Inside the Storm Read online

  “I only came to warn you.” The words came tumbling out of my mouth, I didn’t even bother with saying hello. I didn’t want to give him the impression that I’m staying.

  “Warn me about what?”

  I can hear it in his voice, he is surprised and completely taken back by what I said. His eyes show concern.

  “Randy told me he was meeting with a potential business partner. Blake, you don’t want to get in bed with a guy like him.”

  He shifts in his seat and leans forward. “I don’t give a damn about Randy. I could take or leave that guy in a heartbeat. What I want is a chance to get to know you.”

  I close my eyes as I get a whiff of his cologne. I want so badly to lean forward and bury my face in his neck to smell him better. I want his scent on every inch of my flesh. I squeeze my thighs together and lean back into the chair. I need to keep my distance from him.

  “You shouldn't,” I finally say, “what you should do is pretend I never stepped foot inside your country club. I realized tonight that there is a big difference between our worlds. You own a country club while I work at a strip club. You get to enjoy Sin City while I am the reason there is sin. Ask Sammy, he knows.”

  “Rochelle,” his voice is demanding when he says my name.

  “Blake.”

  He reaches for my hand, but I pull it away. I cross my arms over my chest, doing my best to ignore the look of disappointment all over his face. His handsome face. I cannot allow him to touch me. I may cave if he does.

  “I don’t know what you think of me, but my interest in you has never had anything to do with what you do for a living or how much money you have in your account. I certainly don’t want you thinking that I’m here because you’re a stripper, or a waitress in a club, or whatever you are. You are something special, and I just want to get to know you without worrying about all that other stuff.”

  I cast my head down. I cannot bear to look him in the eyes. He thinks he wants to know me, but there’s nothing to know. I am a runaway who cleaned rooms for food and shelter and then became a hired submissive, a glorified prostitute. There’s no getting away from that.

  A waitress finally comes to our table. Blake asks if I would like a coffee. I shake my head no. If I were staying to get to know him better I would have said yes, but I am not staying here much longer. I only came to warn him about Randy.

  I think Blake can sense that I am about to bolt on him. “Let me take you out for a late dinner,” he says, almost pleadingly.

  I wish I could say yes to him. I would do just about anything to be with a real man. I want so desperately to be somebody’s other half, to be the person who makes them whole. I wish I knew what love felt like. Sadly, I don’t even know what it is like to wake up next to a man. I am basically nothing more than a mistress to most of the men I am with.

  I uncross my arms and lean forward. I open my mouth to say something, but before I do, I glance around the coffee shop to make sure nobody will overhear me. “Do you know what goes on behind closed doors at Leather Shots?” I cringe saying the name of Randy’s place.

  I see the look of disgust in Blake’s expression. “I really don’t want to talk about that club. That’s not why I’m here. I don’t care about any of that right now.”

  “You say you don’t care and you want to know me. I am not the woman you saw last night. I ran away when I was fifteen and I have worked for Randy ever since.” I lean in closer. “I lost my virginity in that club, that you don’t ‘care’ about when I was eighteen.” I stand from the table. “You are a better man than Randy, stick to your country club.”

  I turn and start to walk away. Blake grabs my arm just above my elbow. His eyes are begging me to stay. “I can’t let you run off again. I’ve been completely honest with you ever since we met, and all I am asking is that you give me a chance to say what I want to say before you go running off. I heard you out. Give me the same opportunity.”

  “Let me ask you again, Blake, do you know what goes on inside the locked rooms that Randy more than likely didn’t show you?”

  Frustration comes pouring out of his voice. “Private strip shows for desperate men. Men who wish they could have a chance to be with any girl inside that place, even you.”

  I almost want to laugh... private strip shows! He truly has no idea what Randy is about. Or me for that matter.

  “I want to spend the day with you tomorrow… the entire day,” Blake says.

