The Romantic 2

My classes were as boring as ever and I made my way from the university campus to the coffee shop to kill time until it was time for work. If I was lucky, the jerkoff wouldn't come there today or if he did, he'd find some new person to fuck with. I ordered my frappucino before going to find a table and pulled my book out again. I had just gotten in good with the chapter when I caught the sight of Dominic coming in the front door. I had half a mind to leave right then, but if I did that, he'd think he'd gotten to me. I turned my eyes back to the page, deciding not to care.

He got his coffee and another round of flirting before he took a seat at a table right beside mine. I had to fight to keep myself from scowling or moving somewhere else. I wasn't that petty. I could just ignore him and concentrate on my book. I reached for my drink, sucking slowly through the straw as I tried to focus on the words in front of me and not the hot jerk sitting beside me. He didn't say anything thankfully, but I was distracted as his phone made a loud, obnoxious noise. I glanced over to see him deleting a text and scoffed a bit.

"One of your dozens of girlfriends saying you knocked her up?" I muttered coldly. I figured a guy like him wouldn't care if left hundreds of fatherless babies running around with teenage mothers. It just seemed to fit the arrogance he exuded.

"No," he answered. "Another book to let you pretend like you've had a shag?" he asked back, noting the book I had been reading.

"Same book as yesterday..." I muttered. "Not like I could read at work last night or in class this morning. And I don't pretend I've been shagged. Just because I haven't doesn't mean the opportunity isn't there."

"Mm, so, what's stopping you again?" he asked thoughtfully. "Oh, right. You're smarter than that if I remember correctly, righ'?" I turned a glare over at him.

"Excuse me for having a little bit of respect for myself," I snapped. "Not having had sex before is still better than ending up no better than a used condom on the floor of a guy like you!"

"Having sex with someone doesn't mean you don't respect yourself," he replied, turning to face me more directly. "If you enjoy it and you both agree, then what's the problem? Don't get your knickers in a twist 'cause I'm enjoying myself and you sit in a coffee shop and read romance novels."

"There is nothing wrong with it, but I want more than just a one night stand or to be your booty call when you need some," I replied. "So sue me for not being into casual sex! And for your information, I sit here because it's closer to work than home when I only have two hours between my last class and when work begins! And if you'd rather, I'll load up the Shakespeare I'm supposed to be reading for my English class and read that instead."

"I don't care what you read or what you do. And, in case you missed it... I haven't asked you to even speak to me. What makes you so sure I even want to sleep with you?" he asked, getting to his feet and grabbing his coffee. "Lashing out at me 'cause you're unhappy is pretty bloody ridiculous," he added, going over and tossing the cup in the trashcan. I stared after him for a long moment before I felt all the tension drop out of my body.

"Fuck..." I mumbled, rubbing the bridge of my nose before getting up and heading to the bathroom. I needed to compose myself again and get a handle on my tongue before I said something I shouldn't have. At least he'd been too stupid to realize that I said I wanted a relationship with him. I doubted I could live that one down. I splashed some water on my face before collecting my stuff and leaving the cafe. I figured I'd just go hang out in the dressing room until it was closer to time to actually work.

I turned down the alley to head for the back door of the strip club, picking up my pace a bit more as I always did. About halfway down I noticed a cloud of cigarette smoke and lowered my head. Not making eye contact was the smartest thing to do with people who hung out in alleyways.

"So... being smart only applies to sex and not alleys then?" a voice I did not want hear asked as I got close to the cigarette smoke.

"The back door to where I work is right up there..." I muttered, not really wanting to stop and chat in the middle of the alley. I really hated it. He glanced over and to my chagrin seemed to recognize the door I was talking about.

"Heh, a chaste stripper... that's a new one," he murmured.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not a stripper," I shot back as I rummaged through my bag for my ID card to unlock the door. "You planning on hanging out in an alley all night? Not really safe unless you're looking for someone to bend you over..."

"Well sorry to disappoint you, but I have better things to do than hang around an alley all night," he said. "I just came down here for a nice quiet smoke," he added, dropping the almost spent cigarette. "Which is now over." Again I felt the tension drain from me as my shoulders slumped some.

