I walk into the judge’s chambers by myself.
“Have a seat,” she says with a huge smile.
“My lawyer tells me you wanted to see me.” I sit and brace for whatever she’s about to throw at me.
She regards me for a moment. “So, you’re the infamous Sway.”
I feel the blood in my face drain into my feet. The room turns cold. She’s seen the billboard. Of course she has.
“I can explain,” I start. “It’s really just a practical joke.”
“There’s no joking when it comes to your reputation.”
Has she been in the club? Fuck, have I danced for her?
“I told Rachel I would give you a hard time. She wanted me to ask you for a lap dance.” The judge laughs.
“You know Rachel?”
“We go way back.” She pulls out a file and opens it. “I would’ve been at that dinner party if my dog didn’t go into labor that night. I heard it was a doozy.”
Holy shit.
“So, look. Rachel is vouching for you. She says you’re a great guy, and I really don’t see any fault in your parenting skills. Lulu’s teacher and doctor think you are father of the year material. I suspect it has something to do with those blue eyes.” She winks. “I happen to agree.”
We go back into the courtroom, and the judge reads her decision.
“I am awarding full custody of Lulu to her father, Theodore Swayze. Leeyan Flores will have court supervised visits twice a month.”
Leeyan’s lawyer asks to speak. “Miss Flores will be attending the police academy for twenty-one weeks starting the week of August twenty-first. We’d like to defer her scheduled visits until she returns.”
“Don’t you think this is something that should have been disclosed at the beginning of this proceeding?” The judge looks as irritated as she sounds. “You are making my decision that much easier, Miss Flores.”
Leeyan looks at her hands.
“Miss Flores was waiting on the outcome of this case before making her decision,” Quinn explains.
Just like Leeyan, one foot in and one foot out. She was never going to stick around for Lulu.
The judge tells Leeyan they will have a follow-up once she’s completed her Academy training. She pounds her gavel, and I walk out of the courtroom with sole custody of my daughter. I’ve never felt more like an adult or more like a father than I do at this moment.
***
We celebrate with pizza and ice cream on the living room floor. I’m spoon-feeding Reese a jar of spinach because the kid can’t stop eating when the doorbell rings.
“I got it,” Lulu yells. She pauses, and we wait for her to announce who is at the door. When she remains silent, I look at Sylvie.
She goes to the door, and a few seconds later, Lulu comes running to my lap. She buries her head in my chest as Sylvie comes into the room and picks up Reese.
“It’s Aaron,” she whispers.
I tell Sylvie to take the kids in the bedroom and lock the door. Aaron lied for us on the stand, but that doesn’t mean all is forgiven. Hell, he might be here to blackmail me for more money.
I step outside and close the door behind me. I check the handle to make sure it’s locked. Aaron moves down two steps with his hands in the air.
“It’s cool, bro. I’m not here to start any beef,” he claims. “I have hella respect for what you did today.”
“What do you mean?”
“The five stacks. That was some stand-up shit. I didn’t mean to flip out that night on Sylvie,” he says. “I got mad love for that girl.”
“I saw her face,” I snap. I know the guy is here with some of kind of apology, but I’ll never forget how he hurt Sylvie.
“I didn’t mean to get out of pocket.” He runs his hand through his beard. “Sylvie started in on me, and she hit me first,” he claims. “That’s in the past after what went down today. I’m over it. I wanted to let you know that dude Dennis is a snake. He paid me to have Sylvie come over this morning. I was supposed to make you miss the hearing. I called to tell him how shit went down, and he had me come to the courthouse.”
Dennis must have paid Aaron a lot of money to show up for the hearing. In the end, money didn’t matter.
Aaron steps onto the sidewalk. “I just came here to say we’re cool now, man.”
I walk down the steps and shake his hand.
“Yeah, we’re cool.”
As Aaron walks away, I see Dennis pull up to the building. Thankfully, Leeyan isn’t in the car. Whether she sees Lulu or not is up to me, and I don’t feel like making the decision right now.
