Wow. I don't even know about this story anymore. This chapter kinda got away from me a little bit. I hope you enjoy it, and I'll try to update more regularly. Sorry, it's a little short. OH, and warning. This chapter has a small reference to abuse. It's itty bitty though. Nothing major.
The club I was in was loud, and crowded, the booming music making my head hurt slightly. Why had I let my friend drag me here? Oh, yeah. Because I'm a total pushover. Said friend was now walking away with some guy she had just met, leaving me at the bar by myself. I sighed, resting my head on my hand, propping my elbow on the bar's counter. This was going to be a long night.
"Give me two beers. One for me, and the other for the lovely lady here." I looked up at the sound of the voice. It came from a tall man, around my age. The suspicious looking type. I looked down as the bartender served him and the girl he was referring to drinks, slightly wishing a guy would buy me drinks like that. Of course, that was too much to expect.
I looked out to the dance floor, hoping to spot my friend Jessica, but found no luck amongst the tightly packed bodies. Honestly, who would enjoy dancing out there? It was like a giant, sweaty stew pot. I sighed again, wishing I was back home reading a book.
The club I'd been dragged to was called the Caraggioso, another old place in New York. I didn't know much about the history of this one, but you could tell by looking at the place it'd been here awhile. The exterior was old, and run down looking. However, the inside was new and upbeat. It was blatantly obvious that there had been several redesigns over the years, but it added to the character of the place. If it wasn't so loud and crazy inside, I might have liked it a little.
As the music seemingly got louder, I slipped off the bar stool and walked outside, avoiding people walking into the club. I sighed as I stepped out into the slightly chilly air. I buttoned up the thin coat I was wearing and stood a few feet away from the club. The guard who was checking ideas glanced at me, but didn't say anything. I guess he thought I wasn't suspicious enough to bother with.
I watched the parking lot for a few minutes until a dark black car pulled up, parking in the V.I.P. section. I watched with mild curiosity as three men stepped out and made their way over to the club. I studied each of them in turn. The first one to catch my attention was a hugely built, mammoth of a man. He scared me a little. The second was a lanky, thin man, not especially attractive in my opinion. As I looked to the third, I almost had a heart attack. Luck Gandor?
He didn't seem to notice me at first, continuing to walk by with the other men. I almost shouted at him, to gain his attention, but managed to stop myself. I wondered briefly who the other guys were, deciding they might be the brothers he talked about.
"Hey, no loitering around here, girl." said a deep voice. I looked up to see the scary man had stopped and was staring down at me. "Either get in the club, or scram. If you aren't old enough, you shouldn't come in the first place."
I was speechless for a second, just staring up at the gargantuan horror. He glared a bit harder until I nodded quickly. Then, a familiar voice interrupted.
"Don't scare away the costumers, Berga. What good is that going to do us?" Luck walked around his older brother and tipped his hat to me, small smile on his face.
I smiled in thanks and rubbed my arm awkwardly.
"Why don't you come in and let me buy you a drink, Caroline?" he asked, suddenly.
I stared at him for a moment before quickly nodding. "That'd be great Luck." I said.
"You know her, Luck?" the big man asked.
"Yes, we became acquainted a few weeks ago." he answered. "You two go one ahead. I'll meet up with you later."
They walked off, leaving me with the mysteriously fascinating man. He offered me arm in an old fashioned way that was rather charming, and, when I took it, led me inside the club. We took a seat at a table in the corner, away from the immediate surge of people and he ordered two drinks for us. Then, he smiled and asked above the ruckus of the crowd, "So what brings you here tonight?"
"I was dragged here by my friend, Jessica." I answered.
He nodded. "You don't really seem like the clubbing type."
"I'm not! But you don't either. What are you doing here?"
"I own the joint. I was just here to see to some paperwork, but my brothers will take care of that."
"Speaking of brothers, did that Claire guy ever find you?"
He laughed a bit. "Yes. He's fine now. Back in New York for a while, as far as I know. Him and that girl of his, I don't know about them. They've been all over the globe together. Still hasn't put a ring on her finger, yet though."
