“Where?”
“You’ll see.” He grabbed my hands. “Let’s go.”
***
“Where are we? And where are you going?” I stared at Tyler as he made his way to the door of the room we’d just entered. I had no idea where we were, we’d driven for about twenty minutes and I hadn’t recognized my surroundings at all. When he’d stopped the car at what appeared to be an old farm house, I’d been perplexed.
“We’re at the club.”
“But there’s no one else here.” I frowned. “Not even Grant, or did he come by himself?”
“Grant won’t be here.”
“But you said that I had to dance in front of you and Grant.” I frowned.
“Did you really want to do that?” He tilted his head and studied my face.
“Not particularly.” I admitted.
“I didn’t think so.” He smiled benevolently. “So you won’t have to do it.”
“I won’t have to dance for you?”
“Nope.”
“Oh.” I was slightly disappointed. I’d been excited to dance for Tyler.
“Don’t be disappointed, Evie.” He grinned. “You can do it another time.”
“Then where are we?” I frowned and looked around the empty room. “Where did you take me?”
“This is a safe room.” His expression changed. “We need to chat.”
“Chat about what?” I looked at his proximity to the door. “And why are you leaving?”
“I have to get something.”
“Something like what?” I walked towards him. “And why do I have to stay here?”
“You ask way too many questions.”
“Well I want to know.”
“I want you to know.”
“So tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Are you kidding me, Tyler?” My voice rose. “Why are you making this a riddle?”
“I’m not making this a riddle, you are. You don’t need to ask any questions, then you won’t be frustrated when you don’t receive any answers.”
“You’re so frustrating.”
“I’m frustrating? You don’t even listen to me when I do tell you what to do.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to choose me.” He stared at me unblinking.
“I did choose, you.”
“I want you to choose me without any doubts in your mind. I want you to choose me, regardless of the fact that I’m the man with the money. I want you to choose me because I’m the man you have to be with. I’m the man that pleases you. I’m the man that…” His voice trailed off. “That’s all for now.”
“So you’re just going to leave me?”
“I’m going to leave you to think.” He nodded. “I want you to know who you want to be with.”
“Do I even have a choice?” I blinked at him.
“You always have a choice.”
“How long do I have to think?”
“You’ll know when your time is up.”
“How?” I shivered in the cold room and looked around again. There was a small twin bed, with a paisley quilt, a small arm chair and some books on a side table. The room was sparsely decorated and I wasn’t sure what I was meant to do to occupy my time while I was in there. Did he seriously think I could decide which one of the two men I wanted in that amount of time? Not that that was an issue. I already knew that Tyler was the one I was more attracted to; he was the one that sparked something in me. However, I didn’t know which one of them was bad. I didn’t know which one of them Eugenie was warning me against. From what Eugenie had said, or intimated, there was a really scary sort of game going on here. Not that I hadn’t already gathered that when Eugenie had popped up in the closet and Grant had said I couldn’t leave, but I really didn’t know who to trust at this point.
“You’ll be safe, Evie.”
“I’m not worried about being safe.” I was annoyed. “I don’t want to stay in this room by myself, sitting on the bed or the couch waiting for someone to come and let me out.”
“I have to know.”
“What do you have to know, Tyler? What is this really going to accomplish. I barely even know you. Even if I did choose you, what does that really mean? We had hot sex and I think you’re hot. It doesn’t mean we’re destined to be with each other. It doesn’t mean that this is anything special. It doesn’t take back the fact that I already slept with Grant.”
“You don’t talk about him.” He stepped towards me, his eyes narrowed and full of anger. “I don’t need to be reminded of that fact.”
“Why does it bother you so much?” My breath caught as he grabbed my hands and pulled me towards him hard.
“I don’t want to think about him touching you. You’re mine.”
“I’m not yours. And I’m not his either.” I gasped as his lips came down close to mine. “I’m no ones. I was just another girl in the club that you picked up and took home. I’m just another girl that fell for Grant’s smile and offer of five grand. I’m just another girl that got carried away, and tied my dreams of a fairytale onto someone I had no good reason to hope would be my prince charming. I’m just another girl that hoped for that needle in the haystack to be found. I’m just another girl that grew up dreaming, and wishing, that I’d meet the man that would carry me away and make me forget my crazy fucked up life.” My lips quivered as I took a deep breath. “But you know what? I got what I always get, a fucked up situation with a fucked up man and a whole lot of heartache.”
“What’s your story, Evie?” He frowned and led me to the bed.
“What do you mean, what’s my story? What’s everyone’s story?” I sighed as we sat down on the bed.
“I didn’t ask about everyone’s story. I asked about yours.”
“I thought you were leaving.” I looked away from him, my stomach dropping. I didn’t want to talk about my story. That would make everything too real about this situation, it wasn’t real. It was a fairytale. It was make-believe. This wasn’t my real life. This was a game and a fantasy and when I was done, I could go back home and back to my normal life.
“Tell me who you are Evie Johnson.”
“There’s not much to know. I’m just like millions of other women. I grew up with a single mother, whose jerk of a boyfriend left as soon as he found out she was pregnant. Though, calling him a boyfriend is giving him a title he doesn’t deserve. He was a man that enjoyed fucking my mother until he got her pregnant. So I grew up without a dad.” I shrugged and tried not to think of all the nights I’d cried myself to sleep wondering why my father hadn’t wanted to be a part of my life, and wishing I had someone to spoil and love me like I saw other girls’ daddies doing.
“I’m sorry.” He blinked at me, his eyes never leaving my face.
“Don’t be sorry for me, be sorry for my mom. She didn’t let my fathers’ rejection get her down. She continued allowing herself to be a plaything until I was eight years old. She had three abortions that I know of and gave one kid up for adoption.” I paused. “He was a boy. She didn’t want a boy.” I rubbed my temple as my head was starting to hurt. “Then one of her boyfriends tried to touch me and she caught him and she almost cut his hand off.” I turned to him. “She wasn’t an uncaring mother. She stopped dating then. Cold Turkey. And she hasn’t dated since then.”