She grins. “She’s been talking about this opening for days. I sure hope you and Maya deliver.”
Just one more thing to stress about. “Me too.” Fuck. Me too.
I’ve got to hand it to Maya, she was right. The hard work—the nagging, the bitching, the endless phone calls, signatures and approvals—paid off. The club looks incredible. Like a totally different place. A place I don’t belong. And I’m almost regretful.
Dad would hate it. He’d say it was shi-shi-poo-poo,that he wasn’t in the habit of catering to the shallow and pretentious. It’s no longer the charming dimly lit family restaurant with a jukebox and a sundae bar. It’s Maya Lewis’s personal Los Angeles implant. Totally out of place and guaranteed to turn heads.
But what Dad wants doesn’t matter to me. Not anymore. Those days are long gone.
Everything is black and silver. And even though I was ready to strangle her by the end of that planning session, I have to admit, it’s a good choice. From the black tile floors to the stainless steel bar stools, it looks like something out of the future.
I’m especially proud of my addition. The big screen karaoke machine. Maya thought it’d be tacky until I convinced her it’d bring in larger crowds and drunker people. Since being drunk requires they spend more money, she was all for it. We agreed on a once-a-week karaoke night and L.A. Chic the rest of the time.
It’s hard to believe a month ago I was a broke, loser has-been. A failure in every right. My brother in jail, my band broken up. Now I’m a club owner. A business man. And it feels good.
Someone knocks on the glass door and I turn to see a man in a suit. He waves, beckoning me over and I have the strong instinct to ignore him. He’s a lawyer. That much I know. I can sense them a mile away—some kind of superpower I guess. Probably another person interested in repping Luke. Despite the amount of people in this town who hate us, there are still those who don’t mind making a few bucks off our woes.
I groan and make my way toward the door.
“Can I help you?” I hold it open halfway. “We’re not open yet. Opening’s tonight. We’ll be selling tickets at the door, first come first serve. Or you can buy them in advance over at the—”
“I’m not here for that.”
No kidding motherfucker.
He holds out an envelope. “You’re Roscoe Black, right?”
I nod.
“You’ve been served.”
“Wait, what? Served for what? What is this?” I call as he turns and speeds down the sidewalk. “Seriously?”
I turn the envelope over in my hand.
“What was that about?” Maya appears from out of the backroom, a clipboard in her hand. She’s always holding that damn thing and it makes me laugh. “What?” she frowns.
“You might have to have that thing surgically removed before tonight,” I say.
She rolls her eyes. “Just taking care of some last minute details.” She glances up at me, excitedly. “Regina Morales donated a five hundred dollar gift card as part of the door prize. Isn’t that incredible? And the photo shop over on 16th offered their most expensive portrait package. The only problem is their logo’s not on the banner outside, so we’re going to have to figure out a way to give them a mention. Maybe in the opening speech?”
“Sure. That could work.” I reach for my cigarettes.
“You can’t smoke those in here,” Maya snaps.
“It’s a club. Are you kidding? People are going to be smoking in here all night.”
“I know that but I don’t want to smell that shit right now. Take it outside or something.”
I shake my head and place the envelope on bar.
“What is that?”
“Been served.”
“For what?” Maya looks alarmed.
“Relax. I didn’t do anything illegal. It probably has to do with Luke or something. It can’t be all that important. But whatever it is, I’m not thinking about it right now. You have all my attention tonight. We’re going to do this thing. No distractions.”
“So I assume that means your teenage girlfriend won’t be in attendance.”
I scoff. “Maya don’t get started with that shit, okay? Of course she’s going to be here. And you are going to be a gracious host.”
Her mouth drops open and she plants a hand on her hip. “Excuse me?”
“If I have to put up with your stuck up friends and your asshole father, then you’ll do the same when it comes to my people. End of story.”
She scowls at me before turning on her heel and heading toward the back room.
I glance over at the envelope one more time, before I make my way to the exit. Whatever it is will have to wait. Tonight I plan on giving Sheila one she won’t forget. Because I get the feeling this is going to be one of the very last ones we spend together.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Sheila
Gina Morales is a miracle worker. How she transformed me from street rat to glamor girl I’m not sure, but I am forever grateful. Between her talent with hair and makeup and Coco’s insistence on buying me a new dress, we arrive at the The L in style. My hair is down, falling in waves around my shoulders just the way Ross likes it. But instead of dull and split at the ends, it’s shiny and bouncy again and smells like coconut.
Coco insisted on the blue dress to bring out my eyes and, even though I turned my nose up at the thing at first, I’ve learned to appreciate the way I look in it. It’s knee-length, long sleeved and high-necked. Not at all my style. The only redeeming qualities are the fact that it’s skintight and dips low in the back. But looking around, I’m glad I took my friend up on her advice. If I’d opted for black and short, like usual, I’d have been completely out of place.
The club is packed with ritzy looking people—decked out in a rainbow of fine suits and cocktail dresses. I only see Ross for the few minutes when he ushers us to the front of the line.
He places his hand on my back and his lips to my ear. “You look incredible, Blue. Save me a dance, okay?”
“Of course.” My heart somersaults and I grab Coco’s hand as we’re seated in the VIP section.
