Four Years Later...
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Jasper
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Emmett just slapped my shoulder jovially and laughed at my grumbling. “Loosen up Jazz, it’s a bachelor party and this place has the hottest girls in the city.”
I sneer at his comment. To me the Queen of fuckin’ Sheba could be in attendance - naked - and it wouldn’t make a difference to me. I had no desire to be here in the throngs of diseased flesh and nothing and no-one could change my mind.
It was Emmett, with all his infinite male wisdom who came up with the brilliant idea to bring our overly hormone crazed, oversexed, soon-to-be-brother-in-law to Molly Mae’s; Chicago’s premier burlesque show. Or so I’ve been told tonight, repeatedly. Personally I wanted to slap the teeth straight out of my brothers mouth the moment the idea passed his lips. This is my Hell.
Begrudgingly, I had to admit that the place was nice. Or at least it looked nice. It had that old world brothel feel; crushed velvets and dark, rich woods and gold accents. You get the idea. God, I’ve spent too much time around Alice. As nice as the place looked, if the show didn’t start soon they wouldn’t have to worry about a show so much as a renovation. Cranky and packin’ was not a good combination. Without their acclaimed show, this place was no different to me than every other shit-hole strip club in this city; women reeking of coconut oil and cheap perfume mixed with the clubs stale stench of old alcohol and smoke. In other words they leave a lot to be desired. Fuckin’ disgusting.
At least I had some form of entertainment while I waited and I’m not talking about the ugly red-head who has tried several times to lure me with her long red nails to the VIP room. Just… not happening. No, I’m talking about watching Garrett and Felix stagger over to the bar, Garrett nearly tripping over his own damn feet as he ogled a passing cocktail waitress. It occurred to me that if Alice’s fiancé kept up this pace we wouldn’t be seeing the show and I might just get out of here sooner than expected. He was beyond fucked up already. Rubbing my hands together evilly I think about hitting the bar myself and buying him one of those great fuckin’ big drinks with fifteen straws I saw earlier. I’d be home in a half an hour. I could practically taste my bed. But no, I’m not that fuckin’ mean. Damn conscience.
I still had mixed feelings about my baby sister marring Garrett, I never in a million years would have imagined her settling down with one of my men. But when Alice and Garrett brought their relationship to light Alice had made it perfectly clear too all that no matter what any of us thought, they would be together. Alice being her father’s little angle and not to mention a mouthy spitfire, she got what she wanted.
I hated the idea immediately. It wasn’t that I thought Garrett wasn’t good enough for Alice, even though I really didn’t. It was more that I didn’t want that kind of life for her. She could have any normal man she desired. She was beautiful, smart and had a caring heart. I didn’t want her to have to wait up at night, wondering if I would be bringing her husband home to her in a body bag. Wondering if this might be the night that he never came home at all.
It wasn’t an easy lifestyle for any of the Cullen woman, of that I could be certain. It was dangerous and the future was always uncertain, but I guessed if Esme could deal with it all the years that she had, Alice could too. I did take comfort in the fact that I would always be there watching his back and I promised Alice I would do everything in my power to keep him safe. Losing the one you love was never easy, and after losing Bella I vowed to myself that she would never feel that pain again.
With that thought I drifted to Bella’s face, forever burned in my mind in those last few moments before she disappeared into the night and out of my life. She looked so… hopeless. No Jasper, not here, not now. I mentally slapped myself. I promised I wouldn’t let her get to me tonight. This was supposed to be a celebration and I couldn’t ruin that for them.
Shaking of the agonizing thoughts of my lost love, I decided that for Alice I would suck it up, loosen up and not ruin Garrett’s big night, or Emmett’s for that matter.
The poor, married bastard… I thought to myself, amused. He never got out anymore as he was constantly under the watchful, hawk-like eyes of his blue eyed bride.
With a mischievous smirk, I turned to him, thinking that I deserved a little retribution, a little payback if you will for him bringing me into this hell of writhing flesh and booze. I figured it was only as fair. He had made my night miserable so why not satisfy myself with scaring the shit out of him. “So, does Rosalie know you’re here?” I ask in the calmest voice I can manage, taking a sip of my drink for effect and deciding simultaneously that it would be the only one I had. Fucking watered down shit. I nearly lost my shit when his eyes widened as he spit out his drink. I knew that shit would get him. Pussy.