As the drinks were delivered, he leaned back in his chair watching the crowd on the dance floor. I picked up the glass and took a sip. Tasted expensive. I wasn't sure what I should say to the obviously influential man in front of me. I'd never expected that, honestly. He had struck me as more of the normal, working class kind of guy. But, here he was, owner of a popular nightclub and buying me expensive drinks. Me. I shook my head a bit in disbelief. If he was this rich, he could have anybody. Why was he wasting his time with me?
I looked up when a familiar figure ran up to me. "Caroline!" she squealed, dark skin contrasting with her sea blue dress. "You found a guy! I don't believe you."
I almost slammed my head down into the table. "Jessica… This is Luck." I said almost unwillingly.
Luck smiled up at her. "It's nice to meet you, Jessica."
"Oh… he's cute…" she muttered, making me blush a brilliant shade of red. "Oh, by the way. I'm going home with Chuck, so I'm leaving you. Bye…" she muttered starting to walk off.
"Wait!" I called after her. "How am I supposed to get home!?"
She ignored me and pranced away with her new guy. I sighed and rubbed my temples, headache suddenly getting a lot worse.
"I can take you home." Luck volunteered. "I know where your apartment is. I could drive you to the building." He smiled at my dubious expression. "What do you say?"
"I suppose. If you don't mind." I said, a little surprised he would volunteer so easily. We barely knew each other.
"I don't. I wouldn't have suggested it if I did." he said.
For the next hour or so, we drank a bit more and made small talk. When I began feeling a bit tipsy, I asked him to take me home. I was never a good drunk, so I didn't want to turn into a dunce in front of him. For some reason, I found myself wanting to impress him very badly.
We walked out to the car together. I only managed to trip up a few times, which left me a giggling mess. I wasn't so far gone that I couldn't be embarrassed by this, but too far to do anything about it but blush like a mad woman. He helped steady me, making sure I got into the car, before slipping into the passenger seat himself. He didn't seem to feel the effects of the alcohol at all. Then again, he didn't drink as much as I had either.
"Hey, Luck?" I questioned, not waiting for a response. "How long have you lived in New York?"
"My entire life." he said, smiling a bit. "What about you? I know you're not from around here."
"Texas." I said happily.
"Ah. So that's why I couldn't place your accent. Why did you move to New York of all places, though?"
"I was running." I said, honestly enough. I shook my head a bit, wondering why I had told him that. Was I seriously that drunk?
"Running? What'd you do? Rob a few banks?" He was obviously joking, but I could hear the curiosity burning in his voice.
"No!" I laughed a bit. "I was trying to get away from my stepdad."
"Why's that?"
"He was a bad man…" I turned looking out the window, the subject sobering me up a little. "Momma didn't see it, or she just chose to ignore it. But I just wanted to get out, so I did."
"Oh…" I could almost hear the pity leaking from his voice. And I hated it. Anytime I told some one about this, they always starting looking down on me.
"I'm fine now." I said, defensively. "It's in the past. He doesn't affect me anymore."
"You don't seem like a victim at least. I would have never guessed."
I could tell he was trying to say something polite, to make me feel better, but it struck a chord in me. "I'm NOT a victim!" I clarified, looking back over at him.
He glanced at me, a surprised look in his golden eyes. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean it like that. I was saying, I just never would have guessed you had a skeleton like that in your closet."
"It doesn't matter anymore."
"Of course, not."
Well, that was a first. I looked over at him. "What?"
"Of course it doesn't. It's in the past. Your past doesn't define you. You can move on and live a new life like you chose to. What's behind us doesn't matter, but what we do with our lives now does." He smiled a bit, his eyes shifting back to the road. "Trust me. I understand where you're coming from."
He was the first one to ever drop it that easily. He was the first one to understand. I had gone through that a long time ago, and it was a pretty dark smudge on my past. But I had honestly gotten over it. I had found help and talked through it, and now I was just trying to live like it's a new day. Because for me it was.
The car stopped and I realized we were outside of my apartment building. "Do you need me to walk you upstairs?" Luck asked.
"No, I'm fine. Thank you for the ride."
"You're welcome." he said smiling. His golden eyes almost shined in the dim lit car.
I climbed out of the vehicle and walked to the door. I turned just in time to see the dark car pulling away. I smiled to myself, desperately hoping to see him again soon.
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