Chapter Three -- Kelly and Emily
Two months later...
"Don't look now, Kel, but that guy is checking us out," Emily shouted through the loud din of the club. Kelly spun around smoothly as she danced, her eyes darting casually to where Emily indicated. She saw him standing at a table on the edge of the dance floor, nursing a beer and making no effort to hide his admiration as he watched them dance.
"Ugh, a popped collar?" Kelly laughed as she spun again to look at her friend, raising her eyebrows and scrunching her mouth to express her distaste.
"Oh, like that will hardly matter after his shirt comes off," Emily laughed, playfully swatting at her friend. They'd been on a tour of the Bahamas, spending a day or two on this island or that, to the point that Kelly couldn't keep straight what island they were even on anymore. Whichever one it was, they were supposed to sail for Nassau tomorrow afternoon. Still, that didn't mean they couldn't have some fun tonight before they moved on...
Emily stopped dancing and nudged Kelly's arm, gesturing to the bar. She swayed her hips seductively as she and her friend passed by Popped Collar's table. Kelly made a point not to look his way as they walked by, but Emily flashed him the briefest glance as she brushed by his table. She leaned on the bar to order them another pair of cocktails, sticking her pert ass out behind her, confident that he would still be watching her in her little black party dress.
A moment later they women heard a voice behind them cut through the music.
"Bartender, another beer," Popped Collar called out, reaching forward to gesture with his empty bottle. "And whatever these two ladies are having," he said, wagging his bottle back and forth between them. The bartender nodded and shuffled off to make their drinks.
"Where are you ladies from?" he asked them, flashing a smile. He had perfectly straight white teeth.
"North Carolina," Emily said, turning to face him. "UNC. Having a bit of fun on summer break," she smiled.
"No shit! I go to Duke myself. We're practically neighbors! What are the odds?" he asked as the bartender handed him their drinks.
"My name's Zachary," he said, gesturing back to the empty table he'd been standing at before.
"This is Kelly, and I'm Emily," Emily said, mouthing a silent "thank you" as she grabbed the cocktail from him.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, ladies," he said, leaning his bottle towards them in a cheers gesture. They clinked their glasses against his.
"So how long are you here in West End?"
"We leave tomorrow morning. Early," Kelly said quickly, shooting a glance at Emily. She was focused on Zachary and hadn't seemed to catch the hint.
"Aw, well that's a shame," Zachary said, briefly forming his lips into a mock pout. "We'll just have to make the most of tonight." He grinned at both girls but settled his gaze on Emily.
"Yes...yes, we will," Emily said, gulping down the last of her drink and taking two steps backwards towards the dance floor. She beckoned Zachary forward with a curled finger. He didn't hesitate.
"C'mon, Kel!" Emily shouted over the music, trying to coax her friend. Kelly forced a tight smile and held up her half full glass and wobbled it, as if to say she intended to finish her drink first. Emily seemed satisfied at this and focused her attention back to Zachary as they danced. Kelly rolled her eyes as she saw how the douchebag was grinding his crotch all over her. She checked her phone. 11:23. She intended to nurse this drink as long as she could.
She'd gotten caught up in checking her social media feed when Emily and Zachary stumbled back to the table, laughing and sweating. "Kellllllly!!! Come and dance with us!!"
"Fine," Kelly grinned despite herself. Maybe she was being too uptight. They were here to have fun after all.
"After we get more drinks, of course! This round is on me. More of the same, ladies?" Zachary waited for their nods before sauntering off to the bar.
"What's going on with you, Kel? We're supposed to be out here having fun, but you're just sitting here moping on your phone. Let yourself cut loose a bit, will you?"
"You...you're right," Kelly said, letting a genuine smile escape. "Sorry, I guess I can be a little judgmental sometimes."
"Ya think?" Emily laughed.
Just then Zachary came back with drinks. They clinked their glasses against his bottle once again before imbibing their beverages.
Maybe he's not so bad
, Kelly thought to herself as she watched him talk to her friend.
What's the harm in Emily getting some douchebag dick for one night?
***
The first thing Kelly became aware of was that her head was pounding. The second thing Kelly became aware of was that her head was pounding. Her eyelids fluttered slightly as consciousness made its unwelcome demands upon her. She glimpsed some dimly lit room and idly wondered where she was. Her eyelids slowly drew themselves up again and she saw two--no, three men she did not know in front of her before they crashed back down.
Wait, who the fuck are those guys??
Kelly thought as her eyes flew open in a panic.
Kelly's eyes darted around the room, taking in information as rapidly as possible. She was in a large, dimly lit room with concrete floors. Three men were in the room, two of them watching her with interest. She looked to her left and saw Emily--
Emily!!
--chained to the wall next to her, her eyes closed and head drooping. She realized with sudden horror that her own arms were pulled above her head by similar chains.
"Wh--what's going on? Where am I?"
"Shh, shhhh, shhhh...you are perfectly safe, I assure you," one of the men said, a bald dark-skinned man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He had salt-and-pepper mutton chops growing down his cheeks.
"Who are you? Why am I chained up?"
"There, there," the man said, approaching her and stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Everything will be alright; it will be alright."
"Why am I chained up???"
The man ignored her and stepped over to Emily, taking her chin in his hand and gently rolling her head back and forth. Emily moaned slightly and her eyelids fluttered open.
