All She Wanted (2) Read Online Free PDF

not coming
with me to the ladies room—that’s weird .”
    “Do you know where the majority of assaults
happen in places like this, Shortcake? In. The. Restroom.” He leaned in close
so that I could hear him over the booming bass. His warm breath on my neck
caused goose bumps to work their magic down my arms. “So yes, I am coming with you. Two minutes should
be all you need to check the stalls.”
    Swallowing hard, I could only nod in
response.
    True to his word, he stood directly outside
the door to the ladies room while I went inside to look for Jackie. He’s almost as bad as my father.
    The narrow bathroom housed at least
twenty stalls and reeked of urine and body odor. I scrunched my nose up,
determined to breathe only when it was absolutely necessary. I always did my
best to avoid public bathrooms, so the two-minute time limit set by the manny
seemed far too generous.  
    “Jackie?” I called, my voice echoing
off the grimy tile walls and floors. “Jackie, are you in here?”
    “Charlie—that you?” The last stall door
swung open to reveal all five-foot-nine-inches of her statuesque body at once. Jackie
tugged at her mini skirt as she stepped out, smiling down at me.
    “I’ve been looking all over for you,” I
said, defensively.
    “Well, I’ve been looking for you too!”
She huffed back at me. “My phone died on the way over and my stupid brother
took the charger out of my car—again! I just walked in here a second ago to use
the restroom…we must have ESP or something.” She shrugged, making her way over
to the trough-style sink, as if to dismiss the worry I’d felt over her for the
last twenty minutes.
    That was irritating.   
    “Charlie? Is everything okay in there?”
A distinctly male voice called into the bathroom, straining to be heard over
some techno beat.
    I rolled my eyes. Great .
    “Yep. I found her, give us a sec alright?”
    The music muffled again suddenly as I looked
at Jackie, who was smiling at me like I was about to hand her a new puppy. She
raised her eyebrows. “That your guardian man out there? He doesn’t sound so old
and creepy to me, Charlie.”
    “Yes, well…I may have exaggerated a
tad,” I mumbled. “Come on, let’s get out of here…it smells.”
    Manny stood post like a guard, waiting
attentively for us outside the restroom door.
    Jackie pushed me aside to step in front
of him, reaching her hand out to make her introduction. A bitter taste filled
my mouth as I watched the interaction. I couldn’t hear what she said to him,
the music was too loud, but I could see his cheeks flush as she bent her head
back and smiled. The bitter taste grew more and more acidic with each passing
second.
    He was her type—heck, he was any woman’s type.
    His dirty blond hair was a messy kind
of gorgeous—longer on top and perfectly groomed on the back and sides. Some
sort of wax product must have held the look together somehow, but nothing about
it looked unnatural. His tall, lean body had to be a tad over six-foot as he
towered over the majority of people who passed by us. With eyes the color of
rich chocolate, it was no wonder why women stopped to ogle him when we had
entered the club. Whether he didn’t notice, or didn’t care, it was a constant occurrence
nonetheless.
    “I’m gonna hit the floor,” I called out
over my shoulder as the two love birds continued their intimate conversation.
    I made it about ten feet before I felt a
strong grip on my shoulder—a familiar voice accosting my ear, “I thought we had
a deal, Shortcake.”
    I turned dramatically, staring straight
into his eyes as I nodded in the direction of Jackie. “Looked like you were
busy, and I want to dance.”
    He narrowed his eyes at me, “You have
thirty minutes. Use them wisely.”

 

 
    Briggs
    Every one of my five senses was
screaming for relief.
    Not only was the smell of this grand
establishment equivalent to a middle school locker room, the last fifteen
minutes alone had made me want