TIFFIN

85

Hello, everyone. I hope you're doing well. I've been tirelessly writing this fanfic along with dealing with the chaos of real life. I'm just happy I can write here for fun and have a community of supportive like- minded authors. <3 <3
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When we finally reached the club, it didn't seem too high- maintenance. We parked at a curb, staring at a slim brick building, with a red awning. I felt more relaxed as we entered until I heard the pulsating beat and saw the millions of bodies gathered around the room.

Sitting at a long black table were a few men in black suits looking suave and professional. They had stony faces behind thick sunglasses, that were deprived of feeling. I hoped Luke didn't lie to me make himself look good. 

"Hey, boys! You're looking good, anything interesting happen lately?" He said, trying to build up their confidence. 

My God. He was trying to talk his way in. He was no good at it. 

"No," one of the men growled, looking uninterested, "I sat in the same damn spot since last week." 

Another one of the men piped in, sounding just as dead inside. 

"There was a brawl yesterday."

I couldn't stand back any longer and allow Luke to make a fool of himself. I stepped forward, having an idea in mind. 

"Well, that's good right?" 

Maybe if I tried to play with the boys, I could manage to persuade them. 
The third man turned to me with a skeptical look on his face. 

"What you know about fights?" He lowered his glasses the barest of an inch, revealing soft eyes. "Matter of fact, girls in general don't like to fight."
 
"I do too," I fought back thinking of the verbal fights me and Hero were constantly in, "I get into fights all the time!" 

"Like what?" The third man went on. "I reckon a little cupcake like you probably squabbles with daddy about how much that dress costs?" 

"As a matter of fact!" I spat, already feeling the irritation of these judgemental prats, "I get into worse!" 

This caused Luke to raise an eyebrow in question. Now that I saw them, all the men at the table were now leaning towards me in interest. 

Now I had no choice. I had to sell this. 

"I was bullied my entire life," I began, remembering all the boys that had taunted me in middle school, "from painful jabs to girls that liked to pull my hair-"

I knew I was starting to lose them when I heard a snort. 

"Until I had enough-" I sucked in breath before I continued. "I took that bitch and stomped her ass in the ground." 

This caused all the men- including Luke- to drop their bored expressions and appear baffled. Never in my life had I fought anyone. 

They didn't need to know that.

One of the men removed his glasses completely. 

"Bullshit." 

"Oh, is it?" I challenged, my voice going dark. I now pictured Kylie's stupid face in my mind. "That whore had a purple face when I finished. I was banned in Utah for it. Don't believe me? There are articles on it- a matter of a fact, if you don't believe me, I'll lay you out right now. I excelled at being a black belt."

I seemed to have persuaded them.

Without a fight, the men gathered two badges, handing them over. Before Luke and I could make a move to collect them, however, a swanky looking individual in a crisp suit intervened.

He looked fairly young, adorning smooth, fair skin and a bundle of brown waves.

"Don't worry, boys," He said in a silky tone, "I know them. Luke, come on back." Just then  he noticed me, blinking in recognition.

"Don't forget to bring your arm candy."

With a wink, he led the way across the dance floor. As Luke grabbed my hand, I trudged along, thinking about what I'd just been called. Arm Candy. I had never thought of myself that way. I had been called a multitude of things in my youth, but they never insinuated I was ever good looking. 

I simply thought Hero had low expectations. Girls like me didn't win. Grade school was a trial run, for us to learn where we fit in on the food chain.

Kylie and Hero were made for each other, like God had made it written in the stars. Hero was going to throw me out when he was done with me and I wasn't sure when the day would come. It terrified me. 

We were soon led up a glowing pair of stairs up to a private encased box that had a clear view of the floor below. We were spectators, eyeing everyone below. 

"I hope this is to your liking," The man that had called me Arm Candy smiled, "A few drinks will be served momentarily... on the house."

"Thanks, Brian," Luke said, "I owe you one."

As soon as Brian had left, I snorted, dumbstruck at what had just happened. 

"He does not look like a Brian," I said honestly. Usually, men that have a name like that, were nerds. 

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Luke began, fixing the cuffs on his suit.
"Brian is quite the visionary. His parents were a pile of crap, let me tell you. They had their problems with him because of an unexpected pregnancy and kicked him out at sixteen. He was homeless, picking up several part-time jobs, until he had saved up enough to start his own business from the ground up."

My eyes widened. "How long did that take him?"

Luke sighed. "About four years. Luckily for him, he was quite the entrepreneur. By twenty-two, he had a million to his name. Now, at twenty-six, he's thriving." 

"Wow."

We were interrupted by a tall brunette in a tight black vest and slim Dickie's. She held a tray in one hand, filled with a few small glasses filled with a dark blue liquid.

"What are those?" I gasped.

"Bombay Sapphire," The waitress spoke in a small, misty voice as she nodded then left. 

"Bottoms up," Luke lifted a shot glass up, immediately drowning it. 

I took a deep breath before doing the same. I knew this wasn't the first thing I should have been doing but here I was.
 
Bottoms up.

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