LIV

Isaac POV

Maise and I argued all day about whether or not visiting the club could wait until tomorrow. I was of the mind that another day wouldn’t hurt - the damage couldn't get much worse - but she insisted it had to be sooner rather than later.

Clearly, I had lost that argument. I had suggested everything. From going by myself for recon, to seeing if anything could be learned about the place at Djinn and Juice, to maybe a real date. I knew Maise well, though, and I knew when she decided something, there was absolutely no way to change her mind. So, I was following five feet of determination though the city streets of downtown Burlington like a lost puppy, still trying to argue my case.

Call me old fashioned, but I really wanted my first night out with my mate to be anywhere but at a strip club.

I didn’t think a “city” this small could have a seedy part of town, but the hipster downtown area was quickly fading away into the bleak echoes of broken promises. It was exactly where