by Sienna Blake
I held my breath, ready to sucker punch anyone who had second thoughts square in the gut.
Nobody said a word.
Darren dragged and dropped the image in place.
The second he let go, I felt the collective intake of air around me. We were all kind of dreading this to some degree, I think.
Except Eoin, who seemed unfazed as he carefully worked Michael’s wallet out of his pocket the last little bit. The little feckin’ sneak. I hadn’t even seen him working on it, but I saw it slip free. Eoin froze, then placed a finger over his lips in a plea for my silence. I shook my head in refusal and he opened the wallet wide like he was offering to bribe me with Michael’s money to keep my mouth shut.
I pulled out my wallet, hoping the fucker hadn’t hit me first. When I was satisfied everything was in place, I glanced up and caught the odd look on Michael’s face, Darren’s lifted brows, and Eoin’s grin.
I put my wallet back, wedging it far down and shifting onto it so the rat bastard couldn’t get it from me.
“How are we going to pick a winner?” Michael asked. “Are we just going to choose one?”
Darren shook his head. “I’ve installed a giveaway plugin that will pick a winner at random when the countdown ends. It’ll send out a winner’s email automatically. Once they’ve confirmed their prize, it’ll send them the NDA to sign.”
I chuckled. “You’re going with a high-tech version of what I was thinking. I was just going to pin the tail on the donkey that shit.”
“A child’s game and the word ‘shit’ should never share a sentence,” Darren said.
Something dark crossed my mind. “What if the fantasy is…I don’t know, illegal or something?” I asked.
“The giveaway will flag any dangerous, illegal, and degrading entries using a keyword scanner and remove them from the draw,” Darren said.
“I’ve already included a clause in the lottery terms and conditions stating that fact,” interjected Michael.
“Too smart,” Eoin muttered under his breath.
“Is everything else set up?” Michael asked.
Everyone glanced sideways at me.
I had been the one they’d picked to manage the whole thing. I nodded. “We’re good to go.”
“Okay, I’m making the website public…now.” Darren leaned back in his chair, still staring at the computer screen like he wished he could take it all back. “We’re live, boys.”
“So what now?” Eoin sounded unsure.
“Now, we wait.”
Eoin groaned.
The lottery had thirty days to run. Thirty days of counting entries, counting cash and praying we earned enough to pay for Ma’s surgery.
Something told me that waiting would prove to be the worst part of all.
Lottery Entry #1
Let me just clarify, I’m a normal woman. A wife. A mom. I do school runs and cut crusts off my children’s sandwiches. I wear beige and sensible shoes.
But I’ve always fantasied about being a stripper.
I want to take off my clothes in a private lap dance for one of you. To slowly reveal my body just for your eyes, to grind on your lap where I can feel you getting rock hard.
And when you reach for me with one hand and pull out your thick cock with the other, I shouldn’t let you. It’s against the rules. But I’m too horny, too wet, too needy to push you away. I let you grip my hips and slide me down on your cock, where I keep grinding to the music, our mouths slammed against each other to stop us from making noise and alerting the bouncer standing just outside the private room door.
Noah
It was a pitiful amount of entries.
I sat back from my computer with a sigh and grabbed my open beer from the desk, glaring at the entries that were waiting to be read.
It was already two days in and only a handful. Just a few. Not nearly as many as we’d hoped and absolutely not enough to help this growing sense of dread I had that this idea wasn’t going to work.
This wasn’t going to work. We were going to have to find another way. Something else. I could sell the bar.
My attention went back to the screen. I would give this a go, give it my all first. Then if worse came to worst, I’d sell the damn bar and try to get enough for it that I could cover Ma’s surgery. Then I’d be out trying to find a job or begging the new owner to let me stay on. And not just myself, but Aubrey too. With her expired visa there were just no other opportunities for her. She’d be out on her ass and quickly without me being willing to bend the rules and pay her cash in hand. No, I needed to figure out how to make this work.