Emmett married two years ago to a beautiful and equally terrifying woman named Rosalie O’Hale. She’s pretty much the princess of the Irish underworld, a stunning creature of model proportions; blonde hair, blue eyes and a body to rival any playboy fantasy. But unfortunately for Emmett, she also had a bite to match her bark. She was fiery and that made Emmett all the more crazy about there. Carlisle fuckin’ did a happy dance in his office when they announced their engagement. With her strong ties in the Irish Mob it made for excellent business opportunities and a whole horde of new business contracts for the Cullens. Lucky us.
Em’s horror stuck face was priceless and he was practically green as he gulped, his eyes shifting from here to there like his wife might pop out of a shadow and yell “Boo”. “Don’t fuck around,” he whispered nervously. “Rosie would castrate me if she knew I was in this club. Collins owns it and you know how Rose feels about him.”
My temper flared.
Yeah, I knew that cocksucker alright. James T. Collins, a vile man who had no more business being around half naked women than a serial rapist. He was nothing more than a cockroach, crawling his way to the top and he dabbled in just about everything. From the slave trade, drugs, murder for hire and just about anything else you could think of. He wasn’t above doing anything to get what he wanted, including selling out his own men. He’d skin you alive for next to nothing and feel no remorse about it later. If he did in fact own this club then the faster we left the better.
I growled at my sibling. “So you brink me here instead! Fuck, why didn’t you tell me?” I was pissed. I could scarcely believe Emmett would bring me here, he knew I had a personal disliking for that motherfucker.
He brushed off my annoyance with a wave of his hand. “Chill man, it’s for Garrett.” That only pissed me off more. That he thought that his words would make this all better.
If I hadn’t wanted to be here before… it was infinitely worse now.
Coming up with something to say was hard, I had plenty to say on the subject but just as I opened my mouth to start bitching the house lights dimmed and the main stage went black. The sounds of men shushing the more lively audience had me intrigued. I had never seen something quiet like that before but it was obvious that the next performer already had the rapt attention of the regulars.
I had overheard something about a “Black Swan” throughout the night, apparently the clubs most popular girl but I thought nothing of it as I really didn’t give a shit who she was. But now, the way these yahoo’s went silent I knew that this must be her set and that maybe, just maybe I would actually get to see some entertainment. The clubs DJ confirmed my suspicions a moment later and the crowed went nuts.
Seductive Jazz music filled my ears, something eerily familiar but not that I could put my finger on. Just as the open lyrics were made, a spotlight zeroed in on a lone figure on stage, with her foot propped on a lone chair. The chair could be damned for all I cared, but that woman…
Decked out in black from head to toe, save for the tiny fringed skirt in blood red, this woman was a sight to behold. Black fishnets clung to her never ending legs and a sexier than hell fedora perched on her head. I felt like a giant dog in heat, but fuck me if she wasn’t stunning, and damn-it if I wasn’t as hard as a rock. And this was only her backside.
But boy did her backside have my tail waggin’. She was pale as the moon and her fuck-me locks of mahogany nearly hit her ass. My kind of woman. Magnificent.
The music tempo fell and the lyrics started as she tossed the hat, kicking her chair away and spinning to face us. As she did the music stopped, and so did my heart.
Bella…
All the air seemed to leave my body in a loud whoosh. The “Black Swan” wasn’t just any Swan, it was my Swan, my Bella.
Her steps faltered and it had me briefly wondering if she recognized me, and then I chastised myself for a fool. Of course she had to have seen us. Emmett was sitting not two feet from me and Emmett never could do subtle, even the way he dressed. But in true Bella style, those beautiful pink lips parted and I swear she whispered, “Fuck my life”, but I wasn’t sure.
A team of back up dancers joined Bella sometime during my temporary brain hemorrhage, and a red head hissed at her before Bella realized she was off cue. She shook it off and continued on as if nothing had happened but her eyes continually sought mine out, as if she feared I might leave. Not a chance in Hell, baby.
Emmett, who was tits deep in some blonde Barbie never even had a notion that his sister was standing not fifty feet from him and I thought to myself, he’s drunker than I thought. That girl was a skank, who I wouldn’t touch on my most desperate day.
