After they had squeezed through a crush of people, Christopher stopped to talk to yet another guy, so Luke searched out the dance floor for Nichole. Now she was someone he could get interested in, but did he want to ruin her impression of him?
The music changed and he caught a glimpse of her pink hair as she danced farther into the crowd, but then Christopher’s hand came down on Luke’s shoulder, interrupting Luke’s musings. He dragged Luke closer to the bathroom, then stopped to chat with another couple. Thank God Christopher had attention problems. Maybe he would forget about this last face-fuck and give Luke a bit of a reprieve.
Luke examined the people nearest him. Short guy, tall woman—they all blended together. Fuck, he felt so empty tonight and he didn’t want to be here, especially not with Christopher. Had he come out here on his own and not been attached to the jerk, he probably would have gone up to one of the guys and made a connection—but not with the danger of Christopher tossing around his power and making sure others knew Luke was his bitch for the night. Thank God that would be over with soon. Then he’d spend a few weeks totally alone, locked in his apartment, ignoring social obligations that sucked the life from his soul.
Christopher tugged his hand again and off Luke went, following the bastard to the bathroom. Now the dirty work began.
* * * *
Amy Metz wished she’d gone to another club tonight. Sometimes there were plenty of girls to play with, other times it was Hetero City. She knew it was important to her own mental health to be a good sport so she danced, flirted and had a good time, but she wasn’t into the scene. Two girls were making out in the corner, but they weren’t sharing.
The music thumped and she moved with it, only half paying attention to the people around her. Her thoughts bounced from work to Julie, to her family. She had two major projects to complete with cases going to court this month. From the clothes she was wearing tonight, few people would even guess she worked for one of the city’s top law firms. Every extra penny she made—well, after she bought shoes—went to pay off her school debt, hence her need for a roommate.
The roommate situation wasn’t going so well right now. Her current roomie had said it didn’t bother her that Amy was gay, but the first time she’d brought home a girl, Julie had freaked out. God, just because she was gay didn’t mean she’d do anyone—she had some standards.
The couples closest to her parted, and Amy saw her. Adorable, pink and all dolled up to look like a party slut, but the pain behind those baby blues told a different story. Damn, what a hottie.
Amy thought about following her, but held back. The pained expression on the girl’s face stopped her. Even if she got together with the cutie, it wouldn’t last. She’d been in relationships like that and hated the drama. A good-looking guy grabbed her hand and she couldn’t say no, though she kept her eyes on the pink girl, watching everywhere she went.
The guy spun her around and she lost sight of the girl, and wondered if she’d ever see her again. Amy shrugged her interest off—if it was meant to be, she’d find the girl later. She believed in fate, karma and all that stuff. Good things happened to people who did good. When she’d been growing up in the system all the odds had been stacked against her, but she’d made it through college, then law school, and had scored a primo job. Convinced karma had played a role, Amy always spent her time helping others who hadn’t been as fortunate.
* * * *
Bryan paid the outrageous cover charge for Silver Lace, unsure why the hell he had come here. Going to the meat market had been a suggestion from his buddy, Chaz. The main difference between the two of them was Chaz happened to be into the superficial sex scene and Bryan had never liked sleeping around. He hadn’t had meaningless sex since college, and only twice then. When his ex-girlfriend had shown up pregnant, he’d tried to do the right thing and support her. She’d moved in, they’d taken a trip down to the courthouse to get hitched, and he’d spent two glorious years loving Michael, their son. One day, all hell had broken loose and his ex had run out on him, taking the baby. Two months of court battles had confirmed that he’d been duped. A DNA test had proved he wasn’t the baby’s father. The ink on his divorce papers was barely dry and he was a free man, but he didn’t want to be free.
The music drowned out his thoughts as he moved from one girl to the next. The tits and ass show did little to excite him. The sight of two girls kissing totally turned him off, but when he spun around and spied two men sucking tongue, he couldn’t take his eyes off them. His cock throbbed and his head swam with ideas that scared the crap out of him. He’d thought he was over that phase—getting married had quelled his need to rut with guys, or so he’d thought.