Chasing Dreams

by Alison Mello

  She laughs as I head toward the door. “Go get your girl!”

  I run out feeling much better about what I’m doing. I race over to Jonah’s house and park up the street so Skyler won’t spot my car. I run to the house and ring the buzzer.

  Jonah buzzes me in. As soon as he opens the door, he says, “Hurry. I texted Sadie a second ago. They’re on their way.”

  I send Skyler a quick text.

  Logan: Where are you?

  She responds pretty quickly.

  Skyler: Leaving the fashion district, why?

  Logan: Just curious xoxo.

  I spread the rose petals out all over Jonah’s hallway floor with a promise to clean it up later and continue into the house, where I plan to wait on my knees begging her to forgive me. Jonah’s phone pings, and it’s Sadie saying they are pulling up now.

  “Logan, they’re here. Are you ready to grovel?”

  “Shut up. She’s worth it!”

  “I know, and if it was Sadie I would do the same thing.”

  He fist bumps me, and I get down on my knees with the ring in one hand and roses in the other. When the girls walk through the door, Skyler’s jaw drops.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Skyler, I know I messed up so bad, but I’m on my knees begging you to forgive me. I love you so much. I have a ring I would be honored if you’d wear as a symbol of my vow to never mistrust you again and to promise you that someday I will make you my wife. If you’ll come home with me tonight, I also promise to explain my actions and start spending the rest of my life making it up to you.”

  “You didn’t need to buy me a ring to say you were sorry. The words spoke volumes. Yes, I’ll go home with you and hear you out, but know, and I mean this with all my heart, if you ever do that to me again we’re done. I was devastated and embarrassed, and I never want to go through that again. However, I love you enough to give you another chance.”

  I jump up off my knees and embrace her into the biggest hug, pulling away only to kiss her. “God, woman, I was only without you for one night and I’m a fucking mess. Trust me, I’ll never piss you off again.”

  Skyler chuckles. “I doubt that’s true, but we’ll see.”

  Anybody who worked last night knew I fucked up, and as soon as we walk into the club I can see they’re all on edge, gauging my mood.

  “Good evening, everyone,” I say as we walk in so they’ll relax a little.

  Skyler grins. “Did you scare them last night?”

  “Yeah, I think so. They won’t have to worry though, because as long as you’re coming home with me, all will be good. I love you, Skyler.”

  “I love you too, Logan. I have to get to work now so my boss doesn’t fire me.”

  I laugh and walk away to prepare for the club to open.

  ***

  It’s already 1:30, and my team should be finished with last call since we close at 2:00. The club’s been packed all night, and my incredible team has everything running smoothly as usual. I’m sitting in my office watching everything unfold from the cameras. I could open a new club if I wanted to. This team could totally manage this place while I bounced between two clubs. I think I want to take Skyler away for a couple of days first, though. A quick impromptu vacation. Where should we go is the question. Maybe I’ll ask her tonight if there’s somewhere special she’d like to go for a few days. We could go Sunday to Tuesday and not miss any time from work.

  Right now it’s time for me to head out and get this place closed up, because unfortunately I still have to explain my actions to her and hope she’ll stay with me after I explain what happened with Lindsay.

  ***

  Skyler

  “Your ring is stunning,” Kelly says as we are cleaning up our bar.

  “Thanks! It’s a promise ring from Logan.”

  “Aww, that is sweet!”

  All I’ve been able to think about tonight is how much I can’t wait to get home to hear what he has to say. If I even remotely slowed down, I started thinking about it.

  Logan comes out as Kelly and I are done cleaning up our bar and about to head to bar one to help them stock and finish cleaning up from last call.

  “Nice job getting things cleaned up, ladies,” Logan says. “What do you have left to do?”

  “Just stock and help clean up bar one,” I reply.

