She steps close to me. “Before you go thinking you belong, know your place here. There are club laws; some you will never be able to identify with.” She straightens her clothes and leaves.
I sigh tiredly as the door closes. Wow. Who knew just wearing a t-shirt would make my mother go bat-shit crazy. Maybe she needed my shrink more than I did. Seems she has a lot of issues with the Club, so being here is still a mystery to me. And what did she mean by she got an earful of how Shadow was messed up? I turn to the closet, waiting for Shadow to come out.
“Shadow?”
He opens the door and walks out, his presence actually bringing calm to my battered psyche.
“You okay?” he asks.
“As okay as I can be. Sorry you had to hear all that.”
He shakes his head as if he’s not bothered by it.
“What did she mean about you being messed up?” I ask. I got the part about him being a womanizer. That was no shocker. It still stung to hear it after just sleeping with him, though.
“Everyone has a past, Dani. I’m not perfect; I told you that before you climbed in bed with me,” he barks back.
Another knock at the door snaps us from our conversation.
“Damn, you’re popular,” he says irritated. I raise my eyebrows and dart my eyes toward the closet. “Again, really?” He asks flippantly while climbing back into the closet.
With Shadow hiding, I yell, “come in!”
In comes Candy; this ought to be good. She has on a tiny black dress with black hooker-heels. Her blond hair is in beautiful curls hanging loosely around her shoulders. She is beautiful, yet slutty at the same time. I hate her.
“Is Shadow in here?” she asks sweetly.
“No, I’m staying in here,” I inform her.
“Right. I’m pretty sure I saw him come in here,” she replies with a high amount of bitch in her voice.
“Right. Well as you can see, no Shadow in here.” I return with as much bitch as I can muster.
“You’re cute.” Her sweet tone is as fake as her boobs.
“I can see why Shadow likes you,” she laughs like she has a secret I am oblivious to.
“Is that right?” I ask, curious at what she is getting at, but trying not to sound it.
“He’s going to eat that innocence and spit you out, honey. That is, if he hasn’t already.” She puts her hands on her hips, proud of herself.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I lie, still feeling defensive.
“I have been with Shadow for years. I have seen girls come and go. You don’t think just because you’re sweet and innocent that he cares about you; that you can tame him, do you? As soon as he’s done with you, he’ll come running back to me. He always does. In the meantime, next time you kiss those lips remember they were on me not so long before you. His cock? In me as well. Shadow can’t get enough of Candy.” She sticks her nose in the air as she verbally slaps me.
My palms are sweaty and my breath is getting shallow. Here is yet another confirmation that I am just a notch on Shadow's bedpost. How many times do I have to hear it? She gets to have Shadow as much as she wants and she's rubbing it in. I am jealous of the whore; what an all-time low.
She turns to walk out but stops; her body half out of the doorway.
“Oh, and shame on you. If Bull finds out you are fucking with Shadow, only God knows what he’ll do.” She turns back around and rests her hip on the door frame. This isn’t the first time I've heard that my dad will kill Shadow for messing around with me. It's hard to wrap my mind around.
Seeing the turmoil on my face, she laughs. “It’s law. No one can mess around with the President's daughter behind his back and not be punished. “Despite the smile still on her lips, her tone is serious. “And I’m sure your mother won’t like it either. Seems you and she are whores in the same, huh, sleeping with men you have no business messing around with.” She spins on her shiny black stiletto and walks out.
I let out the breath I had been holding. I am more of a mess than I want to be over Shadow. I thought I would be okay being a one-night stand or maybe even a causal fling. But after hearing it from the two most spiteful women I've met in my life, the pain seems unbearable. The thought that I was nothing but sloppy seconds after Candy hit all the wrong notes.
Shadow opens the closet door slowly. My body is wound as tight as a viper. He approaches with caution. “Dani?” he says with concern.
“Just get the hell out.” I say quietly, avoiding eye contact.
“Dani, calm down and let me explain,” he demands.
There is nothing to explain. I am just a challenge for Shadow; a score for him. Not only did he get to bang the president's daughter, he also got to take her innocence. I'm just one big joke to him. I feel regret wash over me. I want to go back to feeling numb. Feeling numb wins over feeling used.