When the Sun Goes Down -o1-

I sit in the passenger seat, watching the brick buildings pass by as blurs of red. The people on the side of the street watch us pass, stopping what they're doing. I look to my left at the tan brunette sitting casually with one hand on the steering wheel, the other firmly grasping mine in a warm embrace. As if sensing my gaze he looks over and I smile at him. It's a forced, sugary smile, but it's so well practiced that it fools even my mother. He obviously still buys into it because he smiles back at me then leans over and kisses the corner of my lips. I lean my head back into the seat and look out the window again.

A line of dressed up people in front of a neon sign reading "Temptation" comes into view. Our black Escalade comes to a halt in front of the entrance and we hop out of the car. Brian walks around the car and drops the keys into the hand of a red-suited valet then wraps an arm around my waist. He leads me to the red velvet rope and the 6'5" bouncer jumps to unclip it and let us through. Brian nods to show his thanks and we step inside, instantly consumed by the blaring music.

We walk over to the bar and Brian gives his pounds and hugs to his friends. "Alright babe," Brian turns to me, "Me and the guys have to talk business. I'll meet back up with you later."

He gives me a side hug and I look over at his friends. Johnie, the blonde one, narrows his eyes at me and my heart drops as my eyes widen. I wrap my arms around Brian's neck and kiss him fully on the lips then pull away with a smile. He puts his hands on my waist and smiles back then pecks my lips. He pats my waist with one hand and steps away.

"I'll come find you later," he says as he blends into the crowd with Johnny and the others.

I release the breath I was holding and take a seat at the bar next to the other guys' girls. "Hey bartender!" the vested man turns to me with a smile, "A glass of scotch on the rocks please."

"Coming right up," the bartender pulls out an 8oz glass full of ice and pours the brown liquid then hands me the glass.

I thank him and turn to the curly haired girl next to me as I take a sip. They look down and practically scowl at the hard alcohol in my hand, while I do scowl at the typical fruity drinks in their hands. "Why do you always order those?" Tiffany asks, eying the glass of whisky.

"If I'm going to drink alcohol, that's all I'm drinking. I don't need a fancy name or a glass of fruity shit." I reply with an amused smile at their disgusted faces. I chuckle to myself and swirl the ice around in my glass, listening to the soft clicking it makes.

Two glasses. That's how many are in front of me after only twenty minutes. I've just received my third when a warm breath tickles my ear, "Miss me?"

"Only a little," I grin, "Johnny Walker here has been keeping me company."

"I see that," Brian chuckles and takes a seat next to me. He grabs the glass and takes a sip, "You really shouldn't be drinking this stuff."

I can practically feels the girls' smug grins piercing my back. "Why not?" I reach for the glass, but he slides it just out of my grasp, "I'm no light weight."

He gives me a smirk, "That's only because you're not feeling it yet."

I feel a slight buzz and just huff in response to prevent the stupid comment I know will come if I keep this argument going. I'm itching to ask about the "business" he had to discuss, but he never tells me, and I'm not in the mood to force it out of him.

"Hey, let's go dance!" I hear Tiffany suggest in her annoying high-pitch voice, and the other girls squeal in agreement.

"Aren't you going?" Brian asks.

"Meh," I reply and turn to watch the dance floor full of girls whoring it up, all waiting for some guy to take them home and fuck them senseless. Lucky bastards. "I think I'll sit this one out."

"You say that as if you always dance," Johnie jumps into the conversation.

"Would you like me to go out there and act like a whore?" I ask sarcastically.

Brian pauses and then replies with a smile, "If it makes you happy."

For a second, my mouth curls into a scowl, but I quickly cover it back up with a cute smile, "I'll only be happy if I get my scotch back."

Johnie holds up the glass, "Oh this?" he asks innocently, "We'll only give this back to you if you go out there and have fun." I roll my eyes, "I need to talk to Brian about something anyway."

I push myself from the chair and fix my shirt, "Fine, fine. You win." I walk down the three steps onto the dance floor and get lost in the crowd. I meet up with the girls and dance to I don't even know how many hyphy hip-hop songs until they decide to take a break. Pansies. I keep dancing by myself and get lost in the music, forgetting about my problems. I haven't felt this peaceful in a long time. It feels nice. A smile, a real smile, bursts onto my face when a new beat pumps through the speakers, "Hollywood we never goin' down!"

I bop my head to the beat with a hand on my head and my body soon follows suit. I sway and roll my body with the beat and sing along with the lyrics. About halfway through the song, I feel another body on mine and look up behind me at a green eyed brunette.

"Well," I hear a deep voice say and open my eyes to see Johnie in front of me with a grin. Or is that a scowl? "I guess we won't have to introduce you two after all."

I quickly separate myself from the brunette, "What?"

"This is Allan," he introduces, gesturing toward the boy across from me, "the newest addition to our little team."

My mouth drops and my eyebrows go up. "'Sup?" Allan says with a crooked smile and gives me a little two-finger wave.

I continue to stare blankly until Johnie elbows me. "Oh! Uh, I'm Richelle. Shell for short." I greet hurriedly.

"Sure are," Allan chuckles.

I scrunch my face up, "Excuse me?"

"You're really short," he lets another chuckle slip and sweeps the bangs from his face.

My eyes narrow for a second but I just roll my eyes and walk away. "Time for that scotch I was promised," I mumble to myself and push my way to the bar.

Brian's still sitting there with two drinks in front of him, so I swoop in and grab the full one. "Don't mind if I do," I grin and gulp it down.

"What a lady," a voice says, words laced with sarcasm.

I turn toward the noise, swallowing the last mouthful, and slam my glass down on the counter, "Why thank you."

"Hey, um," Tiffany starts, leaning into the conversation, "Don't we have that, uh... thing to go to tonight?"

"Oh!" Brian hops out of his seat, "right. We should probably get going." He grabs his coat from the back of the chair and slaps a hundred down on the counter. The bartender pocket it with a smile and nods at Brian.

I sneak a bottle of Bud Light Lime under my arm and we all push our way through the crowd, but as we near the exit Johnie grabs my wrist and I'm separated from the group. I look shakily up at the blonde's hard face as he glances behind me at the backs of our group. He looks back down at me with a scowl and latches onto my face, one large hand around my mouth. I can feel his rough thumb and pointer finger on either cheek, the area in between rubbing against my lips. "Listen," he begins in a raspy whisper, "Allan is a temp. We're using him, then we're disposing of him. Got it? So, what happened tonight is never going to happen again; for your sake and for his."

The pressure from his fingers digging into my cheeks and the threatening tone in his voice are enough to form tears in my eyes. I nod, looking him in the eyes. "Good," he roughly pushes my head down as he releases his grip.

I open and close my mouth while massaging the hinge of my jaw and follow Johnie out of the building, glaring at his back the whole way. We step into the fresh air and I release my jaw, knowing the routine by now. Brian laces his fingers with mine and kisses me on the cheek, "We thought we lost you."

"I had to grab one last drink," I say thinking quickly and hold up the beer bottle I snagged.

Brian chuckles and shakes his head, "You're a nut."

"Sorry to break up this touching moment," Allan intervenes, "But we're already a little late. So..."

"Oh! Right," Brian pulls away and walks over to the driver's side of his Escalade. I hop in the passenger's seat and we speed out of the parking lot.