Turning my eyes back to the stage, I was gifted with the sight of Bella shimming her ass up and down a pole, right in front of my face. My pant grew impossibly tight. God, give me strength. After that I couldn’t possibly tear my eyes away from her, instead I fumbled around blindly, hoping to find Emmett next to me. I felt what I assumed and hoped to be his jacket and gave it a strong tug, but he didn’t respond. My next course of action got his attention though. Taking my eyes from the stage, I quickly found my target and slapped the shit out of the back of his head.
His head flew forward, bouncing of the table before he sat up and shook himself like a pissed off bull. “OW! What the fuck, Bro? Why’d you fucking hit-” As his words died in his throat I knew that he spotted her. I didn’t even have to look, but I did anyways. He was completely silent, his mouth hanging open as the shock of seeing Bella for the first time in four years hit him. I knew the feeling.
I knew Emmett loved Bella like a sister and I’m sure seeing her writing around on stage all sex kitten like in next to nothing wasn’t sitting well with him but he didn’t say a word, and I sure as fuck wasn’t about to complain.
Scanning the room quickly, I searched for a mop of disheveled bronze hair, but Edward was no where to be seen, not that I really expected to see him in here. No sir, it was far to… undignified for his tastes. But that only tugged at my mind strings more, and begged the question; why the fuck was Bella here and without Edward. I knew there was no way in Hell he would allow her to do something like this knowingly. Fuck, when were kids Edward threw fits when Bella would dance at a fuckin’ nightclub, he likely shit his pants if he saw her now.
“My God…” Emmett croaked from beside me. Amen Brother. It wasn’t the most clever thing for someone as smartass as Emmett to say but it was better than sitting there gaping like a fool, basically what I was doing. I had yet to utter a word, let alone a sentence or a statement. Instead I sat there, arrested in my chair and nodding my head like a bobble head in agreement. Yeah, My God is right.
Though I hadn’t managed to do much beyond drooling and imagining what Bella would look like grinding up and down on a much different pole, in my mind things were going… okay. I hadn’t passed out yet but honestly I was still worried I might.
A few minutes later I was eating my goddamned words and kicking myself for the jinx. I should have never thought about how well things were going, even if it was just in my mind. Because going well soon turned into threatening to knock all the teeth out of my sisters soon-to-be-hubby or as I’d like to call him; Dead Man Walkin’.
The cat-calls I could stomach, barely. But when he staggered to his feet and whistled so loud that half of the club turned to stare, my limit met its untimely end. “Hey babe! Over here!” he yelled obnoxiously, waving an obscenely large wad of cash at Bella. “I got something for ya!”
Somewhere in the rational part of my brain that wasn’t focused on the hand that gestured to that fucking idiots dick, and at his other hand that was trying like the dickens to wave Bella over. Somewhere in there, I knew I was being irrational. That the oversexed, idiot didn’t know that the woman he as harassing like a prostitute was the love of my life. But all rationality had flown out the fuckin’ window the moment she took the stage. Garrett was tittering on a very dangerous edge and if he wasn’t careful he was gonna take a nasty fall.
When he turned to Emmett and I with a bright cheery smile on his face as he started to spew more shit than a New York sewer system it was all I could do not to kill him, slowly. “Damn, you guys see that brunette,” he slurred, licking his lips with a dreamy expression. I almost predicted the next words out of his mouth but I prayed to every damn god I could think of for him not to actually go there. “I wonder if she would do one of those private dances.”
Rising from my seat with a snarl, I strode forward with every intention of fuckin’ him up good. Em, foreseeing the end of his sister’s fiancé placed a burly hand on my shoulder and shoved me back into my seat. I was pissed until Emmett growled, warning Garrett of what was to come if he didn’t shut his mouth, unfortunately for Garrett he never has been the brightest crayon in the box.
“Man,” he sighed thoughtfully before turning to us with a mischievous glint. “Hundred bucks say I can get her to suck my-”
“You finish that sentence and you’ll being sporting dentures to your wedding!” Emmett bellows, slapping a hand roughly over Garrett’s mouth and pushing him to sit down. It was a good thing he did, I didn’t need anything else agitating my already frazzled temper or my itchy trigger finger. I was more than ready to shoot him but I don’t think he’ll ever realize how close I really was.
