Leather & Lacey

Ch. 2: Goin’ Clubin’

(Tracey's POV)

“Come on, Tracey! This Friday is your last day here. You won’t even tell anyone where your new job is, so we can come and pester you into coming back! The least you can do is come out with us tomorrow night for a few drinks!” Yes, tomorrow is Friday, my last day at the café. And yes, that’s my real name, Tracey. Tracey Anne Moore. When we were little, Emmitt couldn’t say Tracey because he had a lisp, so he would call me Lacey. It just kinda stuck.

No one at work knows that, though. Here I go by my real name. Only Emmitt and Rosie can call me Lacey. “I don’t know, Sal. I’m really not into that sort of stuff.” Sally was a friend, though I wouldn’t call her a close friend.

She was always going out on the weekends, and she was always trying to get me to go with her. But I had so much to do, what with the move and all being next week.

Yeah, I decided to go with my cousin. After the incident with Roger that night, I couldn’t bring myself to go back to my house. I told Emmitt that night I’d go with them. He didn’t even hesitate. That next day, he had his buddies come over, and they packed up my house in one day and loaded it all onto the POD. Then the day after that, Emmitt took me to a realtor and my little home was up on the market before I could even think about having second thoughts.

Though I guess that was Emmitt’s goal. To get it all done fast, so I didn’t chicken out.

Roger? He’s sitting in a jail cell right at the moment, awaiting arraignment. When the police caught up with him that night, they found out he had a warrant on him for domestic violence in New Jersey, too. He was also wanted for s*xual assault, regular assault, grand theft auto, breaking and entering, and making terroristic threats. I can’t even imagine what he must've put that poor woman through to have all those charges brought against him.

The pending charges against him for what he did to me are domestic violence, breaking and entering, destruction of property because he busted up my brand-new TV and broke some of my furniture, assault, s*xual misconduct, and animal abuse. They’re trying him here first, though, since that’s where he was caught, then extraditing him down to Jersey to stand trial for the other case against him.

Because he has charges against him in two states, they denied his bail. So he sits in county, waiting for his trial. We might have to come back for that but Emmitt has already told his new boss about it, and they are being really cool about giving him time off for the trial since he’s a witness. Hopefully, though, they'll be able to take our statements over Facetime. Which is what the prosecutor said he was gonna lobby for.

Rodger doesn't know we're moving. I'd never said anything about Emmitt's new job, nevertheless, where it was. So once we go, he'll have no way of finding us.

“Come onnnn… I get that you’re not into clubbin’ and stuff, but I may never see you again after tomorrow. It’s just one night, Tray.” I sighed heavily before finally nodding, and she squealed with delight as she gave the thumbs up to Pete and Daisy-Mae. I guess they’re coming out with us too.

The rest of my day went like normal. Emmitt came to pick me up when my shift was done and when we got home I showered, changed, had my dinner, then went to my room with Sunny following me down the hall. I’d imagine he was trying to get away from my nephew, Mr Grabby-hands.

Daniel was four years old. He's the absolute most adorable little boy I’ve ever met. Though I might be biased. He also loves animals. He and Sunny got along fine, but when Sunny was done being picked up and dragged around like a stuffed toy, he'd run and hide in my room somewhere.

As I was going through my closet looking for an outfit for tomorrow night, Rosey came in carrying some jet black scraps of material. She was so excited when Emmitt told her I was going out with Sally and the gang. Now here she is handing me those scraps and saying, “Here! You’ll look great in this! And it’s perfect for a night of dancing!”

I took the scraps of material and held the shirt out in front of me. It was nothing more than a basic halter top that I knew would barely cover my b**bs and a wayyyy too short mini-skirt. “Oh no! No way! I’m not wearing that! Thanks for offering though." I said as I handed it back to her. “Oh stop! You have a great figure. I don’t know why you’re always hiding under baggy tees and loose-fitting pants. Just try it on, for god’s sake.”