I knew what the problem was. No visibility. We needed to think of a way to get this out there. We needed it to go viral.
But how?
It was even harder to do since we were not able to attach our names to it. I mean, it’s not like Eoin could use his rising star status in rugby to promote us, and Michael wasn’t about to pitch it to his rich friends. Darren wasn’t going to hang fliers about it in his shop windows; not that we’d find the right kind of attention there, either.
We’d pushed it a bit on social media with a dummy account that Darren had created, but it was going stagnant, not getting any traction. We needed it picked up by someone big. Or by some news outlet. If only we could give the reason we were trying to raise money, that heartstring tug might push people to give it a go; but that would give us away.
I didn’t want pity anyway. I wanted to make my mother well.
I took a deep drink of my Guinness and sat, feeling utterly alone. The bar had been quiet on Aubrey’s days off and I was missing her terribly. I hated having this secret from her; I hated the sneaking around, but I couldn’t very well tell her the truth, now could I?
I stared at the entries, taking another gulp of my beer. What would she say if she knew? Would she be able to justify it the same way I was—that it was okay to do whatever it took to save my mother’s life?
With the way this whole idea seemed to be fizzling out, did any of it even matter?
Aubrey
Fridays at The Jar were usually packed. This Friday we were hosting an open mike night to celebrate the end of term for the Dublin College of Music. Noah had agreed to let Danny O’Donaghue—rising star, indie rock god and guest college professor—bring his students in for a graded performance. Word had obviously spread because the bar was jammed.
Even I wasn’t immune to the rush that filled the space. Or the way that the whole room seemed to be focused on the corner where Danny now sat near the stage, watching as his students performed one by one. I was half listening to the music as I served thirsty students, my hip shaking along to some of the more upbeat songs.
They were all good; you had to be good to even get into the Dublin College of Music—but there definitely seemed to be some students who stood out from the rest. Some that made my gaze move past the shoulder of the patron in front of me to the stage. Some that made the patrons forget about their drinks for a second.
I spotted a familiar figure leaning against a wall. Noah. He had his back to me, but I’d recognize his wide frame anywhere.
“Oh my God, amiga,” Candace said from my side. “Do you think he’d sign my shirt?”
“Who, Noah?” I asked, totally confused. I tore my eyes away from him and found Candace giving me a knowing look.
“No, Danny.”
My cheeks heated. Danny. Right. “I don’t know. Doesn’t hurt to ask, right?”
“I loved his songs when he played with The Untouchables, but I looooved his first solo single, you know what I mean?”
“Sure,” I said. I was distracted by the sight of Danny slipping through the crowd to greet Noah with a hug and a back slap.
Standing there together, I could almost hear the sound of panties dropping. These two boys were like chalk and cheese: Noah with his classic golden-boy good looks, a fitted blue tee and faded denim; Danny with his midnight hair and broody eyes in dark jeans ripped at the knees, a fitted black shirt over his
muscled body, a studded leather cuff around his left wrist. Noah laughed at something Danny said and my stomach tightened. Noah had been distant lately, his laughs not coming as freely with me as usual. I almost felt like he’d been avoiding me. I couldn’t figure out why.
As if Noah could hear my thoughts, he turned right at that moment and caught my eye.
Shit. Busted staring. I gave him a weak smile.
Noah grinned and waved me over. I held up two fingers to indicate to give me a minute. “Can you hold the fort for a second, Candi?”
Candace squealed beside me. “Nossa, amiga, Danny is so freaking hot, get his number and have his babies for me pleeeeease.”
I laughed her off, wiping my hands on the cloth tucked into the back of my shorts. “I have a boyfriend, Candace,” I said. “What would I be doing with Danny’s number?”
Candace gave me an exasperated look. “Giving it to me, obviously.”
I ducked under the bar and squeezed through the crowd until I got to Noah’s side.
