Chapter 11
Stressed
Liz walked down along the street window shopping, the smell of Italian food filling her nose. The sun felt warm against her bare shoulders and she loved it. Looking through one of the shop windows, she saw a pretty yellow summer dress and knew she had to have it. What she had on wasn't sexy enough for what she had in mind. She wanted to go to a club and dance and drink her troubles away. Forget about Tom, the wedding and especially Red. Plus, noticing that she hadn't seen Dembe in a long time, changing clothes might make her blend in and lose him. Right now she had on white shorts and a black tank top, very bland and it stood out from all the pretty clothes the local people and tourists were wearing.
Walking into the shop, Liz took the yellow dress off the hanger and went to try it on. The material felt very soft and light on her bare skin. Giving herself a twirl she looked up and down in the mirror and then decided to buy it.
"I'll take this one please. I'll just leave it on." Liz paid for the dress and then left the store with her old clothes in a bag. Walking down the street she turned left and she could hear the music getting louder as she neared the nightclubs scattered near the beach. For once in the past few days, she felt free and she loved it.
"Boom , boom, chit. Boom boom chit, boom." The beat of the drums pulsed in the air. The base digging in and she felt it in her bones. With a drink in her hand, Liz swayed to the live band, dancing her stress away. Every so often she would feel someone come up behind her on the crowded dance floor and dance close up on her. She let them. She loved the attention, the excitement. She loved any touch that got the feel of Red's hands off her. She didn't want to think of Red or any of her troubles. She wanted to be carefree and this was the perfect place.
After a couple more songs, Liz's drink was empty and she headed back over to the bar for another one. By this time she had lost count and she was feeling it. The relaxing buzz made her lose all inhibitions. A man with khaki chico's and a Hawaiian shirt came over to her and asked her if he could by her a drink, and she let him. She even let him guide her back to the dance floor and dance some more. Liz could feel his hands on the small of her back as he pulled her closer to him, dancing provocatively against each other.
Liz took another sip of her drink as she continued to dance with the stranger. Something caught the corner of her eye and she stilled. Dembe was sitting at the bar glaring at her while talking on a phone. Ignoring him, she turned her dance partner around so that her back was toward Dembe. No way was she going back now. Let him try to ruin her night, she wouldn't let him. She wanted to close the bar down. Only then, would she think of heading back to the Villa.
The music changed to a slower song and the stranger pulled her even closer. Liz laid her head on his shoulder and slowly swayed to the beat. All of a sudden she felt a tap on her shoulder and heard Dembe's voice.
"Excuse me, Sir. May I take over?" Dembe asked Liz's dancing partner.
"Hell no!" Liz slurred. "Go away Dembe. I'm not going back."
" I didn't say you have to go back. "
"You heard the lady. Step back." The Hawaiian shirt guy didn't know who he was dealing with.
Liz smiled, downed the rest of her drink and handed the glass to Dembe. "Make yourself useful if you insist on staying here and being Red's watchdog. I want another."
Dembe watched Liz as she put her hands up to circle around the guys neck and then they continued to dance. He turned and pulled out his phone. Red wasn't going to like this one bit.
Red walked through the entrance to the beach nightclub. There were no doors, just a banner hanging overhead. There were no walls, just the sea air and there was no roof, just the night sky. The floor, a makeshift platform over the sand. Spotting Dembe by the glowing lit up bar , Red walked over to him. Always overdressed , Red wore dark charcoal slacks with a white shirt . The buttons left half unbuttoned, showing his crisp chest hair. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, giving him a laid back look. However, his facial expression was far from laid back.
"Where is she?" Red demanded.
Dembe nodded over to the dance floor and Red looked in that direction. Eyeing her companion, he gave him a once over. "Is that the same guy or a different one? " Red asked, disapprovingly.
"Same. When I didn't bring her another drink they both came over and got one and then went back to dancing. She's drank a lot Raymond. She's stumbling and all over him. "
"We need to do this smoothly. I don't want to cause a scene if I can help it. We both need to go over there . You come from the back and pull him away while I step in. If she starts fighting, be prepared. I don't care if I have to throw her over my shoulder, she's done for the night." Red warned.
Carefully, they both walked over to Liz. Dembe came up behind her dance partner and pulled him away from Liz as Red stepped in. Grabbing Liz by the waist he brought her body flush up against his. With one arm around her waist, he used his other hand to pull her head up close to his shoulder and bent down to whisper in her ear.
" It's time to go Lizzy. You've had enough."
Liz pushed against his chest but Red didn't budge. Her drunken strength no match for his. "I'm staying!"
Red moved his hand in her hair to grab a little and tugged slightly. "I said you're finished. "
"And I said I"m not. I'm dancing... having a good time." Liz pouted.
"You call this a good time? Drinking yourself drunk and letting a man paw at you? " Red shook his head slowly.
"I"m just dancing..." Liz said again.
