Roman was angry. More angry than he had ever been before. Lola had just told him what happened last night at work. As if it hadn't been enough that some asshole from her college days showed up to give her hell once more, the man who raised her had been just as big of an asshole. In that moment Roman wanted to murder someone. He was angry. Angry at Seth, angry at Mark, and angry at himself for not being there to protect her.
"Calm down. What's done is done. If Seth comes back, I'll refuse to dance for him," she said.
"Don't sweep it under the rug like that," he said.
"I'm not but it's my work. What else am I supposed to do? Stop working?" She asked.
"You know I'll never ask that of you. I'll support you in whatever you choose to do, but you can't expect me to look past this. I might not ever meet that Seth guy but Mark needs to answer for what he tried making you do," he said.
She sighed and crossed her arms. He didn't want to fight with her but this was not something he was willing to let go that easy.
"Let it go," she said.
"Why?" He asked.
"You know why," she answered.
"Look me in my eyes and tell me why," he said.
"Because I fucking owe it to Mark for taking me in and raising me, okay? I owe it to him," she said.
"So you just have to do whatever he says?" He asked.
"No. I mean, maybe. I don't know, Roman. I don't know what the fuck to do," she said.
She dropped her arms again, and tears showed in her eyes. He pulled her in for a much needed hug.
"Listen, chipmunk, he doesn't own you. Mark doesn't own you. No one owns you. Not even me. You need to understand that you're a free woman, and no one can tell you what to do," he said.
"I know that. It's just hard," she said. "Where would I be without Mark?"
"I can't tell you that but you seem to think that the alternative would have been bad. You don't know that. We can all guess away but no one will ever know how your life had turned out without him," he said.
He placed his hands on her cheeks and smiled at her.
"I'm grateful for what he did. He managed to raise a wonderful woman that I'm deeply in love with. I love you, chipmunk. Don't ever question that. And I'm okay with you keeping him and I apart. I'm even okay with you not wanting to tell him you live here now. I'm okay with almost anything, but I'm not okay with this. I can't let this go, and neither should you," he said.
She nodded, gave him a little smile back, grabbed his t-shirt, and pulled him down for a kiss.
"I love you," she said. "And you're right. You're absolutely right. I shouldn't let this slide. It's wrong and it's fucking disgusting. I just don't know what to do about it."
"Want me to handle it?" He asked.
"Not if you're gonna beat him up," she answered.
"I swear I'll only use my words like an adult," he said. "And you can come along too to keep me grounded. It probably will work better if we show up as a united front. Otherwise I'll just look like a possessive boyfriend, and you know he'll try and spin my visit around and claim I said or did things I didn't."
"One more kiss, please," she said.
He smirked at her and leaned down to kiss her again.
"So we're going?" He asked.
"Right this fucking second before I lose my courage," she answered.
They got out in Roman's car and drove directly to Mark's place. He was outside on his porch reading the news paper. He put the paper down and stood up when the car stopped. Roman got out first and walked directly up to Mark with Lola following right after.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Roman asked angrily.
"I'm the guy about to whoop your ass if you don't behave, son," Mark said.
"Try it," Roman sneered. "Try it and see how far you'll come."
"Don't fight," Lola said lowly.
Mark turned his eyes to Lola. She was his hope to get this angry man off his porch.
"What's this about, sweetheart?" Mark asked.
"Don't you fucking dare play innocent," Roman said.
"Is it about last night?" Mark asked.
"Yes," Lola answered.
"Is your boyfriend angry that someone else wants you?" Mark smirked at Roman. "Do you believe her when she says that she doesn't do things like that? What if I tell you this is quite normal for her, and you're just another random number passing through her life? You'll be gone soon enough, and she'll come running back home like always."
Lola's jaw dropped. Mark had never spoken like that. He was lying about her. Something she never thought he would do. Clearly Roman was a threat in Mark's world.
"I didn't," Lola said.
"I know everything that goes on in my club," Mark smirked. "I know, sweetheart."
"I didn't!" Lola raised her voice.
"I believe you!" Roman cut through. "I believe her, Mark. You're so fucked up that I don't even know where to begin. Trying to pimp out the woman you're supposed to treat as your own daughter. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Mark took a step forward but Roman didn't move. Mark was used to intimidating people at his club. Clearly he was losing his touch when it came to Lola's boyfriend. It angered him to no end. This man was taking her away from him. Something he didn't want to see happen.
"I raised her!" Mark yelled. "I love her! She belongs to me!"
"You couldn't wait making money off her while watching her take off her clothes!" Roman yelled back.
They two men both bared their teeth. Lola didn't want this to break out in a fist fight but she didn't want to get in between them either. Roman lowered his voice to normal volume, but what he said next spoke louder than anything he could have shouted.
"I bet you're fucking angry you never got to fuck her," Roman said.
Lola stared at Mark. This was the part where he was supposed to start denying such an allegation. Nothing came out of Mark's mouth. Instead it looked like Roman had hit the nail on its head.
"No," Lola whispered.
"I never touched you," Mark said.
"Mark, what the hell?" Lola asked lowly.
"I never fucking touched you!" Mark yelled. "I wanted to but I never did. I never fucking touched you, Lola. I only watched."
"All those times you claimed I forgot to lock the door when I was in the shower," Lola said. "I thought I was losing my mind. I never forgot, did I?"
"Not once," Mark confessed.
"The only reason you're not picking up your teeth with broken fingers right now is because she asked me not to lay a hand on you, but I'm having a real hard time with it," Roman said.
"I wanna leave," Lola said. "Roman, please. I wanna leave. I wanna go home."
"This is your home," Mark said.
"Fuck you!" Lola screamed.
Both men looked at her. Roman turned his head back to look at Mark with a grin on his face. Mark still looked stunned over hearing Lola scream at him like that. Something she had never done before. He knew he had lost even though he wasn't willing to accept it.
"You don't mean that," Mark said.
"Oh, she means it," Roman said. "And I'm with her. Fuck you, Mark. Have fun sucking Seth's dick tonight if he comes back asking for it."
Roman and Lola turned around and walked back to the car.
"You're turning your back on me for this asshole?" Mark yelled. "I raised you, Lola! You fucking owe me your life!"
"She doesn't owe you shit!" Roman yelled back. "You don't own her, Mark. You never fucking owned her, and you never fucking will."
Roman and Lola got back into the car and drove away. They were silent on the car ride home. Once Roman parked the car, he turned and looked at her.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
She nodded at first but then tears started running down her cheeks and she shook her head no.
"Oh, chipmunk," he said. "Come here."
He leaned over in the seat and pulled her in for a hug.
"It's gonna be okay. We'll figure it out. Take some time to wrap your head around everything that just happened. No rush," he said.
"I wanna hurt him so bad," she said.
"I know," he said.
"No, you don't understand," she said. "I wanna hurt him where it hurts the most. I wanna fucking ruin him. I wanna take the club away from him without him knowing what hit him until it's too late. He's been looking for a partner to buy it and take over once he's gone. There's gotta be something I can do."
He smirked at her and nodded.
"I hear you," he said. "And I got just the man for the job."