Emmett scrutinize me warily from the corner of his eye, waiting for the moment he might have to interfere again. As he probably knew before I did about me being in love with Bella he also knew who much it devastated me when she left. Emmett’s examination was not with out warrant, he wasn’t stupid enough to think I wouldn’t fuck Garrett up - Alice’s fiancé or not - should he feel the need to open his mouth again. If he would have finished his previous statement; missing teeth would have been the least of his worries.
I need to calm down.
“Damn dude,” Garrett pouts, tossing his wad of money back into his blazer while he sulks in his drink. I grit my teeth as I hang on tighter than needed to the bottom of my chair, fighting with the notion of just slamming his head into the table and letting Emmett take him home. He held up his hands in surrender the moment he caught my glare. “I thought I was supposed to ogle… and all.” He continued quietly, but made a squeezing gesture with his hands that had mine flying on to the table top, spilling most of our drinks.
“Not with that one! You keep your eyes and your hands to your fuckin’ self!” I growl, feeling my heart beat in my ears. “You understand?”
“Alright,” he says defensively, shaking his head to clear the fog of lust and strong whiskey from his brain and turned his interest to another of the dancers who had just caught on to his ‘large’ cash wad he’d been flaunting all night. This girl had no problem helping him with his ‘problems’ and absolutely no qualms about taking his money. With disaster averted I went on to watch as Garrett, a now happily intoxicated idiot that he was, reenact a scene from ‘Scarface” while he made a complete ass out of himself. What the Hell did Alice see in him again?
Turning back to the stage I thought the best, for both of us if I just ignored him. I wouldn’t blow a gasket and Garrett wouldn’t spend the next six months drinking his meals through a straw.
The songs extended chorus is wrapping up and the number was looking to be just about over, by the way the dancers were all positioning themselves at the last minute. Bella was flawless throughout the number, twirling and dipping sensually to the music and if had anybody told me rather than me seeing it first hand I would have surely laughed and called them a liar, but here she was, a goddess on stage.
It was during some complex spin that I didn’t know the name of when the same red head from earlier, the same ugly bitch that practically threw herself all over me, bumped into her, hard. Bella stumbled forward but caught herself just shy of toppling over. To the casual observer it looked like nothing more than an accident; inadequate timing or even perhaps a slip, but I saw the triumphant smirk on the bitches face, she meant for that to happen. Perhaps jealously forced her hand, maybe she wanted Bella’s spotlight. I didn’t know and I really could give a fuck less.
Fuming, I watched Bella throw herself back into the number, having a hard time getting back on track and regain her lost time with the other dancers. As it finished I could see the disappointment in everyone’s eyes. Bella had tried to finish strong but the damage had already been done, the number was way off.
At this distance I could make out the tale-tell sighs of tear-tracks running down her cheeks, despite the bright smile on her face and as the curtains started to fall a look of sheer panic and fear crossed her features. It immediately put me on alert as I strained my eyes to the left of the stage, hoping to follow her line of sight to what ever had scared her so badly but I could see nothing but empty stage. It rattled me more than I liked, seeing that look on her face. Bella is and always will be an O’Doyle and she’s never scared easily. She hung her head, as the heavy red fabric of the curtains fell together behind her, refusing to look at me as she exited the stage.
Emmett stood up with a jerk, knocking his chair over and rattling the table. It startled me from my thoughts but when I looked up I think a sort of understanding washed over me. His face was scrunched up into a deep scowl, his eyes narrowed in the direction that Bella had left in. I knew this look, I had seen it many times. He was angry. No, scratch that, he was pissed. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that something had to do with Bella.
His hands curled into claws and his nostrils were flaring as he turned to me. “You strapped, Jazz?” He asked through gritted teeth as he looked me down through the slits of his eyes.
I don’t know who or what set him off this way but they were about to receive the worst ass beaten of their lives, Emmett Cullen Style.
I really don’t why he asked me such a stupid question, he knows with out a doubt that I always have a gun somewhere on me, but I amuse him all the same. “Aren’t I always?” I asked, a sly grin forming on my lips.
His eyes shift back towards stage left, like his eyes could follow some neon trail that I couldn’t see. “Let’s go.”
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