“You need to come with me. Now.” Sam’s voice was loud enough that more than a few people glanced in their direction. That included the bartender, who kept a careful eye on them.
Jesus, she’s not my actual girlfriend.Bianca knew what it looked like from the outside. She didn’t need the situation to get ugly. This was already enough of a mess.
All Bianca wanted to do was live her damn life for once. And Sam had to ruin it.
“Would you lay off me?” She remained facing the bar, her back firmly erect against Sam’s aggressive advances. “I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here. And it’s not even late. What are you, my mom?”
Sam put her hands on her hips. “No, but I could certainly tell her about this.”
“Blackmail? Is that all you’ve got? Why don’t you just, I don’t know, stand over there or something while I awkwardly pretend you’re not here?”
That wouldn’t be easy. Part of the reason Sam stuck out so much was because she had the stone-butch thing down. That rugged stance? That leather jacket? That look that sent shivers down Bianca’s neck and heat rising through her body?
But crushing on her bodyguard, who was almost ten years older than her, was pointless. Not that the age difference mattered that much to Bianca. If Sam would simply slide up to the bar and offer to buy her a drink, all bets would be off, for at least one night.
Instead, she put her foot down. “You’re not staying. I’m supposed to be off the clock. And you know the ground rules. No excursions unless you clear it with me first. Especially not late-night excursions.”
“You just love bossing me around, don’t you?”
Sam threw her hands up. “You think I enjoy this? Trust me, there are a million other things I’d rather be doing right now. But you’re my responsibility, so here I am—”
“How did you even find me?” Bianca finally looked Sam in the eye, only so she could shoot her a heated glare. “I just can’t get away from you!”
The drag queen bartender appeared in front of them, biceps flexed and voice suddenly deep and booming. “Is there a problem?”
“Don’t worry about her,” Bianca said. “She’s just my obnoxious bodyguard.”
The bartender’s brows shot up to her sparkling wig.
“Yeah. Long story. She thinks she’s my babysitter.”
“Well, try to keep the commotion down. This is a fun atmosphere.”
“My apologies,” Sam said. “She’s not supposed to be out and about tonight.”
“You mean I’m not supposed to have fun?”
Sam slammed her hand on the bar top, startling Bianca. “You think you have it all figured out, huh? Twenty-two, out of school, and ready to party it up every freakin’ night.”
“Yes. Some of us like to live our lives instead of walking around with sticks up our asses and spending all our time trying to control everyone else.” Bianca narrowed her eyes into dangerous slits. “You know what I think? I think you’ve got so much pent-up frustration that you use your job to take it out on girls like me.”
“Excuse me? Where do you get off?”
“Why don’t you just spank me and get it over with? That’s clearly what you want.”
Sam recoiled. Oh, Bianca had struck a nerve. It had been nothing more than a dig at Sam, but the usually cool and collected bodyguard looked like she was about to blow.
She leaned toward Bianca, hissing in her ear. “If you don’t come with me right now, I’m calling your mother. And I’m telling her exactly where you are. All the dirty details about this gay bar.”
Shit.Bianca wasn’t about to call that bluff. But she couldn’t help but try to get one more dig in before submitting to Sam’s demands.
She snatched her purse off the bar and hopped off her stool. “Just because you won’t let yourself go out to a gay bar and have a little fun doesn’t mean I can’t.” Careful, now. She might actually spank me.
If only.
Sam scoffed. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re like a combination of both my sisters’ worst traits. Everything about you screams gay, but you won’t let yourself enjoy it. When’s the last time you even got laid, Sam?”
“Just stop. I’ve had enough of your games.”
She snatched Bianca’s arm surreptitiously to avoid summoning the bouncer. Instead, she summoned a bolt of electric arousal that shot straight through Bianca’s sweaty body.
“All I did was ask you a question.” Bianca batted her eyelashes up at Sam. “So it has been a while, huh? I can relate.”
In the dim light, Bianca swore she saw Sam blush. But that didn’t stop her from pulling Bianca toward the door with as much force as she could use without drawing attention.
“We’re leaving,” she growled.