The Partner 5 (Patreon)

For once, Sarah was glad for the loud blare of electronic music. It helped her to keep her mind away from the indignity she had suffered, losing her panties in the hands of a bullying security guard. A pathetic man that she shouldn’t even bother to talk with, preferring to walk away after a slap. But she didn’t, not with one important factor, preventing her from acting. 

Her guilt, borne from her encounters with Erik. Yes, she had done it to save their business, but that didn’t change the fact that she had betrayed her wedding wows. It was why she was in the club, attempting to pay back her infidelity by protecting Thomas’ daughter. It wouldn’t absolve her guilt, but it would ease it somewhat. 

At least, that was what she was repeating continuously as she walked into the club proper, instantly assaulted by a flaring rush of colored light and deafeningly loud music. The crowd that was filling the place, enough to make walking a challenge, hadn’t helped any. She took a step into the crowd, looking for something to step on, trying to find where Megan was in the sea of bodies. 

She saw a small platform in the corner, where a beautiful redhead, clearly in the employ of the club, was dancing, dressed in an extremely exotic piece of leather clothing, which consisted almost completely of belts and strips. Frankly, it was a miracle that the dress, if she could call it that, managed to cover the essentials. The platform was tall enough to allow her to look for Megan. Still, she hesitated, for one simple reason. The platform was also very visible, and would put her in the sight of a significant number of dancers. Something she wouldn’t feel enthusiastic for even if she wasn’t risking to flash the crowd in one wrong step. 

She continued looking around, hoping to find a lookout that wouldn’t put her in the display for a bunch of horny men, but her search turned out to be in vain. Cursing her luck, she started walking towards the platform, but even the journey hadn’t been simple, littered with several ‘careless’ hands, accidentally finding their way to her body, making her mood even worse. She started considering that maybe she had been too harsh on Megan, that maybe she could handle herself in the club. After all, she was an adult. 

Then, a busty blond caught her attention, making her turn, hoping that she just saw Megan. It turned out that she didn’t, but seeing that random blond was enough to change her mind. The same blond girl that reminded him of her stepdaughter was squeezed between two men, her face twisted with drunkenness and pleasure. They were still dressed, but it didn’t prevent her face from twisting in pleasure. Sarah could easily imagine Megan taking her place after several drinks. She wasn’t the best decision maker even when she was sober, and alcohol just made things worse.  

With a heavy heart, she started climbing the stairs. She could feel her feet getting heavier with each step, easily rivaling the weight of her heart as she took the last step. The redhead turned towards Sarah, her face alight with sensual excitement. Sarah would have preferred annoyance. She quickly turned her back towards the redhead, her eyes browsing the crowd as she tried to find where Megan was. But before she could succeed, she felt a pair of delicate hands resting gently on her waist. “Hello, sweetie,” whispered the redhead in her ear. “Ready to dance.” 

“I’m just looking for my friends,” Sarah answered even as she tried to parse the crowd, trying to find the familiar figure of Megan. Not the simplest task with a packed crowd, and flashing neon lights with different colors didn’t help either. 

Sarah hadn’t thought that would deter the redhead from teasing her, which was why she wasn’t surprised when she felt the hands on her hips, trying to trigger a sway. “You might be looking for the president honey,” the redhead whispered into her ear, her lips close enough to tickle her earlobe. “But you have to dance while doing so if you want to do it from my platform. Either dance or step down.”  

It wasn’t a comfortable dilemma by any means, but it was far from the worst she had faced during the day as well. And, if she denied it, her sacrifice to enter the club would go to waste. Helpless, she started swaying her lips, her hands flying in the air. “Is this enough?” Sarah asked without bothering to turn, her eyes still on the crowd. 

“Not a bad start, kitten,” the dancer answered. “You have a flair, at least. But you need to do more if you want to stay more than a few seconds here. You need to impress the people if you want to stay here.” That managed to Sarah turn to her, shocked. Redhead nodded her head towards the wall, where a hulking security guard watched them like a hawk. “Not my call, sweetie,” the redhead said, but her tone wasn’t slightly apologetic. “You either impress Mr. Big-hands there, or he makes to step down after a second.” 

“I hate this,” Sarah murmured, wishing that she hadn’t stepped out of her bed today. Today definitely wasn’t her day. No point delaying the inevitable, she thought as she turned towards the sexy dancer whose hands were roaming on her body. From the excited expression on her eyes, Sarah guessed that it wasn’t only the business rules that made her insistent about her dancing, but nothing beneficial lay at the end of that particular line of thought, so Sarah ignored it. 

