Pole Dance

by J. A. Hornbuckle

  "Knock, knock?" I looked up and saw a handsome, sandy haired man poke his head in. "Okay to come in?"

  "Hi, Paul." I called to him. "Jake, this is Detective Paul Adler. He is the one who…"

  My voice trailed off as I watched Jake as he stood quickly, his eyes wide and staring at the detective.

  "You saved Cait?" Jake rumbled with a chin lift. Paul's dark eyes moved to me and I shrugged since I had no clue what was going on in Jake's brain.

  "I was one of the team that arrested Fiona," Paul said slowly.

  "You saved my Caitlin?" Jake asked again leaning a bit in Paul's direction.

  "I don't know what you're trying to ask, Jake. I was one of the team that arrested Fiona and ensured that Cait was out of danger."

  Jake turned to look at me and what I saw in his eyes made me catch my breath. He turned to Paul and took a step forward, raising his hand to shake the slightly confused detective's hand before he pulled the shorter man in for a man hug that included the one-thump to the middle of the back. My hospital room was completely silent until I heard Jake growl deeply, "Owe you, man."

  "Come again?" I heard Paul ask muffled as he was mashed against Jake's chest.

  "Got my girl out away from that psycho bitch. Owe you big." This was rumbled with another thump to poor Paul's back. I was sure there was going to be some bruising there tomorrow.

  "Ah…you're welcome," Paul replied when he was released from Jake's hug. I could tell the poor guy wasn't used to Jake's level of gratitude--although, gotta say, I wasn't either and must admit that Jake's reaction to the detective made my heart swell and eyes get watery.

  I introduced Marianne to Paul and looked on as my blonde neighbor completely and totally ensnared the hot detective who looked even hotter when he smiled. I was a bit surprised when I happened to catch Ram, who had been talking softly to Jake on the other side of my bed, watching Marianne and Paul's conversation with a slight frown on his face. Paul smoothly asked Marianne for her number and Ram's frown went deeper into a scowl when she gave it to him.

  Paul took a couple of steps towards me and offered me his hand with a smile. Yep, his smile was killer. "Glad to know your okay, Caitlin."

  "Thank you for your help," I said in my new Demi Moore voice--softly, meaningfully, holding his hand and smiling back at him. He left with a chin lift towards Ram and a finger flick at Jake. As soon as the door closed I bugged my eyes out at Marianne. She laughed softly and leaned towards me to whisper, "A smart girl never wastes an opportunity!" and then winked at me as she snuck a look at Ram who had turned back to his conversation with Jake. I couldn't help my giggle though it made me cough and reach for my water.

  Soon our two couples broke away from each other, the men huddling in the space by the door and Marianne pulling her chair closer to my bed as we chatted. It felt like only a few moments before the Betty came through the door and announced visiting hours were over, "And everyone not in a bed must leave."

  Marianne gave me a hug with a promise to call her tomorrow and Ram shook Jake's hand before giving me a chin lift in farewell. Jake moved back to my bed and hitched a hip up to sit on the side before planting his hands on either side of me.

  "Want me to stay or go, Darlin'?

  "Don't go, Jake. Stay with me, 'kay?" I found my hand was squeezing Jake's wrist very tightly and recognized that I was scared to be without him, even if it was just overnight. Jake saw something in my face and leaned over me, his weight now on his elbow as he smoothed the hair away and stroked my cheeks with his fingertips.

  "Don't know if they'll let me, but I'll stay as long as you want." I knew he heard my sigh of relief at his words which let him know he had read me right. Actually, I think he was more than a little hesitant to be away from me, too, if you want to know the truth.

  So it was that the night nurse must have found the two of us cuddled on the hospital bed built for one, my back to his front, his arm around my waist. Taking care not to disturb us, the nurse probably captured the info she needed, switched out my IV bag as quietly as possible and closed the door softly when she left.

  *.*.*.*.*

  "So, Ms. Tomas, since you only have a hairline fracture of your left femur, we've stabilized it with a walking cast. Even though it's called a walking cast, we expect you to keep weight off the leg as much as possible for 72 hours. You can try walking on it after that time for short periods as long as it doesn't cause you too much pain. Listen to your body, Ms. Tomas and sleep when you need to and take the pain pills we've prescribed as you need them. I'll see you next week in my office when we'll run another series of x-rays, okay?" The doctor, patted me on my shoulder, looking entirely too young to drive a car much less prescribe medicine.

  "Okay, here's how we're gonna do it," Jake rumbled as the orderly pushed my wheelchair down the hall on our way to the elevator. I felt kind of foolish leaving the hospital in just my hospital gown and Jake's coat but the hospital staff had cut my jeans off in the emergency room and I never, ever wanted to see that stupid smock again. The orderly guiding the wheelchair cut a little too close to the corner and I audibly sucked in a breath as my left leg, stuck straight out in front of me, came just a little too close to the wall.