  Logan looks nervous, and it makes me smile. Although I feel slightly bad, let’s be real; he made me feel pretty shitty last night and it wasn’t fair. If he thinks he can buy me a ring and all is fine, he’s crazy. He’ll be spilling his guts tonight, and then I’ll decide if we’re good or not. He walks away to check on the other bar, and Kelly and I head to the back to get what we need. We carry it out to bar one while they’re washing glasses and putting them away.

  “Hey, Skyler, Shane is going to close up so we can get out of here,” Logan asks. “Are you ready?”

  “We haven’t finished cleaning up yet,” I throw out there, not wanting the team to get mad I’m leaving early because I’m the boss’ girlfriend.

  “We’re good, Sky,” Shane says and then Kelly jumps in too.

  “Yeah, we’re almost done. Go on and get out of here.”

  I raise both my brows at them. “Are you guys sure? Don’t cover because I’m his girlfriend. I’ll carry my own weight.”

  “Seriously, go,” Shane says. “It’s fine! You can cover one of us another night.”

  “Okay, cool. Have a good night.” I hug each of my friends and walk out with Logan.

  We get into his rental car and we’re both quiet. There’s a lot of tension in the air.

  “When are you going to get a car?” I ask.

  He shrugs. “I don’t know. I have more important things to take care of right now. I’m hoping to go on Monday if you and I are good.”

  I chuckle to myself then turn to look out the window again.

  A short while later, he pulls up to his place and I climb out of the car to see Greg standing there.

  “Good evening, Miss Jones. Good to see you.”

  “Good to see you too. Greg, do you ever sleep?”

  He bursts out laughing. “Yes, ma’am, I do. The night doorman called out sick so I agreed to stay.”

  “You’re a good man, Greg.” Only he and I know I’m referring to our conversation from earlier. I walk to the elevator and press the button while I wait for Logan.

  He walks up behind me and asks, “What was that all about with Greg?”

  “I just happen to notice that he’s always here, so I asked him if he ever sleeps. He told me the other doorman called out so he offered to stay.”

  The elevator comes and we ride it up to his floor. We walk into his place and he offers me a glass of wine, which I eagerly accept, hoping it’ll calm my nerves a little. I have to admit I’m a bit nervous because he is so nervous.

  “So…I guess we should talk,” he says, handing me a glass of white wine.

  “Yeah, we probably should, because no matter your reasoning it’s important you understand how I felt in that moment and even after.”

  “I know nothing excuses my behavior, and I’ve already apologized to Mikey. Luckily for me, he knows about my history with my ex and why I reacted the way I did. He told me if he hadn’t known me better he would have punched me in the face for what I did to you.”

  “Wow. He’s a good guy. I can tell and I’ve only known him a short time.”

  “I know, and I’m lucky to have him as a friend.” He takes a deep breath. “I was once in love with this girl Lindsay. We were together for almost five years. We were even engaged to be married. She knew I had jealousy issues and she used them against me once she knew I was in love with her. I gave her the world, Skyler, and I would have done anything for her until I caught her fucking my best friend. When I walked in on them, I stood there and watched, not knowing what to do. I felt foolish for not seeing it sooner. I was devastated, and I vowed from that day forward no woman would hurt me that way ever aga
in. I spent a long time focused on building up the club I worked in and tried dating other women but never felt like I could trust them. Until I met you. You were sweet and shy and your smile lit up my life. When I saw you dancing with Mikey, my insecurities came back to haunt me and I lost it. I’m so sorry, Skyler. I’m sure it’ll take some time for you to forgive me, but please try. I do truly love you and promise I’ll never behave like that again.”

  “Like I told you at Sadie’s, what you did was embarrassing and hurtful, but I love you, Logan, and I want a life with you. I’ll forgive you this once. I know I told you in the past I would sabotage my relationships to leave men, so I can understand why you reacted the way you did. Let me be clear, though; my relationships did not compare to what you and I have, and I will not do to you what I did to them. Going forward we talk, because this is the only free pass I’ll give you.”