  I smile. I am flattered he is so persistent. The next thing I know, his hands are on my face. He lifts my head and his lips meet mine. My heart is ready to pound out of my chest. I want this man more than I have ever wanted anything in my life. I place my hands on his chest and push him away.

  “My apartment is right around the corner from here. I want to show you who I am. If you can handle that, maybe I will spend the day with you tomorrow.”

  Blake drops a twenty on the table for his two dollar coffee. He gestures for me to show him the way. We walk through the coffee shop and I feel eyes following us. I’m sure they are all curious about the way he just kissed me. I am, too, my lips still feel the burn from his.

  We enter my building and I watch him from the corner of my eye. This is far from his side of town, I’m sure. When we reach my door, his eyes immediately go to the yellow sign still taped there. I tell him not to worry, I have it taken care of. It’s a lie, but he doesn’t need to know that. I step into my studio apartment. Blake doesn’t follow me, he can’t take his eyes off the eviction notice. I drag him inside after I turn on the small light. His eyes roam around my small space.

  “Welcome to my world, Blake.”

  “Rochelle,” he says with concern.

  “I need you to turn around and face the door. Don’t turn around until I tell you to.”

  Blake complies with my demand. He puts his hands inside his blue jeans. I take one look at my sofa and wish I hadn’t folded up the bed this morning. I slip my shoes off and walk across the room. I open the plastic drawer on the thirty-five dollar wannabe dresser and take out the sexiest outfit I own. I unbutton the front of my sundress and let it fall to the floor, pooling around my feet. I peek over to Blake who is still facing my door. I can tell he desperately wants to turn around. I hurry and slip into the fishnet bodysuit, covering my deep red bra and panties. I get a spare pair of stockings from the drawer, then walk softly across the beat-up wooden planks of my floor. I get down into the submissive pose. I cast my head down and hold the stockings across my lap in my hands. With tears filling my eyes, I tell Blake to turn around.

  I hear the intake of his breath. “Rochelle what are you doing?”

  I hold the stockings up with both hands. A tear drips out of the corner of my eye. “Take it,” I tell him.

  He removes his hands from his front pockets and takes the stockings from me. His eyes are questioning me. I hold my wrists up together in front of me. The bruises he saw last night probably make more sense to him now.

  I stood in complete shock and disbelief at the scene before me. Rochelle held her wrists for me to bind, just as she likely experienced at the club. Randy had left me with suspicions about what was actually going on in the back section, but Rochelle had cracked it wide open. There was no way I was getting into that business. None of that mattered right now, though. I hadn’t been lying. I just wanted to know this woman. This beautiful woman who clearly had no idea how to receive a man’s genuine affection.

  Holding the stockings that she’d handed me, I made a decision. I wrapped them between her wrists and bound them tightly. My body was reacting to the scene. I did everything I could to fight it, but if she looked, there was no doubt that she’d be able to tell. Pulling the knot securely, I lifted her to her feet and sat her on the couch. A look of confirmation seemed to settle in her eyes and it pained me that she expected so little of men. I walked past her and picked up a blanket which I draped around her shoulders.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, almost sounding off
ended by my actions.

  “I am covering you up so we can talk. It’s hard to concentrate with you looking like that,” I replied.

  “Don’t you want to see what you can do to me?” she asked, giving me a forced pout that didn’t conceal the pain still present within her.

  “Like I’ve told you already – I want to get to know you. I want us to get to know each other. If I have to tie your wrists and sit here with you to make that happen, then so be it!”

  The solemn look on her face cracked a little, the corner of her mouth turning up in a little smile.

  “So yes, I am very wealthy. I live somewhere nice, drive a fancy car, and I don’t have to worry about things. I don’t go out of my way to advertise that when I meet women, but I don’t hide it either. I’ve spent more nights in that country club bar than you can imagine, and I have seen thousands of women come in and out. Many of them are wealthy. Many of them drive fancy cars and live luxurious lives too. Some of them have come home with me for a night, but none of them have captured my attention the way you have. You outshine them all, and you don’t deserve to feel the way you feel right now. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

  It was Rochelle’s turn to stare back at me with nothing to say as she processed my words.