"Dancing like you were leads to sex." Red rasped in her ear. "You want to have a good time then you do it with me. Not some stranger you just met at a bar."
Slowly Red began to move to the music, moving her with him. Holding her tightly in his embrace. The band played a slow, seductive beat and Liz began to relax in his arms. Red loosened his hold on her head and she moved down to rest her ear against his chest, feeling his heart beat it's own rhythm. Together they swayed to the slow music, Liz following Red's lead. she could feel Red's hands roaming over her back, soothing her. The summer dress left her shoulders bare and he stroked them. Then all of a sudden the music started to pick up beat and demanded a faster pace, one that Red didn't want. Grabbing her hand he started to walk toward the exit.
"No! I'm staying!" Liz slurred.
"No. Lizzie . You are not. Now let's go before I have to force you out!" Red said sternly
Liz spotted a group of guys standing on the dance floor next to them and lunged toward them , letting one catch her. Making Red let go of her hand in the process. "Hi. Anyone want to dance. This guy is getting on my nerves and I want to get away from him." Liz looked over at Red and his face had turned to an angry shade of red, his eyes bulging out and his mouth a hard line. Dembe grabbed his elbow and whispered something in his ear and they both walked back towards the bar.
Happy with herself, Liz stood in the middle of the men and started to sway once again to the music. This time, three men got close to her and they all started dancing. Stealing a glance at Red , she saw him glaring at her, ready to pounce. He sat at the bar sipping what looked like scotch , never taking his eyes off of her. Getting brave, Liz wanted to piss Red off. Make him feel a little of the stress she had been feeling the past few days. She knew he wanted her , so decided to make him jealous.
Liz turned toward one of the men and slipped her arms around his neck, getting really close to him. He put his arms around her and got very comfortable. She could feel his hand on her lower back before he let it slid over her bottom and then back up. The dress creeping up with his hand. Liz let out a chuckle and then stepped closer, knowing Red would be furious seeing this. Next , one of the other men came up behind her and started to dance really close as well. She was sandwiched between them when she heard Red's voice.
"I would step away before you both regret it." Red stated .
"Who are you to tell us what to do?" One of the men asked, laughing. "Looks like she's enjoying it to me."
"I'm going to enjoy punching your face in , tying you to a car and dragging you face first down the street. I give you ten seconds to back off. Both of you." Red's face showed no emotion. Just a blank, deadly stare. "One. Two..."
Both guys looked at each other then over to Red and Dembe. They could sense they were over their head and let go of Liz, pushing her towards Red before hurriedly disappearing into the crowd.
Liz pushed against Red trying to get out of his grasp. "Why did you do that for? They were fun."
Red didn't say anything. Instead he grabbed Liz's hand and made his way to the exit. Dembe following them. Liz tried to pull out of Red's grasp and stumbled, almost falling down. However, Red kept walking, almost dragging her out of the club. If anyone noticed , Red and Dembe didn't care.
When they exited the nightclub, the hard floor turned to sand and Liz fell to the ground, causing Red to let her hand go. Red tried to grab her hand again but Liz moved out of the way. "How dare you drag me out of there! "
"I did it for your own good Lizzie."
"No you did it for you! You can't stand to see me having fun without you! Can't stand me dancing with someone!"
"I can't stand you making a fool out of yourself."
"You're the fool!"
"I am not the one dancing all up on men I barely know. I'm not the one getting so drunk I can barley walk. I'm not the one letting a stranger grope me on the dance floor and I am certainly not the one flashing my pink panties in the sand." Red looked down suggestively at Liz's parted legs and Liz became aware that he could see up her dress. Liz closed her legs and then tried to turn over and get on her knees so she could stand. However, the movement made the dress hike up even more, causing the bottom of Liz's pink panties to be exposed.
"Lizzie take my hand. As much as I am enjoying the view, I don't want others to see." Red said
"Don't touch me!" Liz yelled at Red. "Dembe can you help me up?" Liz asked sweetly.
Liz turned to look at Dembe who was standing next to Red, silently watching. "Dembe help me?" Liz asked again.
Dembe looked at Red and Red nodded at him that it was OK, so he held out his hand for her to grab. When she placed her hand in his he pulled her up and put his arm around her to steady her. "OK?"
"Yes. Can you help me walk back to the Villa?"
"I have a car waiting Lizzie.."
"I"m going home with Dembe. I don't want your stupid car!"
Red looked over at Dembe and Liz could tell he was getting pissed. Liz could tell his control was holding on by a thread. However, she loved it. She loved pushing his buttons. She loved knowing that he cared enough for her that he got jealous. It made him more human to her. Made her not feel so guilty that she wanted him. She couldn't cope with wanting a monster, but Red as a hot blooded male she was OK with. It made her think she was less crazy. In her drunken state, she was turned on by his anger. If she was sober, she wouldn't of tried to push his buttons so much.
"Fine, we will walk then. Don't cry when your legs give out. " With that, Red lead the way back to the villa. His stride long, and angry.
