Mistaken Identity

Alicia's POV

I couldn't help the groan that left my lips at the words that Daya said to me.

“Daya, not this! I can’t go out with you this time,” I tried to decline her invitation, or rather, pressure to spend another night clubbing. To my luck it was a weekend. But it didn’t change the fact that I wasn’t interested.

“Oh, don’t complain about it! Come on, Alicia! You saw how fun the club was, didn't you? I thought you would have gotten a taste for it,” Daya’s golden blonde hair bounced as she curled her strands expertly with the curling iron. “Besides, I’m broken-hearted, Alicia. Jimmy broke up with me yesterday and you didn’t even try to comfort me. Don’t be so horrible to your friend. Aren’t we friends?”

‘Against my better judgement,’ I wanted to respond, but chose to only nod. To be fair, though, Jimmy likely found out he wasn’t the only one she was dating and reacted badly to the ‘surprising’ revelation.

Knowing her, it wasn't a secret that she tended to shop around for the perfect man, even while dating someone. It was only problematic to me, I thought, because she was never satisfied. No matter what, she always wanted more from her men: especially in money and gifts.

“By the way I got you another dress. It’s more your style. You know, more... matronly,” she cast an eye at my work attire which I was still wearing: black pants and a basic blue button down.

“Thanks,” I didn’t mean to let the sarcasm show through my voice but it did anyway. However she didn’t seem to notice.

I picked out the dress she was talking about and saw that, thankfully, it was just my style like she had said. Although it was a little risqué, it was far better than the dress I had to launder and return to her three days back.

It fell over the tops of my thighs and nearly reached my knees. The sequin gown was plain in cut but I preferred it over any other outfit she had in her wardrobe.

After wearing my black coat over the dress, I put on some lipgloss and waited for Daya to finish her primping.

…

“Oh, I’m going to bet all the guys will be all over me,” Daya squealed as we finally got to enter the club. To my luck, the bouncer was in a good mood and seemed to recognize us (or at least, Daya) from the previous time.

The ground floor of Dark Desires was booming with loud music, and I was sure I could feel every bit of it through my feet.

I sighed as Daya immediately got lost in the dance floor, leaving me alone once more.

This time, my eyes wandered to the bar and I idly wondered if Acker would show up again today.

However as I checked that area with my gaze, I was disappointed to not see him there.

It’s okay, Alicia. It was just one night of fun, I told myself and focused on getting out of the way of the regulars.

Everywhere was packed unlike last time, perhaps because it was the weekends. Either way I found myself being inched out of the center of the floor, and I looked around me, trying to find some way out of this.

“Hey you!” I turned around upon feeling an arm on my shoulder. “What are you doing down here? You’re meant to be entertaining our customers!” A man shouted at me, his eyes narrowed at me.

I gaped at him briefly; did he mistake me for someone else?

“I… i don't-“

I didn’t get a chance to say anything because the next thing I knew, a tray was being shoved in my hands and I was pushed in the direction of a set of stairs.

“Go on! Serve our VIP! Don’t skivvy off work again!” The man yelled at me and turned away.

I gripped the tray in my hands, seeing the expensive selection of drinks on it.

Could I just leave it at a table and run?

A glance at the stairs and I noticed a bouncer gaze sternly at me. His muscles looked intimidating, as did the scarred face he had.

I felt my options run out and sighed in resignation.

Taking slow steps up the stairs, I found myself on another floor entirely. This must be the VIP, I thought to myself.

Taking note of the tables scattered around, and girls on poles dancing at various spots, it wasn’t hard to guess that the caliber of club goers glob this floor were definitely different.

“Over there,” I nearly jumped when a man barked orders at me, pointing to a table nearby. I nodded and quickly walked over there. The faster I would serve the drinks, the faster I could leave. Already the music was giving me a headache.

Dropping the tray, I ignored my surroundings and turned around to leave.

My heel must have caught on something, because the next thing I knew, I was falling.

I put out my hand to brace myself, only for me to feel a much less hard surface than the floor under me.

“Oof! Oh my…” I groaned, wincing as my glasses became skewed. I adjusted it and tried to stand up, only for my feet to immediately lose its footing again. This time, entirely because an arm out of nowhere was wound around my waist.

“What the-“ I raised my head and for the first time, beheld the face of the person whose lap I had somehow stumbled onto.

“I didn’t know they brought me another dancer,” I heard the man say, and distantly, through the daze I was in, I knew he was talking about me.

“What..? I’m not a dancer-“ I began to protest.

“You certainly look and act enough like one, hmm?” I felt his legs shift and I realized I was straddling him. And he was enjoying it. “Go on, you can start.”

Again, my will was being ignored. Frustration rose within me and I grit my teeth as the man stared at me expectantly.

Couldn’t ANYONE see that I DIDN’T WANT TO BE HERE?

Something inside me broke.

My hand moved on its own accord. My palm connected with his cheek in a resounding slap, and I pushed myself off him before he could react, stumbling away and cursing my luck.

I had to get out of here.

I had gotten ENOUGH of the club life, Daya be damned!

Rushing down to the ground floor, I was headed to the exit when I felt an arm tug me back.

“Leave me alone!” I began to yell and scream, as I was pulled to a location I had no idea where. “Let me go!”

The music became distant as suddenly I was shoved into a bathroom, and I noticed it was the man from before. His expression was unreadable as he approached me.

“Let me go, or I’ll scream! Help!” I raised my voice, which bounced off the tiles. I prayed that someone would overhear me through the music.

“Enough!”

His voice barked out and I found myself pinned between him and the wall.

My knees nearly buckled as his silvery blond locks fell over his face. His jawline, his eyes… it was almost like he stepped right out of a fashion magazine.

“Do you know, that no woman has ever done that to me?” He looked furious, but I could tell there was a teasing undertone to his voice. “You’re the only woman who has ever thought to even lay a hand on me, marina.”

It was only then I noticed the hint of accent in his voice. Spanish or something, it didn’t matter. He was so damn scary with the way his gaze bore holes into me. Still, I didn’t wish to back down just because of this.

“Let go of me,” I trembled but found the strength in my voice to speak. “You… You don’t have the right to treat me like this!”

He chuckled, and his eyes flashed emerald as I felt his grip tighten over me.

“Oh, do you think that, cara mia? You don’t even know who i am,” and then he leaned in, close enough that I could taste the aroma of alcohol from his breath. Somehow it didn’t offend me, only left a strange flutter in my stomach. “I think you’ll find that I can do whatever I want to you, WHENEVER I so desire.”

“What do you think you’re doing, Mikael?”

A familiar British accent barked out and my heart skipped. Turning to the door I saw him standing there, looking imposing and his eyes blazing.

Acker.

…