Wanna Bet?

by R. S Burnett

  I wake up in my bed, with a huge smile on my face as I stretch out completely relaxed. I frown down at myself when I realize I’m still fully dressed just without my shoes on, then shrug it off as being too tired to get undressed once Tucker dropped me off. I’m in such a good mood today that I know it’s going to be an amazing day. Plugging my IPod into the docking station I turn my music up to full volume and dance my way into the shower and sing along. Still dancing and singing I throw on a pair of jeans and a tank, I put my Ipod in my pocket and plug in my earphones. I twirl my way down the stairs shaking my head and flipping my hair, laughing through the lyrics.

  “Someone’s damn happy this morning”

  I spin at the sound of Tuckers voice and come to a complete stop.

  “Jesus you scared the shit out of me!” I complain clutching my chest.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt” he says waving a hand for me to continue looking amused.

  “I hope you made a pot” I warn watching him drink his coffee.

  “Of course” he hands me a mug that’s warm enough to drink without waiting for it to cool a bit.

  “Umm … you stayed the night?” I guess, not remembering much past getting in his car last night, I just assumed he dropped me off.

  “Yeah, I stayed in the spare room, which is like a time capsule for you’re life by the way” he notes.

  “Oh … umm why did you stay?” I ask not trying to be rude but just curious.

  “You asked me too” he frowns at me.

  “Oh … I don’t really remember anything past getting in your car after the club” I admit “Anyway I don’t care, I’m in such a good mood today that nothing else matters” I grin at him making him smile.

  “Can I ask why you are in such a good mood?”

  “I don’t really know to be honest, I just feel relaxed, happy, rested and sort of free” I explain as best that I can.

  “Well I’m happy you’re happy” he grins at me “What’s your plans for today?”

  “I have some paperwork to do for the office that I’m going to do upstairs, then I’m having dinner with Andrew and then I’ll be at the club tonight. What about you?”

  “I have a few things I need to do this morning but I’ll be at the club tonight”

  “Okay well I guess I’ll see you later ten” I walk him to the door.

  “Be good” he kisses my cheek and leaves.

  My good mood doesn’t last long when I remember my discovery last night, with a quick text to Jess I leave my house praying for a miracle, what that miracle is though, I don’t know.

  ***

  Ten hours ago I found out I’m pregnant.

  I’m with child.

  I have a bun in the oven.

  There is a baby growing inside me.

  I’m knocked up.

  I took six tests, then I sent Jess out for another ten.

  They were all positive. Then we went to the doctors, where I discovered I’m not just pregnant, I’m sixteen weeks pregnant.

  I think I could possibly be in shock.

  Never the less, Jess was relentless, she wouldn’t let me call in and sign the club over to Will, she wouldn’t let me sell my house, she also wouldn’t let me pack my bag and run away. Trust me. I tired.

  After promising me she wouldn’t tell a soul, she helped me get ready for work and now we’re walking through the club, her arm wrapped tightly around my waist, this I think, is her way of stopping me turning around and running away, not that I would. At least not right away.

  A few people send us curious looks as we get closer to the bar and Jess squeezes me tightly when we stop opposite it.

  “You’re going to have to snap out of it Brooke. People will start asking questions otherwise” she whispers.

  I open my mouth tell her I agree but no words come out, instead I swallow and nod.

  “Uh .. maybe we should go around the bar, you probably shouldn’t be climbing over it” she frowns at the bar.

  I glare at her “I’m not disabled” I snap.

  “Jeeze” she mutters but then a loud cheer further down the bar distracts us both.

  A few feet down the bar a topless blonde is led down and Tucker is doing a body shot off her. Anger washes over me. Not jealousy, anger.

  “Great. I can’t even drink anymore!” I throw my head back.

  “No coffee either” Jess reminds me, unhelpfully.

  “So tell me oh great one, what can I fucking do?” I demand, loosing the hold on my emotions completely.

