The Upside of Being Let Down (new adult romance - 1) (2 page)

But it wasn
’
t Bryan.

It was someone else.

“
Hey
beautiful,
”
he said.
“
What brings you to a place like
this? You alone?
”

“
That
’
s a lot of questions to answer,
”
I said.

“
Let
me get you a drink and we
’
ll
talk.
”

I had to hand it to the guy. He was
confident. Something had to be written on my forehead that had people coming up
to me and talking. Maybe it was because I looked younger than I was. Maybe it
was because I was sitting alone and it was more than obvious I was there alone.

I didn
’
t want a drink but I nodded.
“
Sure, I
’
d love a drink. Something strong. Expensive.
”

“
Not
a problem, babe,
”
he said.

Babe?

Beautiful?

Wow. Laying it on thick. Mr.
Confident ordered two drinks and we waited. I couldn
’
t believe my eyes as he began to take care of the
women on stage, completely ignoring me as he did so.

When our drinks came, he handed me
mine.

“
We
’
re going have to fun tonight,
”
he said.
“
Trust me.
”

“
Fun,
”
I said.

Mr. Confident took a drink from his
and when he took the glass away from his mouth and started to say something to
me, I saw my opportunity. When it knocks, you answer. And when you
’
re kicked out of college,
confused, annoyed, thinking about the sexy guy with blue eyes named Bryan that
walked away a few minutes ago, plus wondering what your bitch roommate, Angela,
was going to say, you kind of just let thoughts become moments, no matter how
dumb they are.

I threw the drink in Mr. Confident
’
s face and it was worth every
penny he paid for it. It splashed in his eyes and mouth. It dripped off him. He
just froze and stared at me. He wanted to attack me.

It wasn
’
t the first time I
’
d
thrown a drink in someone
’
s
face and I was certain it wouldn
’
t
be the last. If you
’
re
going to bother me and just assume I
’
m
someone I
’
m not you deserve
to be doused in a ten dollar drink you paid for.

The best part of the situation was
that Mr. Confident grabbed his drink and had it ready to go. He was going to
retaliate against me.

“
You
’
re going to throw a drink at a
girl?
”
I asked.

By now several people looked at us,
wondering what was up. I smiled at him, daring him to do it. His hand shook for
a few seconds and then he put the drink down. Only, the dumbass put it on the
edge of the bar. He was staring at me so intently, trying to scare me or
something, he didn
’
t gauge
the bar. The drink fell and shattered.

Two drinks, wasted.

Now I had to laugh.

“
You
’
re a fucking bitch,
”
Mr. Confident said.

“
You
’
re the only wet thing you
’
re going home with tonight,
”
I said and stood up.

That was enough action for me.

Time to call it and leave.

I
’
d
catch up with Wicked tomorrow.

That was my plan until I felt like
my head was on fire. I let out a cry and quickly realized someone was pulling
my hair. I spun around and had my arms ready for anything that waited. What
waited was a drunk chick looking for a fight. I twisted out of her hold on my
hair and pushed her.

“
You
bitch,
”
she cried out.
“
That
’
s my boyfriend!
”

“
Your
boyfriend? The guy who called me
babe
? The guy who bought me a drink?
”

“
He...
fuck you, he didn
’
t.
”

The crazy chick came at me again. I
had my hands out to stop her and I did, but she wasn
’
t happy with that. She thrashed at me, trying to
claw me. Of course everyone at the bar loved this. This was their ultimate
fantasy, right? Two chicks going at each other... and what would happen next?
Oh, yeah. We
’
d start
touching and kissing, stripping each other...

Pervs.

I pushed the crazy chick away again
but she was right back at it. This time she got me, slapping me in the face. I
spun and she tried to jump me. I landed against the bar and pushed, looking at
the stage, wondering if I
’
d
get any help from Wicked or her co-workers.

Not a chance.

I swung my body to the right,
sending the crazy chick into the bar. She cried out and let go.

“
I
’
m going to fucking kill you!
”
she screamed.

Yeah, I was possibly in a big mess.
This chick wasn
’
t going to
stop and I really didn
’
t
feel like ending up on the floor, pulling hair, scratching eyes, and all that
stuff.

“
Listen
to me,
”
I said, thinking I
had a shot at potentially rationalizing with a drunk chick.

She started to come again but a set
of hands appeared on her waist and she was in the air, legs and arms moving.
When I saw Bryan
’
s face a
second later, he nodded at me.

“
Get
out of here,
”
he said.
“
While you can.
”

“
Okay,
”
I said.

I turned and Mr. Confident had a
fist made.
“
Don
’
t touch my girlfriend.
”

Oh, no, things were getting worse
now. I looked over my shoulder, wishing I could help Bryan.

“
Go!
”
he yelled.