  He pulls me in for a kiss. “Thank you, Skyler. Now I have one question for you.”

  “What, sweetie?”

  “If I were to tell you that I want to take you away for three or four days, where would you want to go?”

  “Hmmm, I’ve never thought about it. Can I have some time to think about it?”

  “Yes. I want to take you away for a few days of some quiet time, just the two of us.”

  Chapter 15

  Skyler

  The last two weeks have been absolutely delightful. We’ve continued to get together with Sadie and Jonah on Monday nights, and next week we’re adding Shane and Katie to the mix because they’ve been seeing each other since I introduced them a few weeks ago. I’m happy for them and hope it works out.

  It has been a quiet week as far as my stalker goes. Logan called for an update, and all they could tell us is that the guy is laying low and they don’t know where. They found the bat that matched the damage to Logan’s car so it was definitely him who beat the crap out of it. Logan still thinks Troy played a part in it, especially since we found out he and Billy were in rehab together, and also because Troy was so pissed that Logan refused to drop the charges. Billy admitted to getting a few texts from Troy, attempting to bribe him, and he turned those over to the police.

  Tonight is the busiest night at the club and I can’t wait to get through it because we’re booking our vacation this weekend. We have been talking about different locations we could quickly fly to for a few days’ getaway. I’ve chosen where I want to go but haven’t told him yet. I figured he’s always surprising me with things so I wanted to surprise him this time. I have bought some things to model for him later tonight hoping he can guess where I want to go. I hope he’s as excited as I am.

  “Hey, love, dinner is ready!” he calls.

  It’s so great having a man that doesn’t mind cooking, and he does a great job of it too. I’m not talking boxed mac and cheese shit; I’m talking roasts and pastas, good home-cooked meals.

  “I’m coming, sweetie!” I run down the stairs already dressed for work and straight up to my man and give him a kiss. “This smells so good, and you look so yummy.”

  “You keep talking like that and we’re not going to make it to work on time and I’m going to rip another pair of panties.”

  I pout. “But I’m hungry.”

  He laughs. “I’ve already made your plate.”

  Taking a seat at the snack bar, he places my plate in front of me, but I notice he’s distracted. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” I ask,

  “I’ve been thinking about doing something and I’m hoping you’ll be on board with it.”

  I raise my eyebrows at his genuine nervousness. “What is it?”

  He turns to face me with his plate in hand and has a seat on the side of me. “I want to open a new club and train you to run Thrive.”

  “Are you sure I’m the best person to run it? Why not Shane or Jonah?”

  “I love you, Skyler, and I would like to make you my wife. Why would I want one of them to run it and not my wife? I have no doubt you can handle it. Everyone at the club loves you, and they all know you can hold your own, so you won’t have an issue earning respect. And to be perfectly honest, making you manager instead of one of the other guys frees you to help me from time to time with the new one.”

  I nod thinking it over. “It would be a cool project for the two of us to work on. Why did you think I would be leery?”

  “I’m thinking about making it a…strip club.” I laugh because I don’t know how else to respond. “Why are you laughing?”

  “Sorry, sweetie, it’s because I didn’t see that coming and it threw me off.”

  “So you're not opposed to it?”

  I shrug. “We are in LA. It isn’t like it would be the first strip club around.”

  “That’s the thing; a lot of the strip clubs around here are cheesy and slimy. I want a sexy, classy, nice strip club where we could bring in everyday clients but also have expensive VIP sections for anyone who wants to be discreet.”

  “I actually like the idea. I want to be in charge of the dancers though.”

  “That’s fine. I want to have a choreographer work with them. I don’t like the idea of them coming up with their own routine.”

  “This is so good! I agree. It has to flow, and you need a good DJ too, someone who’s good with music and a mic.”

  “For sure. Okay, when we get back from vacation, we start looking for locations. Do you want to keep singing or do you want to get more involved in the clubs with me?”

