Good Girl Gone Bad

SAOIRSE.

“You're working in a fucking night club?”

Heaven knows there's nothing more I hate than the acrid stench of cigarettes and the sour bite of alcohol seeping into my bones, but who would have thought I'd end up here, in the heart of a notorious club, offering cigarettes to these drunken cigarette-addicted men.

To top everything off, like a punch to the gut, who would have thought I’d be standing in front of Lorenzo. My boyfriend of two years, brows furrowing in shock, sprawled in the room, a half-naked girl perched on his lap like a trophy. His arm draped possessively around her waist, fingers tracing lazy circles on her exposed skin.

My stomach twisted, a knot of ice forming deep inside. I froze, the tray trembling in my grip. 

“Saoirse. What the fuck?”

He shoved the girl aside roughly, her giggle turning into a pout as she slid off him. He stood, weaving slightly from the alcohol, his friends' chuckles rippling through the air like a wave.

“I said, what the hell are you doing here?” Lorenzo spat, his voice cutting through the club. He stalked toward me, the crowd parting instinctively. “You told me you work for a fucking company, Saoirse.”

My throat tightened, words lodging like stones. I wanted to scream. How about you? What are you doing here with another girl on your lap?

But the question died on my tongue. Tears pricked my eyes, hot and unwelcome. I bit my lip hard, as every eye in the room turned to me, to the cigarette girl caught in the spotlight.

“Fuck.” Lorenzo sneered, his breath reeking of whiskey.

He loomed over me, close enough that I could see the veins bulging in his neck. His hand shot out, yanking some cigars and a lighter, slamming them onto the nearest table with a clatter.

“It's–It’s not what you think,” I stammered, my voice barely whispering. My cheeks burned, as whispers erupted around us. Snickers from his friends, curious stares from strangers. “I'm just a…a—"

“A what?” He laughed, a harsh bark that echoed off the walls. “A cigarette girl? You hand out cigars to these drunks, and then what? Satisfy their lust too? Fuck, look at you, dressed like this, smiling at every asshole who looks your way.”

“No!” My hands shook, the tray rattling. I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened, his nails digging into my skin. “Lorenzo, please...I can explain. Can we talk? Just us. Alone?”

“Alone? Why? Are you embarrassed?” He glanced back at his friends, who grinned like wolves, one of them whistling low.

“Valerie, you come here.” He told the girl which she delightfully obeyed. His free hand cupped the girl's chin, tilting her face up for a kiss that lingered too long, right in front of me.

Lorenzo never took his eyes off me while sucking and slurping other girls' tongues and saliva in front of his girlfriend, and all I could do was watch.

The crowd murmured,