“Aubrey, I’d like you to meet Danny.” Noah leaned into my ear as if he was telling me a secret. “Don’t tell anyone, but he’s not as much of an asshole as he makes out to be.”
“Don’t say that. She might actually like me,” Danny said with a wry smile. His voice was every bit as deep and husky as in his songs.
Noah laughed. “I’m sure you’d just say something rude enough to keep that from happening.”
“In that case,” I said, “I’m offended to meet you, Danny.” I shook his hand, his grip firm and warm, his eyes never once blinking, but there was the touch of amusement at his lips. I could feel the star power rolling off him. I wasn’t a fan, not like Candace was, but even I was feeling a little flustered under his stare.
“You keeping this boy out of trouble?” Danny said to me, indicating Noah.
Noah laughed by my side. “She is the one who gets me into trouble.” He slung an arm around my shoulders. Just like that, the weirdness and distance was gone between us. I leaned into Noah, enjoying his nearness.
“Your students all sound good,” I said to Danny. “Really good.” I nodded up at the stage where two guys were performing.
Danny shrugged, his eyes darting to the stage behind him. “They’re mostly generic, bland and unoriginal. Some of them are alright, I guess.”
Wow, tough critic.
“And it took all of fifteen seconds before the first asshole comment.” Noah tapped at his wrist. “Must be a record, Danny.”
“Any stars in the midst?” I asked, trying to keep the tone light.
Danny’s jaw tightened and something flashed behind his eyes. “No.”
Al-righty then.
Noah laughed. “Jaysus, Danny. They can’t be that bad.” Noah turned to me. “Danny’s hamming it up in order to protect his broody rock star rep.”
Danny shot Noah a smirk but I could see the affection there.
I sensed something more going on beneath Danny’s complicated façade. I shook off the curiosity. Complicated men weren’t my thing. No matter how gorgeous they were.
I liked simple men. Not simple-minded men, but ones with good morals, clear values. The boy-next-door kind of guy. Someone I could be…best friends with. Noah’s arm suddenly felt heavy on my shoulder.
“Well,” I said, stepping out from Noah’s arm, “I should get back to the bar before the customers revolt.” I turned towards the rock star and was caught once more under his icy blue stare. “Nice to meet you, Danny.” To my horror, I curtseyed. Curtseyed. What an idiot.
I could almost hear Danny and Noah chuckling at me as I hightailed it back to the bar.
Noah
I watched as Aubrey squeezed her tiny frame back through the crowd to the bar. I wanted to go with her, to clear a path before her, but I remained frozen where I stood.
“You like her,” Danny said, snapping me out of my reverie.
“What? No,” I protested.
Danny let out a snort. “Don’t try and trick a trickster. I can spot those hazy, goo-eyes when you look at her when she’s not watching. You know your body follows her throughout the room?”
“It does not!” Does it?
I was used to being ribbed by my family about Aubrey, but Danny…he and I were good mates, but we hadn’t seen each other in months because he’d been overseas touring and living in London. If he could spot my feelings for Aubrey in less than ten minutes…who else could?
“Don’t look so feckin’ panicked,” Danny said, clasping a hand on my shoulder. “I’m not going to go spill your secret.”
“I didn’t think it was that obvious,” I admitted, my shoulders slumping.
“It’s not. But I make a career writing songs about unrequited love. I…I know it when I see it.” His eyes flashed to the stage where one of his students, a strawberry-brown-haired willowy creature was setting up with another male student. Something passed across his features.
Oh.
Oh.
“Who is she?” I asked softly.
He let out a long sigh. “Nobody.” He looked back at me, his guard back up across his face. “Just a student.”
A teacher in love with his student. Yikes. That was a heartbreak waiting to happen.
“I’ve got to get back. I’m supposed to be marking them,” Danny said, his gaze drawing back to the girl on the stage. “I’ll tweet about your lottery, no bother. I won’t mention you.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Danny.”
“You feckin’ owe me though, you dirty bastard,” he said with a tiny smile pulling at the corner of his lip.