  Jess backs up a step and watches me wearily, guess a pissed off pregnant woman is more than she can handle. I push past her and walk around the bar, storming straight into Wills office.

  “Hey Brooke ...” he trails off and his smile fades when he see’s my expression.

  “I’m pregnant. I can’t drink. I can’t carry anything heavy. I can’t drink coffee. I can’t do NOTHING!!!” I scream the last part.

  “You’re pregnant?” he asks breaking out into a smile.

  “Don’t you fucking dare!” I shout at him, pointing a finger and taking a step back when he stands from his desk. “I only found out today, I’m four months pregnant! What the fuck am I supposed to do?!”

  “Uh ... calm your language?” he smirks at me.

  “It’s not funny!” I start pacing “I don’t want anyone to know, hell, I don’t even want to know”

  “Brooke!”

  I spin around, stopping my pacing mid step at his shout.

  “Calm down. Stress is no good for the baby. I can see why you’d freak out, you’re young but... you have so many people to help you through this that you can’t go wrong.”

  “It can go wrong” I mutter and then leave the office.

  I climb up onto the bar and grab a mic, the DJ lowers the music when he notices me. I take a few minutes to look at everyone in the crowd and I’m struck with the memory of when I returned and how happy everyone was to have me back.

  “I almost left you all again today” I say into the mic.

  I feel all the attention of the club turn to me, Andrew joins me on the bar with his own mic.

  “I did, I was going to sign the club over to Will, sell my house and leave. Never to return”

  “Why?” Andrew asks cautiously.

  “Jess wouldn’t let me though” I turn to him.

  All eyes swing to Jess and I watch as she shifts nervously but keeping her concerned eyes on me.

  “Why did you want to go?” Andrew asks coming closer to me slowly.

  “I still want to, I just have to figure out how to do it without Jess finding out and stopping me. Besides she threatened to come find me and drag me back”

  A few laughs go up around us but they sound nervous, even to my ears. I turn when I hear low voices behind me and find Will talking to a concerned looking Lucy.

  “Everything can go wrong” I say into my mic, Will looks up at me “And when it concerns me and my life, everything always go wrong”

  “Brooke, I thought you we’re sorted now” Andrew asks and I can see the confusion on his face.

  Will jumps up on the bar with us, apparently I feel more comfortable talking into a mic, in front of a hundred people. Then I realize, I do, because up here, we have to filter what we say, to a certain extent. I look down at Lucy and Chloe. “We need shots” I tell them.

  They hand us each a shot “Keep them coming” I tell Lucy, she sends me a look but does it anyway. I turn back to Will and Andrew, Andrew is looking down at his shot but Will has his eyes on the shot in my hand. I catch Jess’s eye and motion for her to join me, when she does I hand her my shot.

  “Stability, that’s you’re first one” I gesture for them all to take the shot and Lucy and Chloe hand out another one “Everyone needs stability in their lives”

  “Brooke?” Andrew asks again.

  I ignore him “Stability can come in a number of forms. It can be a place, somewhere to go. It can be a person, someone to rely on. Someone w
ho no matter what, they’ll be there. Beauty, that’s you’re next shot”

  The club is silent now as everyone watches Will, Andrew and Jess take their shots and then all eyes return to me. I turn my eyes to Will “You don’t know this about me” I turn my back to him and lift my hair so he can see the tattoo on the back of my neck “Do you know why I got that?” he shakes his head at me “It cover a scar, I don’t have many scars. I never talk about them either, no one knows about them” my eyes fly to Tucker in the crows and he’s frowning at me “Do you think I need another one?” I ask him.

  I don’t look to see if he answers me or not “One more shot Luce” Lucy hands them all another shot and once again all attention is on me.

  “Strength” I shrug and gesture for them to do the shots “We all need some strength in our lives”

  I walk up to Will and lower my mic, speaking to him directly now but it’s so quiet that I’m sure even people on the other side of the club can hear me.

