Ripple Effect (Effect 1)

“What did he do to you and your mom, baby?”

Ainsley sat up and turned toward me. Her blue eyes were on the brink of tears. It was the saddest I had ever seen them.

“I’ve never talked about this to anyone. It’s always been something I’ve kept hidden, and I’ve dealt with it myself.”

I knew I should be paying attention to the monitors. Things could go bad at a moment’s notice. Fuck my club at this point. Ainsley needs me. I am here for her. She is important to me.

I picked her up and carried her over to the couch. After what we’d just shared, we had something more between us. I could feel our bond was growing.

I turned her toward me, making sure she saw my face, as I spoke, “Ainsley, you don’t have to tell me, but I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

She looked down at her ring and softly spoke, “I don’t want to go into a lot of detail right now, but he used to beat my mom at night. If either one of us did anything wrong, she would be punished. He was a horrible man.”

Ainsley looked away, and I pulled her to me. I knew the significance of what she had shared with me. She trusted me enough to tell me something she had never told anyone. The meaning of that was not lost on me. There was one thing I had to know.

Barely above a whisper, I asked, “Did he ever hurt you? Did he ever touch you?”

She shook her head. “No, not physically.”

Mentally, I sighed with relief. Ainsley was done talking, and I wasn’t going to push her. She began to yawn, probably from mental exhaustion. Slowly her eyes began to get heavy. I held her until she fell asleep, loving the feeling of her being mine, and then laid her back on the couch. Draping a black blanket over her small frame, I stared at her, lost in all the feelings I was continuing to develop for her. Her breath came out even and I knew she was different from all the other girls I had been with. In sleep, Ainsley’s lips were a pale pink. She looked beautiful as her chestnut hair was splayed across the pillow. Thoughts of what had just happened played through my mind. I hoped I could give her what she needed in a relationship. Part of me knew I would fuck it up at some point. Hopefully, I was wrong.

As I walked back to my security post, my phone vibrated again. It was a text from my sister, and she was asking about the party. I ignored it and decided I’d respond back tomorrow. I went back to the desk to watch the screens. I still didn’t know what I was going to do about being at a party where Selena and my brother would be.

I kept glancing over to make sure Ainsley was okay. I noticed that the deep hurt I normally felt when thinking about Jake and Selena started to lessen in this moment. I had Ainsley, and what had happened to me was no longer controlling me.

Ainsley was important to me.

She was the most important thing in my world; the only thing that mattered.

Last night had been intense, both sexually and emotionally. I had shared a bit of my past with Adam, which I had never done before with anyone. Telling Adam what had happened to my mom and me had been both liberating and terrifying at the same time. It had been liberating in the sense that I felt like now that my secret was out, I wasn’t drowning in the pressure of my self-condemned silence. I was terrified for leaving myself so exposed, knowing I had given yet another piece of myself to Adam that I might never get back if things ended. That was still highly probable, considering his past and all the warnings he had given me.

I wondered if my mom had told anyone about what my dad had done to her. The memories had to haunt her while she still lived in the same house where all the abuse had happened. Each and every time I went back home, it would feel like all hell would break loose at any second, and I would be sent to my room. I shook the memories that were trying to come to the forefront of my mind.

I was in the shower, getting ready for tonight’s dinner event. Adam had dropped me off earlier since I didn’t have my clothes at his place. Adam had gone to the club to work, and he would be picking me up in about half an hour.

Getting out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and then started working on drying my hair. Tonight, I was going to wear my blue baby-doll dress with some strappy nude sandals. My mom had gotten the dress for me last year for my birthday. I liked the simplicity of the dress.

My phone pinged, and I saw it was Nora.

Nora: Hey, girl! Is it okay if I stop by? I’m in the area.

Me: Of course.

Nora: Okay. I wanted to make sure that you weren’t taming the one-eyed snake.

Me: I’m ignoring you.

Nora: Ha-ha!

Nora was such a free spirit. It hadn’t bothered her in the slightest that I was seeing someone. She wasn’t the jealous type, and I thought that was why we got along so well.

There was a knock at the door. I opened it, and Nora came breezing in. She was wearing the punk-rocker look today with torn tights, a short mini skirt, and a tight T-shirt that said, Try Me. She went toward the kitchen, and I followed.

“Hey, chica! I’m thirsty.”

