LATCH (6 page)

Pulling up to My Club 20 to meet Scott and Tracy, the line is wrapped around the building. But Scott knows the bouncer and it gets me in every time. I drop his name and the red rope is unclipped.

Moving inside, the lights are dim and music is pumping through the air. I grab a stool at the bar and order a beer, running my fingers through my hair. Checking my phone for the time, I know that they will be arriving soon.

Taking a sip, I look out on the dance floor, where soon Tracy will be grinding all over me. Then she walks up and bumps my shoulder. “Hey there,” I respond and throw an arm over her.

She smiles nuzzling into me. “What’s up, Scott?” I shake his hand as he orders Tracy a double gin and tonic and a water for himself.

“Not much, you?”

“Nada.”

Scott is smoking an e-cigarette and looks high as a kite, like he is on painkillers or something. “You look gorgeous tonight,” I tell Tracy, with my arm still around her.

She giggles as Scott is scanning the place, clearly paranoid that someone is going to see us. I wonder sometimes why we don’t just meet at their house and get straight to fucking, but I’m not the one paying, so I don’t make the rules.

Running my fingers up and down the back of one of her arms, she kisses my neck and whispers into my ear, “I can’t wait for your cock.”

Looking into her eyes, I tell her quietly, “You gonna let me fuck you real good tonight?” She giggles and nods quickly.

The last few times Scott and Tracy have hired me, Scott joined in and we double-teamed her. He’d work her pussy and I’d work her ass at the same time. It was kind of weird for me to feel his dick on mine inside her, but for five G’s, I can look past just about anything and play along with whatever they want. And right now, I think their crazy kink is probably the only distraction that might actually work to clear my mind.

Tracy reaches down and grabs my cock. “Yes, I want you to slam me, but in my pussy tonight.” Raising my eyebrows to her in question, she adds, “Scott knows.”

I nod once, knocking back a swig of my beer. “Can we dance?” Tracy asks Scott. “Sure, baby, whatever you want tonight.”

He really must be high, because Scott normally makes the rules; it’s never whatever she wants. She stops rubbing my cock and I ask her, “Ready?”

She stands and I take her hand. “You coming?” I ask him.

“No, I’m just going to watch you two tonight.”

Finishing my drink, I set the empty bottle down and head towards the dance floor with Tracy. She is so excited and clearly horny, with her nasty comments and grabby hands.

Once we settle in a spot on the edge of the floor, where Scott can see us perfectly, Tracy begins to grind on me. I hold on to her, feeling her every contour, letting her do what she wants, and get lost in the music. Tonight, I made myself a promise; I’m not going to think about Abby, no matter what. Scott pays me very well and he expects the best, so that is what I have to give them.

Moving along with Tracy, I can’t help but laugh at her, she’s fuckin’ cute. I’m not a huge fan of dancing, but she always makes it fun. Following her lead, we move together, and I know tonight will be interesting, and she’ll keep my mind off of Abby.

Music fills the air as we get lost in one another. She kisses my neck and I squeeze her ass, just as a group of girls enters the club, and leading the way is none other than Abby. My heart stops and my stomach climbs into the back of my throat. She looks happy as she is laughing with them and then in slow motion she locks eyes with me and suddenly my world halts. The room spins as she moves past me, neither of us breaking eye contact. My hand is locked on Tracy’s waist as she grinds against my cock. Abby watches us dancing, giving a long stare, and I have no clue what to do.

Like a complete idiot, I just watch her walk by. Shaking out of the daze, I know I have to stop her. This might be my only chance to talk to her about everything that happened. To make sure she’s okay, to tell her how truly sorry I am that we got caught, and to…

Sitting on the edge of my bed, staring at the navy blue wall, I’m more unhappy than I’ve been in years. I can’t sleep and I really never imagined that this is what my life, or marriage, would’ve turned out to be, but it has. As I think about what Darrell said, about never loving me, it hurts like a knife going straight through my heart. That is the last thing I ever expected him to say. I don’t care how mad I was at him, I’d never hurt him like that, no matter what. Even after all the shit he’s put me through.