  “I can go on all night but just those three things. I don’t have any of them. So yeah, everything can go wrong. Do you know what the first thought I had earlier was? I wanted to speak to my mom” I laugh, it probably sounds insane “I wanted to talk to her! I hate her and I wanted no I need to talk to her. Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?”

  “Brooke, maybe we should go into the office” Will says quietly, I can see that he’s confused. He doesn’t understand. No one does.

  I lower my self so I’m sitting on the bar and lift the mic to my mouth as I look up at Andrew. I smile up at him “Wanna sleep over tonight?” I wink at him.

  “Uh .. last time I spent the night with you Brooke, you left town the next day” He smirks at me.

  “You were just that good. I needed to be a few towns away so I wouldn’t jump you.” I laugh.

  Everyone visibly relaxes and the atmosphere in the club lifts as the banter returns to normal.

  “Well ... I don’t normally do repeats but ... you’re bed sure is comfy”

  I laugh “We won’t get much sleep though”

  “I’m counting on that” he winks at me.

  “Come down here” I smile freely. A warm feeling takes over me as Andrew lowers himself down to the bar. I throw my arms around him and pull him closer to me, squeezing him. Will was right, I do have people in my life that will help me. Maybe I can do this. “You know I love you, right?” I whisper to him, a tear rolling down my cheek.

  He pulls away from me and his eyes scan my face as he wipes my tears away but more keep falling “Hey” he calls quietly.

  Jess starts laughing so we both look up at her, Andrew frowns at her but she just sends me a knowing look.

  ***

  Andrew is carrying me through the bar bridal style. He’s laughing, I’m fuming.

  He places me on the bar before we even get a chance to greet anyone a mic is being pushed into my hand.

  “Brooke has a little problem” he tells the crowd.

  I glower at him “Andrew, I swear to go!” I shout at him through my mic.

  “Why don’t you tell people what happened last night” he laughs and steps back to avoid my slap.

  “You slept on the sofa!” I scream.

  “And why is that?” he smirks at me.

  “Because you’re .... incompetent” I smirk at the laughs that go up around us and jump off the bar, heading straight for Jess.

  “You gotta help me” I beg.

  “What’s wrong?” he runs her eyes over and her expression turns to panic “is everything okay?”

  “I need to get laid, like yesterday” I hiss at her.

  She opens her mouth a few times then closes it again before she bursts out laughing.

  I stomp away from her and find Tucker sat at a table with a woman. They both look up at me when I reach them.

  “Everything okay Brooke?” Tucker asks.

  “Nope” I answer instantly and flop down in the chair next to him, looking longingly at his beer. Maybe one wont hurt ... after all I‘d been drinking for the first fifteen weeks of this.

  “Brooke?” Tuckers voice pulls me away from my thoughts and I drag my eyes away from his bottle, it occurs to me that he’s waiting for me to answer something, I didn’t hear the question so I mutter a quick “nothing” and rush to the bar.

  I spend a couple of hours serving drinks but my mind isn’t completely on it. I know this when Lucy has to call my name to get my attention when I’ve been staring at space, or practically drooling over a bottle of beer. When I look around the bar I spot Cam and Jamie sitting alone, I wonder down the bar to them and smile mischievously at them, they both groan.

  “Cam, can I borrow you for a while?” I ask sweetly.

  “What are you going to do to me?” he asks cautiously.

  “I’m going to get you wasted”

  “Well okay then” he grins at me. I motion for him to join me on my side of the bar and pull him towards the office, a few cheers go up as I push him into the office, Will looks up at us.

  “I need the office for an hour... or two”

  His eyebrows jump up into his hairline causing me to giggle and Cam clears his throat looking rather uncomfortable “Or you can join us” I offer.

  Both men turn to me with matching incredulous expressions. I laugh and shaking my head go back to the bar. When I return to the office with two glasses and a bottle of Jack Daniels they both fall silent.