“
How
can I...
”

But I had nothing.

I had to get out of there and fast.

I hurried across the floor and
heard the sound of people yelling, cheering, screaming. I rushed out the front
door of the strip club to my car.

As I started it, I realized that I
had probably been better off with the dead air radio station.

At least there I couldn
’
t hurt anyone.

(3)

Of all the things that caught Bryan
’
s attention in a strip club it
had to be one of the few women there that was clothed. Fully clothed, head to
toe, walking around like she uncomfortably owned the place.

The conversation of his two friends
suddenly became background noise as he watched the stranger. When she took a
seat at the bar and ordered a drink, Bryan became fascinated.

It didn
’
t make sense to him.

What was she doing there?

Better yet, why the hell did Bryan
care?

“
Dude,
did you hear me?
”

Bryan shook his head and waved.

“
Come
on, listen,
”
Jeff said.

Bryan took his eyes off the
stranger and looked at Jeff and Gary.

“
What
I said,
”
Jeff said,
“
was that we should buy Gary a
private dance.
”

“
I
’
ll use my phone and tape it,
”
Gary said.

“
Seriously?
That
’
s what you two think
of?
”

“
Well,
we
’
re in strip club man,
okay?
”

“
To
enjoy a night,
”
Bryan said.
“
A night you two fools
wanted.
”

“
Fools?
”
Gary asked.
“
Weren
’
t you the one who said you wanted someone to take
the sting off of Chloe?
”

“
Don
’
t say her name,
”
Bryan said.

“
Oh,
that
’
s right. We
’
re sworn,
”
Jeff teased.
“
Why
don
’
t Gary and I get you a
private dance? Then you could really get off...
”

“
Shut
up,
”
Bryan snapped.

The conversation slowly changed to
more important things and Bryan was able to casually watch the girl from
before. He couldn
’
t put his
finger on it, but something about her was instantly addicting. Even when he
went to talk to her for a few minutes, it was something else. She was bold,
flirty, afraid, yet confident all at the same time. Bryan swore to himself he
’
d get her number before she
left.

In fact, he decided that after he
finished his drink, he
’
d
offer to buy another round for his friends and then get another chance to talk
to her.

He already knew her name.

AJ.

An interesting name for a girl yet
it definitely fit her.

“
You
’
re hot on that chick,
”
Jeff said.

“
What
chick? There
’
s a lot of
chicks here. A lot of them are topless too.
”

“
No,
no,
”
Jeff said. His voice
slurred. He was feeling good. Really good.
“
You
keep looking at her. You want to go get her, don
’
t
you?
”

“
Get
her? What does that even mean?
”

“
Oh,
shit,
”
Gary said.
“
Looks like she
’
s a little feisty.
”

“
Why
’
s that?
”
Bryan asked.

“
She
just threw a drink at a guy.
”

Bryan turned and his jaw almost hit
the table.

Sure enough, AJ had thrown a drink
at a guy. And the guy looked ready to unleash hell on her. Bryan gripped his
chair, ready to pounce if needed. He wasn
’
t
afraid of a fight and he certainly would love the chance to save AJ. That
’
d be a hell of a way to work his
way in.

The guy lifted his drink and Bryan
shook his head.

“
If
he does it, I
’
ll fucking
punch him,
”
Bryan said.

Jeff cackled.

“
Cool
it, man,
”
Gary said.
“
Not your battle. You don
’
t know...
”

Things got worse.

Another girl entered the picture.
She appeared out of nowhere and grabbed AJ
’
s
hair and started twisting.

“
Holy
shit,
”
Jeff said.
“
This is awesome.
”

“
This
isn
’
t good,
”
Bryan said.

He stood.

AJ turned and pushed but the other
girl wasn
’
t backing down.
She screamed something about her boyfriend. The way she swayed told Bryan she
was dead drunk. As the two started to get into it, over and over, Bryan knew
there was no good outcome.

He took a step and Gary grabbed his
wrists.
“
Bryan...
”

“
Stop
it,
”
Bryan said.
“
I
’
m
not going to let someone get hurt for no reason.
”

“
That
’
s what you said when you met
Chloe,
”
Jeff teased.

Bryan turned his hand and broke
hold from Gary. Gary cried out and Bryan grabbed Jeff by the shirt and pulled
him almost nose to nose.

“
What
did you say?
”
Bryan asked.

“
I
said... I said you should help,
”
Jeff slurred.
“
Hurry.
”

Bryan saw his chance as AJ tried to
say something to end the little war, but the drunk one wasn
’
t having it. Bryan grabbed the
drunk girl by the waist to keep her from attacking again. She moved as though
she wasn
’
t being held.

Bryan looked at AJ and told her to
leave.

She started to go but hesitated.

