by Keke Renée
I walked out of the kitchen holding two cups of coffee. I set her cup on the table, and she grabbed it and took a sip. I sat across from her in the new loveseat I’d purchased when we went shopping last month. I’d wanted a lounger in my bedroom for when I wanted to sit and read.
My two-bedroom apartment was in the Bellevue Way area. It had everything I needed for entertainment and business, and the club wasn’t too far away. The kitchen was stainless steel, with a black, chrome-top stove. Our living room had two large windows with long, white drapes, a sixty-inch TV hanging over the fireplace, and a black-and-white couch set. My bedroom colors matched the living room.
“No, he’s not stupid. I just left with him and stayed the night.”
“He still wants you to move in with him?”
She nodded.
“Yes, and I’m trying to avoid going back down that same path with another guy just to end up broke, alone, and homeless.”
“I hear you.”
“What happened with Julian?”
“Nothing. I drove home and told him to not say anything.”
“Can he be trusted?”
“I hope so.”
“Maybe this is a good thing. He’ll tell your parents, and it’ll blow over.”
The doorbell rang, and I put the cup down to answer.
“Doubt that.”
I looked through the peephole, and my eyes bulged in shock. My mother was standing there, unannounced. She was usually at the office at this time of day. I opened the door and allowed her entry as I motioned with my hand for her to come in.
“My only daughter avoids her mother, and this is what I have to do?” Mom said.
I rolled my eyes, as she started her normal guilt trip.
“What are you talking about? I just saw you a few weeks ago?” I shut the door and went to sit back down.
“Missy, nice to see you again. How’s school?” Mom asked. Missy choked on her coffee. I had forgotten to tell her about the lie I had told my parents about her living with me so she could go to school and save money. She glared at me, and I shrugged my shoulders.
“Ma’am, school is fine.” Missy didn’t care if anyone knew she stripped, but I wanted to keep that world away from my family. That meant my friends had to go along with the lie.
“Good, happy to hear that. So, Elina, I wanted to come by and see if you’re coming to family dinner this weekend?”
It was already Thursday, and usually, family dinner was on a Sunday. I had time to figure out what my schedule at the club would be in case I needed to go on later.
“Who all is going to be at this dinner?”
“Family,” Mom replied, sitting next to Missy on the couch.
“That’s not an answer, Ma. You’ll have the entire city council and Dad’s medical friends boring us for the entire night.”
“Fine. One of his colleagues from the hospital is coming to dinner. We think he would be a good match for you,” Mom told me.
I raised my hand, stopping her. They thought that hooking me up with one of their friends’ kids would help get me onboard the marriage train and have two point five kids and live in the same neighborhood as them. That wasn’t my goal or plan in life.
“I’m not EJ. The last thing I need is help finding a date.”
“Julian has found someone; now it’s your turn.”
“What! Who is he dating?”
“Your brother is dating some girl from the firm he works at.”
“No, I meant Julian.”
“She’s an assistant from the city council. I talked him into taking her to dinner, and they hit it off,” Mom answered.
“Oh.” I took another sip of coffee and tuned her out as she talked about the food she planned to have at the dinner, and what she would wear.
Five minutes later, I snapped out of my daze when Missy clapped her hands in my face.
“Huh.”
“I said your mother’s gone, so you can relax,” Missy said.
I rubbed my forehead.
“She’s so overbearing. I’m twenty-nine and capable of making my own decisions.”
“How about we go shopping and out to lunch. We’re both off from the club today,” Missy said.
“Sure.”
“Perfect. We can talk about the dance studio plans,” Missy said.
That reminded me that I needed to set up some dates to look at plans for my building space. Normally, I taught personal sessions at a studio for women who wanted to impress their boyfriends or husbands with a sexy performance. But I was close to having the money I needed to get my own building up and running.
FORTY MINUTES LATER, we made it to the Bellevue Square Mall. Missy handed me a strawberry ice cream cone as we continued shopping at Lorna Jane to find some workout gear.
“This would be cute for you,” Missy said, pulling out a long-sleeve, red-and-green sweatsuit.
“I need a good sports bra and short set.”
“Maybe this white-and-black set would work,” Missy replied.
We continued eating our ice cream and talking when my phone vibrated in my jacket pocket. I took it out and saw my brother texting me.
My brother: Where are you?
Me: With Missy
My brother: Tell her to answer the phone.
Me: Why?
My brother: Mind your business, sis.
I narrowed my eyes and watched Missy as she held up a pair of tennis shoes toward me. I closed out the text thread and dialed his number.
“What are you doing with my friend?” I questioned.
“Turtle, I’m busy.”
“Funny you’re busy, but you just texted me about my friend.”
“I need to ask her a question.”
“About what?” I inquired and headed in her direction to the shoe section.
“Business, little girl.” My brother laughed.