  “I’m not sure. I mean, I came out here to sing, but I love being in the club life with you. I’m fine if I only do a random gig here and there. Maybe I can fill in if Mikey needs someone once in a while.”

  “Whatever you want, love. I want you to be happy, and if that means working the clubs with me, fine. If it means singing, I’m fine with that too.”

  “I enjoy singing, but I don’t have the outgoing personality for it. I’m way more comfortable behind the bar and in the club. I’ve come to realize I was really chasing happiness, and I think I’ve found it.”

  “Good, because we’ve got to get cleaned up and head to work.”

  I laugh at his abrupt halt to our conversation. “I love you, Logan Michaels.” I kiss him and put my dish in the sink then run upstairs to get my shoes.

  ***

  Logan

  We’re the first ones in the club, which is good because I want to go over inventory with Skyler. I get my clipboard and head to the back room to look over what we have on hand and create a list of what we will need. I talk with her about what we go through most of and how much I usually order. I also talk about how long it takes for stuff to come in, so I don’t wait until we are too low on certain items.

  “Wine is selling but mainly on singles night when everyone is here to hook up and wants to look classy. We sell a lot of Pinot, Chardonnay, Moscato, Shiraz, and Pinot Noir, so I’ll lighten up on ordering the others and order more of those.”

  “What are you going to do with the others if we don’t sell them?”

  “They are higher end wines so I’m hoping to move them to the new club and sell them there. If not I’ll remove them from inventory and you and I can try them.”

  “That is a lot of wine. I guess we could serve it at our Monday night dinners. Kind of like a wine tasting, or maybe we host a wine tasting event on Sunday evening?”

  “That’s not a bad idea, my love.” I lean in to kiss Skyler on her luscious lips. “Let me show you how to place the order before we get carried away in here.”

  We head back to my office to sit down at the computer. I show her how I place the order for all the liquor and how to check on what’s arriving.

  “If you order it today, it will usually be here by next Wednesday or Thursday, so you should have it before the next busy weekend.”

  “Got it.”

  “I usually check the inventory on Friday or Saturday, depending on how busy I am around the club, but you should place the order by Saturday.”

  I finish placing the or
der. “If there is ever a question about over ordering, I would rather you order too much than us run out of something. Staff should be arriving to make sure the bars are stocked and the fruit trays are full. You already know this part so it’ll be easy, and Shane is kick ass at making sure the bars run smoothly, so check in on them but let him do his job.”

  “I like Shane, and I’m glad that if I’m going to help you run this place I have him on my team.”

  I glance at the camera and see Shane walking in; I pick up my phone and shoot him a text.

  Logan: Can you come to my office?

  Shane: On my way.

  A moment later there is a knock on my door.

  “Come in.”

  “Hey, boss, what’s up? Hey, Sky!”

  “Hi, Shane,” Skyler replies.

  “Hey, Shane. Have a seat.” He looks nervous. “Relax,” I say, “you’re not in trouble or anything. As the assistant manager I need to inform you of some small changes.”

  “Okay.”

  “Skyler and I have been talking, and once we get back from our vacation we plan on opening another club. I would like you to help her manage this one while I get the other one running. She’ll be bouncing back and forth because she’s going to manage the dancers at the other club. She’ll be doing all the ordering for this club, and the two of you can work out any issues or come to me with any problems you’re not sure how to solve.”

  “Cool!”

  “Now, of course that means a pay raise, because I’m not going to leave you two to run the club without giving you more money. I would like to make you a salaried employee and pay you $40,000.00 per year to start. Depending on what happens with the second club, you may eventually get promoted to manager and I’ll pay you more. Is that cool?”

  “Hell yeah!” Shane jumps up and shakes Skyler’s hand. “We’ll make a great team,” he says enthusiastically.

  “Good,” Skyler says with a grin, “because I told Logan if there was anyone I wanted helping me, it was you.”