Author's Note: This is the first part in my new series. None of the stories are chaptered, they are all one part. R&R
Mark's P.O.V
I've been watching her for the past couple of weeks. I find something intriguing about her, something dark. Even as she danced on the pole, she danced as if she could care less about anything else in the world except pleasing her audience. The drunk guys all yelled obscene things at her, throwing dollar bills and shit, but I can tell she had her eyes on me the whole time.
She looked right at me and winked. I know she knows I've been watching her. Every week that I come, she gives me this look that just sends electric waves through out my body. She knew I wanted her and if I was going to have her, I have to make my move tonight. I got off of the stool just as she finished and went to look for the club manager.
Instead of finding him, he found me. "Hey, Mark. Having a good time?".
Carl was a short guy, really old. Sort of like the Hugh Heffner of strip clubs. He really knows his way around, to be like eighty or something.
"You know I am, man. You mind if I borrow her from you for the night?". I asked, motioning my head towards the beautiful woman.
He looked over at who I was talking about. "Jay? You've got great taste. Sure, I'll make it happen for you". He said, patting me on the shoulder and walking off.
I watched as he approached her. When he told her she looked over at me, giving me a glaring look. I smiled back at her, causing her to roll her eyes. Funny how she could change attitudes so quickly.
I could tell she was arguing with him by her hand gestures and the expressions on her face. If only she knew I'd make it worth her while...
Carl came back over to me, a huge smile on his face. "It's done. She's just going to get dressed".
I smiled. "Thanks, Carl". I said, picking up my drink. I could imagine what could happen at the end of the night.
"Anything for my best costumer". He said, jokingly, then walked off.
I turned back to the bar and ordered one last drink for the road when I heard a voice behind me.
"Okay, I'm ready to go".
I turned to see her, arms folded in front of her chest, her purse on her shoulder. I gulped down the drink and sat the glass and some money on the bar. We walked out of the club in silence. We made it all the way down the street when she finally said something.
"You've been showing up here alot. You stalking me?". She asked, and I can tell by her accent that she's from New York.
I laughed. "I'm not stalking you. I just enjoy watching you do what you do".
She snorted. "Okay, so if you enjoy watching me on stage why are we out here?".
"I just wanted to talk to you. Get to know you better". I looked over at her and she rolled her eyes.
"Let's get something straight. I know exactly who you are Mr."Deadman" and just so you know, I am not intimidated by you and I'm not going to fall to my knees because of your height or size". She said, wrapping her arms around herself.
I gotta admit, the girl's got courage. No other woman has ever said no to me or told me that they are not intimidated by me. Those who did, were lying anyways, but when I looked at her, I could tell she was serious.
"You're pretty ballsy, Jay". I said, laughing.
And for the first time tonight, she smiled at me. "So I've been told", she said, laughing, "What's a guy like you doing in a strip club anyways? I know you've got tons of willing groupies that you could be screwing around with on a night like this".
"Well, I didn't have to work tonight". I said, teasing her. I love how she just says what's on her mind. It excites me.
"That explains everything. But, really, what are you doing here?". She asked, sitting down on the park bench as we approached it. She crossed her legs and I saw she had this big black thing on her ankle.
"What is that? You didn't have it on earlier. You on house arrest or something?". I said, pointing at it.
"If I were on house arrest, I wouldn't be out here. You know the alcohol detectors that celebrities are wearing nowadays?".
I nodded my head.
"Well, I started that trend. But instead of wearing this damn thing for the hell of it, I was ordered by the courts to wear it". She said, angrily. "Of course, I don't wear it on stage".
Interesting. This made me want to get to know her even more. She lookes like she has had a rough life and is dying to be heard. Just nobody willing to listen. I sat down next to her, taking my jacket off and putting it around her shoulders. "Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm listening".
She looked at me and stood. "I know what you are up to and it's not going to work".
"What are you talking about?". I ask, even though I know exactly what she's talking about. I just didn't want to lead her on.
"You bring me out here so you can "get to know me". You'll ask about my personal life so I can open up and try to make myself comfortable enough around you. Make me feel like I'm special. After that, I'll be one of your fuck toys and then we'll never see each other again", she was pacing around as if she was nervous about something, "Same shit, different day".