I rolled my eyes and went into the bathroom to try it on, then darted back to my room before Emmitt could see me. I knew I’d never hear the end of it just wearing this in the house if he saw me. I got safely to my room and Rosey let out a loud squeal when she saw me. “See! It’s perfect! You have to wear this tomorrow!” “No!” I said as I shook my head vigorously.

I felt like a good stiff wind could rip this flimsy material off my body, then I’d be in nothin’ but my undies. Not that this lacy material hid much anyway. No-thanks! “Hey, is everything alright in here? I thought I heard a… OH H*LL NO! Why the f**k are you in that?!” Emmitt said as soon as he saw me. (Told yah!) “Oh shush, babe. She looks great in it. It’s like it was made for her.” Rosey gushed, and I shook my head again just as Emmitt was saying, “Well, I forbid it! No way my baby cousin is going out looking like that!”

Oookay. Emmitt say what, now? I just turned to look at him and I guess the look I gave him was enough for him to know he had over-stepped. He gave me a little smile as he said, “I’m sorry, Cuz. That came out all wrong.” I backed off with a nod as he turned back to Rosey and said, “Babe? You know Lacey ain't into skimpy clothes. I don’t even like it when YOU wear that type of thing outside the house. I know what guys think when they look at a girl in an outfit like that, and it ain't romantic, that’s for d*mn sure.”

“Em, you have no faith, you know that? Lacey is a beautiful girl. She deserves to be able to dress up and show herself off. If she didn’t have work tomorrow, I’d be suggesting we go get mani-pedi's too. Now get out and leave the fashion design to the pros.” Rosey said and just pushed him gently out the door. I laughed at her, but before she could even turn around, I said, “I’m not wearing this, Ro. Sorry.”

***The next day…

So, here I am, sitting in a booth at the club with the gang from the café, the music is blaring, and the drinks are flowing, and I am trying not to be seen in this skimpy lacy outfit.

I did get her to relent enough that I was able to pair it with black leotards and a red half-jacket. I finished it off with red four-inch heels and a black shoulder clutch. Though other than my ID, credit card, some cash, and phone, there was nothing in my clutch. Emmitt dropped me off, and he told me to text him when I was ready to go home. I felt bad, putting him out this way. But he was insistent.

I don’t think I was there five minutes and I wanted to text Emmitt already. Just between the door and our booth I was hit on by three guys. Though one of them may have actually been a woman. It was kinda hard to tell.

Thankfully, we got a booth and I managed to get myself a seat in the middle, since it was one of those rounded booths. The waitress was there before we were all even seated and Sally ordered drinks for everyone. All I wanted was a wine, but she insisted I drink some fruity-a**-sh*t that was way too sweet for my taste. Not that I was gonna be able to drink it. The first song that came on, Sally wanted to dance too. She let out an excited whoop, grabbed my wrist, and drug me out to the dance floor.

(Lucas’ POV)

Me and my boys were in town for business this week, but tonight we were just hanging out. We decided to come to Cody’s new club and just see how well things were being run here. He had just bought it about two months ago and hadn’t yet done anything with it. So tonight was sort of like research for him while the rest of us were just there for some fun.

But I got bored really fast. I was so tired of having ho’s hanging all over me, looking to spend my money. It wasn’t that I didn't have the money to spend, but for a few years now I’ve wanted something more than this sort of thing. I want someone who I can talk to, who I can share my thoughts and dreams with. I’m twenty-six years old, and I still haven’t found that perfect woman to spend my life with.

It’s not that I haven’t been with women, it's just that they all seem to lack substance, yah know? All in it for the money, the image, or to get their fifteen minutes of fame by being seen on the arm of a rich guy. See my friends and I own and run a conglomerate. We each specialize in different areas, so we’ve put those special skills together and formed a business that pretty much provides everything a person needs in life. Cody runs our high-end entertainment arm, which is why he bought this club.

We’ll be renovating it soon.

