While I opened the door, I took my time going in and didn’t close the door until I knew she had pulled her car out of the lot. I was pacing in the back hallway when Ty wandered through with a smirk on his face.
“I thought for sure you were going to kiss her.”
“What are you talking about?” I snapped.
“I was watching the screens with Butch when you took Reba out. I saw her get in your face.”
“Why the hell would you think I was going to kiss her? That woman gets on my nerves.”
He shook his head. “You keep telling yourself that, Wall. You tell yourself that enough you might just believe it.” He began to walk away and turned around, walking backwards, “See you at Britt’s tomorrow.”
I snorted, “I’m not going over to her house to decorate her tree and bake cookies.”
Ty grinned. “Yes, you are. Reba’s gonna be there.” He laughed as he sauntered away and, a moment later, Jewels and Britt exited the dressing room, and I escorted them to their cars. Britt asked as I left her at her car if I would be joining them tomorrow, and I told her I would let her know. It was rare that I had the same day off as Ty, but for some reason I did. Monday nights were normally one of our quieter nights of the week, so more of us had that night off. Maybe Ty was taking an extra day off to burn some time, or maybe something was going on with Ty and Britt. I pondered that as I returned to our locker room. I couldn’t imagine Ty overstepping the boundary between dancer and guard.
After I changed, I looked around for Ty, but Wayne said he was locked in with Monroe, so I figured the best way to find out what was up would be to go to Britt’s and see for myself. It wouldn’t hurt that one very beautiful Reba St. James would be there. Maybe if I was lucky, there might be some mistletoe, too.
Fuck! What was I thinking? No mistletoe! No kissing her! She was off limits! So damned off limits!
Chapter Three
Reba
My run-in with Wallie had given me enough energy to keep me awake on the ride home. It had also kept me awake longer than I had anticipated once I arrived home, and for a long time, I twisted in my sheets as I tried to get his handsome image out of my mind.
I replayed the scene in the parking lot, only I kept changing events with each rerun. One time, Wallie had offered me his arm, and I’d cozied up to him as he’d strutted proud as a peacock through the lot to my car. Another time, he hadn’t taken my arm; instead, he’d wrapped a strong arm around my waist. His hand had slipped under the edge of my big down coat and his fingertips had worked their way to the edge of my yoga pants where he’d stroked the skin over my hip.
I flopped onto my back and growled at the ceiling as my body began to tingle in places that were begging for attention—his attention. I was instantly mad at Wallie all over again, and the memory of getting in his face came to the forefront of my mind. I envisioned Wallie taking one of his massive hands and cradling my face as he wrapped a strong arm around my waist and brought my body flush to his. I could practically feel his hot breath floating over my lips as my eyes fluttered closed and the fantasy took flight with him taking my lips in a crushing kiss. He would walk me back toward my car, not escort me, but guide me, and then he’d use his body weight to hold me upright as he assaulted my senses.
I sighed as I rolled to my side and rubbed my legs together in attempt to appease the budding ache. I had never wanted a man as much as I wanted him, and I didn’t quite understand it.
Wallie wasn’t always that nice of a person. He was blunt, crude at times, and ruthless at others, but even though he’d never really spoken to me, or looked at me, or hell, even touched me, he had never treated me that way—not until tonight. Up until now, he’d always treated me with the utmost respect. In fact, I was the only person he called Ms. Reba. He didn’t call Britt Ms. Britt, or Destiny Ms. Destiny, but he always called me Ms. Reba.
I had no idea what that was about, or why he did that—and I sure didn’t know where I should even begin to look for an answer. There was no way Wallie would ever explain his reasoning to me.
What I did know was that every time he called me Ms. Reba, I heard “Sweetheart” whispered in my ear, and I wanted to crawl onto his lap and kiss him from head to toe as I purred.
I’d imagined kissing him a hundred times. Sometimes it would be soft, tender, and slow, and other times he would kiss me as if he were trying to devour me. I’d pictured it so many times, that I was worried that if I did someday kiss him that it wouldn’t be anything like what I’d conjured in my mind. I would have built it up to some epic event, and the reality would be a fizzling balloon the moment our lips touched.
I supposed it was a good thing he obviously didn’t like me, then, because I didn’t have to worry about being disappointed. I could keep fantasizing all I wanted, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it living up to the real thing.
With that thought in mind, I indulged in the fantasy as one hand brushed my sensitive nipple and my other hand slipped between my legs.
It was twelve in the afternoon when I woke up to my cellphone vibrating with one message after another on my nightstand. I rubbed at my eyes with the meaty parts of my palms as I tried to get the sand out of them. I’d probably gotten to bed about five this morning and had hoped for more than seven hours of sleep, but that looked like all I was going to get.
I propped myself up on my five fluffy pillows and snagged my cellphone off the table as it vibrated once again.
Britt was texting me about today, and I started laughing. No wonder my phone kept vibrating: She was sending me one picture after another of Christmas decorations and cookie ingredients.
STOP! I texted to her quickly so she would know I was awake. I get it. You want me to come over.
Yes, she wrote back. Be here at three.
Fine—do you need me to bring anything?
