conclusion you're quite fit.
" I make sure to face the bar, and I fire off a playful pistol shot in Rio's direction. "
But I'm under no illusion…you're a dick.
"

Take that, almighty Master.

*

I'm in the tiny room backstage struggling to get out of my even tinier black dress when Kayla and Evangeline barge in.

"You were awesome!" Kayla hugs me tightly, and she realizes very quickly I'm in need of a shower. "Oh…" She grimaces and smiles at the same time and breaks the hug. "Gets hot with those lights on stage, huh?"

"Little bit," I chuckle. "Glad you enjoyed the gig, though."

"Girl, your voice is out of this world," Evangeline says.

I'm no good with compliments regarding my singing, so I grin and wave it off. Then I refocus on getting outta my dress, and Kayla grabs my white tank top from a chair.

"I can't wait to go home and jump into the shower." I put on the top, then get crackin' with my skinny jeans. "And I'm
starving
."

"You're not going to have a drink with us first?" Kayla gives me the puppy-dog look she pulls on Nicholas.

I snort and slip my feet into my sneakers. "Not after
someone
invited Rio here tonight."
Who. Brought. A. Damn. Date
. "Seriously, Kayla. How could you?"

I may or may not be jealous of his date, which is totally irrational.

"Pay up." Kayla makes a gimme motion at Evangeline. "Did I not tell you she was gonna blame me for Rio being here?" I frown in confusion as Kayla faces me with a smug look. "For your information, nobody
invited
him. Nicholas told him where we were going. That’s it."

"That…"
doesn’t make sense
. "Rio couldn’t have known I was singing—that I was here."

After he told Nicholas he specifically didn’t want me anywhere near him, Rio wouldn’t seek me out. That’s batshit crazy right there.

Kayla shrugs and pockets ten bucks from Evangeline. "Maybe he wants to talk to you. He just ordered a new beer when we left our table to come in here."

But, but, but!

I don’t know what to make of this.

Evangeline hums and lifts a brow in Kayla's direction. "Then again, would he bring his slave if he wanted to talk to Chelsea?"

My stomach drops. "He has a slave?"

Considering Rio's reputation in the community, it's not that much of a surprise, but according to Kayla, he's been in a rut or something. Only playing every now and then, mostly volunteering as a DM, and never scening with a sub more than once or twice.

"I'm still working on that one." Kayla scowls into the air and bites her thumbnail. "Miranda's one of the waitresses—"

"So the bitch has a name." I gather my things and shove them into my bag.

Kayla ignores my crap and goes on. "She used to have the biggest crush on Mark—"

It's Evangeline's turn to interrupt. "Mine." She sneers, and I pull a sweater over my head. "I'd put Master's cock in a cage if it weren't for…you know, the beating he'd give me."

"I've heard you like that, though." I wink at my fellow masochist. Well, we're not really masochists, but we do enjoy a good dose of pain with our pleasure.

"Okay, you two have
got
to stop cutting me off!" Kayla huffs. "
Anyway
. Her last relationship with a Dom was a nonsexual one, so perhaps that’s Rio's deal. I'll do some more digging." A firm nod.

As much as I admire her willingness to help, I'm not sure it's worth the hassle. I'm gonna be living here, so I'm still set on talking to Rio, but I can catch him when he's alone. Right now I'm only tired and itching to shower and eat my body weight in ice cream.

"Don’t get yourself in trouble." I shoulder my bag and kiss her forehead. "I'm gonna head out, but you guys have fun."

"We can't convince you to stick around?" Evangeline looks concerned.

I smile and give her a brief hug. "Nah. Say hi to your men for me, but I wanna go home."

Probably sensing I can't be swayed, they let me leave, and I track down the bar's owner. He praises my performance and says, as he hands me my money, that he's looking forward to making me a regular for Wednesdays and Thursdays.

His words cause some of the tightness in my body to ease up, and maybe my private life is a little uprooted at the moment, but I'm doing pretty damn well work-wise. I gotta thank Nicholas again for my position at one of his clubs, 'cause that’s definitely the paycheck that lets me live where I live.

"You'll be a local star in no time, darling." André kisses my cheeks and grabs my shoulders, a smirk on his face. "I want your two nights here in writing, because once I promote you, bitches all over the Castro will want to hire you for gigs."