Snafu

Upside Down - Part 1

It had been three days since Valentine's. Gideon had not made another appointment, and Logan was not giving Cole any chances to turn a trick. He was freezing him out. Between this and not having a day job, his funds would run out soon, and he would have to start keeping more of his pay for rent instead of shucking eighty percent of it toward the debt. He hated doing that because it would let Logan know how successful his squeeze was.

Three days after Valentine's Day was the day his whole world turned upside down.

His thighs were tucked tight around metal. His back arched as he twirled once around, then grabbed the pole, spread his legs wide, and tossed his head back to leer at the crowd. They got a nice view of the flat plane of his chest and belly. And it gave him a topsy-turvy view of a group of three marching for his stage.

They didn't fit into the shimmering glitter, blue strobe light nonsense. In fact, they stood straight out in their three-piece suits, wearing sunglasses of all things in the dimly lit club. Cole immediately clocked them as trouble as he hung there on the pole, suspended with his legs spread wide, slowly sliding down. One of the men slapped his hand on the stage and looked Cole right in the eyes. "You better come with us now, kid."

His shoulders hit the sticky stage floor, and he toppled out of the pose, sitting upright with his thighs and fists clinging to the pole like a lifeboat in the storm. He looked around for Elijah, who should have been keeping an eye on things to make sure people did not do stuff like go up to the dancers and demand they go places with them. Elijah was standing by the bar with Logan and a guy Cole did not recognize, both of whom were staring straight at Cole. Elijah was pointedly looking away, an unhappy frown turning down his lips.

"Shit," Cole muttered under his breath. If Elijah was unhappy, Cole was unhappy.

"Come on now," the man lifted his hand from the stage to beckon Cole along.

He went because the only other choice was to cling to the pole while they tried to physically pry him away, which would only make the entire experience more unpleasant for everyone involved. Until he knew what was going on, he did not want to make things any worse for himself. Once he did know, then he could decide if it would be worth it. Anymore, he hardly ever found that it was worth it.

"Nikki," Logan held out an arm to welcome him into their circle. "I'd like you to meet Mr. Barta."

"My pleasure," Mr. Barta purred, lifting Cole's hand to place a kiss on his knuckles. Already the no touching rule did not apply to this man. Elijah's jaw pulsed as he eyed Mr. Barta's advances, but his arms remained crossed. Logan had his people-pleasing face on, the one that made everyone think he was a nice guy when he was not, in fact, a nice guy. So, Cole played along and let Mr. Barta stroke his thumb across the back of his hand.

He looked like he was probably in his thirties, with clear skin and jet-black hair, but had a mature build and cut to his jaw. The confidence with which he held himself spoke to the fact that he was an important man or at least thought of himself as one. And, while he did not wear a three-piece suit like his security, he was dressed up in a satin button-down and pair of black slacks.

"Mr. Barta requested a private dance," Logan said. The bartender, some new girl who looked completely overwhelmed, set a bright pink cocktail with a ring of sugar around the rim in front of him. Logan picked it up and offered it to Cole. Cole's stomach flipped as he continued. "At his residence. For the night."

This was no normal trick. Elijah looked like he had bit down on a cockroach, and the three security guards who belonged with Mr. Barta stood there, being menacing in their sunglasses. Logan was in the middle of not giving Cole a chance to turn tricks, so something significant must have made him choose to go along with Mr. Barta's request. Not to mention, they never did overnights. Cole kept his face carefully neutral as he looked down at the drink. He took a sip and pursed his lips because Logan had ordered it very strong – another bad sign.