  “I’m not asking you to marry me. I’m not looking for you to put on a show for me. This isn’t about a fun night or bragging rights to my buddies. I know where you work, and now I know where you live. It doesn’t scare me. I see you, and I still want to know more about you, but not Roxy. I want to know Rochelle. Can Rochelle come back out and talk with me now?”

  She nodded back at me, and I untied her wrists before I walked back over to the door and deliberately faced away from her. I heard her shuffling back into some clothes. The eviction notice was on the other side of the door, but I could see it in my mind as clear as if it was right there in front of me. She didn’t have it taken care of. Rochelle was not a good liar. Part of me wanted to offer to help her, but I was already on thin ice and I knew that would be coming on too strong. She wasn’t looking for a savior. I wanted to be one for her, but I had to take it slow.

  “Okay,” she said softly, and I turned to find her in jeans and a shirt. She looked just as good dressed down as she had dressed up in the club. As beautiful as she was, and as much as I admittedly couldn’t get the image of her half naked form out of my mind, what I was fantasizing about wasn’t getting her into bed, it was waking up and seeing her face next to me in the morning. These feelings were new to me. After decades of dating and one-night stands, I was already feeling a stronger connection to this woman than I had any other. How was that even possible?

  “Do you want to stay here or go back out?” she asked me.

  “Have you eaten?” I asked.

  “No,” she said. “I was too nervous about meeting you.”

  I appreciated her honesty. “Let me take you out then. Is there somewhere close by that makes a decent burger?”

  She smiled. “I know just the place.”

  She was by no means melting for me, but I could at least see some of her walls coming down. There was hope. I’d thought earlier that she was going to walk off once and for all, but I’d saved it. There was still hope.

  I nervously lock up my apartment. I was in utter shock when Blake wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. When I looked him dead in the eyes, I didn’t see lust or desire. I know what lust looks like and it was far from that. What I saw was sadness, or maybe it was compassion. Honestly, I don’t know what I saw in his very blue eyes. I have never had a man look at me the way he does. Whatever it was, it scares me. The unknown is not something I am comfortable with. When I was changing my clothes, I kept peeking out of the only window in my apartment waiting for a sign, a flash of lightning, or the wind to pick up and seep through the cracks of the bricks. There were no warning signs this time. I relaxed a little. Then I thought to myself, maybe Blake isn’t the storm after all. Maybe the storm is inside of me.

  We get outside and I breathe in the fresh, cool air. I get a whiff of his cologne once again. I could get used to his scent filling my senses. I snap from my thoughts when Blake says, “Where to?”

  “Oh, it isn’t far from here. We can walk or take your car. I don’t have a car. Hell, I have never even driven one before, let alone owned one. So, are we walking or taking your car?” Shut up, Rochelle, a voice is screaming in my head. I sound like a babbling idiot.

  He looks like he isn’t sure what to say, but after a short pause he confidently says, “Let’s walk.”

  I smile, knowing just where I am going to take him. I grab his arm and start walking, wondering if what I did changed his opinion of me at all. I am not going to worry about it right now, though. “Have you ever been to this part of the city before?”

  “Nope,” he replies, confirming everything I was thinking about him. “I didn’t even know there was a part of Vegas off the strip. In fact, I don’t think I’m allowed to be here right now, am I? Rich bastards like me probably aren’t even welcome at this hour. I’m just so sheltered…” He lets the last sentence trail off as he poorly hides his grin. Shame on me for thinking he was being serious at first.

  “Lifestyles of the rich and famous,” I joke back. “I am the one who is sheltered. Going to your country club is as far as I get from this part of Sin City.” God, why do I babble so much? “Tell me some places you have traveled to.”

