Flirting With Chaos (27 page)

“What are you thinking about?” Jude helped me off of the bus.

“Black people.” I giggled.

“Well, you’re in the right city for that. I love Atlanta. Whenever I’m feening for a nice, lush…”

“What?” I leaned my head to the side. “What were you going to say?”

He cleared his throat. “Nothing. It’s weird to say it to you now that we’re…doing whatever we’re doing.”

T-Bone stepped off the bus. “He was going to say he likes to fly into Atlanta when he wants to hook up with women with big behinds. This white boy don’t know how to act when he gets around the sisters. Boy looks like a rabid dog in heat.”

I covered my mouth and laughed while I tried to conjure up the image of Jude on all fours with his foamy tongue wagging. My heels clicked on the sidewalk as we walked up to the club. A gold sign read: Grope and Munch.

“Anyway, let’s have some fun!” Jude grabbed my hand.

I forced a smile.

T-Bone walked in front of us in baggy jeans and a huge leather vest. Somehow he’d found a pair of glasses covered in silver studs at the local mall. He glanced over his shoulder. “Rain, make sure you stay close to me.”

“Why? Are you going to try and whip or paddle me?” I wagged my eyebrows at him.

“Just try to stay out of trouble, please. I don’t want to have to run around after you too.”

“Run, really?” Jude chuckled.

“Leave him alone.” I laughed.

A short guy around my height crossed the street and waved his hand at Jude. “Yo, Jude? Is that you? Hell no! What are you doing in Atlanta?”

“What am I doing here?” Jude hugged the guy, which told me that he knew him well. He barely touched any other guy in a friendly way. “What are
you
doing here, Simon? How’s your mom back in LA?”

“Great. She’s keeping your mother busy. They’re always clubbing, even at their age, and staying in everyone’s business. I had to leave and take a break on the east.”

Jude gestured to me. “This is my girl, Rain. I’ve had to talk to you about her before.”

“Oh, yes.” Simon rolled his eyes. “When we were growing up, and every time he came back during the summers to visit his mom, all he talked about was Rain can paint this and Rain already read that particular book. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

I shook his hand. “Thanks.”

“So, you here for Maestro’s video?”

We nodded.

Simon looked back at me. “Is this your first time in a fetish club?”

“Yeah,” I said. “What about you?”

He raised two fingers. “My mom owns two in LA.”

“Holy shit!”
No wonder his mom hung with Jude’s mom. I think she did fetish films.
“So you’re a pro at this.”

He shrugged. “I guess.”

“Then when Jude’s off doing big rock star things, I hope you’ll give me my own special fetish tour.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Simon glanced at him, as if for his approval, and then after a few seconds said, “Sounds good. I can’t wait.”

We walked into the nightclub. I expected chains and whips, paddles and rope. Instead, the club gave off an elegant and sleek vibe. The whole space glowed ice blue. I scanned the area for where the color came from but couldn’t find it. Crystal chandeliers hung from high ceilings. Leather couches lined the wall. Lush carpet covered the floors. A dance floor stood in the middle, and behind that was a stage. Throughout the whole place, energy pulsed from everybody and bounced off the walls. Adrenaline charged through me. I was pumped and ready to party.

“Oh, man. This is going to be a fun night.” I released Jude’s hand and clapped.

Although the place didn’t fit my stereotypical idea of what a fetish club should be, the people represented everything that I assumed a fetish club would have. Still, I figured they were music video extras rather than the usual group that frequented the place.

Men dressed in tight vinyl bodysuits and high heels, higher than I would have ever worn. Striped black and white latex masks covered most of their faces, leaving holes where the eyes, nose, and mouth were.

“Stay together, everyone!” T-Bone guided us through a large crowd.

“Just focus on Jude.” I adjusted my corset. “I’ll be fine. I have my phone on me.”

Everyone had dressed up for Maestro’s fetish-themed video. Beautiful women of all races wore the tiniest skirts in so many different fabrics—from latex to crushed velvet minis that flared out at the bottom, see-through thin material to Catholic-school plaid. Tops varied as much as the skirts. Many only sported pasties on their nipples in the color that matched the bottom half of their outfit. Corsets abounded in the room—made of everything from leather to satin and transparent plastic. I didn’t spot anyone who had on anything that resembled my beaded top. Either way, they all danced like it was the best night of their lives.

Big video cameras were spread out in the place. They zoomed around on mini railroad tracks nailed down throughout the club’s floor. A few people sat in folded chairs with their names plastered on the back—the director, project manager, and others deemed significant. I spotted Maestro on the stage. I’d seen him so many times on television and had to admit that he was one of the most gorgeous hip-hop artists out now. He was blessed with a milk chocolate complexion, a thick muscular body, and a bald head. Tonight, the jacket he wore hung open and revealed his excellent six-pack decorated by a huge tattoo that read: Maestro.

His song “Sex in the Dark” blasted from the speakers.

“Tonight, your body needs passion,”
he sang.
“Oh, baby. Individual satisfaction. Only the kind that I can provide. It’s all on you tonight, boo.”

Jude leaned toward my ear. “I had no idea he could actually sing. I thought all he did was rhyme.”

“Me either. He does have a nice voice.”

Five dancers surrounded him, wearing six-inch glass heels and bikinis made of white mink fur. They rocked their hips back and forth and then from side to side as the beat followed their rhythm.

“Open your legs. Take off your clothes.”
Maestro opened his jacket a little more, taunting all of the females in the club with his body.
“Tonight, it’s all about you. I’ll take control.”

Jude led me to the where the director sat. T-Bone and Simon stayed behind us. In that moment, Maestro stopped singing and made a cutting motion near his neck.