"Alright..." I murmured, disguising the hang of my head by searching through my bag again for the ID card I'd already found. He walked away, but I heard another set of footsteps in the alley and looked back to see Vince coming to use the back door. I almost breathed a sigh of relief when I saw him. At least his was a friendly face.

"Lyn! You're here early," Vince said as he jogged up to me. "Still wearing your glasses outside of work, eh?"

"I like them better," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him. "Lemme bum a cigarette off you, V. I feel like I've been run through the blender this afternoon."

"Well, they do look good on you," he replied as he handed me a smoke and lit it for me. He studied me for a minute before pushing my hair out of my face. "You need a haircut, Lyn. Let it go any longer and you'll have to wear the barrette all the time. Then everyone's going to really think you're just a flat chested girl." I rolled my eyes a little as I leaned back against the wall and took a long drag.

"I don't mind if people think I'm a girl, V," I said. "Hell, I'm almost always dressed like one."

"So what's got you so riled up this afternoon?" he asked and I immediately looked away. It had been embarrassing enough to have such public arguments with the meat head, but just thinking of trying to explain it to Vince was worse.

"Ah... Don't worry about it, V," I said as my cheeks heated up. "Just being reminded of how little experience I have by a royal playboy."

"Well, you know I keep offering to help you with that," Vince said, giving me a wink. I groaned and shoved at him lightly with my free hand.

"And I tell you the same thing that I tell everyone else," I said, even though I was smiling.

"You don't do casual sex," he said before I could and sighed a bit. I was about to say something when he stole the cigarette and took a drag off of it himself. "Come on. Let's go inside before some perv comes by wanting a free show." I chuckled a bit and nodded, unlocking the back door for us before going inside. Vince and I hung out in the dressing room for a little bit before changing into our work uniforms or lack there of in my case. I almost wished that bastard could have left me feeling insecure about myself on a day when I didn't work, but then I wouldn't have seen him at all. I always spent my few days off getting ahead on course work so that I had less to do during the week.

Work was much the same as it always was with men groping at my ass every chance they got. At one point though, I had a customer grab my hips and pull me into his lap. I could feel the heat of his erection against my skin and froze up. It'd been a long time since a customer had gotten stupid enough to do something so forward and brash. When my senses came back to me, he had his hand moving towards the front of the thong I had to wear.

"Charlie!" I yelled, trying to get the attention of the bouncer working tonight. Almost instantly a pair of hands was pulling me out of the pervert's lap, though they weren't Charlie's. Charlie had large meaty hands that made me feel like a child when he would grab me. The owner of these hands pulled me away and pulled me tight against him, preventing me from seeing just who it was.

"Go find some other guy to molest," a voice I wished I hadn't heard said before my rescuer kicked out and the sound of a crash followed. I pulled myself out of Dominic's arms, looking down a bit in embarrassment for having been in that position.

"Thank you..." I said, remembering to at least be polite as Charlie came over to see what the fuss was about.

"This guy bothering you, Lyn?" Charlie asked, looking at the black haired playboy in front of me. I shook my head a bit quickly.

"Not this one. The one on the floor pulled me into his lap with his pants down..." I said quickly. Charlie nodded and picked the pervert up off the floor before escorting him out. I caught Dominic giving me a twice over as Charlie escorted the bastard out.

"Well, I suppose it's somewhat understandable. That is a nice outfit you're wearing," he said. I felt my face heat up as embarrassment swept through me.

"Did you need a seat by poles or cages?" I asked, suddenly feeling very meek and trying to disguise it by simply doing my job. "I can show you to one, if you do." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm just here for a drink or two," he said. "If I want to ogle half dressed boys I can do that with the cute waiters," he added before making his way towards the bar. I stood there, staring after him for a minute before the floor manager came up to me to check and make sure I was alright. I'd told him I was, but he made me take a break anyhow so I made my own way to the end of the bar Vince was working on. He slid me two shot glasses of peppermint schnapps and handed me a lit cigarette before returning to what he was doing. Things hadn't slowed down for him yet. I downed the first shot before resting my head on the bar as I smoked the cig he had given me.

"I take it that doesn't happen often then," Dominic said, drawing my attention to the fact that he was sitting next to me.

"No... Doesn't happen often..." I muttered. "Especially not when they've got their junk already out. I'm a fucking waiter not a prostitute... Bad enough putting up with getting pinched, slapped, grabbed, and rubbed all damn night long."