“This place is…” She gapes, taking in our surroundings.
“Totally, Maya,” I finish for her.
And it is. It’s pristine, clean, poised. Not a hair out of place and just tiny bit flamboyant. I almost feel like I don’t belong. Like I should shed my glitzy skin and head on over to Chagrin’s. Half the people here I’ve never seen before and most of them barely acknowledge us.
The music is even out of my element. This isn’t exactly the place for the grunge and metalheads. All I’ve heard since we walked through the door are Top 40 dance hits. Everyone is talking excitedly, holding flutes of champagne and fancy looking hors d'oeuvres.
“I thought Ross said something about a college crowd,” Coco says loudly in my ear. “Looks more like Lewiston’s elite.”
“Maya’s mom was in charge of the invite list for the opening,” I reply, my voice straining above the noise. “She insisted the richer the crowd the better the review.”
“Roscoe looks pissed.” Coco laughs and I follow her gaze.
He’s standing next to Maya and, she’s right, he’s livid, his jaw set as he looks over the crowd with obvious disdain. But he’s incredibly sexy anyway. He’s wearing his regular worn blue jeans. But on top he’s got on a dark gray button down, layered by a black blazer. The shirt is half-tucked and open at the collar to reveal his smooth inked chest. With all his piercings firmly in place and his signature James Dean ‘do he still looks like himself but about as comfortable as I feel.
He catches me staring and a warm smile erupts across his tight features. I smile back when he winks and duck my head. By the time I look back up, Maya’s got his attention again so I focus mine on my friend.
“How’d you get your dad to agree to let you come to this thing again?” Coco scowls and nods toward the bar. With a bright smile, Cole waves toward us and I can’t help but la
ugh. “A babysitter. I see.”
“You’re going to have help me sneak drinks tonight. Either that or find a girl to distract him because I am not going to spend the whole night watching everyone have fun but me just because my dad’s a pompous dick.”
I gape. “Harsh much?”
“I’m serious, Sheila. He’s always so concerned with appearances. It drives me insane. Some how he managed to figure out I was dating.” Her hateful gaze locks on her brother. “And now he wants to meet him.” She scoffs. “Can you imagine what he’d have to say about Dash? Forget it. He’s so controlling. You have no idea.”
“Really,” I nudge her. “I don’t?”
She laughs and I shake my head. “Sorry. You’ve been on your own for so long. It’s easy forget the days of you sneaking out of your house and spinning lies with your sister.”
A sharp pain stabs at my chest but I try to ignore it, taking a large gulp of champagne. I considered avoiding drinking for the night but decided against it. I’ve decided it’s okay to break the fast for one night. Besides, I’ve never been clearer on what I have to do. The difficult decisions that have been plaguing me for the last few weeks have been settled. I know what I have to do and tonight I’m going do it.
The sweet drink reminds me of my time in New York. The industry parties we were forced to attend, the nights spent in hotel rooms. I was having the time of my life back then. Before everything turned upside down. Who’d have ever thought we’d all end up where we are?
I slip Coco my glass, keeping an eye on Cole and she drains it in seconds.
“I’m going home.” I blurt it out before I have a chance to change my mind.
“Really?” I can’t tell if she’s excited or disappointed.
“I’m going to do it. I’m going to take care of those kids.”
She squeezes me into a side hug. “Does Ross know?”
“I’m going to tell him tonight, after everyone’s gone.”
“When are you leaving?”
I shrug. “Maybe after the weekend.”
Coco leans in closer. “Are you going to tell him?”
“Tell him what?”
“That you’re in love with him.” She smiles, pulling me closer.
I bite the corner of my lip and let out a heavy sigh. “Do you think I should?”
“Yes!”
I smile. “I’m just so nervous. What if he doesn’t feel the same?” Coco cocks an eyebrow. “I mean he probably does but I don’t know for sure.”
“And you won’t unless you’re honest with him.” She gestures toward a server with a tray of champagne and I snatch up two more glasses. “You’re timing couldn’t be better,” she says.
“What do you mean?”
“Dad’s making me go back to school.”
“You’re transferring to State? That’s awesome. You’ll be like forty minutes away.”
She shakes her head. “Nope. I’ve got Columbia Law School in my future and had the lecture about it last night. I’ve spent long enough taking care of people who aren’t my responsibility. I need to get my head out of the clouds and back into reality. He only let me go to NYU because it’s in New York. I have to go back. And I’m required to follow his legacy.” She rolls her eyes. “I should’ve taken the suck up route like Cole and become a cop.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you kidding? I’m glad I came back. You needed me.” She takes a few quick gulps of champagne and leans her head on my shoulder. “It won’t be so bad. I mean Dash is there half the time and I’ll be back to visit. When I am, I’ll be calling on you too. I’ll expect you to drop everything just to spend the weekend shopping, drinking and talking about boys.”
“I’ll have to remember that between all the diapers.” I laugh.
She shoots me a sympathetic gaze. “You’ll be okay. You’ve got your parents. You won’t be doing it alone. And on your days off you can tell me all about it. We’ll hang out just like this. I promise.”