  “All you have to do is sit with me and drink this” I hold up the bottle. They both exchange a look but nod at me.

  No one talks as I sit pouring the Jack Daniels and watch them drink them. When the bottle is finally empty I’m holding back a laugh and silently trying to work out which one of them will pass out first.

  “Thank you” I manage to say without my voice cracking but the humour in it is obvious. They both scowl at me.

  Cam stands and stumbles slightly but after a few minutes I get my laughter under control and wrap his arm around my shoulder, hooking my arm around his waist I let him lean most of his weight on me and help him back out to the bar.

  As we make our way back around to the customer side, cheering, laughing and shouted comments greet us. I laugh more when Cam trips but stop when I come face to face with Andrew, Tucker and Jess. They are all frowning at me but Jess looks concerned as she takes in me holding most of Cams weight.

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  It’s really no surprised that I find myself entering the club via being thrown over Andrews shoulder so I don’t even attempt to fight him on it.

  “You know this is one of the reason you and I have so much trouble dating, people dating us think this weird, they probably have a point” I point out as he lands a playful slap on my backside. People cheer as we make our way through the club and I wave at them knowing if I asked for help they’d only laugh at me. He turns me so that I’m facing a laughing Lucy and a tutting Tucker also two men I have never met before.

  “I’d ask what happened but I’ll introduce you first. Brooke this is Jack, Jack, Brooke” I turn to look at Jack and am impressed, even upside down I can tell he is very good looking.

  “Hey” I grin at him and attempt to shake his hand but It doesn’t work.

  “Lucy’s told me a lot about you” he says giving up on the hand shake as well. “This is my friend Ben” Andrew turns so I’m facing Ben and I offer a weak hello. He is also good looking. “I’ll give any of you five hundred to kick this guy’s ass and get me down?” I beg.

  “What happened?” Lucy finally asks.

  “I lost a bet” I sigh

  “I thought you weren’t going to take anymore bets” Tucker notes.

  “He tricked me into it!” I turn my pout on Tucker “Would you help me down for five hundred?”

  “No I’d pay five hundred to see what ever it is you have to do though” he laughs at my weak attempt to get out of it.

  “Fine lets get it over with” I mutter grumpily

  Once Andrew has set m
e on the bar with my mic he finally whispers to me what I have got to do.

  “Nuh uh, I can’t do that” I insist.

  “Why not? It’s only a bit of fun Brooke; you don’t have to take it any further”

  “Just pick something else please, one that I have to do alone”

  “Have you got a secret boyfriend somewhere you’re not telling me about?”

  “Andrew please let’s just get on with it”

  “Who is it Brooke?” he asks curiously but offended at the same time. It’s then I notice that we have seen talking quietly to each other and the whole club has gone silent watching us.

  “How about a free round of drinks while Andrew thinks of something suitable for me to do huh?” I call through my mic smiling at everyone, they all cheer and head to the bar so I jump down behind it and watch as Lucy jumps over to help me and Chloe.

  “What was that about?” Lucy asks me between handing out drinks.

  “He wanted me to kiss someone from the crowd” I tell her distractedly.

  “Right, why didn’t you do it? You’ve done it before; you could have played it off as a kiss on the cheek or something”

  “I just didn’t feel comfortable doing is all” I shrug.

  “You know he will think of something even worse now for you to do because you forfeited it” she shakes her head at me.

  “I know” I grin over at her and gesture with my head to where Andrew is sat at the bottom of the bar deep in thought. I love making him have to think of something else. He must be running out of ideas by now. We both laugh as we watch him struggle to decide what to do.

  “What’s with the free drinks then? Normally you only do that if something bad is going on and you want to distract people?” she asks turning her attention back to the customers.

  “That was just to buy me some more time and because I’m in a good mood so I’ll put the money in for them all, your adding yours up right?” I check as I move from the now empty half of the bar and jump over to the customer side..