“What’d you do, pay him off?” Dennis accuses.
“I don’t need to pay people off to win.” I walk up the stairs. “By the way, the kitchen sink is leaking. You should get that fixed before the new tenants move in.”
“About that,” Dennis says. He rubs his hand over his face. “I promised Leeyan I’d let you live here for as long as you want, at your original rent.”
I stop and look down at Dennis. “Why the hell would you do that?” After all the trouble he went through to sabotage the hearing, now he’s a nice guy. I don’t buy it. “Why would Leeyan.”
The question makes him uncomfortable.
“That’s between her and me.”
“Whatever.” I turn to go back inside then stop. I don’t know if we’ll stay, but not having the rent increase or impending eviction hanging over my head is a huge relief. “Thanks, Dennis.”
“My mom would’ve wanted it this way,” he says and walks back to his car.
If I’ve learned anything in the last six months, it’s that people will surprise you if you give them a chance.
***
My billboard came down yesterday, and I start my new job on Monday. I wouldn’t have this job if I didn’t meet Rachel, and I wouldn’t have met someone as fucked up as her if I didn’t work at Trance.
I walk through the kitchen, and the cooks the greet me. I’ll miss the smell of nachos and fried mac & cheese balls. I follow the green hallway to the dressing room and stop outside the door. Some people might look at a place like this as a last resort. A place with no future. My life didn’t truly begin until I put on those gloves and walked onto that stage. I’ll be forever grateful for my time here.
***
“You ready, Sway?” Rico yells as we wait to take the stage.
I look at my brothers. I’ll miss these assholes. “Hell yeah!”
“Why didn’t you tell me your last name was Swayze?” Jimmy asks. “We could’ve played up the Dirty Dancing angle.”
“That’s so last century,” Percy yells. He’s on the first crew now along with Damon.
“Fucking millennials,” Thor shouts.
I listen to DJ Andre announce that this is my last night, and the sold-out crowd goes wild. I take the stage one final time with the guys.
Later, I do my MMA set and a chair performance for a birthday girl who came from Oregon to see me.
I told Jimmy no privates, but he insisted I do one more for the road. I put on faded jeans and a white shirt. I slip on my Adidas and walk to the staging area. The frosted door to the velvet room is closed. I wonder for a moment if it’s Rachel. It would be highly inappropriate for me to dance with my future boss.
Then again.
I open the door and find Rachel sitting on the velvet chaise.
“We can’t keep meeting like this,” I tell her as I slide the door closed.
She rises and walks towards me. “Don’t worry; this is all business. You can keep your pants on.” She kisses my cheeks then holds her empty champagne glass in front of me.
I take the bottle from the bucket beside the door and fill her up. “Isn’t it always business with us?”
“Touché, Sway.” She returns to the chaise. Her black skirt stops mid-thigh, revealing the tops of her stockings. “Or should I call you Theo now?”
“We can stick with Sway for one more night.” I sit down and take her ha
nd. “Thank you, Rachel. For everything you’ve done for me. I can’t begin to tell you what this means…”
“Don’t get all mushy on me now.” She squeezes my hand then tosses back the rest of her glass. “I just came here to let you know I hired you based on this.” She points to my chest. “You have heart and integrity. Those two things in one body are very hard to come by in my world. I think I can trust you.”
I’m flattered by her comments. If she asked me to get on all fours in a pair of Spiderman undies right now, I’d do it. “You can trust me.”
“Good, because I’ll be out of the country for the next two months. You are my eyes and ears at Mango. If all goes according to my plan, we’ll be working for another fruit within the next two years.” She winks. “The goal in tech is to create a product that one of the larger companies wishes they invented. So they buy you out. That’s where the money is.” She stands and straightens her skirt. “You’ll work with the CTO and COO. They think you’re transitioning from my personal staff, so they don’t expect you to know anything. It will be a hard climb to their level in both business and respect.”