The music ceased its blasting. Dancers paused. The audience of extras quit dancing and took a break.

“Jude! Motherfucker, you actually showed up.” Maestro jumped off the stage, headed to us, and gave Jude a half hug. “You’re really serious about your album, aren’t you?”

“Definitely. Especially this song. I want you on it.”

“‘Apple,’ right?” His gaze shifted to me. “And is this the beautiful woman that inspired ‘Apple’?”

“I’m just his best friend.” I extended my hand to shake his and prepared to step to the side to let them talk.

Maestro captured me in a hug instead, filling my space with a come-hither cologne that teased my senses, and he whispered in my ear, “What’s your name?”

It was crazy. His voice shuddered through me. I inched back when he let me go. “My name’s Rain.”

“Rain? I like that.” Dimples emerged on each of his cheeks as he smiled and turned back to Jude with a questioning look in his eyes. “So, just best friends?”

Jude shook his head. “No. She’s definitely more than that. She’s mine.”

Mine? What is this, a vampire romance?

“I’m not yours.” I giggled.

“Word?” Maestro raised one eyebrow and dipped his head.

I tossed Jude a puzzled expression and mouthed,
“yours?”

He avoided my look. Annoyance seemed to creep around his eyes and cause the muscles in his jaw to twitch. “Rain has been my friend for as long as I’ve been alive. We just recently took our relationship to the next level.”

All righty. Will we be showing him pictures of us having sex too? What the hell is all this confessing about?

“Well, I’m glad you said something.” Maestro inched away from me. “I definitely was going to make shorty mine for as long as she would allow it. You better keep her close tonight.”

“I’ll remember that.” Jude set his hand around my waist and drew me hard into him, until our bodies molded against each other.

My breath lodged in my throat for a second before releasing out of my parted lips.

He tilted my way enough to kiss me on my cheek. “And yes, she’s the inspiration to ‘Apple.’”

I cleared my throat. “But I would like to keep that a secret.”

“Why?” Maestro widened his lips into a large smile. “Jude, you told me moaning was on the track. Don’t tell me this sweet thing is the one who made those moans.”

My face heated as I blushed. I climbed out of Jude’s arms. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to grab a drink. Nice meeting you.”

I walked off and did a quick glance over my shoulder. Both of them studied my behind. I blushed again and disappeared through a line of body guards and the crowd of dancers.

Simon ran up to my side. “Jude asked me to tag along with you.”

“Sure. Let’s get a drink.” I slipped through couples and groups of chatting women. The bar was on my right. I squeezed through another group.

“Is that Jude Everett?” A blonde with long hair and massive breasts nudged her blond friend. “Kim told me he had a big one.”

“Are you going to see if the rumors are true?” Her friend giggled.

“I can try, but look, there’s already a line around him.”

I twisted toward Jude’s direction and realized the blonde hadn’t lied. I’d been gone for less than a minute, and women of different sizes and shapes swarmed him. Jude didn’t seem out of sorts with the situation at all. In fact, he appeared incredibly pleased. One whispered in his ear and he laughed. Another tugged on his leather collar, and his hand wrapped around her waist just like he’d done with mine seconds ago.

So much for his declaration of how I was his and that our relationship had gone to the next level. Some things never change.

Meanwhile, Maestro returned to the stage, and his dancers followed. The beginning of his song came on with just the music and none of the words. I assumed the starting of the song was a signal to go back to work since everyone raced out to the dance floor and jumped back into their respective positions, leaving Simon and me at the bar. Somewhere in the haze, I lost my view of Jude and two of the girls that had hung on him. I scanned the club left to right, front to back. I couldn’t find him anywhere.

“He went to the bathroom,” Simon offered.

“Jude?”

“Yes.”

“Alone?”

Simon hit the bar and laughed. “Jude? Of course not. I’ve personally never seen him go to the bathroom alone when the place is full of women.”

I put on a weak smile. “Yeah. Of course not.” I checked my watch. We’d barely been in the club for five minutes before Jude had jetted to go mess with other women. I knew he was probably going to hook up with someone tonight, but not as soon as I’d left his side.

Jude is not mine and I’m not his. Remember it. Just have fun. Don’t over-think this.

I blew out a long breath and hit the bar’s damp surface. “Fuck it. Let’s have some drinks.”

What the hell else am I going to do, sit in the club and wait patiently for him to finish and then trot after him like a little puppy, wagging my tail to get his attention? Never.

I clapped my hands. “Let’s party like rock stars, Simon. No worries. No regrets. No long thoughts about the past or the future. Let’s just focus on the present.”

He scrunched his face in confusion. “O-kay. What do you like to drink?”

I stared at the area where Jude had been standing. “Strong and fruity, but heavy on the strong.”

He signaled for the bartender and then leaned my way. “And are you only drinking?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you need an extra kick? I’m good at finding things. What’s your poison—pill or powder?”

“Neither. I’m a natural girl. You get me some green, and I’ll be happy all night.”

“Oh, that’s easy.” He slipped his hands into his jacket and pulled out a thick blunt. “You want to drink first and smoke later?”

“Hell no. Smoke first, and if we remember, then we’ll drink later.” I hopped off of the bar stool. “Where do you want to smoke? On Jude’s bus?”

“Naw. Let’s do it in the girls’ bathroom.”

“Girls’ bathroom?” I looked him up and down. “You can’t go in there.”

“Fuck. You can’t tell, huh?” Simon seized my hand and dragged it into his pants. I cringed as he yanked my fingers against a vagina. “I’m a girl. I haven’t gotten the operation yet. I mean, I still like to be referred to as a guy, but I can go into the girls’ bathroom.”

I tensed as he took my hand out. I lost the ability to talk.