  “I haven’t traveled as much as I’d like,” he replies, a more thoughtful look on his face now. “I’ve had to travel a lot for work, but it isn’t the same. Most of my partners are in Germany and Australia, so lots of trips there. I’ve also done a handful of other quick trips to meet potential investors all over the world. Aside from that, I am not a well-traveled man. I’d love to do it more though - if I had the right person to travel with. I haven’t had many long-lasting relationships… and I am realizing now that I probably shouldn’t have led with that and need to shut up now.” He has a slight look of embarrassment to him, but his confidence still shines through.

  “What is it that you do?” I move closer to him as we pass others on the sidewalk. This man’s cologne drives me crazy.

  He laughs a bit and then replies, “It’s complicated. I started working in an investment firm and then went out on my own when I was very young. I realized I had a good sense for business, and I was just making someone else rich. Now I invest in businesses and have started opening up a few of my own. Other wealthy individuals around the world are foolish enough to give me even more money and I put it to work. That’s how I got involved with Randy. I am opening a new club just off the strip and am interviewing potential managers.”

  Bile rises in my throat at the mention of Randy's name. I cannot picture Blake in business with a guy like Randy. I cannot even picture Blake owning a place like Leather Shots. He's just not that type of guy. At least, that is what I believe. I could have blinders on because I want to see the good in him. I look up and giggle.

  "We're here, home of the Whopper. You've had one before, right?"

  He bursts out laughing when I stop right in front of the Burger King on the corner. "Yes," he manages to say between laughs. "Yes, I have had Burger King before. You are just full of surprises tonight. Do I get a crown with my meal?"

  "Only if you are good." I wrinkle up my nose as I giggle. "Do you want to get it to go? There is a park just around the corner. I like going there when I want to see the stars and take in the fresh air."

  "Now you're talking," he says with a big smile while taking my hand. "What are you getting?" he asks as we approach the counter. I can already tell that he is the kind of guy who would order for me.

  "Only thing that is good here is the Whopper with no cheese and no onion. You can't come here and get anything but the Whopper."

  "No cheese!" he protests. "I was wrong about you. I can't do this," he says as he releases my hand and turns back toward the door with his big stupid grin.

>   I laugh, "Wait! I didn't mean no cheese. Make it double cheese if you stay."

  "Alright," he says with mock exasperation. "We can still give this a try then. But if you try and tell me you don't like fries with your burger, then we are through!"

  "I like fries, I was just going to steal yours." I bite my lower lip. I like this fun side to him. I like him in street clothes as well. The man can wear a suit but put him in jeans and my heart skips a few beats. "Oh, we need a Dr. Pepper to wash it down." I blurt out when Blake is ordering.

  "You like Dr. Pepper too? Marry me!" he shouts jokingly as he adds two drinks to the order. The kid behind the counter is looking at him like he's lost his mind as he smiles and hands me my cup. "Well I have to be honest with you Rochelle - this is nothing like what I expected this night to be, but I am so glad to see a real smile on your face. You are even more beautiful than I'd realized." I savor the compliment a moment before he grins and adds, "It must be this amazing atmosphere."

  "I think there is only one thing that could make this night better." I giggle inside. Blake waits for our order to come up while I slowly walk backward. I get one of those paper crowns and hide it behind my back. When he turns to face me, I give him a small wave. His eyes narrow as I approach him. He reaches behind me and takes the crown from my hands and puts it on my head. "You should be my queen." His words give me butterflies. A big part of me wishes I could be his queen, even if it were for only one night. I gotta say my heart skipped a few beats when he said marry him. Right that second, I might have said yes, if he were serious.

  We leave the fast food place and walk to the park. We sit on a bench under a light. His fingertips brush my hand as he gives me my food. I like his gentle touch, even if he didn’t mean to touch me. I am finding myself yearning for more than holding hands. I want him to kiss me and hold me in his arms. I want him to show me how a woman should be treated.