“It’s a lot like what we’re currently doing. We hang out, we eat together, we sleep together…or not.” I shrug.
“I know what you do in a relationship, but I’ve never had a relationship with a title.”
“So, the blokes that you…whatever with before, you mean to tell me there was never the boyfriend/girlfriend label?” I run my hand down my face. Suddenly, I feel mature and wise for my thirty years of age and there’s something about this conversation that feels weird. Is it because we’re having a conversation about dating? Or is she not telling me something?
“Um, nope.” She shakes her head as she swallows her bite.
“All right. So, do you want to do this? Do you want to be exclusive or are you interested in dating other people at the same time and just keeping it casual?”
“You mean like a poly arrangement? No, I don’t want to be poly. That can be confusing and I would have too many feelings, and what if I got feelings for someone else while I’m with you? Oh my gosh, what if I called you by someone else's name?” She throws her hand over her mouth as she rambles.
“First, there’s not a chance in hell you will call me by anyone else's name when I’m fucking you and I think you know that. Second, no poly relationship. I got it.”
“So, can we not put the boyfriend/girlfriend labels on this for now and just see how things continue to go? I don’t want to rush things.”
“Baby, I think we’ve done this all backwards. I’m no expert on relationships, and I’m not too sure how rushed this is. We’ve known each other for a long time, we lived together as roommates, albeit a short amount of time prior to anything happening.”
“Okay, so how about I sleep in the other bedroom half the time?”
“I want you in my bed. There’s no middle ground on that,” I counter, my tone harsher than I intend.
“Okay.” She replies timidly with a blush as a smile forms on her face.
“There’s another thing I wanted to speak to you about. I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m…”
“Into spanking, being dominant?” she interrupts.
“That I like things a particular way, yes. I like to be in charge, and I enjoy spanking and, sometimes, rough sex.”
“As long as you don’t leave any marks on me, you can spank me all you like. I actually like it.”
“Do you want to have a special word?”
“Like a safe word?”
I nod and she continues. “I don’t think whatever this is between us is any BDSM shit. There’s no red room and it’s not like you’re going to tie me up and whip me, right?”
“Correct.”
“Then I’m sure if I said to stop or something like that you would, right?” she inquires.
“Exactly. I just don’t know yet what your limits are.”
“No whips, no chains, no marks,” she counts on her fingers.
“Okay,” I confirm, making a mental note.
“And not always pure fucking. I want some of that sweet stuff thrown in there too.”
“Sweet stuff?”
“You know, the type of guy that you portray on the outside. Until the other night, I wouldn’t have pegged you for the dominant type.”
“I can do sweet stuff.”
“Then we have a deal.” She holds out her hand to shake and I take her palm in mine.
“What do we tell your brother?” I ask finally. "We need to tell him."
“Why don’t we keep the fact of us to ourselves for right now? There’s no need to involve my brother. What I do is none of his business.”
“I don’t like the thought of keeping secrets from him. I never keep secrets from him. I think that he would be supportive about us being together, he knows that I’m not a complete dickhead and would take care of you. I think that he would have a problem with us keeping it from him more than anything.” I shake my head.
“At least for now, can we get used to us being an us? I want that time to explore who we are together before coming out to everyone that we’re a thing, just for now.” She says with confidence.
“For now.” My voice reflects my hesitation.
For now.
Chapter Eight
Cam
I was nervous to have that conversation with Jacks about what are we doing?
I wasn’t prepared, but I feel we have a better understanding of where we’re going now. I could tell he wasn’t pleased that I asked him not to discuss our status with my brother, but I need to make sure that whatever is happening between us isn’t a fleeting moment and ends up being something more substantial. I wouldn’t want Jacks and Mal’s friendship to become awkward because Jacks and I are hooking up and then we stop.
I wasn’t lying when I told him I haven’t been in any boyfriend/girlfriend relationships. But what I didn’t disclose to him was that I haven’t been in any romantic relationships, period. He was the first person I ever slept with, on the night of the wedding. I know I should have told him, but I’m not sure how he would have taken it. He is apprehensive about Mal finding out about us without us telling him first. If I also tossed in that he took my virginity, he might rethink whatever this is that we’re doing. It’s not like he can give me my virginity back. Besides, after all the mind-blowing sex we’ve been having, I wouldn’t want to give it back even if it were a possibility.
I know that I should be completely honest with Jacks about exactly what he means to me. My first relationship. The first person I’ve been intimate with. Someone I’ve known for years. But I'm scared of how he would react.
Before Jacks went to the gym, he mentioned that he was heading to the club early to do some final paperwork for a new hire. I have the day off and made no plans, so I’m lying on the couch watching mindless television in a pair of Jacks’s boxer briefs and one of my shirts. I intended to do nothing today.
My cell phone pings and I reach over to the coffee table to grab it.
Beck: Lunch?
Me: I could eat.
Beck: I’ll swing by Jacks’s place to pick you up? Be there in 10
Looks like I’m doing a little bit of something rather than a whole lot of nothing. Reluctantly, I pull myself off the couch and drag my feet into the bedroom, the one where all my clothes live, but not where I sleep anymore. I'm in the bathroom brushing my teeth when Beck comes into the house and starts calling for me.