  "Careful, pal. You're pushing precious cargo," Jake admonished the orderly as he shoved the vase of flowers at him and captured the handles of the wheelchair. "Tell you what, I'll drive, yeah?"

  "As I was saying, here's how it's gonna go," Jake repeated as he carefully maneuvered the turns and corners of the hospital corridor. "You're gonna ride in the back seat so we can keep your leg straight. We'll swing by your place, gather what you need and get you settled at my house where I can keep an eye on you."

  "But, Jake, I--"

  "Not up for discussion, Cait."

  "What about--"

  "Not gonna say it again, Darlin'." Jake said as he stopped the chair in front of the elevator doors. I glanced up at the orderly who was looking everywhere and anywhere except at us.

  "He's a bit of a control freak," I finally said on a stage-whisper pointing to Jake over my shoulder with my thumb.

  "I kind of noticed, " the orderly whispered back, chancing a glance at the tall man behind the chair standing with his feet firmly planted and arms crossed and staring up at the elevator indicator.

  *.*.*.*.*

  It took longer than Jake expected to get what Caitlin needed to stay at his house for the next few days. The thing that took the most time was making the list of what she wanted from her apartment since Jake absolutely refused to allow her to take part in the packing. And the written list was necessary because Jake knew he'd never remember fuckin' anything she said after the fourth fuckin' item.

  "Darlin', no reason you need three pairs of boots…"

  "Are you trying to piss me off, Jake. Are you?" He heard her snap from the back seat. "I want what I want and if you won't let me go in and actually get what I want, then you'll just have to get what I tell you to, okay?"

  'Guess the pain pills were wearing off,' Jake thought, but wisely did not say out loud.

  "My bad," Jake said trying to hang on to his patience but it was wearing thin after all the drama of the last couple of days. He worked as quickly as he could, moving through the small space her apartment, packing the stuff from the list into her overnight case, the big tote but having to use the plastic grocery bags for the rest when he couldn't find her luggage. He had finished loading it all in the trunk of the Kia when it occurred to him they never talked about the cat.

  Jake opened the door by her feet and leaned in. Her complexion seemed a bit gray and she was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Yep, his girl was in pain. "Just one more thing, pretty girl, yeah?"

  Caitlin used his rolling hand motion to get him to keep on speaking. Jake had to turn his head to hide the smile when he recognized she was making his gesture. "What about Fred?"

  "Fred who?" Caitlin said her brows coming together as she tilted her head.

  "You know. The c
at." Was she in so much pain she couldn't follow a conversation?

  "You mean, Floyd?"

  "Babe. Fred, Floyd. Either way, don't give a fuck. The question is, what are we gonna do with him?"

  "You're right." He heard her mumble but she didn't seem to have any ideas, or at least, none that she was willing to talk about.

  "Think he'll be okay with Mustard?" he offered just wanting to get the damn show on the road and get her settled into bed as soon as fuckin' possible.

  "Who?"

  Jake found his back teeth tightly clenched as he again dug deep for another dose of patience. "My dog, Darlin'."

  "Oh. I don't know." she said with a sigh. Jake waited to see if she had anything further to add. "You named your dog after a condiment?"

  "That fuckin' does it," Jake mumbled at long last and forced himself to close the car door softly, instead of slamming it hard and repeatedly like he wanted to do, before heading back up into the building. He knocked on Marianne's door and asked her if she could take care of the cat for a few days and she said she'd be glad to, before asking him to let Caitlin know that she'd call her tomorrow.

  He was back in the car and they had only gone a few blocks before Caitlin spoke up. "What's happening with my cat?"

  "Marianne's gonna take care of him," he replied glancing up at the rear view mirror and catching her eyes. "Says she'll call you tomorrow."

  "Good," Caitlin sighed.

  Jake agreed.

  Jake got Caitlin settled and situated in his big bed and made her pop another couple of pain pills before leaving her on her own to make a quick run to the club. He made sure the laptop and the remote to the TV were within easy reach and even brought her a couple of bottles of water that he sat on the nightstand.

  "Can I call you Nurse Betty?" she asked on smiling yawn.

  "Not if you want me to answer. Now, you set?" Jake snagged a quick kiss after seeing her nod. "See you in a few, Darlin'."

  "See ya, baby," he watched as she snuggled lower in the covers and reached for the remote.

  Jake knew he needed to sleep but he wanted to get this out in the open as soon as possible. He had been thinking about this for a long time, but having Caitlin in his life had seemed to bring more pressure to get it done and get it done soon.

  He pulled into his reserved space and stepped around to the front entrance to avoid having to walk through the club to get to the stairs that led to the office. He traded high five's with Tony who had pulled door duty for the evening.

  Jake almost ran down the stairs to the office, hoping that Dale would be there instead of wandering the floor upstairs. He was. Jake threw himself into one of the chairs in front of the desk and waited for Dale to complete his call before he spoke.

  "Want out of the club, Dale," he said simply.

