by E Kay Sims
I wondered if she cooked. I chuckled inwardly at the thought. It wouldn’t be a deal breaker if she didn’t, I just wondered. She lay beside me, her back toward me, sound asleep. I brushed her hair back gently and admired the curve of her neck. I was hard as a rock and ready for her, but I felt bad for keeping her up for hours and hours last night––well not really––she’d seemed to be having as much fun as I did. But, she had a long drive home ahead of her, so I was hesitant about waking her so early. The clock on the nightstand read five-fifty-five a.m. We’d been at it until at least three a.m., and I know I was feeling sore, so she had to be as well.
I pulled the sheet up to cover her and quietly slipped out of the bed so as not to wake her. Then I headed to the bathroom to take a shower.
A few minutes later, I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped loosely around my hips. She was sitting up in bed, her hair all mussed up looking sexy as all get out.
“Mornin,’ doll face,” I greeted her, then searched the floor for my pants.
“Good morning,” she replied shyly and pulled the sheets up under her chin.
Locating my pants, I dropped the towel into a chair, oblivious of my nakedness, not caring that my dick was still hard for her. Then as I pulled on my pants walking toward her, it did not escape my attention that she was eye-fucking the shit out of me the entire time.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” I said before dropping a kiss onto her forehead.
I placed my hands on the bed on either side of her hips before she said, “Um, no. I thought you left without saying goodbye, but then I heard the shower and saw your clothes still on the floor.”
“I would never leave your bed without saying goodbye,” I said without thinking. The look she gave me told me all I needed to know. I have a shot! I felt my chest puff out, expanding, along with my ego.
She smiled, then dropped the sheet, and pulled me down on top of her.
“Good God, woman! You’re insatiable!”
An hour or so later, I walked down the hall back to my room to gather my things and check out. I was going to pack up Gil’s shit and drop it off at the front desk, then text him where to find his stuff. I needed to turn in the rental car by midweek, so he’d better fucking return my texts.
I yanked the door open and was surprised to see Gil packing his shit.
“What the fuck, man?!” I growled. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for nearly two days. Didn’t know if you were dead in a ditch or being held hostage by the stripper from hell, or what!”
Gil looked at me and slowly blinked, as though his mind wasn’t all there. “What stripper from hell?”
“The one you took off with the night of your birthday. The night you left me stranded without a word,” I said, my fury evident. “That one from the high-class club––ring any bells?”
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry, I tried to contact you, but she kind of took control. Then took me on all these wild adventures and it slipped my mind. I got caught up in a whirlwind, but…” Gil trailed off with a heavy sigh.
“It slipped your mind?” I just looked at him and anger rolled off me in waves. I could feel myself becoming dangerously close to losing control of my temper. “So, now I’m just supposed to what, get over it?”
Gil stared at me, his mouth hanging open like a cock garage. No response was forthcoming.
“Just shut the dick holster you call a mouth! You took off with a stripper, whom you had just met! You left me in that viper pit to find my own way back to town, without a word or any indication that you were okay.” I took a deep breath and tried to cool my jets. “Honestly, Gil, I’m so angry with you right now, I could punch you.”
He drew in a sharp breath. “Punch me? That’s your first response? You left me alone in that place, too! I didn’t know what the hell to expect when I was dragged into that back room.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back the truck up! First of all, I left you with a girl, and technically, I didn’t leave you! I waited in the other room and you never came back!”
“Yes, I did! I waited for you out on the terrace…”
“On the fucking terrace?! I told you I would be at the bar!”
“I’m glad we didn’t find each other. Because it led me to her! She was the one I saw. She’s my Fountain Girl. I love her.”
“Have you lost your fucking mind!? ‘Fountain Girl,’ the stripper was ‘Fountain Girl’?” I was in shock. “And now you’re in love?” I was at a total loss at his stupidity.
“Her name’s—” Gil hesitated.
