Safe

Chapter 4

A bell rang that signified the opening of the dance floor and Dom watched in amazement as the crowd piled onto it and started shaking their stuff.

More drinks were placed in front of them and Dom saw one of the bar staff drag and extra stool over to their table. He could tell when she was approaching because they were cheers and shouts in her direction as she approached. She smiled and stopped to talk to a few people before she got to them.

When she reached the table she reached over and grabbed Brian’s beer before sitting down.

“Hey!” Brian complained but Emma ignored him.

“Well hello there.” Vince purred at her and she smiled back.

Brian introduced everyone leaving Dom for last.

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.” Emma apologised in an unapologetic tone that made Dom laugh.

“I’m all for a good first impression.” Dom answered lazily and she laughed.

“Hey Mia, how you doing?” Emma called over to the dark haired girl.

“I’m good, you looked amazing tonight.” Mia answered and complimented her in one.

“You going to take me up on my offer of a job?” Emma demanded and Mia blushed.

When Emma noticed the scowl on both Brian and Dom’s face she laughed.

More drinks were placed and Dom watched in amazement as people approached her. Men hit on her, women hit on her and through all she smiled politely and turned them down. Dom watched as one girl practically threw herself at her, Emma flirted back and still turned her down.

“Are you a lesbian?” Vince demanded at one point.

“Are you the alternative?” Emma shot back and Dom laughed as he watched his best friend trying to answer.

“So are you the one Brian is palming me off to?” Emma asked and Dom smiled and nodded.

“You get the pleasure of all of us; Leon and Vince practically live with us.” Mia rolled her eyes as she explained.

A waitress approached and looked apologetically at them.

“Emma I’m sorry but Lucas is in the lounge upstairs and demanding that you go and have a drink with him.” She looked sceptically at Emma waiting for a response.

“Tell him to fuck off and find a real date.” She responded with a look of disgust. Dom chuckled as the waitress grinned at walked away.

“Do I look like a hooker?” she demanded looking at Brian.

Brian nodded vigorously.

“Oh fuck you.” Emma laughed.

Dom watched the ease between them and was interested how Brian had come to be friends with this woman.

“So how did you two meet?” Dom asked and Emma grinned.

“We grew up together, the proverbial boy and girl next door. We went to high school together and stayed friends.” Brian told them.

“He’s worried I’m going to tell you about his geek phase.” Emma confided as Brian shot her a warning look.

“It’s okay Baby, you’re not a geek now.” Mia comforted him and Vince and Leon laughed at his discomfort.

They chatted happily as the night went on and Dom watched as more people invited her to dance and more staff came up to her with different problems. After Emma was dragged away to sort something out Dom shook his head.

“She must have a lot of weight around here for her to have so much influence.” He commented to Brian.

Brian looked confused for a moment before smiling.

“Dom, Emma owns this place.”

Dom stared at him for a second. Well that explained a lot.

They left before the club closed and Emma went over her instructions with various staff again. Soon they piled outside and split up to take cabs home.

They poured themselves into the Toretto residence and took over the living room. Vince and Leon reluctant to leave the new girl and Mia wanted to catch up with her.

Vince cracked open the tequila and Emma happily chugged it down. She sat down on the floor in front of Dominic and wiggled to get more comfortable.

“I have no work tomorrow!” she announced happily downing the shot. Mia bombarded her with questions about Brian and she happily provided her with ammunition. Dom laughed as Brian tried to get her shut up but failed miserably.

“What was his first girlfriend like?” Mia asked curiously and Dom caught the look that Brian threw Emma.

“Ah, Susanna, she was a twat.” Emma said straight faced and Brian cracked up.

“Did you two ever date?” Dom asked, he knew something was up with the look that Brian threw her.

“No.” Brian said quickly and Mia scowled at him. Dom looked at Emma and saw her eyes dancing with laughter as she looked at her friend.

“Spill.” Mia commanded and Emma let the laughter out and cracked up.

“Emma was my first.” Brian mumbled and Emma cracked up even more.

“But I thought you said that you didn’t date.” Mia asked confused.

“Please, it was a pity fuck, he was twenty years old and still a virgin, I got him drunk and popped his cherry.” Emma explained.

Dom chuckled at the confession and the thought of Brian still being a virgin at twenty.

“It was horrible.” Brian shuddered remembering having sex with his best friend.

“All fifteen seconds of it.” Emma responded and then cracked up at the outrageous look on Brian’s face. The guys and Mia laughed and Brian huffed even more.

“So how did you end up with a bar?” Leon asked and Emma shrugged.

“My dad left me some money when he died so I bought the club.” She answered.

Dom watched how at ease she was and nearly choked on a shot as she swung her legs up onto his lap.

“Boots off.” She demanded.

He slid his hand over the leather and tried not to feel her up to much. He dragged the zips down and pulled at each boot before tossing them over his shoulder. She giggled before settling down on the floor again with her head on his knee.

The crowd thinned and left just the two of them sitting on the couch chatting easily.

“So how come you didn’t go to the cops about the threats.” Dom asked and regretted it when she scowled.

“One of the girls got attacked in the parking lot one night and I called them, they acted like it wasn’t a big deal considering we were all prostitutes anyway.” She told him angrily.

“The club is for dancing, there’s nothing more to it, the girls aren’t allowed to date customers or bring their partners there and all they can see is a strip joint that offers more after hours, it makes me sick.” She carried on her little rant and Dom could see why she didn’t want to involve the cops, they wouldn’t take it seriously.

“So you got any ideas on who’s making the threats?” Dom asked and she shrugged.

“A few, could be my ex husband, could be a customer that I’ve wronged some way.” She shrugged again.

“You were married?” Dom asked, surprised.

“For about five minutes.” She didn’t elaborate and he didn’t ask any more.

Dom held the bottle out to her and she grinned and replied by holding out her glass.