I poke my head out of the bathroom and, with a mouthful of toothpaste, shout my location. A moment later, she appears in the mirror reflection as she smiles warily at me from behind. She looks tired and her eyes are red as if she's been crying. I can tell that her smile is forced and she's struggling with something.
I spit and rinse, wipe my mouth on the towel and then turn to her with a smile.
“How did you get in?” I ask.
“I have a gate code, and a house key. I couldn’t tell you how many times during the last year that I’ve had to come over here to grab something for Jacks that he forgot.”
“Don’t you guys have an intern or something to run errands for you guys?”
“We’re not some cocky billionaires. We’re business owners, and sometimes business owners are forgetful.” She shrugs. “You ready? I was thinking we can just go post our asses on a bar stool at Applebee’s?”
“Yep, definitely not cocky billionaires. Let me get my shoes.” I walk around her, into the bedroom and then almost run into her in the doorway.
“This room looks bare. You need to add some personal touches.” She looks around.
“I don’t think I’m a permanent roommate here.”
“You’ve been here long enough. Plus Jacks won’t kick you out. He likes you. You’re family.”
If she only knew.
“I mean, have you seen his ass? That catcher seriously has a nice one,” Becks slurs. She’s had three drinks to my one.
We’re watching the baseball game between San Diego and some team in Colorado.
“How can you even tell? That umpire is alw
ays in the way and there’s really no views from the back.”
“You can tell when he’s batting that his ass is nice. Plus, from the side, you can see how rounded the shape is when he’s on his haunches,” Beck says, watching the screen above the bartender’s head. The bartender is eying us as we discuss asses and eat the remaining french fries on my plate. I give him a smile and signal for the check.
“There is some scandal about this guy being used by the chick he’s dating.”
“Well, he is a hot baseball player. I would use him and his baseball bat too,” Beck says, as if that explains everything.
“Seems she’s, like, dating a bunch of guys and using him as her payday. At least according to the tabloids,” I argue.
“I’m pretty sure the media is blowing that out of proportion. That’s what they do. I’m sure she’s a nice girl and he’s just a player.”
“Meh. Whatever. Oh, look at that pitcher. His arms! Are these men made in a lab? Are they real? My God!” Her eyes bulge as they show the player stats on the pitcher next to a full body photo.
The pitcher's hand is gripping a baseball as he flexes then he turns his body into a wind-up for a pitch for his stat card on the screen.
I laugh to myself and reach for the bill that the bartender placed in front of me.
“You got to go to work today, Beck?” I ask her.
“Um.”
“You do, don’t you? You’re drunk! You can’t go to work like this!” I whisper shout at her.
She hiccups. “I’ll be fine by the time we get there. I’ll need you to drive me though. I’m pretty sure I should be sitting in the not driver’s seat.”
“You mean the passenger seat?”
“Yup, that one. Or laying down in the back. Would that be too Driving Miss Daisy for you?”
“Girl, you do you. If that makes you less drunk, then the twenty-minute nap you get from here to the club may be worth it.”
She smiles, her eyes glassy as she stands and wobbles on her feet. My arm reaches out to her and we get out the restaurant and into her car. Once she’s horizontal in the back of her car, I jump into the driver’s seat.
“You know what I think should happen? I think you and Jacks should hook up, do a wedding, make some babies and then give me one. That way we can all be a family.” I angle the mirror down to see her. After her pronouncement, she covers her face and falls asleep before I pull out of the parking lot.
I pull into the club parking lot and note several of the vehicles. I look at Beck and tell her I’ll be right back, even though I know she’s passed out and can’t hear me.
This is the first time I've been in the club during the day. The lights are on, and it looks like any other place. There are several people, fully clothed, practicing a routine together and Jacks is standing in front of them. His arms are crossed and his finger taps his chin as he observes. He claps his hands and yells to take it from the top. He pulls out his phone, presses a button, and the sultry music stops and then starts over again as it fills the space as I approach and tap him on the shoulder.
He turns his head and smiles then turns back to the stage. It takes him a moment to realize it was me tapping him on the shoulder. He turns back to me, his jaw slack with surprise.
“What are you doing here?” he asks quickly.
“Is Mal here?” I ask.
“No, he’s out looking for Beck. What are you doing here?” he asks again.
“Beck is passed out in the back of her car. Why is he out looking for Beck?”
“Why is Beck passed out in the back of her car?”
“Quit returning my questions with questions.”
“Mal and Beck got some bad news today, Beck took off a few hours ago and hasn’t been replying to Mal’s calls or text. Now why is she passed out?”
“We went to lunch and she may have over indulged. I was hoping Mal was here and could take her and then drive me home. She said she had to be at work, and was going to rally, but she is super passed out, dead to the world. I left her in the backseat and opened a window to vent some air in the car, but yeah.”
Jacks shakes his head and tells me to call Mal to ask him to meet us at Jacks’s place as he goes out to the car.
I follow him out after talking to my brother.
