C7 7

She heard that the door opened and felt someone was about to get in. She tried to compose herself. She put down her hands but her eyes were on the floor to hide her face. She didn’t want the person who entered the lift to see her wet face and red eyes. She regretted not wearing a waterproof mascara.

Blake hurriedly entered before the door closed.

He was frowning as he noticed that Heather was trying to hide the fact that she was crying a while ago. Then another man got inside the lift too. Blake went behind her and the other male stood in front of him. His frowned deepened and his eyes narrowed when the other male asked if Heather was fine.

Heather just nodded. The man got a hanky from his pocket and offered it to her.

"Thanks." She said in a small voice. She dabbed her eyes and face before she raised her head to look at the man.

The pleasant looking man just nodded. He smiled at her.

"No problem . By the way, I'm Kevin."

"I’m Heather."

She appreciated his kindness. He was nice and good-looking too.

When the lift stopped he said, "My floor."

"Your hankie." She handed him the handkerchief.

Still smiling, he got it from her. Before he got off he said, "I won't wash this. See you around Heather."

She smiled at him too then the door closed.

"You shouldn't accept things from strangers." Said a male’s cold voice behind her.

She turned and she almost gasped when she discovered that Blake was in the elevator too. She had too much that day so she didn’t want to stress herself more with this hateful man. She would just ignore him. She straightened and looked ahead of her.

"What if he put something on it and the next thing you knew you were gang-raped already.” His voice sounded steely.

She just let out a heavy sigh. She waited for the lift to be on her floor.

"I can take care of myself and I don't need your unsolicited advice. And in my opinion Kevin is more trustworthy than you.” She said matter-of-factly before going out

Blake’s jaw clenched.

***

"Wow chummy! You look fierce!

They were going out. She wanted to let off steam .She had her hair up which emphasized her high cheekbones and jaw line. She put on a white slinky top which showed some cleavage. She was wearing a black mini-skirt and silver strappy heels. She had Candy Florale by Prada on her wrists and behind her ears.

"Thanks! Let's party! I want to be drunk and I want to meet some hot guys!”

“That’s my girl!” Pauline happily said.

She just smiled seductively. She wanted to be her old self tonight. She didn’t want to care about anything tonight. She would face her new world again tomorrow.

***

They were in a bar owned by one of their friends. Rica was with her new boyfriend. The bar had live performances. She wasn’t in the mood to dance though. She just wanted to drink and be merry. Her eyes roamed. The place was big but packed. The drinks were great too. She took a note to compliment the bartender later.

Rica nudged her side. "Hey girl! Take it easy on that drink. The night is still young."

She just smiled and nodded. Now members of a band started to go up the stage. She almost spilled her drink when Pauline took hold of her hand on the table and squeezed it.

"Chummy! Look at that hot drummer!!"

The crowd cheered. She just shook her head in disapproval. She didn’t do what Pauline said. Seemed like all the men Pauline saw were hot to her.

"Yo people!" A male voice said through the microphone.

That made her looked at the man. He probably was the vocalist. He was nice looking and he had a lot of tattoos on his arms. He was in a white shirt.

"This is Axel and this is my band! The We Rock Band!"

The audience cheered again. The spotlight was on him at the moment.

"I will introduce the members one by one. Just a warning to the beautiful females here, don’t fall hard okay?” he joked.

The crowd clapped and some let out a hoot.

"We have Tom on the keyboard!" A man in red shirt waved to the audience and the spotlight went to him.

"Our bassist is Arnold!" The man was in a black leather jacket.

" Eric on the lead guitar!" A man in blue shirt with cap waved. The crowd continued to make noise to root for the members.

She raised a perfectly shaped brow. The band members all looked cute especially the vocalist.

"And since our drummer couldn’t make it, brace yourselves ladies because this is your lucky night! Presenting on drums.....BLAKE!!"

The people even went wilder. Blake stood up. He bowed to the audience while flashing his clit-tingling smile. He was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and a denim vest. Heather covered her ears when Rica and Pauline screamed crazily like the other women inside the bar. She was really pissed! Wherever she went, Blake was there too! She gritted her teeth and tried to stand up. She was planning to go out of the place but Pauline stopped her.

"Hey! Don’t go! If you do it means you are affected by Blake’s hotness!” She said in a little loud voice because the crowd was still noisy.

She rolled her eyes and just sulkily sat down again.

***

According to the vocalist, the band will play songs of Matchbox 20.She had to admit that Axel could sing really well. He first sang Unwell. They were sitting close to the stage. She tried hard not to look at Blake. She was focusing her eyes to the vocalist. He seemed to have noticed her too .He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She wasn’t so flattered because she was used to this kind of attention she got from men. She smiled sexily at him. Anyway she wanted to have fun tonight. The vocalist was now beaming as he eyed her. When he finished the song, he let the excited audience calmed down a bit before he spoke.

"I want to dedicate the next song to a gorgeous lady in the audience. Wait! I have to get her name." He was grinning while getting down from the stage.

The spotlight followed him and the audience made some noise of excitement. Axel stopped in front of her. Her friends were screaming giddily. He extended his hand to help her get up for the chair. She bit her bottom lip. He was cuter up-close.

"Hi. I am Axel. And your name please?"

The audience went wild.

"Don’t be his victim!! " Joked a male from the audience.

