Firecracker: A contemporary romance

by Kelly Jamieson

  “You always have good intentions,” Mila muttered. “But sometimes you need to stay out of other people’s business.”

  Tyler’s face fell.

  Arden’s heart softened. He did mean well. He cared about people. But yeah, he couldn’t fix everything for everybody. She returned to the couch where she’d been sitting next to him, and now she set her hand on his back, leaning her head against his shoulder.

  “Are we ready to go?” Jamie asked brightly.

  “I am,” Arden answered.

  “Yeah.” Mila stood, her mouth still in an unhappy line.

  Tyler stood too and faced Mila. “We good?”

  One corner of her mouth kicked up. “Yeah. We’re good. You know what?”

  “What?” Tyler’s face relaxed.

  “It kind of felt good having Garth want to get back with me. And me telling him to fuck right off.”

  Tyler grinned.

  “This is not what I expected.” Arden took in the supper club with wide eyes and a breathless smile.

  “Me either,” Mila said, taking a seat at the table for six she’d reserved at the Firefly Lounge and Supper Club.

  “It’s very upscale,” Emma added, setting her small clutch purse on the table. “I’m glad we dressed up.”

  Tyler had to agree. Nearly every table in the elegant club was full of men in suits, women in party dresses, couples and groups of all ages. He hadn’t wanted to pre-judge, but he’d kind of been expecting something tacky. The décor was sort of old Hollywood glamour, with glittery chandeliers, white tablecloths, and leopard print upholstery on all the chairs. Screens on one wall had multicolored images swirling.

  “It’s a prix fixe menu.” Mila picked up a martini menu. “We get a martini, a salad, and an entrée for one price. And they have, like, two hundred kinds of cocktails.”

  “Where’s the stage?” Emma asked.

  “I think they perform right here on the floor,” Mila said. “Oh, this sounds good! The Firefly Martini—vodka and passion fruit purée.”

  “That does sound good,” Emma agreed.

  “Think I’ll stick with a dirty martini,” Liam said.

  A waitress in a curve-hugging black dress arrived to take their drink orders. “The shows run every twenty minutes,” she told them. “The next one starts in five minutes.”

  They all ordered drinks, and Jamie and Tyler decided to order coconut shrimp and calamari appetizers to share, even though that was over and above the prix fixe menu.

  The place hummed with music and chatter and energy. They’d just been served their martinis when the lights dimmed and the music changed to “Danza Kuduro” by Don Omar. The crowd started clapping as shimmery curtains at the far end of the club opened and a woman stepped through them.

  She was gorgeous, Tyler had to admit. A silvery, swingy skirt and a matching low-cut top barely covered slender curves and long legs, and she started dancing to the sexy Latin beat.

  The crowd quieted, people turning in their seats to watch.

  “Wow,” said Arden next to him, eyes wide watching the sexy dance moves.

  “That’s Danny!” Emma clapped her hands together.

  “No, it’s not.” Jamie frowned. “Oh wait…it is.”

  “Jesus.” Tyler stared in amazement.

  Long dark hair swung in time with the slender hips.

  “I love his shoes!” Mila grabbed Arden’s arm. “We have to get him to take us shoe shopping!”

  Tyler choked on a laugh.

  Danny, er Honey Deville, shook her hips, the silvery skirt swinging. Tyler couldn’t take his eyes off the sexy dancer, even knowing it was a guy. It was hard to believe Honey was really Danny.

  Her face was made up with shiny red lips that smiled enticingly and deeply shadowed eyes with long eyelashes. And…that cleavage was incredible.

  “Holy shit,” Liam said, also apparently unable to look away, his gaze following Honey as she danced down the long aisle of the supper club toward them.

  Tyler met Jamie’s eyes and grinned.

  At their table, Honey paused and gave them all a sultry smile and a wink, shaking her body, arms in the air. The girls all laughed with delight and clapped.

  Honey danced on past them, swinging her hair, pausing to twerk her ass.

  Tyler shook his head and rubbed his face.

  “How does he move like that?” Arden asked.