I specialize in fashion and design. I run four companies now. Two are affordable fashion labels, one's a kids' clothing label, and one's a high-end fashion label. I spend most of my time at the latter these days because we just acquired it. Though I’m grooming my cousin to become our Chief Operating Officer. She already holds the title, but she still has a lot to learn.

With her as COO, I can begin rotating through the four companies and spend time in each. She’s good at what she does, but she seems to think she needs to be a b*tch to gain people's respect. It kinda p*sses me off because I know that’s not the real her. My cousin is more the “give you the shirt off her back” type.

“Whoa! What I wouldn’t give to tap that a**.” Ryan said, pulling me out of my thoughts. I followed his gaze to find this drop-dead gorgeous girl in a black lace mini with some black leo’s under it and a black lace halter with a red half jacket, dancing with some other people. To be honest, I couldn’t be bothered to look at any of the others.

Ryan was a horn-dog. He’d f**k anything with two legs and a p*ssy. Strike that. He’d f**k anything with two legs. The point is, when I looked I wasn’t expecting much. But she was gorgeous.

She had soft blonde hair which she had up in a messy bun, but you could still tell she had natural curls. And she was tall, too. Taking into account she was wearing four-inch heels, she was probably about five feet, eight inches tall. Leggy! Which I loved. She had nice T and A, too. But none of that's what drew me in. My eyes were drawn to her beautiful smile that tried valiantly to hide the sadness in her gorgeous blue eyes.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a superficial guy. I've dated enough b*tchy supermodels to know that beauty is definitely only skin deep. But there was something in this girl's smile that told me there was so much more to her than the beauty on full display right now. And, god help me, I wanted to see if I was right.

So, I waited for my chance and when she went over to the bar to get herself a drink, I came up next to her and motioned for the bartender. “I’ll have a double Macallan M on the rocks, and whatever the lady is having, please.”

She looked over at me when I spoke and when she realized I was talking about her, she said, “Oh no. I’m fine. But thank you for offering.” Then she turned away again. I just smirked, I’ve had some girls who’ve played hard to get with me before. Not many, but some. Let’s see how hard she plays.

“Please, I insist,” I said in an ultra-polite tone. As I spoke, I let my eyes travel the length of her slender back and had the urge to reach out and trail a finger along her spine just to see if she’d shiver under my touch. But then she turned back, and I was glad I’d kept my hands to myself. The look on her face said I might just lose a digit if I attempted anything.

Call me crazy, but I kinda liked it.

“I’m sorry. I’m afraid I’ll still have to decline. I make it a habit to not accept drinks from strange men. Besides, I already have a drink.” She raised her still full glass of wine a bit to show me she wasn’t lying and I smiled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t notice you’d had a drink already.” I admitted and gave her my best smile.

She looked at me and rolled her eyes before laughing as she said, “You can put away the charm, Romeo. I’m immune. And with my luck in guys, you're some sorta cereal killer or something, anyway.” I chuckled as I said, “The only cereal I'm likely to kill is Cocoa Pebbles. A box is never safe around me.”

She laughed, and the sound made me smile. She had such a lyrical, beautiful laugh, and it suited her so well. “My nephew would fight you for it. And you’d probably lose, too.” She joked as she took a sip of her wine. “I'll have to remember that. Though, honestly, I’m not a breakfast person. I’m more the ‘left-over pizza for breakfast’ type.”

She shrugs her shoulders as she says, “Least you have left-over pizza. I’m lucky if I get it while it’s hot. My cousin could eat the whole darn thing on his own. His wife always has to order two, one for him and one for the rest of us.” She laughs again and I just smile.

She had me wanting to learn more about her, so I suggested, “Would you care to get a booth where we could sit and talk? No pressure, just discussion.” She eyed me a bit unsure for a minute as she debated how to answer. I figured she’d say no, but then she surprised me and said, “Maybe for a few minutes. I can’t just bail on my friends, though.”

I’ll take a few minutes.