“I don’t give a fuck what her name is. She’s going to string you along and fleece you of every dime you have!” I paused. “Dude! Seriously? Pull your fucking head out of your ass!”
“She’s going to fleece me? Is that because you think all strippers are dodgy?”
“It’s Vegas for God’s sakes! That’s what they do here!” I was so exasperated with him.
“All that sounds like is your personal prejudice. Blanket statements don’t work, mate. She has a whole other life, you know. I don’t know about it all, yet, but she’s slowly peeling away the layers. I even met her uncle yesterday. He was a good bloke. Don’t be so quick to make assumptions.” Gil tossed a shirt into his suitcase.
“Blanket statements, my ass! No, buddy, more like facts! I’ve seen it a thousand times! And not only did you leave me high and dry the other night, you took off in the rental car that I rented, by the way, and left me without transportation the entire time we’ve been here. And for your information, that is pretty fucked up when you know I just got off deployment. Jesus, it galls me how fucking inconsiderate you are. How immature you are, especially when it comes to women. You’ve no fucking idea the shit I’ve been through and I can’t even talk to you about it because, for one, you are clueless and two, you wouldn’t be able to handle it. I’m a fucking wreck! I have PTSD! And you left me in a strange place the other night… I hate to think what could’ve happened if I’d had another trigger or flashback.” I immediately regretted my outburst.
“Shit. I didn’t think. I… I didn’t know you had PTSD.” Gil gulped, his eyes wide.
“That’s the problem, Gil. You don’t think. And you don’t lie very well, either. Even as clueless as you are, I know you’ve suspected something wasn’t right with me, and you left me anyway.”
“I don’t think? Are you fucking kidding me?!” His voice skyrocketed. “That’s all I ever fucking do! I think and think until I turn myself inside out with worry about everyone and everything! Why do you think I’m a bundle of nerves most of the time? Because this fucking brain of mine doesn’t shut up!” He pressed his fingers to his temple. “So, yeah, for once, I let loose. I may have taken it a step too far, but don’t you ever accuse me of never thinking.” He gritted his teeth together. “Do we even fucking know each other anymore, Thorsen? Because I thought you knew me better than this.”
“You’re right, you don’t know me anymore. I know you, but you don’t know me anymore because I’m not that guy anymore. War changes a person. I’ll never be that guy again. That’s what you don’t get, and no amount of talking to you is going to make you understand. I can talk to guys on my team who’ve been through the shit with me, they get it. But if you haven’t lived it firsthand, there’s no fucking way on this Earth you could possibly, truly, ever understand. You want to hear all about it, do you? Well, let me tell you, you don’t! I had to watch one of my best friends die in battle, in my arms. I had to lay in his blood for two days while we were under heavy enemy fire. I watched him choke on his blood while I tried to hold his throat together with my fingers and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to save him, though I tried. I had to stare into his cold dead eyes for hours and hours until we could be ex-filled out of there. And then I had to face his grieving mother and fiancée at his funeral.”
“I’m sorry, mate. That’s fucked up.” Gil zipped up his bag. “I’m truly sorry for your friend, and I’m sorry you had to go through th
at. You know that, even if I haven’t lived it myself, I’d be there for you no matter what. At least, you used to know. I don’t expect to hear all the gory details if you don’t want to share them, but you didn’t even tell me you had PTSD. You could’ve trusted me with that, couldn’t you?”
“I could barely trust myself to admit to it, let alone trust anyone else with it. While you were off gallivanting about with your ‘Fountain Girl,’ I was attending a yoga workshop for PTSD and TBI. Do you know what TBI is?”
“Truly Beastly Innuendos?” Now Gil was trying to be a wise guy.