I grinned at him. “Whatever you need, Danny.”
He clasped me in a one-shouldered bro hug before moving back across the crowded bar, people around him parting like he was Moses.
Most people were jealous of Danny—of his fame, his talent, his piles of money. None of those things really mattered to me. Maybe that’s why Danny and I became fast friends after he played his first gig here. I treated him like a normal human being, instead of the rising star that he was.
Call me simple, but I just wanted to run my bar and spend time with the people I loved. I found my gaze slipping over to where Aubrey was serving customers. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears and laughed at something Candace said. My stomach flipped. It didn’t matter how many times I looked at her, she still caused that reaction in me.
It would all change soon though. Soon she’d be married to another man. She’d get a job working somewhere else. She’d move on with her life. Aubrey was smart and clever and could do so much more with herself than work a bar. The truth was, the life I offered was too simple for her. It wasn’t good enough. Maybe that’s why I never made a move on her. I knew that one day she’d outgrow this place.
And me.
Until she did, I’d hang on for dear life. Even if I only ever got to be just her friend.
Noah
Danny: It’s done. Good luck.
“Text from a girl?” Aubrey asked.
I looked up from my phone. “No, why would you think that?”
Aubrey and I were the last ones in the bar closing up. Tonight’s open mike night had been more packed than usual, not surprisingly as Danny was in the house, so cleanup was taking longer than normal.
Aubrey gave me a pointed look. “Because of the shit-eating grin that you just got.”
“It’s just Danny with some good news,” I said. The last thing I wanted was Aubrey thinking I was messaging some girl.
“Oh?” she asked, slowly creeping closer to me.
“Don’t even think about it.” I locked my phone and shoved it into my back pocket so she couldn’t steal it and read through Danny’s message. Not that she’d get any information out of it even if she did. Danny’s message gave nothing away.
Aubrey placed a hand on her jutted hip and pouted, telling me that she had been thinking of doing exactly that. I knew her too well. “You’re being very cagey, Mr. O’Sullivan.�
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I laughed. I loved it when she gave me sass. “You’re being very nosy, Ms. Campbell.”
“I’m your best friend. I deserve to know everything.”
Guilt threaded through me. My one secret had turned into two. She deserved to know what we were doing with the lottery. She deserved to know that I’d been in love with her for years. I should confess everything to her now. Lay all my cards out on the table before it was too late. All the words I’d never said to her jammed in my throat, making it feel like it was closing up.
I shoved all those thoughts down and forced a smirk to my face. “Is that so?”
Aubrey’s eyes narrowed and she waggled a finger at me. “Don’t make me tickle it out of you.”
I laughed, pushing her hand away. “Relax. He just did me a favor, that’s all.” I shot her a pleading look, like please, let this go.
Aubrey let out a sigh. “Alright, alright. Bro-code. Boys only. I get it.”
My shoulders sagged with relief.
A strange look crossed Aubrey’s face. She let out a sigh and turned back to wipe at the bar with her cloth. “That’s so cool that you and Danny are friends.” Her voice had suddenly gone all breathy and up an octave.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “What is that?”
“What’s what?”
“We always get musos in here. You’ve never reacted like that.” I pointed a finger and circled it around at her.
She shrugged, but I swear her cheeks had gone a shade of pink.
“You think Danny’s hot?” I asked, my voice coming out tight.
She shrugged again. “Maybe.”
“You’re taken, Rey,” I bit out. Why do I want to punch Danny in the face right now? Even after he’d done me a favor and tweeted about the lottery?
Aubrey giggled. “Naw. It’s so cute that you’re getting jealous on Sean’s behalf.”
Yeah, sure. I was jealous on that feckin’ eejit’s behalf. I obviously wasn’t doing a very good job of schooling my emotions because she could read me like a book. But then again, Aubrey has always been able to read me, she seemed to know when things were wrong, what I wanted, what I needed.