Instead, she spent a moment with her eyes closed, trying to sink herself into the rhythm. Her body started following the music, made easier by the pair of hands on her body, pushing her hips to direct her, her fingers sinking into her hips harder than necessary. Sarah made sure to turn towards the crowd once more before opening her eyes, not wanting to see the expression on the redhead’s face. It would be easier without her clear enthusiasm. 

She continued looking around, but the task was difficult enough without adding intense dancing as a requirement, and redhead behind her -getting handsier with each passing second- wasn’t making it any easier. Sarah just ignored her, a reflexive response against the conflict that was getting exceedingly common in her life. 

She continued to accept the molestations of the redhead passively, her eyes desperately passing over the crowd again and again, trying to spot a familiar blond figure. A rush of relaxation spread to her body as she saw who she was searching towards the far side of the bar, chatting with two other girls that they came here with. But giving the dancer a free rein during that moment proved to be a mistake. Sarah had ignored the danger of her fingers as they roamed over her dress despite their consistent journey towards her hips, not expecting any trouble worse than she was actually in. 

Big mistake, as she learned a moment later, when the hem of her dress suddenly lifted by a pair of greedy fingers. A sudden rush of jubilant cries rose from the crowd, far too louder to be the normal response. The words from a pair of lips, which was sucking her earlobe just a moment ago, was enough to clear that mystery. “No panties, huh,” said the redhead, reminding Sarah one important fact she had forgotten in the complicated situation she was in. 

Sarah said nothing, not that she could. She reached for the hem of her dress and pushed it down, trying to hide her most intimate part from a huge crowd. She wished that erasing it completely from their mind was a possibility, which unfortunately was not. Instead, she turned, wanting to leave the podium with an obvious display of anger, but a pair of arms around her waist prevented her. “Let me go,” said Sarah in a rare display of anger. 

“Sorry, sweetie,” the redhead answered even as she reached to the folds of her ridiculously deficient leather dress, and somehow pulled a small piece of paper from it. “I didn’t expect you to go commando, you didn’t seem like the type.” She gave a blinding smile to Sarah, but she wasn’t feeling especially forgiving. Sarah felt even less forgiving when the redhead stuffed her fingers into her cleavage, the sensation of paper clear against the skin. “As an apology, I just gave you my number, call me if you need anything. I owe you one.” 

“Thanks,” Sarah murmured, but more out of social convention rather than actually forgiving her for displaying her most intimate part to a crowd full enough to resemble a human pool. 

“No trouble, bestie,” the redhead answered with a cheer. Sarah prepared to step off the platform, assuming the ordeal was over. But before doing so, she learned that the redhead had one last plan. A pair of lips smashed against her lips, scouring her lips mercilessly. Once again, Sarah’s panic prevented her from acting, forcing her to stay still as she was being kissed by a woman in the middle of a crowded nightclub. 

Sarah didn’t know for how long the kiss lasted. But when it ended, she was stumbling drunkenly despite not having a drop of alcohol. She stepped off the platform and quickly dashed away from the crowd, not comfortable with the way they were looking at her, especially the men. She wasn’t able to hear them, but she didn’t need her ears to make a good guess about their discussion, their rude gestures clue enough. Her fingers dug the card from her chest, and was about to throw it on the ground, but chose to put it in her purse at the last second. Maybe it would be useful one day, she reasoned. 

She needed a sanctuary, so she dashed at the bathroom. Thankfully, it was still early, there was no line, which allowed her to find a stall to rest. She sat down, breathing hard like she had just run a marathon. “What the hell I’m doing,” Sarah murmured, her hands on her cheek as she sulked in desperation. Like it wasn’t enough that she had become a cheater, she also ended up exposing herself in a huge crowd. Her only consolation was it was hard for her to be recognized with all the lights. 

However, she learned that it was a false hope as well. The moment she stepped out of the stall, she was met with a suggestive whistle. She turned at the source, a short brunette with an even shorter dress, only to receive a wink. “Good dance, gorgeous,” she said with a suggestive tone. Sarah ignored her, focusing on reapplying her lipstick instead. “Stuck up bitch,” the brunette murmured a second later, showing her unhappiness on not receiving a response. 

Sarah ignored the insult just as she ignored the earlier comment, and left the bathroom. She left Megan alone enough as it was. Back in the dance floor, she did her best to ignore the occasional brushes as she cut through the crowd, trying to travel towards the bar, where she had last seen her stepdaughter, wishing that she hadn’t changed her position.