"He’s a womanizer!!" Another voice said.

The people laughed.

Axle chuckled “ Stop it guys. You all know I am a good boy!” He said before positioning the microphone near her mouth.

"I'm Heather..." she said huskily.

The men cheered and some even stamped their feet.

"Nice name. The next song is for you, beautiful Heather." Axel said.

Blake was just looking at them. His forehead was creased. His face was unsmiling. He turned his head to his left . His cousin Eve who is Heather’s half-sister’s bestfriend was there. She was looking at him .He couldn't read her expression.

His lips formed a thin line when his eyes went back to Axle and Heather. His eyes narrowed when he saw Axel leaned over Heather.

***

"Can I join you later?" Axle asked her before he straightened.

She smiled and nodded. The vocalist grinned from ear to ear before coming back to the stage. The next song was Push.

Blake hit the drums with a grim face.

***

"Chummy! Blake is the hottest on the stage! He plays the drum so well! Gosh my bra almost snapped from excitement!” Pauline giggled.

Even Rica was giddy while listening to Pauline. Her boyfriend even threw her an angry look.

Heather stood up. She wanted to request a special drink from the bar. She wanted to compliment the bartender too. All the cocktails she had were great. She swayed a little.

"Ops! Easy. Are you okay?" asked Pauline.

She just nodded. She wasn’t drunk. Just tipsy.

"I'm bloody fine .No worries." She replied as she walked to the bar.

She ordered sex on the beach after complimenting the cute bartender. He even blushed. She was having a small talk with him when someone whispered in her left ear.

"Hi." A male voice said.

She looked at him. She smiled. " Hello Axel."

He sat next to her. "Scotch on the rocks, Neo." He told the bartender. "Did you enjoy our performance?” He asked her.

She nodded and he grinned.

"Do you often go here?”

"Nope. It's my first time." She said before sipping her drink.

***

"Blake!" Eve touched her cousin's arm to get his attention.

They were near on the left side of the stage. They had a good view of the whole bar. Eve noticed that her cousin had been eyeing the bar.

"Is that Heather?" She asked Blake but he didn't answer.

He had his hands in his pockets as he stared at Axel and Heather. His face looked very serious.

***

"Would you like to get out of here? Don't worry I’m harmless. There’s a coffee shop across from this bar. Let’s talk there. It’s a little noisy here.” Axle suggested.

She looked at him. He seemed okay and besides the coffee shop was very near so she agreed after finishing her drink.

Axel grinned. He gulped his scotch then got some bills in his pocket and put them on the table.

"Neo! Keep the change!"

He put his hand on her elbow to help her get up. They headed to the door.

***

"Bullshit!!" Blake cursed when he saw Heather and Axel stood up.

They were going out of the bar. Eve looked at him when she heard him cursed.

He was about to go after them but he saw someone at the door. He raked his hand through his hair in frustration.

***

She and Axle didn’t talk for a long time. He had another gig in an hour. .He was so sweet .He ordered black coffee for her because she complained that she had too much alcohol. He even asked her if it was okay if he would take a sip. She used to not care if the man she was with was thoughtful, sweet or not. She probably missed her family so much so she was thirsty for any kind of affection. She felt good after her short chat with Axel. He got her number too. She found out that contrary to his image on stage, he was nice and a gentleman.

"I can't believe it chummy! What have you done to my friend Heather? It was your first time to accept such an invitation from a guy you just met! You had coffee with him alone?”

She couldn't blame them. She had never left without any of them until now. She was used to flirting with men inside the bars with her friends almost not leaving her side.

"There's always a first time." She responded with a grin. “I need to pee, excuse me.” She added.

Blake was outside the restroom when she got out. He was leaning on the corridor's wall. He seemed to be waiting for her. She ignored him. She washed her hands on the sink with a big mirror. She checked her face. She still looked good so need for a retouch.

"Axle just broke up with his live-in partner. Did he tell you that?” Blake said all of a sudden.

She frowned. She didn't care. She had no intention to be Axle’s next live-in partner. She didn’t want a boyfriend who would probably want to control her. She was satisfied with her status now.

Though she didn’t have to, now she pretended to retouch her make-up. She just wanted Blake to know that she was not listening to him. She heard him cursed when she didn't say anything. She stifled a smile. She must be pissing him which she liked.

"Do you want to be a rebound girl?" He asked in a steely voice.

She sighed. She put her lip gloss back in her bag. She would go back to their table. She didn't want to waste her time listening to Blake. When she was in front of him and was about to walk past him, he spoke again.

"You really enjoy men's attention don't you? Flirting is your thing. I won't be surprised if one of these days someone will rape you." he said coldly.

She closed her eyes for a moment. She couldn’t control herself anymore. She turned to him angrily. "What’s with you? Just back off! Who are you to talk to me like that?! I can date or see whoever I want and that is none of your business! " she said furiously..

Blake eyes narrowed before he straightened then forcefully grabbed her nape to kiss her on the mouth. He leaned her back against the wall as he roughly kissed her. She did her best to pushed him but she couldn’t budge him. He pinned her arms up her head as he assaulted her lips . He was even groaning as he deepened the kiss and she felt his very hard manhood between them. She groaned as a protest. Then an angry female voice thundered in the room.

"CUPCAKE!" shrieked Vanessa.