“I just fucking told you my friend died in my arms and all you can do is make wiseass remarks. You said I should be able to trust you enough to talk to you and this is what you come up with?” I threw my hands up, then stalked over to my luggage and gathered up my shit, not caring how I shoved it into my bag. I pulled out jeans, underwear, and a T-shirt, then stripped off the clothes I’d been wearing the night before. “You know what, Gil? Fuck it!” I grabbed the car keys he'd left on the table nearby and chucked them at him, hitting him square in the chest. Then zipped my pants. “Take the goddamn car and do your thing.” I slipped into my shoes and pulled my shirt over my head, then I turned back. “I’ll find my own way home. Rental car is due back this Wednesday––in Washington, by the way. Later dude.” I stormed out the door.
PIPER
“S
top right there!”
The angry voice floated my way as I entered the massive walk-in closet of Le Kitteh Haus. I turned toward Elizabeth, whose cheeks were red and her eyes were like burning embers. She stalked over to me and planted her dainty hands on her hips, which were clad in a peach, lace, slimline dress.
“Hi, Elizabeth.” I tried to keep my voice level as I nodded in greeting.
“‘Hi, Elizabeth?’ That’s all you have to say to me? No way, Piper, you are not getting off that easily. Where the fuck have you been the last few nights and what the fuck were you thinking running off with a client like that?”
Okay. She was pissed. I rarely heard Elizabeth curse, unless she was extremely upset. I could see how she might be, given the stunt I’d pulled.
“I didn’t think, I guess.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “No kidding. What is the number one rule of working here?”
My tongue seemed to stick to the roof of my mouth, preventing me from responding.
Elizabeth’s voice rose. “What’s the rule, Piper?”
“Don’t leave the premises with a client,” I mumbled as I folded my arms across my chest.
“I can’t hear you!”
I jumped and spoke louder, “Don’t leave the premises with a client.”
“Right. We have rules for a reason. It’s not only to protect the integrity of my business, it’s to protect my girls also.”
“Oh please, Elizabeth! Your business caters to some of the most evil people in the world! Don’t moan to me about integrity,” I argued.
“Exactly why we have these rules. I know the kinds of people who walk through our doors. Who they are is none of our business. They are, however, Leo’s business. Do you know how many terrible things Leo and his men have stopped from occurring because a big political deal could be negotiated while these men and women relax and enjoy themselves? How many terrorist threats have been disarmed? Do you think I want my dancers involved with them in any way outside of here, whether they’re foreign warlords or American heroes?
“There is a reason we have private rooms. You could have taken Mr. Barlow to any one of them if you wanted to fuck him that badly.”
“Gil isn’t like them.” I knew how pathetic the words sounded as soon as they left my mouth. The look Elizabeth sent me told me she thought exactly the same.
“Don’t turn all schoolgirl on me. You’re smarter than this, Leah. You’re one of the smartest women here. The reason I gave you a job here in the first place was because of how resilient you are. How you’re able to switch yourself off and become this entirely different person when you come here. Sweet, down-to-earth Leah hides away, and sexy, sassy Piper comes out to play.” Elizabeth shrugged. “So you have feelings for a client. Sometimes that happens, big deal. We all make a connection sometimes. But you. Don’t. Act. On it.”
A silence stretched out between us. I thought about the last few days and how fulfilled and happy I felt. I hadn’t felt that way in years. To be so carefree and have fun, to not worry about this guy being a stone-cold killer. To lose myself in a beautiful man who thought I was beautiful. Who would love me if I would only be honest with him. I could still feel Gil all around me. How could I let him go?
“Oh, no.”
My gaze snapped back to Elizabeth as she covered her eyes with her hands.
“You’re in love with him?” she exclaimed.
“I–– what? How do you…?”
Elizabeth’s hands fell to her sides. “It’s obvious! God, Leah, what’s wrong with you?”
“Stop calling me Leah,” I growled.
“Why? That’s clearly who’s in control right now. I don’t know what’s gotten into you. I know who has—”
“You don’t know Gil, Elizabeth,” I interrupted through gritted teeth. “I made the same assumptions, but they’re all wrong. And yeah, I’m in love with him. Big fucking deal!”