I shook my head and stood. "I would never do that. Especially not to someone like you".
She gave me an evil glare, throwing my jacket back at me. "Someone like me? What the fuck's that suppose to mean?" She said, loudly.
God, this woman has a temper on her. "I'm just saying because you seem like you've been through alot in your life. That's all". I say, trying to defend myself.
"You don't know shit about me so don't go making assumptions". She turned on her heels and headed back towards the club.
I grab her arm and stop her, turning her towards me. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you in any way. Let's start over fresh", I extend my hand out to her, "I'm Mark".
She gives me a doubtful look before sighing and grasping my hand. "I'm Jay. I'm sorry for being such a bitch". She says, giving me a nervous smile.
Maybe we're finally getting somewhere.
Jay's P.O.V
There I go with my whole "push people away" attitude. Mark's a really nice guy, and extremely hot. I can't believe I've almost jeopardized getting to know him. He knows just as well that I do that he can have any girl that he wants, but for some strange reason, he found something in me..
No! I can't jump to conclusions yet. Get my hopes up to soon, and they are bound to get knocked down. Not to mention my heart gets broken. Just like it has many times before.
"I must say, you are certainly one of the feistiest women I've ever met in my life". He said, laughing. I like the way he laughs, it just seems so... deep.
"Is that a good thing?". I didn't really want to know the answer, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Yes, it's definitely a good thing. I like my women feisty".
Woah! He's certainly rocking the boat here. What's he inferring? That I could become his woman? I think I'd like that.
See, there I go getting my hopes up. Instead of saying something clever, I totally blow it.
"Uh, what time is it?".
He gives me a confused look then looks at his watch. "Five minutes until midnight. Why? You got somewhere else you need to be?".
"It's just that.. I need to go pick up my daughter from my mother's house".
He smiles. "You need a ride?".
I shake my head. "No, I can hail a cab..".
He stops me. "Nonsense. I don't want you catching a cab at this time of the night. Come on, I'll give you a ride".
I start to protest, but stop when I see that he wasn't going to let up until I went with him. I gave up and followed him to his car.
Once we got there, I got out and saw him staring at me. "You can come in if you want".
"Do you want me to come in?". He asked, smirking.
"Look, I invited you in. Take it or leave it". I say, shutting the door and walking up to the porch. As I put the key in, I felt him behind me and turned.
"I guess I'll take that offer". He says.
"Oh, what's the matter? Big bad Undertaker afraid to sit in the car all by himself in the dark?". I tease.
"Maybe. Or maybe I just want to get to know you a little better".
I lick my lips and turn back to the door. I open it, instantly ashamed.
The inside of my mother's house looks like a hell hole. Especially now that her boyfriend, Rick, lives with her. My mother is sleeping on the couch. She's either drunk or drugged up. Probably both...
I give Mark a nervous smile as I walk over to the couch and wake her up. "Mom! Hey ma, get up!".
She jumps up, dropping the bottle of prescription pills that were lying on her chest, all over the floor.
"Dammit, Jay! Don't you know how to use the fucking phone?". She said.
"It's so nice to see you too". I say, sarcastically.
"Who's your friend?". She asked, walking, well stumbling over, to Mark who was standing by the window.
"This is Mark. Mark, this is my mother Elizabeth Mclean". I say.
She shakes his hand. "It's nice to meet you".
I can tell she's flirting by the way she sticks her chest out purposely. But, Mark being the gentleman that he is just ignores the gesture and smiles. "It's nice to meet you, too Mrs.Mclean".
"Please, call me Elizabeth".
I gag, walking to the back room to get my baby. I grab her diaper bag and carseat and go back into the livingroom where my mom and Mark were sitting on the couch.
I sit Angel, my daughter, on the floor in her carseat and walk over to the bar in the kitchen to look through the mail. Just then, Rick comes in, drunk.
My mom quickly stands and walks over to him. "Hey babe".
"Where the fuck is my pot?". He slurs.
"I don't know. It's not in the box?". She asks.
He shakes his head, looking at me. "Not anymore. I'm pretty sure it was there earlier. Right before she dropped that damn kid off".
