NOVEL NEXT Chapter 92: Boy's Night
The Gentlemen's Club
It was a Friday night and Damien's Burlesque Club was packed. The place was filled with wealthy people — men and women alike, who were looking for a good time and wanted to be entertained by exquisite burlesque dancers.
On stage, the main show for the night had started and the performer danced to Peggy Lee's "Fever".
Meanwhile, the three gentlemen – Damien, Caleb, and Jeffrey were at the bar enjoying the night over drinks. The Gentlemen's Club was opened by the three of them about ten years ago, although Damien owned the most shares as he was more financially capable.
"So, let me get this straight… You heard her say a man's name in her sleep but you did not mention it to her or… I don't know, bro… ask her?" Jeffrey questioned as he eyed the dancer on stage.
Damien swirled the skull-shaped ice in his glass of whiskey with his finger as he shook his head and said, "I wanted to, but then I figured I'll just ask when I come back from my business trip but… I don't know if I even want to know anymore."
"Do you think that guy is a part of her past?" Caleb probed.
"Maybe… I don't know." Damien took a swig of whiskey and glanced at the stage before he lowered his gaze again. "As much as I am curious to know who that man was, I also feared that it might trigger her if I ask her about it."
Jeffrey nodded. "Bro, that dancer… can I get her number?" A playful smile appeared on his face as he winked at the woman on stage.
Damien turned his head to the left and glanced at the stage. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to recall who she was. "I think her name's Portia. I don't have their numbers, you know that. You can ask Susan backstage, that is, if she gives it to you."
Susan was the club's forty-year-old General Manager who was also in charge of the dancers.
"Ugh." Jeffrey groaned. "Susan hates my guts."
Caleb let out a chuckle. He picked up a peanut and threw it towards Jeffrey. "That's because you hit on all of her dancers."
"Can she blame me? Who told her to hire excellent ones?" Jeffrey shifted his gaze back to Portia and added, "And this one in particular just gives me… fever." He wiggled his brows.
Caleb and Damien both chuckled at their friend's words. Damien shook his head before he took another gulp of his whiskey. The three of them had been friends since they were kids and they knew each other's dirty little secrets. They were like brothers and their bond was definitely thicker than blood.
"Come on, bro… help me out here. Help me convince Susan. I want to take Portia with me to that Charity Gala in three weeks." Jeffrey nudged Damien.
"You should ask Caleb, Susan has a sweet spot for him." Damien threw the ball to Caleb who rolled his eyes.
"Ooh… that's right. Cay, ask your sugar mommy for me, pretty please?" Jeffrey was quick to jump on teasing Caleb. Susan was single and she had a crush on Caleb.
"Shut up." Picking up a few peanuts with his fingers, Caleb threw them again towards Jeffrey who dodged all of them and hid behind Damien. Caleb wanted to try again but Damien gave him a glare, so instead of throwing it at Jeffrey, he ended up throwing it into his mouth.
"Oh, by the way… Are you planning to bring Katherine to the gala?" Jeffrey asked Damien as he straightened himself on his seat.
"Of course," Damien answered with a smirk on his face, bringing the glass to his lips and taking another sip.
"Uh oh." Jeffrey stared at his friend. "That smile… I know that smile." The corners of his mouth curled upwards as he continued, "You have something planned, haven't you?"
Studying Damien, Caleb saw the devilish smile on his face and he just had to agree. "I think he has. And I think it's either naughty or evil."
Damien didn't say anything else but his mind was already imagining what will happen during the gala — and he was excited.
"Oh, come on. You can't smile smugly like that and not tell us. You have to tell us." Jeffrey pressed on, and when his friend remained quiet, he played dirty, "My man, if you don't spill the beans, I will tell Katherine about that one time in Amsterdam."
Damien's smile was wiped off his face as soon as he heard Jeffrey. He shot his friend a glare. "You. Will. Not. Speak. About. Amsterdam. To. Her. Ever." He said through gritted teeth, making Jeffrey snicker.
Caleb and Jeffrey leaned forward, putting more pressure on Damien, who ended up telling them what he had planned.
…
About 3,000 km away...
A man wearing a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants walked barefoot across the living room with a cup of coffee in one hand and a glass of coconut water in the other. He entered a dark room and stubbed his toe against the foot of a table, causing him to yell and curse. "Sh*t!" He thought he lost his toe.
Just as he managed to catch his balance, the hot coffee spilled on his thigh and he cursed again, "Sh*t!!! What the—" He had to bend on his knees as he tried to compose himself. He took in multiple deep breaths and tried to wriggle his toe as if it was going to help to alleviate the pain.
"For Christ's sake, Falcon! Why are you doing yoga in the dark?!" he spat as he limped his way towards a figure at the corner of the room.
"Who told you to walk in the dark?" The other person responded in a calm voice. The person named Falcon was doing the final relaxation pose on the mat while soothing music played softly in the background.
Walking towards the side table, he set the glass of coconut water down and snorted as he adjusted his wayfarer glasses on his nose and took a sip of his own coffee. He couldn't really argue with this person because of their age difference.
After a few seconds of deep breathing, the figure got up from the mat, picked up the glass from the table and took a sip.
"Hmmm… perfect." Falcon breathed in and smiled. "Thank you, Styles."
"My pleasure. Oh, right, I almost forgot." Styles took out his phone to show Falcon a digital folder. "I just got this today."
Putting the glass back on the table, Falcon received the phone and checked out the set of photos that were taken by someone they hired a while back.
"Do you think it's time? Are we going to execute the plan soon?" Styles asked as he watched Falcon study the pictures from his phone very seriously, anxiously waiting for the latter to give the go-ahead to commence their plan.
Styles left Shadow when Katherine bombed the base, and he had been in hiding ever since. Falcon was the one who took him in and took care of him. He would have never thought that he would come to face someone whom he had only heard about when he was in Shadow before. And never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that he would be working with someone who was a wanted criminal in the underground world.
Falcon was a code name that meant speed and courage. And this name was once Shadow's pride a little more than two decades ago. However, later on, this name became Shadow's condemnation — causing Parker to order a kill off.
But if Styles were given a chance to turn back time, he would definitely make the same decision that he had back then when Falcon found him after Shadow's base blew up — he was still going to trust Falcon.
Sighing, Falcon gave Styles his phone back and drank the rest of the coconut water. "It's too early to say. She has not recovered her memories yet, but with the people around her, I think it won't be long before that happens."
"And remind me again why we shouldn't help her remember?" Styles pocketed his phone and set his cup on the table.
"You tell me, Styles. The last time that happened, she went berserk and almost killed a nurse. Do you really think that's a good idea?" Falcon walked towards the balcony and Styles followed, the cold air made them shiver.
"That… was my fault," Styles admitted. "I could try again, you know?"
"Why do you have so much faith in this woman?" Falcon turned to face Styles and saw him looking over the vast grass as though he was reminiscing about his past.
"Queen is like a sister to me. She had a hard life… and… I guess I just feel the need to make it up to her."
Falcon nodded and leaned on the railings and thought about the pictures from Styles's phone. "Let's give it more time. We have already waited for years, what's several weeks more?"
- Fever is a song title sang by Peggy Lee.