“Oh, it’s a big deal, alright. Because if you want to keep your job here, you can never see him again.”
My blood ran cold.
“You need to ask yourself what’s important right now, Piper… Leah… whoever it is I’m talking to. Are your dreams still what are important to you, or are you going to throw in the towel for a fling?”
Gil wasn’t a fling. Why couldn’t she understand that? Hadn’t I just told him that last night? Was I going to let a little thing like my name ruin my chance at loving someone? Was I going to allow distance to push us apart—which it would ultimately do? I could still pursue my dreams of becoming a top chef. I just had to alter them. Maybe I could become a top chef somewhere else. Oregon had some of the best restaurants in the entire country, as well. Surely, I could make something of myself there, with Gil.
Balling my hands into fists, I got up in Elizabeth's dainty, china doll face. “I’m not giving either one up.”
“Then you’re fired.”
I glared at her. “I figured.”
“I want you gone. Get your things and be out of here in no more than five minutes.”
I started. “Can’t I at least say goodbye to the girls?”
“No.”
I couldn’t believe the coldness of her response. This was the business side of Elizabeth, the woman who dealt with warlords, mafioso, terrorists… and Leo. We all knew she and Leo were lovers. How else would someone keep a black ops marine on a leash?
“Oh, and be sure to leave the dress. It cost me a pretty penny. I’d like it back,” Elizabeth said as she left the room.
I changed into the spare pair of jeans and black racer top. As I made my way through the house, I peeked out at the back area where the ladies were beginning to welcome a few guests. Sadness washed through me. I would never speak to these girls again.
That was another rule of La Kitteh Haus. Once you left, that was it. You didn’t stay in contact, you didn’t become B-F-Fs outside. There were no five- or ten-year reunions of previous Haus girls. You simply went cold turkey. Those relationships you had built, the friendships you’d cultivated, were gone. Kinda reminded me of a religious cult, but I knew it was to protect everyone involved.
I gasped in surprise as I turned to go, only to run into Jessica. She was sucking on a red lollipop and she was dressed in a short, bright pink, sparkly, two-piece dress and silver sandals. Tween style all the way.
“Hey, you’re not working tonight?” she asked in her characteristic high-pitched voice.
“Uh, no. No, I’m not. Just popped by to see Elizabeth.”
“Oh, okay. Hey, where did you go the other night with that cute Australian g
uy? Did you take him to bed?”
“Uh….” Shit, what was I supposed to say here?
“Oh, my god, you did, didn’t you? You totally broke your own rule! Go, girl! I hope he was worth it!” Jessica giggled.
My gaze floated toward the front door. “Oh yeah. He’s definitely worth it. Hey, Jess?” I caught her attention again as she began to go to work.
“Yeah?”
“Good luck, okay? With everything.”
She frowned slightly and waved me off with another giggle. “Sure. See you.”
“Yeah. See you.” I don’t think she heard me as she flounced away.
I glanced at my watch. I had thirty seconds left to leave the premises. I saw Leo watch me out of my periphery. I knew he would do what he needed to do in order to protect his precious Lizzie. I stepped out of the house that had been my second home for the last six months and into my new life, my new future. My future with Gil.
That was… if he would forgive me.
“Oh, fuck,” I mumbled as I ordered myself an Uber.
GIL
I
stared into the amber liquid in my whiskey glass as if it could swallow me up. My luggage was cluttered around my feet at the table I’d occupied in Delmonico, The Palazzo’s steakhouse. I rested my elbows on the fancy menu I had opened, but I hadn’t actually taken the time to look at it or order.
I’d made a fucking mess of everything. Piper. Eric. This entire bro-trip. Eric was right: I was selfish. This was what happened when I stopped thinking, when I stopped worrying about what others needed. I’d walked out on Mum and Dad without a backwards glance—left them in the hands of my bloody useless sister, for crying out loud. Who knew what fuck ups she’d made in my absence?
