Kimberly found the floor beneath her shake as she came face to face with Tommy. The man she hadn't seen in years.
What the hell was he doing here? What the hell was she doing in here with him?
His features were masked by the darkness in the room, simply staring blankly at the ghost of girlfriends past. His lips were parted but his brain failed to form a solitary word. He needed air. Breath, idiot!
She couldn't even wait for him to say anything before she took several ungraceful steps back. Her eyes remained on him, in fear that blinking would make him disappear. Only when she felt the safety of the curtain on her back did she stop. Kimberly reached for the knob, shakily twisting it before bolting back into the door where she came from, a painful knot building in her throat.
She didn't even manage to take more than three steps out before someone stopped her.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Came from a deep voice behind her.
Her slender forearm was pulled hard towards an overweight man, her manager, Jerry.
"I'm not going back in there," Kimberly spat back, tears welling in her eyes.
"Like hell you're not," He bitched back at her, "He paid for a dance and you're the stripper, so get your ass back in there and do your damn job!"
Why was she allowing herself to be spoken to like this? Where was that flame aside of her that bit back at men like him? Why has seeing Tommy affected her so much?
"No," She stood her ground, the anger inside of her bubbling. Kimberly pulled on her arm to get free and continued walking away towards her dressing room.
"If you don't get back out there then you're done," He threatened, calling out after her, "I'll make sure you never dance anywhere in Vegas again."
Kimberly halted, feeling herself trembling at the thought of facing him. She couldn't leave. She needed this job. The pain in her heart was radiating out of her, crumbling the world she had built for herself.
Her nose flared in disgust at herself and her manager.
"Fuck you, Jerry," She pushed past him with gritted teeth.
She came back to the metal door that read 'Private 5,' her forehead gently resting on it as she released a muffled sob.
Was she really going to go through with this?
On the other side of the door sat a very confused and shaken Tommy. Who the fuck did he just see? Were his eyes deceiving him?
Was that really the Kimberly Hart that walked out on him a lifetime ago? The music in the room had continued, leaving him unable to process his thoughts.
The sound of the door knob turning had his heart drumming against his chest, even more so when he saw Kimberly come back inside with a flushed nose that broke his heart.
He held his breath watching her slowly walk up to him, one delicate foot in front of the other. Her body was covered in body glitter, every single speck shining like diamonds on her skin.
The pink scraps of clothing on her barely covered her, leaving nothing to the imagination. It was more of her than he had ever seen in his life, smaller than any bikini she had ever worn. She stopped when her thighs brushed up against his knees, Kimberly looking down at him with an expression he couldn't quite read.
"3, 4, 5, 6…"
Her lips were barely moving, counting the beats in her mind as she reacquainted herself with the pattern of the music.
She wasn't really going to do this, was she?
And as the number eight fled her lips, her eyes slipped shut, and a shaky exhale was released.
Suddenly, before his very eyes, he saw her transform into a version of Kimberly he had never met. She raised her right hand up in the air, her body twisting in a way that had him clutching a fist and thanking god for the restraints. He watched her twirl as her hand slipped down her body, touching the smooth skin on her abdomen. She sank into his lap with her back to him. Her head rested on his shoulder as she rolled her body against him. He tried to look away, to close his eyes—Something, but he couldn't. His brain simply wouldn't allow it.
The caress of his cheek with her face evoked a reaction from him that she had dreamed about when she was younger.
"1,2,3,4…" She recited to herself again and again, trying to remember her steps and get away from her own thoughts.
He watched her rise under a heated gaze. With her back still towards him, she began moving her hips, drawing him in with the supple curves of her backside. Speechless is what he was.
All Tommy could do was swallow hard as Kimberly climbed back on him and slithered on his lap like a snake, hypnotizing him with her venom. Her legs rested over his thighs in a full straddle, her head tilting back as she let her brown hair flow freely. Every part of him that she touched burned, filling him with so much want that he was beginning to question his own sanity. It was that moment he realized she wasn't Kim, not anymore, she was Kandi.
Try with all his might to regulate his breathing, Tommy simply couldn't. This was the vision of his teenage fantasy teasing him as an adult, rubbing in his face everything he didn't have. He bit back a groan as she moved faster over his lap, her hands entangled in her own hair as she twisted on him in the way she was instructed to do, feeling every piece of man that he was.