When she arrived at the bar, she realized a few things, only one of them positive. The good thing was, she had just found Megan, who had moved from the bar to a dark corner. However, her friends were gone, and even worse, they were replaced by two large men, standing around her. It might be mixed with a casual discussion at first, but Megan’s discomfort was clear on her face. And the men around her had been carefully cutting her path to retreat, locking her in place. And Megan lacked the personality to push through them. 

Sarah dashed towards them, intent on saving her stepdaughter. As she got closer, she started to hear snippets between the two men, enough to understand that they were aggressively courting her step-daughter. “Come on, sweetie, don’t be a buzzkill,” said the one with the black hair. “We’re going to dance for a while, nothing more.” Even worse was Megan’s expression, confused and conflicted, enough for Sarah to guess what she was thinking. She was unhappy with the attitude of those men, but considering to accept their offer just to deflect the situation. 

Sarah stood behind them, and saw Megan’s expression brightening with her presence. “Hey, Megan, I was looking for you, let’s go,” she said. “Sorry, gentlemen, but we need to go,” she added, barely acknowledging them. Megan raised her hand, and Sarah was about to grab it when she felt a tight grip around her wrist. “What’s the hurry, sweetheart,” said the black haired man. “Why don’t you join us.” 

“I prefer not to,” Sarah answered, trying to pull her hand away, but it only made his grip tighten further. 

“I don’t care what you prefer, sweetie,” said the man, leaning further. Only then, she was hit by the sharp smell of alcohol, realizing she had miscalculated. She should have called just called the security instead of interjecting herself. She looked around, hoping to see anyone, but the corner they were in was relatively sparse, and none of the people around looked like they were willing to 

“Hey, that’s the chick from before,” said the other suddenly. “The one dancing without panties.” 

Despite the terribleness of the situation, Sarah couldn’t help but felt ashamed when she realized that those two men had managed to catch a good view of her most private place. “Nice,” said the black haired one as he put his hand on her waist, trying to pull her closer. Sarah prepared herself to shout, hoping someone would notice. 

But before she could do so, she saw yet another hand reaching from behind, this time wrapping around his wrist. “That’s enough,” called a familiar voice. Normally, it would have filled her heart with despair, but under the current circumstances, she was willing to make an exception. Sarah turned to see the tall figure of Erik standing behind the other man, towering over him by a couple inches. “You guys look a bit worked up, why don’t you step out for a breather.” he continued. 

At that moment, Sarah’s hatred towards him was shadowed by her gratitude. She didn’t expect him to last against two men of course. While Erik was taller than them, both thugs looked more muscular than him. But their fight would be enough to get security close, which was the most important part. “I think you’re making a mistake,” said the other man, and took a step towards Erik. 

“You think so,” Erik answered. Sarah didn’t notice him moving, but suddenly, the one he was grabbing fell to his knees, his pained shouts loud enough to cut through the music. The other thug looked as surprised as Sarah, and failed to react before the security guards arrived at the scene. 

“That’s enough, punks. All of you, out-” the security guard started, only to stop suddenly the moment he looked at Erik’s face. “Mr. Delmore!” he exclaimed. 

“A bit slower than usual, Frank,” Erik answered. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Delmore,” he added as his posture straightened. 

“Just be more careful, Frank. We want everyone to have fun, and they can’t do that if they don’t feel secure, right?” Erik answered, standing casually, like he wasn’t still forcing a man considerably more muscular than himself to his knees, making him whimper like a baby. “Just lead this two gentleman to outside. I’m sure they’ll appreciate some fresh air.” 

With that, the security guard dragged two men out, leaving her alone with Erik, and a dazed-looking step-daughter. Megan spoke first. “Sarah, what just happened,” she said, from the slur in her tone, Sarah could easily guess she had more than a couple of drinks. She also sounded confused. Another effect of her slight drunkenness.  

“Nothing happened, honey,” Sarah answered, louder than usual to make herself heard from the blaring noise. “Let’s just find a place to sit so we can catch our breath.” 

“Why don’t we all sit in my booth. It’s empty, and it has an excellent view of the club,” he said, pointing at the second floor. 

Sarah prepared to reject. The last thing she wanted to do to have another meeting with him. The memory of the restaurant was still fresh. But once again, Megan was faster than Sarah. “VIP section, cool,” she exclaimed and hugged Erik, before dashing towards the fancy velvet door that separated two sections. 

“Shall we,” Erik said, and started walking without waiting for her to answer. She stayed frozen for a moment, but he continued, confident that she was about to follow. In any other situation, she would have just turned and left him, stuffing those expectations to his nose, but not when at the cost of leaving Megan alone with him while she was drunk. She followed him, her steps quick to catch him…