Nope! I have everything you’re going to need right here. ;) ;)
What the hell was wink, wink supposed to mean? Fine, I’ll see you at 3.
Dress cute! It’s a party!
I sighed as I dropped my phone on the bed beside me. Only Britt would make decorating her tree and baking cookies a party.
I glanced around my room—well, my apartment since my bedroom was part of the entire room. I lived in an apartment with a small kitchen and two closets. It was advertised as open living space, and wasn’t that the joke. One of those closets was a bathroom, only because it contained a toilet, sink, and a miniscule shower about the size of one you’d see in a motorhome. The room wasn’t even big enough for me to blow-dry my hair in. If I tried to brush my hair out straight, I’d hit the wall, no matter the direction in which I turned.
The whole place was less than three hundred square feet, but at least it was mine. I didn’t have to share it with anyone, and the neighborhood was safe, for the most part. I was on the third floor, so I didn’t need to have bars on my windows, giving me an unobstructed view of the beautiful, trash-filled alley.
No one knew where I lived, except Ty and some of the people at work who saw my paperwork or did my paychecks, but none of the other employees had my address. They didn’t need to know that, while they lived in nice places and drove fancier cars, I was trying to pay off my debts. I still had over a hundred thousand to pay off, and the going was slow, but I was chipping away at the total a little each month.
I had confided in Ty one night when I’d needed a ride home, and he’d asked why I lived here since he knew how much I made. He didn’t know how much my debt was, but he did know that I was attempting to pay it off. He’d been a dear friend ever since, always asking me first to cover a shift in case I wanted the extra money.
Those bills were the only reason I was dancing, and as I climbed out of bed and opened my tip envelope, I pulled out the five hundred I’d made the night before and realized that was another small chunk paid. I used every penny of my dancing money to pay off what I owed. I used my salary from my waitressing to live, and my tips to survive. Survival m
eant the occasional gourmet coffee or splurging on something special.
I’d always known that I’d have student loans to pay off, I just never expected to have to pay them back without a good job and a degree. When my father had fallen ill, and I had dropped out of school to help him, not only did I have to start paying the loans back immediately, but I was paying some of my father’s household bills. Every dime of my savings went to trying to give him the best care he could get until the only thing I could give him was a beautiful headstone. Everything of value from his estate went to pay his medical bills, and I walked away with a broken heart and a hundred grand of education debt, minus a degree, sitting on my shoulders.
I was careful with every penny I spent. I had to be. Someday I was going to have a life and live like everyone else. I was going to be debt free, and then I could have children and a family. Maybe I could finish school and get that degree that I had always dreamed of having. My heart ached at all the things I hoped to be able to do one day. I gently pushed and prodded all those dreams and wishes back into their little imaginary box and tied it closed with a glittery silver pretend ribbon.
I spent the next few hours doing housework and grocery shopping, and then took a shower and got dressed. Britt had said it was a party, but I wasn’t feeling glamorous, so I pulled on tight black pants that had sparkles up the seams and along the back pockets and chose a ruby-red silk blouse to wear over a satin jet camisole. Black and red were as festive as I was going to get. Instead of wearing my preferred big, warm fuzzy boots, I took out my four-inch-heeled black knee-high boots. After adding a little bit of bling to my neck and ears, and spritzing myself with my favorite sea scent perfume, I was ready to head over to Britt’s house.
Britt lived in a townhouse on the other side of town. It was in a great neighborhood filled with young families and bustling with activity. Husbands and fathers hung strands of lights on bushes and along the lines of their houses, while kids squealed as blow-up animations inflated before their eyes in front yards.
I parked in her driveway and paused to take in the scene. I was instantly insanely jealous of Britt. This was the life I wanted. With a sigh, I walked to the front door and rang the bell. Laughter emanated from the other side and when the door pulled back, I was surprised to find Ty standing in the entry.
“Ty! I didn’t expect you.”
He held the door open farther. “Well, I expected you. Come on in, Reba.”
As I entered, he kissed my cheek and helped me out of my coat.
“You’re not working tonight?” I queried.
He turned to hang my coat up in the closet. “No, I took tonight off. Mondays are always slow, and since Quinn was going to be there tonight, I told him I was taking off. Britt and I have a standing date to put up her tree. I’ve been helping her for three years.”
“You have? How did I not know that?”
“Maybe because you never asked or because last year when you were invited, you didn’t come.”
“I don’t remember being invited last year,” I said as we began to walk down the hall and then I stopped him. “Wait!”
Ty turned and looked at me quizzically. “Yes?”
An excitement that I had no right to feel began to flutter through my chest. “Are you and Britt dating?”
Ty laughed. “No, Britt and I are only good friends. There is nothing romantic going on here.”
My face fell, and I knew that Ty saw it when he put his arm around my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Reba, I’m working on something.”
“What do you mean, you’re ‘working on something’?” What was he talking about? He had no idea I was disappointed because I was hoping for a way around the dating rules of dancers and guards.
He winked at me as we reached the family room and he let me go. “Nothing I can say right now, but just be patient.”
“Patience sucks,” I muttered.
He laughed as the front doorbell rang again.
“Reba!” Britt called from the kitchen.