A part of her was dying as she felt his reaction towards her, neither ever saying a word to each other. Her eyes were wet, visualizing where her life would be now if she chose differently. If fate's cruel game of life hadn't stepped in and ruined her. Her thighs were on fire from her vigorous thrusting, fueling herself by the obvious euphoria Tommy had. She didn't know why he was here of all places in the city. She was never supposed to run into him again and she certainly wasn't supposed to be seducing him the way she was.
Long nails dug into Tommy's chest, causing him to hiss at the pain, although wanting more of what Kimberly was offering. He couldn't control himself, he had gone mad. This was the woman he had loved for so long, grinding into him in a way that had him panting like a dog. She didn't know it, but he was under her control.
Now he realized why men had to be restrained, she was irresistible, even though his head screamed this was wrong. He longed to touch her, to take her away from whatever she had gotten herself into. To be the savior he once was. He went blind the moment she ripped her top off, revealing her plump skin to the man she had once given everything to. The man that she left in the arms of her replacement.
"Kim," he managed to groan out, a voice just above a whisper.
She ignored her name, feeling the tears slowly cascade down her cheeks as she trembled in his arms. She was completely lost now, forgetting the routine to the music she had mastered. Her hands swam in his hair, pulling on the short strands as she brought his face to her exposed breasts.
He felt her tears hit his skin, and he fought the chair to get free. Her body was perfection, sculpted by the Gods!
"Stop," he told her, his own eyes stinging from the built up moisture.
She didn't listen, continuing whatever the fuck she was doing to pass the time until Jerry stopped the music and freed her from hell.
"Stop," he begged again, seeing her succumb to her tears even further, but never once slowing down her body.
Who was this woman driving him out of his damn mind? He wanted her. To love her like he always wanted to, to do things the way they were supposed to be done. This wasn't it. The beautiful woman before him was a shell of her former self, hardened by life and whatever else was thrown her way. And through this moment he realized he never once thought about Kat or how she would feel finding out about this. He simply didn't care. That fact didn't hurt him either.
The perspiration between the two grew as she continued to rock her body against his. The droplets beaded up across her temples and down her abdomen, making her slick across his chest. Her lips parted, releasing a groan of her own as she found herself way too entangled. She didn't do this with her clients.. ever. This was different. It was love coming to greet an old friend.
The music ended as quickly as it started, leaving Kimberly and Tommy to their own heavy breathing to fill the room.
She said nothing to him, couldn't even look him the eye.
Kimberly scrambled off his lap, running to his side where she had discarded her top. She used it to cover herself, what little the cloth could do.
Trembling, she pulled out the key to his cuffs from the waistband of her tiny shorts, quickly undoing the cuff on his left wrist. She placed the key on his lap, her eyes filled with moisture.
"Kim," His eyes met hers in gutted pain but she looked away.
She couldn't face him, not like this, not yet.
The brunette left him with one arm chained to the chair and a broken heart in his chest.
Kimberly stepped into the hall through the door reserved for the dancers, her chest heaving as she rested her head against the door.
"That's what I call a fucking show," Jerry released a laugh out of his belly, making Kimberly scowl.
Not even thirty seconds went by before Tommy came barreling out of the room and back into the lounge, his shirt half buttoned and a pain on his wrists.
The guys cheered seeing the groom-to-be stumbling out, glitter painted on his cheeks, proof of a good time.
"There he is," Jason hollered at him, clapping his arms triumphantly.
Tommy thought for a moment this had been a sick set up, but he soon realized they were too involved to pull a stunt like that. They wouldn't.
"Get up," Tommy came out, fuming. He grabbed his coat, pulling out a few bills and throwing them on the table to cover the drinks that the guys had ordered.
"Wha-what?" Zack gave him an incredulous look, "Dude, the party is just getting started!"
He lifted two shots in the air, signaling the arrival of their evening meal.
Tommy's stomach twisted in disgust as the need to vomit overcame him. "This party is over!" He used his leader voice, making the five sink back.
"What the hell happened back there?" Jason called out to him over the music, but Tommy was already making his way out of the club.