I think about the hipster douchebags who play Frisbee in the park on Saturdays. I pride myself on not being one of them. Now, I have to beg for their respect.
“You’ll start at sixty thousand, with another twenty in stock, plus benefits. We’ll talk daily.” She looks at my eager expression and smiles. “With that face, you’ll be fine.” She runs her hand down my cheek then lifts her purse from the floor. “Do you have any questions?”
I have a thousand, but I doubt she’ll answer them, so I ask the only question she will.
“Why me?”
“I need someone discreet, trustworthy, and honest.”
“Three out of three,” I boast.
“I’ve pushed you, tempted you, humiliated you, and you always kept your shit together. I admire that.” Rachel opens the door open then stops. “Can I see the abs one more time for the road?”
I slide the door closed and walk Rachel back to the chaise; then I hit the button on the wall.
“You have your phone?” Sylvie asks as she walks me to the door. “Keys?”
“Yes and yes.” I check my pockets to make sure. “You’ll get Lulu to school on time?”
“You know it.” Sylvie grabs my ass as I open the door.
Today is my first day at work and Lulu’s first day at the Elite Institute. It kills me that I won’t be the one dropping her off. Sylvie let me pack her lunch, so there’s that.
“She gets out at two-fifteen,” I remind her.
“Theo, I got this.” She plants a kiss on my mouth. “Now go before you’re late for your first day.”
I grab her waist and pull her to me. “I love you.” I kiss her, and Reese head-butts me. “I love you too, buddy.”
Lulu comes running down the hall in her school uniform.
“Wait, Daddy.” She jumps into my arms. “Good luck at your new work.” She kisses my cheek. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not scared. Are you scared?”
I’m petrified.
“No, baby. I’m not scared.” I put her down and force myself out the door. I walk down the stairs and see the curtains move, then Lulu appears. She kisses her fingers and presses them against the glass. Sylvie walks up behind her and sets Reese down. Lulu tells him to wave to daddy. He pounds the window, leaving wet fingerprints on the glass.
I wave at my family then start towards the train in my business casual attire with the rest of the rats. As I board the train and look at the people around me, I realize this is the moment. The one I’ve waited for my entire life. I have a job I can be proud of and a family that loves me.
This is my happily-ever-fucking-after.
Big thanks to the anonymous contributors who shared their experiences, thoughts, and opinions to help me create this story. I was on the verge of hiring male strippers when I happened upon a willing subject to answer my research questions, that led to several more volunteers. I would’ve really liked to meet a few in the flesh, but after all the great feedback I didn’t actually need to have men come to my house and rub up on me to get what I needed – and for that, my husband also thanks you.
Thanks to Murphy Rae and Holly K of Indie Solutions. Your support and expertise is invaluable. I would not be able to live my dream without you.
The members of my reader group Nicole’s Book Rehab:
Your support is the most.
To all the author / Facebook friends I’ve made in the last two years. Knowing you has been real. Even though we’ve never met for real. You’re the realest.
For my family: much love. Even though you shouldn’t be reading this since you weren’t supposed to read this book.
Sway’s story is just the beginning.
More to come from Giovanni, Dain, and Rico.
Don’t miss out on releases, arc’s
and other cool stuff that I can’t think of right now!
Join my Facebook group:
Nicole's Book Rehab
Check out my website:
nicoleloufas.com
You can find me on all the social medias.
@nicoleloufas
Nicole was born and raised in San Francisco.
Where there are no male strip clubs.
She has a dog named Achilles.
He’s the best dog in the world.
She loves him very much.
Even though he scratches his but on corners.
And licks his paws when she’s trying to watch tv.
Table of Contents
title
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Shout Outs
Men of Trance
About Me
Table of Contents
title
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Shout Outs
Men of Trance
About Me
Got Mine (Men of Trance Book 1) Page 17