I raise an eyebrow, walking out of the kitchen. "Excuse me?".
"Rick, she didn't take it so don't go accusing her". My mother says, stepping to my defense. For once.
"Why not? She's a fucking druggie, too". He says, starting to walk towards me.
Is he serious? Does he really think I'm suppose to be scared of him?
She steps in front of him again. "Rick, you probably just misplaced it. Go look again".
He shoved her down. I ran over to him, pushing his chest so that he fell right against the wall.
My mother stands, pushing me to the side. "Don't put your hands on him!".
By this time, Rick's boiling mad and he jumps towards me, swinging his fist. I take a blow to the jaw and fall to the ground, hitting the side of my head on the edge of the coffee table on the way down. Mark stands, helping me up.
"Get that bitch and her damn kid out of my house!". Rick yelled.
My mother turned to me. "I think it's best you leave".
She didn't have to tell me twice. With blood dripping from my head, I somehow manage to pick up Angel and make it back to Mark's car without passing out.
I put her in the back and get in. The tears finally escaping my eyes. I look out the window, too embarassed to have to look at him after what had just happened. Now that he's seen how fucked up my family is, I'm pretty sure this will be the last time I see him.
That thought made me cry even harder.
Mark's P.O.V.
I knew she had it rough, but I didn't know how serious it was. She obviously comes from a broken home and I just feel so bad for her and her young girl. I look over at her and see that she's staring out the window, using her hand to stop the blood from flowing from her head.
I can't believe I actually witnessed that. I can't believe that a man would actually put his hands on a woman like that and the fact that her mother did nothing about it didn't help much either. But, I don't know their history. This could be something that happened on a daily basis in that house. She could be going through this everyday.
"You okay?". I ask.
She continues to stare out the window. "I'm fine". She says, quietly. She uses her other hand to wipe her eyes.
I turned into the parking lot of the hotel I was staying in and parked the car. I reached over and touched the hand that was blocking her wound.
"I didn't want you to see that". She said, turning to me. I can tell she had been crying since her eyes were red and puffy. "I didn't want you to see how screwed up my mom and her dumbass boyfriend are. I knew I should've just hailed a cab".
"Nobody deserves to get treated like that, sweetie. What he did to you was wrong...".
"It's not just him! It's the fact that my mother did nothing about it afterwards. It's not like I wanted her to check on me, but it would've been nice if she had pretended to be concerned about me. Instead, she sides with him".
I didn't say anything, best to just let her let it all out.
"It's always been that way. Ever since I was child. She'd get these abusive boyfriends who would beat her; then I'd be next. But, when I got older, I started fighting them back and then she got mad at me. I've always been last on her priorities. She puts everything in front of me, including her precious booze, boyfriend at the moment, and drugs. She only could stand me just because the fact that I fell out of her".
Her hazel eyes locked right on mine and I could see that darkness in her eyes. "I guess being neglected by my own mother for so long helped me turn to alcohol", she closed her eyes for a moment as if to be thinking, then she opened them again, "I don't want my daughter to go through the same thing that I've had to go through". She looked in the backseat at the sleeping infant and sighed. "I don't want her to end up like me".
"Why don't you want her to grow up like you? I mean, you're a strong woman who can stand on her own two feet. I don't see what's wrong with that".
She sighs. "Being strong and being able to stand on your own doesn't always get you anywhere obviously. Because if it did, I wouldn't be dancing". Her body starts to shake as she starts to cry again. "I'm not the role model that she needs".
I want to hold her, but seeing as how we are sitting in the car, that's kinda impossible. Instead I just caress her hand softly.
"I usually don't cry like this". She said, laughing softly.
I wipe the tears that fell silently with the back of my hand. She flinched at my touch. I can tell she was starting to let her guard down and I don't think she's all that comfortable with it. I then felt her relax under my touch. "Thank you, Mark". Her voice was as soft as a whisper.
She has alot more to say, I can see it in her eyes. But, I don't want to pressure her on or scare her away. I didn't say anything, just basked in her presence. She's broken, and I'm the guy that could put the pieces back together.
But, that's only if she's willing to let me.
-The End-