Chapter 39

The lights in the club were a dim blend of blues and greens. It danced across people's faces, transforming them into colorful character creations suitable for an anime. Jadon thought it was funny. Especially since it meant all the women who had spent hours doing their makeup couldn't show it off. No one would see.

Not that people came to the overcrowded, dimly lit, sweat-smelling, loud club to admire a woman's caked-up face. Hell, even the minuscule shorts and dresses were hard to see. This probably explained why so many people were on the dance floor in the pretense of dancing while all they were really doing was touching each other everywhere. The sense of touch was after all very powerful and able to fill in the gap where sight failed.

Then again, Jadon mused to himself. Maybe they weren't even pretending and the aim of the whole exercise was to touch before they took matters further in the bathroom stalls, or in the alley behind the club. Of course, a few lucky ladies would end up in the back seat of a car or the nearest paid-by-the-hour motel.

Because, Jadon highly doubted any self-respecting woman with no intention to spread herself like a turkey would wear clothes that hide nothing and allow total strangers to get to familiar with their bodies in public. But who was he to judge? He was in the club too after all. What did that say about him? Hadn't he been caught in a car in public as well?

Jadon shook his head at his own thoughts. Not an easy thing to do since his head rested on his palm which was supported by his elbow that was positioned on the table keeping it in place.

For a moment, as Jadon continued to watch the dim fiasco of morals, he wondered if someone like Tapiwa would ever find herself in such a place. She had been at the party where all this mess had started but he knew it was his brother's influence that had brought her there.

Jadon wished she had resisted. Then again maybe not? He didn't know and he was too intoxicated to be digging for the truth within. At least he had stopped feeling most of the aches in his body. That was a plus.

"How many has he had?" Jadon heard Kaelo shout over the loud music promising to make them all deaf before they returned to their homes in the wee hours of the morning after they had probably paid for the club owner's new car by consuming half the stock of alcohol in the place.

"Three shots and half a bottle of whiskey," Ezra answered beside Jadon before taking a sip of his own drink.

Kaelo immediately seemed to relax and settled back in his seat. "Not very intoxicated then."

Jadon released a snort. "Give me another half hour and I will remedy that."

"We agreed to go out for a few drinks. Not to get you totally wasted," Kaelo reminded him. "You are not even supposed to be drinking. Aren't you taking painkillers?"

Very slowly, while holding his friend's unimpressed gaze, Jadon brought his glass to his lips and took a gulp, barely wincing as the liquid set a fire as it went down his throat. All he got was a head shake before Kaelo looked away.

Kaelo was not a happy bunny. The man was hurt that Jadon hadn't called him right away as he had Ezra. Jadon had explained to his friend that he just hadn't been willing to get a lecture while his entire body pulsed in pain. That had only seemed to piss the man off some more. He would get over it, Jadon thought as he swallowed more alcohol.

"Have you heard from your father yet?" Ezra asked.

"Nope." The 'p' popped off Jadon's lips, making him chuckle. Okay, it was official. He was well on his way to being totally wasted. But he wasn't there yet. His brain was still very active and feeding him thoughts he didn't want to ponder on.

But then, there was one thought he didn't want to shake off. He decided to ask before he marinated his liver to the point of forgetting. "Did you find out what happened to Tapiwa?"

Ezra wiped at the condensation on the side of his glass, brows furrowed. "I thought you would be too drunk to think of the woman tonight."

"Does he look like he is going to forget about that woman?" Kaelo cut in. "Just look at his face. It tells you how far he is willing to go for this madness."

"You see that?" Jadon pointed a finger at his friend. "That's why I didn't call you. You are judging. I can practically hear the gears in your head working. You want to lecture me."

"I don't. It would be a complete waste of our time," Kaelo deadpanned.

Jadon's eyes narrowed on his friend for a second. Then he looked at Ezra. "Is he saying I am beyond help?"

"Do you want to be helped?" Kaelo countered.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. You tell us." Kaelo suddenly huffed out a breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "I mean, Jadon First, you don't tell us that you woke up in a strange room naked. Then you don't tell us that you are being blackmailed until shit is about to hit the fan."

Kaelo waved a hand between himself and Ezra before he continued. "We offered to help, but you go back to your office and just decide you are going to throw everything away."

"I told you my father was waiting for me and I just made the decision I thought was best. But you know I haven't even signed the damned contract yet."

"That's only because you decided to go after the woman who has clearly bewitched you and fuck her on her father's front lawn."

"We were in my car."

Kaelo snorted. "That changes nothing, you idiot. You were in front of her father's house. You are damn lucky the man and his son didn't kill you."

"You need to start doing more weights at the gym, man," Ezra threw in casually.

Kaelo glared at Ezra. "That is so not the point right now."

Feeling like his buzz was being drenched in cold water by his friend's words, Jadon swallowed the rest of his drink in one gulp before signaling to the bartender, who just happened to look their way right then for another. That was why he had insisted on a table close to the bar and it was working out well for him.

"Are you seriously just going to drink and ignore what I'm saying?" Kaelo asked in an incredulous tone as he eyed Jadon's empty glass.

Jadon turned his head and stared at his friend. "Dude, you sound like you want me to call you every minute and ask your opinion before I make a decision. When did I give you the impression I was into D/s relationships?"

"Woah! Okay, that just went too far." Ezra waved a hand in the air. "Time out."

But Jadon wasn't done. He was now pissed and between that point when the alcohol no longer clouded his judgment enough but was still just the right amount in his bloodstream to break the connection between his brain and his mouth. So the words just tumbled out unguarded.

"You two are my best friends and I know you will always have my back. But that doesn't mean I can't make decisions concerning my own life without your input."

"That's not what we are saying."

"No!" Jadon snapped. "What you are saying is that I should have called and told you that I woke up naked in a bed at a party. Has it occurred to you that maybe I was embarrassed and just wanted to forget the entire thing that happened? You guys are my buddies, but that doesn't mean I want you to know every time I screw up." Jadon looked at Kaelo then. "Did you call us when you thought you had accidentally slept with your cousin?"

Thankfully, Kaelo had the decency to look sheepish. The man picked up his drink and gulped before he answered. "Not my finest moment."

Jadon snorted. Ezra laughed. "You think? And we wouldn't have found out if you hadn't panicked when you heard she was pregnant weeks later. You almost had a heart attack."

"Thank you for the reminder," Kaelo clipped and finished his drink in another swallow now seeming just as desperate to drink the thought away.

Shaking his head, Jadon took a deep breath and let it out slowly. After a minute, he felt the flames of anger within him simmer down and he could talk calmly. "To be honest, I think where this girl is concerned my brain just takes leave and I stop thinking."

"Yeah. We noticed," Ezra said with a soft chuckle.

"You are attracted to her?"

Jadon met Kaelo's studying gaze and held it despite the low light in the place and all the blue and green shadows cast all over his friend's face. There was no point lying. "Yes."