  The girls were grooving in their chairs to the catchy tune, watching with big smiles. Tyler glanced at Liam, taking in his dumbstruck look.

  Then Honey dropped it low, and everyone in the club hooted and clapped.

  Honey danced around the tables, pausing here and there to shimmy or do salsa dance steps to the immense enjoyment of the crowd. At one point, she brushed up against a man wearing a suit and a sheepish expression, then kissed his cheek. The man’s companions laughed and clapped.

  When Honey finished, standing back near the curtain, the room erupted into cheers and applause. She waved and disappeared.

  Another entertainer appeared through the curtain, holding a microphone. “That was our very own Honey Deville!” she said, resulting in more clapping. “Isn’t she amazing? Welcome to the Firefly Lounge and Supper Club! We are Chicago’s top supper club featuring the city’s most talented divas! I’m Candy Dish and I’m your hostess tonight! Let’s go hard!”

  She set down the mic and began lip syncing and dancing to Kesha’s “We R Who We R.” She too was gorgeous, with long blond hair and killer curves in a short sequined purple dress.

  The crowd once again was totally into the music and entertainment.

  Tyler shook his head, grinning, and turned to look at Arden.

  She met his eyes, hers full of laughter, still chair dancing. “This is so fun!”

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

  She clasped his biceps in both hands and squeezed, leaning closer, and he wanted to bend his head, close the distance and kiss her. Aware of their friends around them, he didn’t, though he caught Jamie’s lifted eyebrows at Arden’s affectionate touch.

  Yeah, he was gonna have some explaining to do to his buddy later.

  When that show ended, they ordered dinner. Then Danny appeared, dressed in a different outfit, this one a sequined red dress. “Hey, everyone. Thanks for coming.”

  “Dan—uh, Honey, you’re amazing!” Mila cried.

  Danny smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Honey’s one of our most popular girls,” the waitress said with a smile before leaving.

  Danny grabbed an empty chair and pulled it up to their table. “I can join you for a few minutes before the next show.”

  “You are so coming shoe shopping with us,” Emma said. “Also those are awesome eyelashes.”

  Danny laughed.

  “I gotta give you credit,” Jamie said. “I don’t know how the hell you can even walk in heels like that, let alone dance.”

  “Practice,” Danny said with a wink. He looked at Liam, who stared at him with a stony expression. “Hey, Liam. Glad you could make it.”

  “Yeah.” Liam cleared his throat. “Uh…”

  The air around them became charged as Liam and Danny locked eyes.

  Tyler wasn’t sure what was happening. There’d seemed to be a mutual attraction between the two guys at Shenanigans that night. Now, Liam seemed almost…angry.

  “Danny,” Mila whispered and leaned in closer. “Can I ask you a crazy question?”

  “Sure.” He dragged his gaze away from Liam to smile at Mila.

  “How do you get that…” She waved a hand at his chest. “That cleavage?”

  Danny grinned. “Mega pushup bra. And some creative contouring.”

  “Shut up! Really? You look amazing. What kind of bra?”

  Tyler and Jamie exchanged another look of amused disbelief.

  Their dinners arrived as another show began. Singing and dancing wasn’t usually Tyler’s thing, but the food and the martinis were good, and it was a fun atmospher
e. The second show ended with an ensemble number of three drag queens dancing and lip syncing to “It’s Raining Men.”

  After the second show, Emma, Arden, and Mila went to the bar for more drinks.

  “Wow, this is crazy,” Jamie said.

  Tyler lifted his nearly empty beer glass. One martini had been enough for him. “Hey, you’re the one who went on a date with Danny.”

  Liam’s eyebrows pulled together and he glared at Jamie. “You went on a date with him?”

  Jamie gave Liam a long, level look. “Dude. You know I’m straight.”

  Liam’s forehead creased. “Yeah.”

  “I thought it was a date. I totally screwed up on the dating app and thought he was a chick. Turned out he’s not. We had a good time, but we’re just friends.”

  “Oh.” Liam grimaced into his martini glass.

