Over the Hill White Knight Ch. 01

After a few moments to tuck myself back in and clean up the worst of the outrageous mess Kala had made all over my groin, I took in her mussed-up appearance. Her makeup was ruined, false lashes stuck to the floor, and her skin was still flushed and wet. The already abused black tank top was soaked in sweat and spit and stained by dollops of cum that had dripped off of her.

She was still probably the most beautiful woman I'd ever actually seen in person.

"I think I might owe my new manager a replacement uniform," I chuckled.

She smirked and winked, "I suppose you do."

I held her upper arms, not quite embracing her, "So you'll take the job?"

Her voice grew breathless and high-pitched, "I suppose I will, boss."

Foolishly deciding to push my luck, I pressed a bit, "I wonder what other, um, talents you might have?"

That mask of hers she'd been wearing the whole night before I handled Brett settled back over her face. "We had a good time, boss," she didn't emphasize the word for the first time, "But that's all it is...for now." She seemed conflicted by dangling that last part, but to me, it seemed to keep the door open to another of these encounters. "We've been taking care of ourselves for a long time here, and it's going to be hard for us to change, ok?" Her words, tone, and facial expressions sent different messages, and she still arched her body towards mine as if requesting a repeat performance. The combined effect was that I realized this woman was as guarded and careful as I thought I'd been after the last divorce.

The endorphins and drunken lust flowed out of my brain in a flash. Replacing them was the cynicism and wariness that had gotten me through the end of my time in the Army and helped me survive divorce number two. "I'm just glad we seem to understand how we're going to need to work together. We can turn this place around, yeah?" She smiled and nodded, but the warmth didn't reach her eyes. "I suppose we've got to close out and lock up." Despite the bitter cloak I'd draped back around my shoulders, there was still a knot in my stomach I knew I shouldn't have felt but did anyways. Sheepishly, I added, "Can I at least walk you to your car?"

"Yea, sure."

We bundled up against the high-altitude cold, but the wind still cut through me while Kala locked the doors. She headed towards a beat-up mid-00's Toyota and awkwardly waved before climbing inside. Hers was the only pair of tail lights on the road, and I watched them until she'd turned onto the main road and disappeared into the gloom. Then, purposefully numbing myself like the wind numbed my face, I turned away from the dark bar and headed back towards a house that wasn't really mine. I forced myself to forget her, at least for the night, but I still tasted her on my lips.

***

A few miles away, Kala wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, mourning the decisions that had brought her here, the person she'd become, and the things she always found herself needing to do.

***

Surrounded by slowly blinking machines, Brett muttered every curse he could think of while he dug through the effects the nurses had bagged up and put on his side table. One of those bitches must've taken his phone! Probably to sell to make up the losses from their tip jar. He knew he'd pushed too hard with Ji-soo and that he should've gone for Nikki or Krista. He had so, so much more leverage over both of them, and it would've been quick and painless.

He winced: his existence certainly wasn't painless now. That muscle-bound shithead had done a number on him, but Brett knew tougher characters than that. He'd deal with this 'Ivan' later after he cleaned house. Those fucking sluts -- and especially that uppity bitch Kala -- had been a big enough problem for him for months now. It'd be too easy to get rid of them and find a new crop of desperate server girls and get them under his thumb and the thumbs of both of his employers.

Brett groaned again, head splitting, and reached for the bedside phone. He'd already called the lawyer that his supplier kept on retainer to ensure he'd be released from the hospital as quickly as possible. Now he called his contact in the distribution half of the operation, passing along a cryptic request and an address.

Then, he buzzed the nurses for another jolt of those sweet, sweet painkillers.

***

I started awake a few hours after I'd gotten to the house, with the pre-dawn gloom seeping through the windows. The old house creaked slightly in the wind, but I listened intently for anything else that could've woke me. Hearing nothing, I still eased my way out from under the heavy blankets and padded downstairs.

The rooms were just as empty as I'd left them. I thought about going back to bed, but my sleep had already been bad enough. Of course, I'd been thinking about what exactly had happened between Kala and me, but beating the brakes off of Brett had also unearthed half-buried memories of violence that rattled around my dreams. I was sure I'd be fine after a few days, especially with so much on my plate at this new bar of mine.

Something drew me to the kitchen counter, where I'd piled everything from my pockets before trudging upstairs. I don't know why, but I palmed Brett's phone, powered it on, and punched in the code from the sticky note. After a moment, it chimed with a notification, just a single text message from a number he hadn't saved.

I'll handle it after she goes to work. She'll get the message, don't worry.