The guy AJ had thrown a drink at
decided to put his two cents into the ordeal, yelling for Bryan to take his
hands off his girlfriend.

“
Calm
her the fuck down!
”
Bryan yelled.
“
And I will.
”

“
I
’
ll break your fucking hands,
man,
”
the guy said.

Bryan saw AJ was out of sight, so
he released the drunk girl and she fell forward to the ground. She let out a
cry and looked up at her boyfriend.

“
He
threw me,
”
she said.
“
He hurt me. Get him!
”

Bryan looked down at the woman on
the floor then up to her pissed off boyfriend. He glanced to his left and saw
Gary standing, looking ready to pass out. Gary thought he was tough until
something happened. And as far as Jeff went... he was too drunk to even realize
a fight was about to breakout.

“
Buddy,
don
’
t do anything stupid,
”
Bryan said.
“
Okay?
”

“
You
think it
’
s okay to throw
women down?
”
the guy asked.

The drink that AJ threw still
dripped from his face. Bryan smiled.

“
I
didn
’
t throw anyone,
”
he said.
“
But I
’
m about to throw you.
”

It wasn
’
t the best thing to say. There was probably a
better way to diffuse the entire situation, but Bryan had been conned into
coming to a strip club to be DD for Gary and Jeff. His head still spun and his
heart was still freshly broken. Not to mention he had to watch a girl like AJ
come and go with nothing more than her name.

All because of his asshole guy and
his drunk girlfriend.

The guy put up his fists and Bryan
laughed even more.

What, were they in high school?

Bryan could see two bouncers in
yellow shirts, who had spotted the potential fight, making their way to stop
it.

“
Better
hurry,
”
Bryan said.
“
Security is coming.
”

“
I
get it,
”
the guy said,
“
you
’
ll throw a woman but can
’
t hit a man.
”

“
Show
me a man to hit then,
”
Bryan said.

The guy threw a weak fist and Bryan
could have seen it from a mile away. He had tried to sneak it in like some kind
of cheap shot, but since his girlfriend was still on the floor and in the way.
The punch landed at Bryan
’
s
shoulder. He took the guy
’
s
wrist and twisted it. The guy spun and growled. Bryan stepped over the guy
’
s girlfriend and pressed him
against the bar.

“
Listen,
buddy,
”
he said,
“
you don
’
t want to start this. Not here. Not now. Get your
girl and get the fuck out of here before I get mad.
”

“
Is
there a problem?
”
a voice
boomed.

Bryan released his hold and stepped
back.
“
I think we
’
re good here.
”

“
No,
we
’
re not!
”
the woman on the floor cried
out.
“
This asshole threw me
to the floor.
”

“
It
’
s fine,
”
the guy said. He stretched his wrist and helped
his girlfriend off the floor.

The guy took one last look at Bryan
and then hurried away. His girlfriend yelled at him for being a pussy and not
fighting.

“
I
think you better follow too,
”
the security guard said.
“
In
a few minutes after he
’
s
long gone. Got it?
”

Bryan nodded.
“
Sure thing.
”

Gary came over as the security guard
moved away.

“
Thanks
for having my back there,
”
Bryan said.

“
What
the fuck?
”
Gary said.
“
I told you not to do that.
”

“
That
guy was a jerk. I could have split his head into two.
”

“
I
don
’
t doubt that,
”
Gary said.
“
Let
’
s get out of here. Jeff is shitfaced and I
’
m tired.
”

“
Want
one last dance?
”
Bryan
asked and laughed.

“
You
just like to fight, don
’
t
you?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Bryan said.
“
It
’
s
a release.
”

“
So
is sex,
”
Gary said.
“
Find a girl and get off that
way.
”

If only...

The thought came to Bryan as he
looked down, wanting to hide his eyes. He didn
’
t
want to think about women - new or old. But that was impossible when he saw a
cell phone on the floor. Bryan shoved Gary out of the way and bent down to get
it.

“
What
the fuck?
”
Gary cried out
again.

Gary loved saying that, especially
when he felt weak. Everything was always
What the fuck?

“
You
almost stepped on this,
”
Bryan said holding the phone up.

“
Is
it yours?
”

“
No.
Might be...
”

AJ.

Bryan smiled. He looked at Gary but
didn
’
t say a word. He
shifted his attention to Jeff and nodded.

“
We
better get him home,
”
Bryan
said.

Jeff
’
s
head bobbed to a song that wasn
’
t
playing in the strip club. His eyes were long gone and when Bryan looked around
the strip club again and made eye contact with the security guard, he pointed
to the door and gestured. Bryan put his hands up and nodded.

Bryan slipped the cell phone into
his pocket and figured it was definitely time to get Gary and Jeff home.

Maybe then, with any luck, he could
find out whose cell phone was in his pocket. For all Bryan knew his night could
have just been getting started.