  Tyler’s attention shifted across the room to Arden, standing at the bar with her friends. Surrounded by men. What the fuck?

  She laughed at something one of the men said as he leaned in closer. As the bartender set her drink down, the guy reached for his wallet. Arden waved him off with a smile. Clearly the dickhead was trying to buy her a drink. Jesus.

  He narrowed his eyes and watched Arden pay for her martini, pick it up, and sip it, while apparently listening intently to the guy. What the fuck was he saying to her? Then Arden was talking animatedly, waving a hand, and smiling.

  Tyler surged up out of his chair and stalked toward Arden, his gaze fixed on her. “Hi,” he gritted out as he arrived at her side.

  She smiled up at him. “Hi. Need another drink?”

  The dude gave him a wary glance, no doubt sensing his displeasure.

  “Yeah. And you need to get back to the table.”

  “Um, why?” She blinked at him.

  “Because…because the next show’s going to start.”

  She gave him a slitty-eyed look. “In ten minutes. I was just telling Brannon that we know Honey Deville.”

  Brannon. For fuck’s sake. She knew his name.

  Tyler edged closer to Arden and leveled a cold look at Brannon. “Yeah. We do. Friend of ours.”

  Arden sighed. “Okay, let’s go back to the table. Nice to meet you, Brannon.”

  “You too.” The dude’s face wore a disappointed expression, clearly thwarted in his pick-up attempt.

  “What the hell, Tyler?” Arden whispered at him as they made their way through tables.

  “What?”

  “I was just talking to that guy.”

  “He wanted to buy you a drink.”

  “He offered, yeah, but I said no thanks.”

  “He wanted more than a drink.”

  She stopped and turned to face him. “So?”

  His hands curled into fists in frustration. He searched for the right words. “You can’t…I don’t…”

  Her eyebrows rose, her mouth a thin line. “What?”

  “I’m just looking out for you.”

  Her face tightened even more. “Jesus, Tyler. I was talking to him. That’s it.” She whirled around and zipped back to the table. He followed her more slowly, dropping into the chair beside her. She ignored him, talking to Jamie and Liam.

  Shit.

  “What’s with you and Arden?”

  There was a two-hour time limit on tables at the supper club on weekends, so after saying goodbye to Danny who had more shows that night, they’d moved elsewhere, a rooftop bar above a hotel near the park. The girls were all in the ladies’ room, leaving Jamie, Liam, and Tyler alone at the table.

  Tyler met Jamie’s eyes steadily. “We went out for dinner last night.”

  “Shit.”

  Tyler hoisted his eyebrows. “That’s a problem?”

  Jamie rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know. It’s just weird. She’s my big sister.”

  “She’s two years older. Not a big deal.”

  “I guess not. But…her husband just died. He screwed her around, bad.”

  “I know.”

  Jamie cocked his head. “She told you about it?”

  “Yeah.” He sighed. “This didn’t start last night. We…well, there’s something there between us. I don’t know what it is, right now. But…”

  “I can’t believe this.” Jamie stared at him. “You never got over that crush on her?”

  Tyler’s face heated. “What crush?”

  “Come on, man, you were obsessed with her back in high school.”

  “I was not!” That was a lie. “I mean, okay, maybe I had a little crush.” He paused. “I didn’t think you knew about it.”

  Liam grinned. “This is interesting.”

  “Sure, reliving my teenage humiliation is fascinating.” Tyler grimaced.

  “Everyone knew about it,” Jamie said.

  “Shut the fuck up!”

  Jamie laughed. “Okay, not everyone.”

  Terror seized Tyler’s insides in a tight grip. “Arden didn’t know, did she?”

  “Nah. Don’t think so anyway. Honestly, I don’t think she paid much attention to you,” Jamie said, busting his balls with honesty.

  “Thanks,” Tyler muttered. “Good to know.”

  “Look, she told me that you’d asked her out. I thought she’d changed her mind, though, because she didn’t want to mess things up with all of us if things didn’t work out.”

  “She did change her mind. I convinced her one dinner together wasn’t going to mess things up.”