“I’ll tell her to answer her phone, but if you hurt my friend, EJ, I’ll kick your ass.”
“Worry about being at family dinner this weekend,” my brother told me and ended the call.
I looked at the phone and shook my head. After tossing it in my purse, I crossed my arms and stared at her.
“What?”
“Is there something you need to tell me?”
“These are on sale.” She held the shoes up again.
I grabbed her elbow and pulled her to the side near the dressing room.
“Are you messing with my brother?” I asked.
“Define messing with.” She fidgeted with her hands.
I scoffed and threw my hands in the air, pacing back and forth.
“I thought you were seeing Asher.”
“That was a mistake,” she said under her breath.
“How long have you been seeing him?”
“A year,” she blurted out.
“Wow. I guess I’m not the only one keeping secrets.”
“I love him, Elina,” she confessed.
“EJ Murphy Jr.? My brother, the one who thinks he’s my father.” I had to remind her of him being overbearing at times. She chuckled, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.
“He’s not that bad. Sorry we didn’t tell you, but I was still seeing Asher, and EJ was still dating other women,” Missy informed me.
We handed over the clothes we’d picked out to the salesgirl. She pulled her bank card out first and tried to pay for my clothes.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said.
“I’m not. Your brother is paying for this. He gave me his bank card.”
I gasped in shock. My brother was the cheapest person I had ever met. For him to give over his credit card meant they were more serious than I thought.
“Where was I when this started?”
“Can we go eat, and I’ll explain?” she asked.
The cashier gave her the card back, and I grabbed my bags and handed over her things. I followed her out of the store, and we went to the food court to grab a quick bite to eat at the sub shop.<
br />
“SPILL IT.”
“It started when he came over a year ago, and we got to talking.”
“Just like that?”
“I mean, I was going through something with Asher at that time. You remember? I broke up with him after he cheated,” Missy remarked.
I remembered sitting up and listening to her talk about Asher going out with some girl at his job. I still wondered what Missy saw in Asher because he couldn’t keep a job for a long time, and his last one had only been working at an auto shop. Asher was still living at home with his parents at thirty-two years old, with no type of mindset to better himself.
“You talked to EJ and then what happened?”
“He’s not all that bad.”
“He’s a lawyer. By definition, they have a streak of lying and cheating to get ahead.”
She burst into laughter. Our number was called, and I stood to grab our food.
“He was nice to me, and we just talked for a few weeks. After a while, he asked me out, and we’ve been dating ever since.”
“How did I not know this?” I muttered to myself.
“I told him to keep it a secret. If things didn’t work out between us, I didn’t want you to feel like you had to choose,” Missy explained.
I could understand her thought process because I felt the same way about Julian.
“Well, he called and told me to tell you to answer the phone.”
“He’ll be all right,” Missy said.
“Don’t tell me he’s in the doghouse right now?” I asked.
Missy unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite.
“He stood me up talking about how he had to work but ended up playing cards with his friends.”
“That sounds like my brother.”
“Exactly. I’ll see him at your parents’ dinner this weekend.”
I pretended to pray and make the sign of the cross over my chest and forehead. She threw the napkin at me and laughed.
“It’s going to be an interesting dinner.”
Missy and I grinned as my phone vibrated. I saw Julian’s name pop up. Ignoring his call, I put my phone on silent and continued shopping and hanging out with Missy for the rest of the day.
Chapter Three: Julian
I’M THE SON OF JULIAN Easton—the governor of Washington—and Margarita Gonzalez. My father was black, and my mother was a Mexican immigrant who had escaped poverty to come to America. I was their only child, and they raised me to always focus on getting the highest education I could. I had a responsibility to carry on the family name.
Just like EJ, I was a junior, and that meant I couldn’t be seen at strip clubs, but my reputation as a heartbreaker had already gotten me in hot water many times. At this point, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to my parents if I were caught, so Turtle didn’t scare me. But she was right about me potentially becoming the mayor of Seattle, so that wouldn’t have been a good look.
All my thoughts were on Elina and how I wanted to snatch her off that stage the other night and kick every guy’s ass in that room. But then I remembered the look of fear on her face when I brought up her parents, and that made me decide not to let the secret out. We were both stubborn and wanted things our way, so I would have to show her I was there for her in all facets—even though I knew the problems it would cause between me and my longtime friend. Growing up, we both were protective over any guy who tried to talk to Elina, and we made sure to sabotage any little punk who thought he was feeling himself when he approached her in school. That was one of the reasons I was always getting into trouble and being sent to the principal’s office, but that was a secret I’d take to my grave.
I sat in my office, reading over the next campaign speeches I needed to study. My father had set up a few fundraising events for me, on top of interviews, so my schedule was tight. I’d made it my mission to be at the family dinner that Mrs. Murphy had every Sunday. I wasn’t sure if my parents would show up since they were hosting an event for the teachers’ union in the district.