He still doesn’t take any accountability for anything and never will. He’s just a spoiled fucking bastard. Everyone he’s ever known has kissed his ass his entire life because he can throw a goddamn ball. But to me he’s no different than a bum begging for handouts on the corner.

My phone chimes and I grab it, internally hoping it’s Latch. But it’s Sasha, one of my oldest friends from college.
Hey Ab – Chloe, Mandi, and I are in town. We’d love to see you tonight.
I went to college with those three girls and as much as I’d love to go out, I can’t. Plus, I’m not good company right now and don’t want to deal with the aftermath if I were to get caught by Darrell.

I wish I could, but I have plans.

No worries, we’ll have to grab coffee before we leave. What was the name of the club you told me about?

I think back to when I recommended somewhere for her to go when they visited and then My Club 20 pops into my head. Latch talked about going there once and he had nothing but good things to say about it.

It’s called My Club 20.

Awesome, thanks, honey! I wish you could come.

From the living room, I can hear Darrell’s snoring. He’s been passed out for hours and I contemplate going out. Maybe some time away from this place, with the girls, is just what I need. Even if he goes ballistic that I’m gone.
Guess what? My night just freed up, could you pick me up? I think I can get us all in free.
Sasha is quick to text back.

We’ll be there in about an hour, should we come up to your place?

I text her,
No, I’ll just meet you out front.
I rush into the shower, cleaning myself up for the first time in days and then do my hair and makeup. Getting all done up feels good, and I can’t help but drift off remembering all of the times I’d done it for Latch and how he’d walk through the door looking as hot as a man could and appreciate how sexy I was when I got all dolled up.

Not holding back tonight, I pick a sexy dress, knowing Darrell’d hate it, but I don’t give a shit right now. As I exit the bedroom, he is still passed out on the couch. I turn on the white noise app he has on his phone that helps him sleep when he’s on the road, hoping it’ll keep him dead to the world for the night. Then grab a bottle of tequila out of his stupid bar and fill a shot glass to the top.

Looking at the drink before I knock it back, what hard liquor does to me, fucking me right up.
Here goes nothing!
Checking my watch, the girls should be here soon and I’m full of anxiety. I need to loosen up, so I down another one.
Christ, it burns.
Then refill it again. On a small piece of paper, I leave Darrell a note in case he wakes up.
I went out with some girlfriends. I’m not a prisoner of this house.

Setting the note quietly close to him, I finish the last of the tequila, adjusting to the burn inside of my stomach. As I stand there and watch Darrell passed out with his mouth hung open and drool falling out of the side. A vision of punching him square in the face crosses my mind. But I’d never lay a hand on him, which is the opposite of him completely. And I don’t need to, he’s already fucked himself up good, punching cabinets and slamming glasses on the counters. His hand is still a scabby mess. Grabbing his wallet off of the coffee table, I empty the cash so I can take care of the girls tonight without him seeing where we are, if he happens to wake up.

Heading outside, the cool New York breeze is a welcome feeling. The weather this time of year is perfect. It’s about the only good thing I have going in my life right now and that’s fucking sad. Standing on the street corner, I wait on the girls and breathe in the fresh air. I’m glad I decided to go out and soak in the city.

While I wait, I text Sasha,
I’m out front!
Then fidget around on my phone. “How are you doing, Abby?” Mike, one of the sweet doormen walks up to me and asks, “I haven’t seen you in a few days.”

“Hey, I’m good, been busy. How are you?”

“Not too shabby. You mind if I smoke?”

“Not as long as you share,” I tell him, bumping my shoulder against his. I’m not a smoker unless I’m drinking, and the tequila’s got me buzzed. Typically I’d be worried about the paparazzi, but right now, I don’t give a shit if they see me smoking a cigarette with the door guy to my building or not. He sparks up a menthol and hands it to me first. “What’s new with you?” I ask him. Mike and I always talk when he helps me with my groceries and things.