I joined her as Ty returned to the front door. Britt gave me a big hug, and I was glad that she had her bright blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had such thick hair that, sometimes, when her hair was down, I felt I would get lost in it when she hugged me tightly. “I’m so glad you came.”
“I love your neighborhood, it’s so family-oriented,” I gushed.
“Yes, a little too family-oriented sometimes.” She laughed. “The kids have a tendency to be outside playing a little too early in the morning. Luckily, my neighbors know I work late, so they try to direct the kids to the other side of the building and not this end.”
“Do they treat you differently because you’re a dancer?” I asked her. I never told people that I danced. I only told people I was a cocktail waitress.
“At first they did. I think the women thought I was going to try and sleaze their husbands away, but then they realized that I wasn’t. I’d actually prefer to hang out with the women than the men. I see enough of men gawking at me at night. I can never have enough good girl time.”
I laughed. “Tell me about it.”
“You and I need to spend more time together,” she said as she set a pound of butter on the counter. “There aren’t many women at the club that are down to earth these days. Jewels used to be, but she’s gotten all high and mighty, and we both know that Destiny has always been that way. Pepper’s always busy with her family. Raven and Devyn are both cool, but they always work on my days off, so I never see them. I wish Sassy still worked with us, she was so cool.”
“Raven reminds me a lot of you.”
She bumped shoulders with me. “Yeah, big boobs and big hair, only jet black and not platinum blonde, right?”
“Exactly,” I joked back and the two of us laughed as Ty returned, and behind him stood a visibly-nervous Wallie. His eyes landed on mine and then skittered toward Britt’s quickly.
“Hey, Britt, how are you?”
She rushed around the counter. “Wall, I’m so glad you came!” She pulled him in for a hug and as his arm wrapped around her, his gaze landed back on mine. I shivered as, all at once, I recalled the fantasies from last night. His electric blue eyes seemed to crackle as he pulled back from Britt, but he kept watching me.
“Hello, Wallie, I didn’t know you were going to be here,” I said cautiously.
“Hello, Ms. Reba.” He nodded and went silent. Three seconds ticked past as the two of us stared at one another, and the temperature in the room began to climb.
Ty slapped Wallie on the back. “You want a beer?”
“Yeah.” He finally released me from his intense look.
I wanted to melt to the floor, instead I spun away and inhaled a lungful of air. I rushed to the fridge, intent on pulling out a beer for Wallie while I attempted to cool my heated flesh with the frigid air. I wondered if anyone would notice if I tried to climb inside.
Ty met me at the refrigerator door, and I handed him two beers, then I reached in and grabbed another one for myself. I had the cap twisted off and was guzzling it before he finished taking the lids off of the two bottles. He chuckled as he walked out of the kitchen, and I could have sworn I heard him mutter, “You two just need to sleep together already—damn.”
Chapter Four
Wallie
I sat in my truck at the curb and stared at her older-model Jeep for a long time before I got the nerve to turn off the motor. Before I rang the bell at Britt’s place, I almost chickened out and returned to my truck. I could have easily left and no one would have been the wiser. That wasn’t true, Ty would have known, and he would have busted my balls for it.
That was why I was here, to prove to Ty that it was no big deal and that I didn’t have feelings for the sexy cocktail waitress/part-time dancer with the long silky auburn locks that swung like sweet seduction down her back. Nope—it had nothing to do with her, or the two orgasms I’d given myself jacking off to thoughts of her last night and again this morning. None whatsoever.
I sighed and pushed the doorbell before I shoved my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket. I was extremely glad that Ty answered and not Reba. I wasn’t sure I would have been able to even speak to her if she had. After the way I had treated her last night at the club, I’d be surprised if she would even give me the time of day, much less utter a full sentence.
Ty hung up my coat after he told me that Reba was already here—as if I could have missed her beat-up navy-blue Jeep in the driveway. One day, if I ever got the balls to carry on a real conversation with her, I’d have to ask her why she didn’t buy herself a newer car. I knew she made decent money, all the dancers did, and the waitresses received good tips, too.
Case in point was Britt’s townhouse that I checked out as I followed Ty back to the family room. The walls were painted bright colors that screamed Britt, and the floors were a glossy hardwood, or some fake version of hardwood. There were stairs leading to the next floor, and then the hall opened to a large family room with a cathedral ceiling and a stone fireplace. On the far side, a large open kitchen filled the area and my eyes landed immediately on Reba who watched me intently with wide eyes. Nervously, I looked away and said hello to Britt who rushed over and hugged me.
I couldn’t help but let my gaze drift back to Reba. She studied me, and I wondered if she shivered from revulsion or excitement. When she said she hadn’t known I was going to be here, I figured it was revulsion, but as we continued to stare at one another, I started to wonder if there was something else behind the look in her eyes.
Could that possibly be interest? Was she glad that I was here? Was she perhaps excited to see me, maybe as excited to see me as I was to see her? While Ty joined her in the kitchen, I made small talk with Britt but kept my eye on Reba. I was smirking to myself as I saw her chugging the beer and, for the first time in a long time, I felt I had a chance.
Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances Page 105