“I know,” I mumble into my glass. Though I’m not confident we’ll ever have a night like this again.
We spend the next couple of hours sharing glasses of champagne and people-watching. For as long as I’ve been coming to Lewiston and staying here, I’ve never seen so many of these kinds of people in one place. If this is the regular crowd, I have no idea how Ross is going handle being around them six days a week.
Coco and I quickly grow bored of watching snooty people stroke each other’s egos and find ourselves on the dance floor a little while later. I’m so buzzed by this point, I don’t even care what’s playing. We dance with each other, giggling and imitating each other’s moves until we’re interrupted by two guys in crisp black suits. We both immediately burst out laughing and they regard us curiously.
“Can I get you a drink?” the taller one asks. He’s blonder than Dave and built like a linebacker.
“I’m not old enough to drink,” I reply.
“Can we dance then?” He leans in closer. “I’m Grant.” He points to the shorter, dark-haired and greened-eyed guy. “That’s my roommate Matthew.”
“Roommate?”
He nods. “We go to UI. What about you two?”
“Townies,” Coco pipes in and we burst out in giggles again.
Grant and Matthew don’t seemed fazed by our antics so we follow them to the center of the dance floor as the next song starts to play.
It isn’t long before I’m working up a sweat, as the entire world spins around me. Despite the crappy music and uncomfortable dress, I’m beginning to feel like myself again and it feels good. Grant moves in behind me, startling me as his hands move to my waist and begin roaming up and down the sides of my body. I’m so mesmerized by the atmosphere I dance along with him, matching his movements. But when I catch a glimpse of Roscoe out of the corner of my eye I immediately push Grant’s hands away.
I stand up a little straighter as our gazes lock. But even though he looks slightly annoyed, he doesn’t look nearly as pissed as I expect him to, which kind annoys me. For a split second, I consider continuing my dance just to get more of a rise out of him, but as he crosses the dance floor, I quickly decide there’s only one place I want to be.
“Thanks for the dance,” I yell, toward Grant, leaving him behind to meet Roscoe half-way.
The moment we stand in front of each other, he takes my hand and leads me to the edge of the dance floor. “There you are,” he whispers in my ear. “Best thing I’ve seen in hours.”
I smile up at him. “So what do you think of The L’s first night?”
He raises his brow and scratches his head. “Kind of unbelievable.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, I can’t wait to get the fuck out of here.”
I laugh.
“You look like you’re having fun.” He glances behind me.
I walk my hands up his chest, allowing my arms to settle around his neck. “I am now. How about that dance?”
Roscoe’s hands sit lightly on my waist and he tugs me a little closer. “I’m not much of a dancer, Blue.”
“Bullshit. I’ve seen you on stage.”
He chuckles, lowering his head so that his mouth is flush against my cheek. “This isn’t exactly my kind of music.”
“Then why’d you ask me to save you a dance?”
The music slows down and I step a little closer. “We should talk.”
He shakes his head. “Not now. You’re right, we should dance.” He pulls me a little closer and begins swaying from side to side. His fingers are trailing up and down my back and I rest my head on his chest. His quickened heart rate vibrates against my cheek and I close my eyes, breathing in the smell of his cologne.
I don’t recognize the song that’s playing but the deep base of the man’s voice and the smooth drawl of the saxophone relaxes me. I find myself wishing I could be anywhere but here in this crowded room. Anywhere else with him.
When I tilt my head and open my eyes, Roscoe is staring a
t me. And though I expect him to avert his gaze, like he has been lately, he doesn’t.
“What?” I ask so quietly I know he can’t hear me.
His gaze drops to my lips and I know what’s coming next. I’m craving it, I have been since that night in the cabin. I rise up on my tiptoes as he bends forward but, before we can indulge, his head snaps up. I follow his gaze to Maya’s who is suddenly standing behind me.
Of course she is.
“The raffle,” is all she says to Ross, then turns on her heel and catwalks away. Even pissed off she looks poised and unbreakable.
I turn back to Ross and he dips down, brushing his lips across my cheek. “Duty calls. Wait for me when the night’s over, okay? I want to be the one to drive you home.” He kisses my cheek again. “Then we can talk.”
“Okay.”
“Meet me in the back office.” He presses a key in my hand and disappears into the crowd.
The rest of the night is excruciating. Coco seems to have forgotten all about Dash, cozied up with Matthew on the dance floor and I successfully avoid Grant by hiding out in the VIP lounge. I down a few more glasses of champagne to keep my buzz going. But the time seems to tick by as slowly as ever. When the last of the people begin to trickle out, I hug Coco goodnight and make my way to the back of the club, key in hand.
I haven’t been able to think about anything but that almost-kiss all night. And the way Maya just swooped in and ruined it still pisses me off. I want things to be perfect and I’m starting to wish I’d just hitched a ride with Coco and Cole. That way I’d be able to make it special—set up something romantic before he got back. No matter what Ross says, I know he wants the same thing as me—for us to be together. And I intend on getting that truth out of him tonight. I’m so giddy it’s like it’s our first time and I wonder if he’s feeling the same way.
Blackout (Lewiston Blues Series/Black Family Saga Book 2) Page 22