There was a knock at my door, and I looked up, seeing EJ step through the door without waiting to be let inside.
“What’s up, fool?” EJ said, slapping hands with me.
I sat back in my chair, clasping my hands together.
“Nothing much, just going over these speeches.”
He dropped a file down on my desk, and I picked it up.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Open it and see.”
“Where did you get these?” I sifted through photos of me in front of Club Sensual and a few shots of me at the bar inside.
“As your best friend and attorney, it’s my job to keep you updated.”
I blew out a breath.
“Shit.”
“Yeah. I had my source search around and asked them to tell me if they had heard anything about you at the club. So far, we’re good, but you can’t make this a habit,” EJ said.
I looked up at him. I was curious if he knew about his sister.
“Is there anything else?”
“Should there be something else?” His hiked brow looking down at me.
“Does my father know?”
“No, I kept it from getting out.”
“Good.”
“Did you see anything worth taking home?” He chuckled and sat in the chair in front of my desk. The last thing I would do was tell him that his sister was the person I wanted to take home.
“Nothing stood out. What about you and Missy?”
“Man, that girl is pissing me off dodging my calls.”
“Can you blame her though?”
Nobody knew about him and Missy dating—even his parents didn’t know—and he didn’t like that she worked as a stripper. Often, he’d tell me about them getting into an argument about her blocking his calls while she danced for other men. If we got together, and Elina blocked my calls, I couldn’t handle it.
“Bro, focus on the next fundraiser. Your numbers are looking good,” EJ stated, with his head down, typing on his phone.
“Who are you texting?”
“Missy. She just left the club and went home.”
“What about that dude she was seeing... Asher something?”
He waved off my comment.
“I made it clear to her about not fucking with that dude,” EJ explained.
“Be careful, man. I’d hate to have my best friend and lawyer get arrested for being jealous,” I joked.
“I can’t promise anything, but what about you? Do you need me to get somebody to escort you to the event?” he asked.
“I already have somebody in mind,” I said, trying to think of how I could get Elina to be my date.
EJ rose from his seat and slid his phone into his pocket.
“Cool, you coming to the family dinner?”
“Of course. I’ll see you there.” We shook hands, and EJ left the office. I stared back at the photos and took my phone out of my pocket to make a call.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?”
“Julian?” she questioned.
“You know who this is, Elina.”
“Honey, you’re up next!” I heard some guys yell out.
“I have to go.”
“We need to talk now.”
“I can’t. I’m at work right now,” she whispered into the phone.
“Honey! I got a crowd screaming for you. Hurry up,” a guy shouted.
“Elina, if you get off this phone, you’re going to regret it,” I demanded, gripping the phone.
“Don’t threaten me. I don’t need rescuing by you. I’m fine,” she spat, ending the call.
I slammed my hand on the desk, picked up the photos again for one last look, and shook my head. Making the final decision, I jumped up and left the office when my assistant stopped me.
“Julian! Where are you rushing off to?” Jenna asked, holding a coffee cup in her hand. She handled my schedule through the campaign process. I’d known her for about five y
ears, and she’d been with me since I started working as a community organizer and put myself in a position to help people in local government.
“I have an appointment that I’m late for, Jenna.”
She checked her watch, confused by my answer.
“I don’t remember you having anything at this time.”
“It’s a last-minute thing.”
“Should I come with you?” Jenna asked.
“No. I’ll handle it alone.”
“What if your father calls looking for you?” Jenna wondered.
I pushed the office door open. “Forward it to my cell!” I called out over my shoulder and jumped in my car to drive to Club Sensual.
I WALKED TO THE DOOR toward the security guard.
“We’re not open for another thirty minutes,” he said.
“I need to talk to E... I mean Honey.”
“The dancers aren’t available,” he responded, holding his hand up to stop me.
I pushed him out of the way and stormed inside as he tried to follow.
“Yo, you can’t come in here!” he yelled, jerking me by the back of my jacket. I pushed him up against the bar.
“Julian! What are you doing?” Elina screamed, trying to pull me off the guard.
“Get your things and let’s go,” I demanded, glaring at her.
“I’m not your responsibility,” she spat.
I let the guard go and ran a hand down my face.
“I’m trying my best to not embarrass you here, Elina. Get your bag and let’s go.”
“I drove here.”
“Follow me to my place.”
She stormed off to the backroom to get her things.
“What the hell is going on out here?” The guy I assumed was the owner came toward the bar smoking on a cigar.
“Elina is no longer working here.” I slid my hands in my pockets.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I responded. Elina came back out, and I took her bag as she rolled her eyes.
“Honey, where are you going?”
“Bobby, I’ll call you later,” Elina said.
“No, you won’t.”
“We have a huge party coming in tonight,” Bobby replied.
“Find someone else because I doubt Elina’s family will like the idea of her dancing here.” I looked around the club, then back at the guy.
