His eyes widened when he saw Borden.

Christ, was this the type of guy Emma was interested in? Tall, lanky body, with moppy hair gelled in ridiculous directions and… Were those skinny jeans on the fucker? A man…A man in skinny jeans?

It would be a serious disservice to the male race if Borden allowed this boy in skinny jeans go home with a woman that needed a real man.

“Score on you,” Borden added with raised brows. “Very impressive.”

Titty-Eyes relaxed and smiled back as he tucked that tiny little boy thing back into his skinny jeans and zipped it up. “Yeah, man, she totally digs me, right? She’s been all over me all night, man.”

No, she fucking hadn’t. “Yeah? Holy shit. She’s a looker, isn’t she?”

“Fuckin’ oath she is. I’m gonna destroy that pussy.”

Borden tensed. Oh, it would be so easy to drag this fucker into a stall and beat those skinny jeans off of him.

“Well, that’s fucking fantastic for you, man,” Borden smiled as Titty-Eyes went to walk past him. “Except,” he added, extending his arm out suddenly to stop the guy, “that looker whose pussy you want to destroy… is mine.”

Oh, this was his favourite part of being who he was. The shrinking of the shoulders, the widening of the eyes, the wobbling in the knee caps and the trembling of the lips – this was the common result of coming face to face with him.

Borden’s smile vanished and he was looking harshly at Titty-Eyes now. “You wanted to destroy pussy that’s mine, little man?”

Titty-Eyes shook his head quickly. “No, no. I didn’t know.”

“And even if she wasn’t mine, you’d have only looked at her as a fuck for tonight?”

He continued to shake his head. “No, no! I wouldn’t have done anything.”

Borden sighed in disappointment. “I don’t believe you, little man. Empty your pockets.”

Titty-Eyes immediately did as he was told, pulling out a wallet and car keys. Borden grabbed both off of him, setting the keys on the counter before opening his black leather wallet that had skulls on it.

The name on the driver’s licence read Jake Barnett. There were two fifty dollar bills, some loose change and… Borden inhaled sharply as he withdrew two condoms. Titty-Eyes gulped as Borden set the wallet down and flashed the condoms in front of his eyes.

“Didn’t plan on fucking her tonight, Jake?” Borden asked edgily.

“N-No!”

“Why do you have cock gloves in your wallet, little man?”

Titty-Eyes didn’t answer. His fear quadrupled at the intensity of Borden’s eyes as they narrowed in on him like crosshairs.

“You were going to glove yourself in my woman?”

Titty-Eyes’ face crumpled and he… he cried! “Oh, man, I had no idea. I swear. I swear to fucking God, Mr Borden! I had no idea! Please! Please don’t hurt me! Please!”

Borden’s nostrils flared as he regarded the crying lanky boy in skinny jeans. This was… This was just fucking pitiful. People were scared of him, sure, but it usually took them some time to fold under the pressure of his gaze. This boy did it at the drop of a hat.

Borden was disgusted.

Really, Emma?

Really?!

Emma

I sighed.

How long did it take for a guy to do his thing in the toilets?

While I didn’t enjoy Jake’s company so much, it was better than being alone. Because being alone meant guys giving you attention you didn’t want.

I’d had a bit of fun. Blythe and I danced for a good while. It was nice to let loose despite Jake trying fervently to get me to drink. I turned him down several times before he finally gave up and gulped down the alcohol himself.

“Go easy on him,” Blythe had told me, referring to Jake’s attempts at intoxicating me. “He just broke up with his girlfriend, so he’s not really acting like himself.”

“So he wants to get me drunk?”

“Well… you might loosen up if you drank. You’re a little uptight, babe.”

Then she disappeared with her guy, and suddenly the whole club thing wasn’t much fun anymore. Maybe it was because I was the only sober one there. There was too much noise, too much chatter, and even though we were in an elegant VIP room, there were too many people.

Finally, I saw Jake emerge from the crowd. He looked… different than before. Gone was his confident demeanour. He was pale and feverish-looking.

“You alright?” I asked him the second he made it to the table.

He didn’t sit down and was uncomfortably looking away from me.

“My intentions were to fuck your brains out and I’m sorry for my seedy thoughts,” he suddenly said, and the words sounded robotic. “I’m going to go home without you because I’m a filthy asshole in skinny jeans.”

What the…

Before I could even process his words entirely, he turned around and speedily took off into the crowd.

“What the hell?” I whispered.

My jaw dropped to the floor. I couldn’t move for an eternity. That was random and… and weird. I figured his intentions weren’t noble, but why come out and say them? I pressed my lips together and shook my head in disgust. Men! I mean, did he not care how I would make it home tonight? Didn’t it bother him in the least that I was on my own?

Unbelievable.

I watched the crowd for several minutes, trying to wrap my head around his words.

“You having fun there, doll?”

The familiar voice pulled me out of my clusterfuck of thoughts and I looked up at Borden’s passive face. Where the hell had he come from?

He stood in front of the table with his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. He wore a white button up top that wrapped around his large arms tightly, and I had to remember to look at his face and away from his obvious muscle. The guy was a bloody tank.

“Um… sort of,” I stammered out in surprise.

His brows were knitted together in thought, his big lips pursed too as he regarded me. Against my better judgment, I felt better being around a familiar face, even if that face was Borden’s. Especially because that face is Borden’s, the hidden part of me whispered.

“You want to sit down?” I asked, motioning to the seat beside me. It seemed the right thing to do.

He stood there for a few seconds, debating my offer, and I was close to feeling silly, until he slid into the seat beside me. His shoulders brushed against mine and his unique smell enveloped me. He was vaguely looking around the room and I watched as the colours of the spectrum lights washed over his face. I observed his perfect profile, the way he licked his bottom lip, and how the movement of his head caused some of his brown hair to fall an inch over his forehead.