  "Hello to you, too. I'm fine, thanks for asking." Dale said with only a tiny bit of sarcasm.

  Jake didn't respond but just looked at his friend of so many years, the brother of his heart.

  "So, you want out, huh?" Dale said on a resigned sigh.

  Jake nodded.

  "You want me to buy you out completely or do you just want to just be a silent partner?"

  "Completely."

  Jake watched Dale settle his elbows on the desktop before reaching for his pad of paper and the pen. They both watched Dale write out a long row of loops before Dale spoke again.

  "Can I ask why?"

  "Lots of reasons." Jake paused. "Or no reason, if you prefer."

  "In other words, you're not going to tell me."

  Jake rested his interlocked fingers on his head as he slid further down in the chair. Dale's head was still lowered, watching the damn loops flow from the pen.

  "My life is changin', Dale. Fuego's doesn't fit anymore."

  "Because of Caitlin?"

  "Part of it, yeah."

  "How much a part of it? A little bit, a medium bit or the whole fucking enchilada?" Dale's voice rose both in volume and tone.

  Jake kept quiet, watching as little spots of temper begin to bloom high up on Dale's cheeks. Jake knew what that coloring meant, knew it in fourth grade when Andy Lewis had made fun of Jake's second-hand backpack. That was the first time Jake remembered seeing the spots of color and it was the first time he saw Dale ever take a swing at another person.

  Jake slowly moved his hands from his head and sat up a bit straighter in the chair before answering.

  "Doesn't matter, Dale."

  "Sure it does. I mean didn't we make a promise that pussy would never come between us when we first started out? And wasn't it you that insisted we always make the decisions together saying two heads were better than one? Right, Jake? Isn't that what you said? So now, you're breaking the rules, your fucking rules, Jake, for a bit of snatch?"

  'Holy fuck, here we go,' Jake thought.

  "All right, you want to get into this, let's do it," Jake growled, his eyes boring into Dale's.

  Dale stared right back.

  "You and I make a great team most of the time. We make a shit-load of money in a number of different ways, including this club. Never saw myself as a strip club owner, did you?"

  Dale shook his head and Jake felt the tension ease a bit.

  "Remember when we bought the place? How we got such a deal from Bruno 'cause he needed it to pay his legal fees? So we got the club on the cheap, yeah?"

  "Yeah, I remember, Jake. We couldn't figure out who on the staff had been involved with Bruno's drug trafficking and prostitution that we had to fire everyone."

  "Christ! And we made 'em apply for their jobs and take drug tests. You'd think we were asking them to give us a kidney or somethin'," Jake shook his head at the memory.

  "How often did you get your tires slashed, Jake? I think mine were done five times."

  "Had you beat by one, six total." They were both quiet as they remembered those early days.

  "So even though we've made a lot of cake with this, it takes up a lot my time and finds me rubbing elbows with people I really don't wanna know. After six years, Dale, I'm tired. I'm tired of havin' to stay on top of all the fuckin' laws and shit. But, bottom line? I want to settle down. I want a family, I want to make my--"

  Jake didn't get a chance to finish the thought as Dale stood abruptly, knocking the heavy desk chair backwards as he began to throw everything on the desk, one at a time, at the farthest wall, his pitches timed to emphasize his words as he yelled them. "Well…Fuck…You…Jake! With no more objects to throw Dale stood still, his chest heaving, his hands clenched into fists.

  Jake was watchfully quiet, keeping his eyes on Dale.

  "And, FUCK HER!" At Dale's final shout, Jake shot up from his chair. He hoisted himself up and over the desk to get in Dale's face, his hand at Dale's neck.

  "Know me, Dale. Know how I think, how I work, what's important to me, yeah?"

  When Jake didn't get a response from him, not even so much as a nod, he pushed Dale back up against the wall before pinning him against it.

  "Yeah? Answer, Dale."

  Dale gave Jake a slight nod, a mere chin lift.

  "So why the fuck shouldn't I beat the holy crap outta you for talkin' shit about her?"

  Dale was arching his back, trying to twist his body away from Jake and his hold.

  "Been thinkin' on this a long time, longer than I've been with Cait. Not because of her. But because now is a really good fuckin' time for me to get outta this shit."

  Jake slowly began to let go of Dale's before he again pushed his partner against the wall. "Better not ever hear you callin' my Cait 'a bit of snatch' or I'll fuckin' rip your head off! Got it?"

  Dale eased himself away from the wall as Jake moved quickly towards the door, careful not to give Dale his back.

  "Call you later and see if we can set up an appointment with Sam," his voice still angry tight.

  *.*.*.*.*

  "Baby?"

  "Hmm?"

  "You asleep?"

  "Was."

  "I
forgot to ask something."

  "Wha'?"

  "How'd they find me? How'd they know where to look?"

  "Phone."

  "What?"

  "Your phone."

  "My phone?"

  "Has GPS."

  "And?"