"So if you don't like it... why don't  you get another job?" he asked curiously. I shrugged a little as I took another deep drag.

"It pays the bills..." I replied. "Rent, food, utilities, school... With enough leeway so I don't feel like I'm barely scraping by..."

"Mm, sounds unfortunate," he replied before taking another sip of his drink. I sighed a bit and straightened before bending back to stretch my tired muscles.

"I don't suppose I'll see you in here again," I said as I stubbed out the finished cigarette. "A look and don't touch type place doesn't quite seem your style." I wasn't intending to be rude. It was a simple observation considering I knew what kind of playboy he was or at least, I thought I knew.

"Mm, you might be right about that," he replied. "But a 'look at me and think of all the terrible things you can do to me' job doesn't seem your style either," he added, reaching into his pocket.

"It's not..." I replied as I downed the second shot. "But until I finish school, it'll have to suffice. Unless a sugar daddy decides to fall into my lap."

"Somehow a sugar daddy doesn't seem your style either, what with the whole 'no casual sex' thing you seem to be set on..." he muttered, tapping a bit of ash into a nearby tray.

"I don't see anything wrong with wanting more than just the physical act when it comes to sex," I replied. "It's a little girlish to want that, but I do. I want to be cared about." I sighed a bit, dropping my head to the bar again. "But I suppose that's too much to ask anyone to do."

"It's not too much, but it's a bit restricting," he commented. "It's not like you're in your forties and been through dozens of relationships. It's alright to be casual and enjoy yourself from time to time." I looked over at him as I signaled Vince to pass me another smoke.

"You think because I haven't had sex that I haven't had dozens of relationships?" I asked as a cigarette appeared in my hand. "They aren't one in the same. It's just that they usually don't tend to be mutually exclusive for long."

"Well how long do these relationships usually last then?" he asked curiously.

"Average a couple of months," I muttered. "Sometimes less... sometimes more... Depended on how long they could handle me being afraid of the next step..."

"Ah, so you're afraid. Well, now we're getting to the bottom of things," he said, taking another drag off his cigarette. "And really, from my humble understanding, a few months isn't much of a relationship." I cocked an eyebrow at him turning to face him a little more.

"And just how long is any relationship you've been in?" I asked. "Before you get bored and move on to the next bed?"

"Never really had one," he answered. "Nobody's been all that interested either," he added before taking a long drink. I shrugged a little.

"But that is also why you scare me," I said before my brain could stop my tongue. I blushed darkly at the admission and looked away.

"Oh, I scare you, do I?" he asked, seeming surprised. "Why? From what I can tell you can barely stand me," he said, tapping a bit more ash off his smoke. I sighed before taking a drag of my own, still looking off to the side.

"Self defense mechanism," I muttered. "Your aura screams that you'd hurt me and frankly, I'd rather not get hurt."

"Well, I'm not going to beat you up or anything. And since it doesn't seem like you'll be sleeping with me, I think you'll be fine," he replied casually. I frowned a little and stubbed out my cigarette.

"True... Leopards don't change their spots after all," I muttered. "I've got to get back to work. Have a nice night, Dominic," I said before skirting around him to go check on my customers. I shouldn't have even hinted at wanting anything from him. He was too dense and too set in his ways to give a damn if anyone actually wanted more from him.

"Have a nice night then," he said, but I didn't look back at him. I didn't care enough to look back. I'd humiliated myself enough for one day. I went about my work, taking my orders down to a different bartender so I wouldn't have to get close to Dominic again. I didn't like seeing him and Vince talking, but I just hope my friend wasn't talking about me. I looked up as Dominic left, wondering what had set him off. Vince wasn't usually the kind of guy to upset others, but then, Dominic had the ability to get under someone's skin so easily.

I didn't ask Vince what he and Dominic had talked about when work was over and the ride home was mostly silent. I was still thrown off by both the pervert and my stupidity at even admitting that I had any interest in that playboy. I wished I could just shake off the whole crush, but my fantasies were getting worse the more I ran into him. I took a shower once I was in my apartment again, wanting to wash off the day in the worst way. I just wanted to forget about Dominic, but he just wouldn't shake loose. I took one of my sleeping pills just to get some sleep without worry of the playboy invading my dreams too.