  Jamie gave him a long look. “Well. She’s an adult. I guess it’s up to her.”

  Arden, Mila, and Emma arrived back at the table with fresh lip gloss and fluffed hair. Arden took a seat opposite him instead of next to him, lifting her chin at him.

  She was still pissed.

  Had she really been interested in that dude? Was that why she was pissed—because he’d interfered with her flirtation?

  Fuck that.

  Okay, now he was pissed too. They’d had a great dinner last night. They’d talked and laughed, and then they’d had amazing sex. Had that all been nothing to her?

  They eyed each other across the table while others talked.

  He’d have his chance when they got home. She couldn’t get away from him there.

  “Good night, Tyler.”

  He followed her uninvited into her apartment.

  “Hey—”

  “We need to talk.”

  She frowned and crossed her arms. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” He shut the door. “We do. Were you seriously interested in that dude…Brendan?”

  “Brannon.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Maybe.”

  “What?” He stared at her.

  “Okay, no, I wasn’t. But you pissed me off, interfering like that.”

  Okay, that was good. She hadn’t been interested in him.

  “I’m sorry.” He gritted his teeth and met her eyes. “Like I said, I was looking out for you.”

  “I don’t need to be looked after. I’m a grown woman.”

  Right, right. He’d heard this before. How she was determined to prove she could do this adulting shit on her own. He studied her face, the firm set of her chin, the flash in her eyes. This was important to her.

  He closed his eyes briefly. “I screwed up. I know you can look after yourself. I just…well, the truth is, I was jealous.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “Jealous.”

  “Yeah.” He blew out a breath. “I guess I have no right to be. I mean, we went out once. So…I’m sorry.”

  Her face softened. “Thank you.”

  They eyed each other, still standing just inside the door of her apartment, the light above them creating an illuminated circle. Christ, he wanted to touch her. His palms tingled and his muscles twitched. The air around them hummed.

  He didn’t know who moved first, but somehow she was in his arms and his mouth was on hers. Heat exploded inside him, obliterating thought, and he crushed her to him, kissing her as deeply as he could. Her fingers slid
into his hair, her soft breasts pressed against him. She tasted so goddamn good, spice and sweetness. He stroked his tongue over hers, lifting her higher against him, pressure building in his groin.

  “I want you,” he breathed. “Right now, yeah, but…more than that.”

  “Tyler. I want you too. But I can’t…I can’t make promises.”

  “Promise me I can fuck you right now.”

  She huffed out a laugh. “Okay. I can promise you that.”

  He bent his knees, picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder. She squealed and he set a hand on her ass as he carried her into her bedroom. Somewhere along the way, her shoes fell off.

  He tossed her onto the bed and she bounced, her hair falling all over her face, but a smile on her lips. He knelt at the foot of the bed, hands on her ankles. “That dress is sexy as hell.”

  “You said that last night too.”

  “I did? Okay, correction. You’re sexy as hell. Whatever you’re wearing.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Since Arden didn’t have to work until later that night, they spent a leisurely morning in bed, even eating breakfast there—coffee, juice, and banana nut muffins Arden had made yesterday. She watched Tyler devour three of them, his enjoyment of them pleasing her.

  “Are we celebrating anything today?” he asked with a smirk.

  She grinned. “Ha. You’re going to like this one.”

  He lifted an eyebrow, licking butter off his thumb.

  “It’s National Grab Some Nuts Day.” And she shoved her hand under the covers.

  He choked out a laugh as her hand closed over his junk. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  It didn’t take much to get him hard again, and they enjoyed another delicious round of sizzling hot sex.

  A while later, Arden slid out of bed to carry their coffee mugs and plates to the kitchen. She didn’t bother putting anything on. As she set the dishes on the counter above the dishwasher, Tyler followed, also naked, stretching his gorgeous body with his arms above his head.

  She ogled him. She fully admitted it. She could look at him for hours…his broad shoulders, heavy biceps, and sculpted chest and abs. Even his legs were worth looking at.

  Her apartment door opened, and Mila appeared.