“Make yourself at home. You know that.”

Nora knew her way around my place. While she had been in between places, she had lived with me for a few months last summer while she saved up some money for a new place. I had offered for her to stay longer, but she needed her own space.

Nora took out a glass. “You look cute. Oh shit, I forgot Adam is picking you up to go to that dinner thing. I’m gonna skedaddle.”

I leaned against the counter. “Don’t be silly. I missed hanging out with you this week, but I know you had to work.”

She continued with getting herself some water. That was one thing Nora and I had with each other—the truth. We were always straight with one another.

Nora still had red tips on the ends of her black hair as she filled her glass with tap water. “I know. I’ve been beat from picking up the afternoon shift at the diner. They had an opening, and I jumped on it. There are only a few more weeks before fall semester starts, and the extra money will help in case something happens to my car, or you know, any of the normal day-to-day sucky stuff.”

I nodded my head. “The offer still stands to come and stay here. My rent is paid for.”

Nora put her lips together and gave a big kissing sound. “I know that, and I love you for it, but you know me. I need space. Speaking of money, did you have anything to do with the raise I got at Club Envy?” She arched an eyebrow at me.

Ah, this is why she made sure to stop by.

I looked her straight in the eyes. “I had nothing to do with it. I would never interfere like that.”

Nora gave me a smirk and then a little nod. “Good. I didn’t think so, but I had to make sure.” She took a drink of water. “So, you and the man friend are getting all cozy with each other still?”

I rolled my eyes. Emilyn must have told Nora about my term for Adam.

Nora started laughing. “I love that name—man friend. Ha-ha! Where on earth did you come up with that? And why the hell did you not tell me that term? I’m dying here. I choked on my food from laughing so hard when I put two and two together after Emilyn had been talking about it. Now, come on, spill. How’s it working with taking the relationship outside the club? Everyone at the club is talking about how different Adam’s becoming with you.”

“Everyone’s talking? Different?”

Adam seemed the same to me. Why was everyone talking about us? Did Adam know everyone was talking? What would he think? My anxiety started to inch up.

“Slow your roll down. It’s not bad. Yes, everyone’s talking. Before you, Adam was all business, business, business and no fun. Even his previous partners were just appointments. He never lit up like he does when you’re around, and quite frankly, he’s almost insufferable when he hasn’t seen you for a while. My dear, I think you’ve pussy-whipped your man friend. Are you picking up on what I’m putting down?”

My mind was going a million different directions with all the information Nora had unloaded on me. “Um…um…I

honestly don’t know what to make of all that. We’re together. We don’t have titles with each other per se, but I feel a stronger connection forming.”

She played with the red tips of her hair. “I can see it. That’s good though. Titles and expectations can be stifling.” Nora stretched as if the thought was putting her in a small prison. “As long as he’s still treating you right and not pulling those dickwad moves he did that day when you left his place, the man friend and I will get along smashingly as friends. Otherwise, it’s going to suck to work for such a prick.”

“You’re the best. Are you still seeing that guy from the bar the other night? Isn’t his name Jude?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, we see each other here and there. You know how it goes. It’s fun, so we’ll see.”

Nora generally would see a guy for a year or so, and then they would both move on. She rarely had any drama when it came to relationships. She gravitated toward people like her.

There was a knock at the door. I opened it, and Adam was standing there in flat-fronted khakis with a button-up shirt. The sleeves were rolled up at the elbows. He even gave the preppy look an edge when combined with his bad-boy look.

“Hey, baby. Sorry I’m a few minutes late. You look beautiful.”

I opened the door wider, and he saw Nora sitting at the table.

“Thank you. You’re quite dashing yourself. Nora and I were catching up.”

Nora gave Adam a serious look as she spoke, “Hey there. You’ll be happy to know that your nuts are still safe. Seems like you’re keeping my girl happy.” She stood and took her glass to the dishwasher.

I glanced back at Adam, and one side of his lips was quirked. Adam was looking at me when he spoke, “Good to know my girl is satisfied.”

My cheeks reddened as I bit my lower lip. Nora was laughing, probably at Adam’s possessive comment, as she came walking up to me.

She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Gotta roll. See you later. Tell your mom I said hey.”

“Will do. Bye, Nora. Tell Jude I want to meet him some time.”