"Tommy," Rocky tried, but their former leader was gone.
The guys followed the stench of anger out of the building, finding Tommy wandering the streets, looking for a way to the back of the club.
"What's your problem, man?" Jason pulled on Tommy's arm so that he was looking at him. He saw green flash in Tommy's eyes for a moment before he saw the hurt. "What happened?"
Tommy ran a hand through his short hair, pulling on it as a way to wake up from this living nightmare.
He said nothing of what he saw or of what he felt. "Help me find a way to the back," He ordered.
"It's this way," Billy told him, pointing towards a dark alley on the side.
Tommy charged forward without a second thought as to who or what could be lurking in the dark pit of Vegas.
"Do you mind telling me what the fuck we're doing here?" Jason yelled at him, "If you want to get mugged then I'm sure we can find other places than this."
Tommy ignored his calls, his mind solely focused on the task of finding the backdoor of the club.
The farther he went into the alley, the closer he got to her. And he was right. He found her outside, hand to her face, sobbing.
She could pinpoint exactly where her life went wrong. If she could, she would go back and tell herself to stay, to not give everything up for a dream that was never really there.
A group of voices in the distance startled her, causing her to look up.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice came out shy of a tremble, seeing the image of Tommy and 5 other guys growing larger.
Her eyes stopped on the guy wearing red that looked more confused than anyone.
"Kim?" Jason whispered, a piece of him broken finding his long lost sister in a place like this, wearing scraps and a coat that barely covered anything.
"Jase," her voice cracked, feeling a rush of tears building up inside her once again.
Her lip quivered and she shielded her face from them, feeling her world crumbling more and more.
"You're coming with us," Tommy told her, grabbing her by the arm like she was a child.
"Let go of me," She ripped her arm from his grasp. "I have to get back to work."
"Like hell you will," He spat back, his eyes glossing over. He reached for her again, but she managed to reach for the door, letting out two loud smacks against the frame.
It was her signal to the doorman that she wanted back in, and as Tommy reached for a third time, the door swung open.
Jerry stepped out, a tuft of moist chest hair protruding from the front of his button-down shirt.
"What the fuck is this?" Jerry screamed at Kimberly. "How many fucking times do I have to tell you that you are not to interact with clients outside of work?"
Kimberly bit at the inside of her cheek, feeling the heat within her rise by the second. "Get your ass inside, you have other clients."
She nodded, not even looking at any of the guys she once called her best friends.
"She's not going anywhere," Tommy stepped forward, towering over the overweight man.
"Excuse me," Jerry's nose flared, the grease of his forehead reflecting the moonlight, "she still has money to make. What the hell kind of club do you think I'm running? She hasn't met her quota!"
"And how much is that?" Adam spoke up from the back, ready to pay whatever it took to get her home.
Jerry placed his hands on his hips, "12,000 a night!"
12 thousand!
Tommy suddenly felt the world around him shift.
"Surprised?" She asked him, seeing the defeat in Tommy's eyes for a flash.
He gave a deep swallow before turning to the rest of the guys. He extended his hands to his friends, "Alright, I know you have it, cough it up."
The guys paused for a moment, suddenly realizing just how much that was. It didn't last more than two seconds before Tommy waved his hand at them again, causing them to pull out their wallets.
His hands were quickly filled with the green paper the world spun over. "Here," Tommy swallowed hard as he handed over all of the money they had on them. He handed his credit card next, "This will cover the rest!"
Jerry looked back and forth between Tommy and the card in his hand. He let out a low growl before taking the card and charging it on his portable credit card terminal at his waistband.
"Don't be late to your shift tomorrow," Jerry hissed at Kimberly, his saliva landing on her face in speckles.
Jason's mouth twisted as he placed his coat around Kimberly's thin frame, wrapping a supportive arm around the sister he lost long ago.
Tommy could barely follow behind, suddenly realizing how much more complicated his life had gotten… and he only had 24 hours to figure it out.
Author note: Hey everyone! So.. I'm having so much fun with this. I have chapters for my other stories coming out really soon. I have some exciting stuff coming out for this new Fic and I can't wait to get them written and published. I hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know what you guys think in a review or PM. It always makes my day! See you guys next time!