“I finally got my own place, just outside of Crown Heights. It’s at an old fire house, pretty sweet.”

“Oh, that’s awesome. I have a friend that lives in Crown Heights,” I respond thinking about Latch, and it hits me hard. Latch is the last thing that I want to think about tonight.

I hand him back the cigarette just as the girls pull up in a limo and start to holler and whistle at me. I chuckle at them. “That’s my ride,” I tell Mike, laughing at Chloe as she is hanging out the sunroof with her blonde hair all a jumbled mess. “Here,” I hand him some of the cash that I took from Darrell and say, “Here’s to help buy some furniture for your new place.” There has to easily be a grand there, but I don’t give a shit.

He smiles and says, “Wow, thank you! Have a good night, Abby, and be safe.”

“I will,” I tell him and hop into the limo with the girls. Being with them all again is like a small reunion. It’s been so long – too long. “It’s so good to see you girls,” I say as we all hug and giggle. Sasha pops a bottle of champagne, and the cork hits the ceiling like a rocket.

She pours us each a glass and I take my time drinking it, knowing I’m already pretty tipsy.
The cigarette didn’t help either.
“So how’s Darrell doing?” Chloe asks.

Taking in a deep breath, I can’t lie to these girls. As much as I don’t want to get into it tonight, I have to.

“We’re going through a rough patch.”

“Did he cheat on you again?”

There is no going back now, so I slam my champagne. Pointing at my chest, I shake my head and respond, “No…I did.” The girls’ jaws all about hit the floor with my confession.

“Why?”

“Because he’s checked out on our marriage. When he’s in New York, he stays in a hotel most of the time, he’s never home, and I got fed up. I’m tired of him not giving me any attention and he’s still cheating on me. Those fucking celebrity gossip shows always post pictures and shit.”

“Why are you still with him?” Mandi asks me.

“Trust me, I ask myself the same question all the time.”

“Who’d you cheat on him with?” Chloe asks.

“Just some guy.”

“Abby, we know you, you’re a little too particular to be with just some random guy.”

The driver stops the car and I look out to see that we have arrived at My Club 20. I’m not about to go into details and tell these girls that Latch is a male escort. “It was a one-time thing, can we not talk about it anymore tonight?” I end the conversation as the rear door to the car opens and we step out into the refreshing New York City night, music from the club filling the air.

The girls all get out of the car and I ask them, “You ladies ready?”

“Hell yeah!” Walking up to the bouncer at the door, I tell him my name and as soon as he hears it, he unclicks the rope, letting us all shuffle in. Walking through the door, my mind is a mess as I am so buzzed and can’t shake the thoughts of Latch. Why does everything in my life have to be so fucked up? Heading for the bar, I order us a round of Long Island iced teas. Looking out of the corner of my eye, I swear that I see Latch at the end of the bar, but as the guy turns toward me, it’s not him. As much as I wish he was here with me tonight, he’s not. I can want it more than anything, but it’s not going to change a damn thing. Latch and I are like oil and water. Darrell catching us might actually be a good thing, considering that there is no way Latch and I can have a future together. I paid him for sex as a way to convince myself that it wasn’t quite the same as cheating, and that was it. As we wait for our drinks, a hostess comes over to me and asks, “Mrs. McEllrath, would you like a VIP table?”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” I tell her.

“Follow me,” she says as the bartender sets our drinks down, I leave a hundred on the bar and we all take one making our way across the club. Mandi and Chloe follow Sasha and I, excited, already dancing and having a good time. We both laugh at them. Then all at once, my world stops. Out on the dance floor, letting some woman dry hump him is Latch. My stomach tightens watching them together. Watching the way his hands roam her body as hers are wrapped around his neck. I about freeze. It hurts like hell, like I just caught him cheating on me, which is farthest from the truth. I know it’s got to be a client that he’s working with, so I will myself to continue, but it doesn’t make it any easier.