“Take her home, put her in your old bed – the spare bedroom. Tell Mal I’ll figure out the new hire stuff and to take the rest of the day off.”
“That’s a long day for you.” He’ll be at the club all day and all night.
“I’ll manage. You may want your brother to explain some of this.” He waves in the direction of Becks. Then he reaches out and runs his hand down my arm before grabbing my hand to pull me into him. His other hand wraps around me and grabs onto my ass as he trails his nose from my ear across my cheek to my lips.
“Jacks. Not here,” I say.
“I’ll kiss you wherever I want and whenever I want,” he mumbles against my lips.
His tongue licks my bottom lip as I open up to him. His tongue and mine meet and the kiss is powerful as well as sweet.
“I won’t see you tonight, but you’ll still wake up to me beside you,” he assures me. With one final kiss, he pats my ass and then retreats back in the building.
I slide into the front seat of Beck’s car and start it. As I’m pulling out of the parking lot, I hear Beck move around a little. She slowly pushes herself up to a sitting position.
“So, I may be drunk but I could have sworn that I just saw you and Jacks make out.”
Chapter Nine
Jacks
When I first arrived at the club, I walked into the office I share with Mal and found him with his head in his hands crying at his desk. He’s not the emotional type and in all the years we’ve known one another, I’d never seen him cry before. Initially, he wouldn’t tell me what was going on, so I gave him some space. For an hour, we sat in the office together in silence before he told me that he and Beck had gone to the doctors and had been told that they wouldn’t be able to conceive. Mal told me that Beck had taken off, saying she needed some alone time to process everything the doctors had told them. She’d given Mal no chance to refute. He had been losing his mind looking for her all day, but neither of us had thought to ask Cam.
When I noticed that Cam didn’t seem to know what was going on with her brother and his wife, I didn’t want to be the person to tell her. Maybe they wouldn’t tell her, maybe they would. But in the end, it certainly wasn’t my news to tell.
After kissing her goodbye, I went back inside the club. I instructed the dancers present on their tasks for the next few hours, then poured myself a drink from the bar and took it to the office. I rummaged around the computer for the new hire paperwork and printed it so I could make sure I had some idea what I was going to do with our new staff member. Then I went downstairs to the personnel office and grabbed the paperwork Beck had prepared in a folder for today. Luckily, Beck planned her tasks out efficiently, so in her absence, while I wouldn’t be able to fully explain what all the paperwork was, I would at least be able to get the new person to fill it out. Beck could meet with her once she returns to work. I wasn’t excited to give some of my control of the operations to someone else, but I knew I needed some sort of a break. I would still be the night manager and part owner; Mal and I just needed a little help here and there.
The desk phone rings, alerting me that our new staff member had arrived. I straighten my polo shirt and smooth out my jeans, grab the paperwork, and go downstairs to meet with her. I find her at the bar.
“Kendra. Welcome to The Essentials.” I extend my hand.
Kendra is wearing a pencil skirt with a red blouse. The shirt is semi-sheer and her black bra requests my attention. Her chestnut brown hair is up in a sleek bun and her face is caked with makeup. Definitely not my type. I like my women blonde, lithe, and natural. With tan skin, a laugh that you feel and a smile that makes you warm.
Cam. I just described Cam.
�
��I’m so excited. I promise to do an excellent job and give you guys a break. I know the club’s success is thanks to your hard work, as well as having some of the most sought after performers. I don’t want to let you down,” she says, a smile plastered to her face. I nod.
“Let’s get the paperwork out of the way first. I apologize in advance, Rebeckha is the person who usually takes this part, but she’s not well today.” I motion to a booth and we go over the paperwork surrounded by music and dancers. Kendra did great keeping her attention focused, which helped ease my worry that she might get sidetracked. Most of the paperwork, I realize is self-explanatory and we breeze through it quickly.
I give her a run-down of the facilities, give her an official tour, introduce her to whoever is still around, and then we head upstairs. We sit down at the small table and I pull out our talent book. We go through each dancer’s profile. I give her some specific qualities of each and implore her to observe them and learn who they are as well. She asks a few questions about performances, specific deals, and then we go back downstairs to go over the bar schedule. As I’m finishing up detailing our vendors, Mal walks in looking ten times better than he did previously.
“She’s sleeping it off at your place,” he says, as I look up from the binder. He turns to the new hire. “Hi, Kendra. I’m sorry I am late.” Mal reaches his hand over the bar top and shakes her hand as she smiles.
“I’ve done a lot of the paperwork for her file. Beck will need to look it over when she’s feeling better. We’ve went over in detail the backgrounds and personalities of the staff and we’re just going over some of the bar stuff right now. Janae should be here in about an hour to give Kendra additional details about the bar procedures and such. I was thinking that you would stay home?”
Mal shakes his head. "I'm staying busy."
“Will I need to know how to bartend? I wasn’t aware of that detail,” she asks.
"We have experienced bartenders and a bar manager, but we’d like management to be well-versed in all areas. It’s not likely that you would ever need to step back here and start pouring drinks, but you never know. We want you to be trained in all facets of the business, since, as if we’re not here, you’re the one in charge.”
The Night Manager Page 6
