Teased(20)

“It’s not safe for a woman to travel by herself.” Vida stared at the big, bad, tatted man staring down at her. Wherever she went was safer than Queen City, Texas.

“I won’t be by myself, Sawyer will be with me,” Vida countered his argument.

“I hope everything works out, Vida, I really do,” Colton said doubtfully.

Vida replied with resolve in her voice. “It will.”

Colton turned, but Vida saw the pity in his expression. She knew he thought that King wouldn’t get Sawyer back, however Vida had put all her faith in him. He had promised Vida when her mother died that if she ever needed anything, she only had to ask. She never expected to need King, but with Sawyer’s disappearance, she had no choice. He had agreed to help her, and Vida knew it was because of her mother, yet a look had momentarily crossed his ruthless face when she had told him of Sawyer’s disappearance.

It had been fear.

***

They grabbed a bite to eat on the way home, neither saying much. Vida wanted to maintain a distance between her and Colton; a distance she felt slipping away. Colton seemed to feel the same way, with his familiar cold expression in place; he didn’t attempt any conversation to fill the uneasy silence between them.

When they arrived back at the apartment, Vida went into the bathroom to get ready for that night’s performance. She shaved her legs, made sure her bikini area was cleanly shaven and then rubbed an erotic smelling cream onto her skin, giving her skin a golden sheen.

She curled and fluffed her hair, making sure she used extra hairspray so that the bike helmet didn’t do too much damage. Dressing in sweatpants and her college jersey, she put her make-up and brushes into her backpack. Finally finished, she went back out into the apartment to find that Colton was still in his room.

A knock on the door had her going toward it, looking through the peephole she saw Henry. She opened the door and stepped back to let him inside the apartment.

“You ready?” he asked.

“You’re taking me tonight?” Vida asked, surprised. Colton hadn’t mentioned that he wasn’t taking her as he usually did after they ate dinner.

“Colton called King and asked if I could give you a ride tonight,” Henry replied.

“Oh.” Vida tried not to feel hurt, but did, not knowing why. “I’m ready. Let me grab my bag.”

Henry waited patiently by the door as Vida picked up her backpack from the table. Unable to stop herself, her eyes slid to the closed bedroom door. Turning back to Henry, she closed and locked the door behind them. The ride in the back of King’s car seemed confining after becoming used to traveling on the back of Colton’s bike.

Henry opened the door for her when they arrived. “You’re quiet tonight, Vida. Anything wrong?”

Vida shook her head. “Nothing, just wish this was all over.” Henry looked back at her in sympathy, although he didn’t say anything as he escorted her inside. His loyalty to King was without question. In the dressing room, Vida changed into her black, sheer outfit, her tiny black bra exposed under the sheer material. She liked this three piece set better than the red. The three piece set gave her less time to spend naked.

When she was ready, she went to the curtain to wait her queue. As the music began, Vida swallowed hard and stepped forward.





Chapter 7





Vida unlocked the apartment door, turning to wave back at Henry that everything was okay before going inside. Flipping on the light switch, she turned and locked the door. Dropping her backpack onto the chair, she went into the small kitchen to get a cold bottle of water before she took a quick shower to wash away the filth from the club she still felt clinging to her.

She refilled the bottle with water from the sink and was putting it back into the refrigerator to get cold when she heard the bedroom door open and footsteps coming down the hallway. Vida kept her face expressionless as the waitress from the Waffle House came into the room looking disheveled and stinking from sex. Colton walking behind her paused as they both became aware that they were no longer alone. The waitress, now in jeans and a pink top, was obviously on her way out. Colton, wearing only jeans that he had zipped but hadn’t buttoned, was shirtless, exposing his chest covered in a variety of tattoos.

“I didn’t know you lived with her.” The waitress looked accusingly at Colton.

“He doesn’t, I’m just a temporary roommate,” Vida explained quickly. The woman looked like she was about to throw a hissy fit. She was all about letting Colton handle it, but Vida was tired and didn’t want to listen to yet another woman take another sarcastic remark from Colton, which she could tell from the steely look on his face he was about to give her.