People didn’t come to a strip club for a hand-crafted cocktail. Well drinks and a low price point was what they had in mind. Anything that got them wasted and still left enough cash to stuff in a few pairs of panties.
The only reason I hadn’t left already was Simone, and, after tonight, it was finally starting to sink in there may not be any room for me to wiggle my way back in. She was still pissed and it had been almost a year.
It may be time for me to accept her stance and move on.
As I made drinks, took money, and moved through the paces, I came to a decision.
Tonight, was the night.
I’d get her to listen to me once and for all. I’d lay it all out, tell her how I felt, and if she still wouldn’t listen, or God forbid, shot me down, I’d be done. I couldn’t keep on here with the way things were between us. I’d give notice tomorrow and start moving forward.
It was time for me to grow up and start living the life I wanted, and if Simone didn’t want to be by my side, I’d have to figure out a way to move on.
Three
Simone
I paced the dressing room, not even bothering to try and smile at the girls who were watching me warily as they got ready.
They were used to my temperament, and knew enough not to poke the bear when I was trying to calm myself down.
Once my blood pressure lowered and I started to breath normally again after my encounter with Micah, I shook it off. Starting with my head, then shoulders, and then arms, allowing all the tension to leave my body.
I did either yoga or pilates every morning, and had been recently trying to find my center and meditate. I wasn’t very good at either, but the different techniques I’d been learning to regain calm after I got worked up actually seemed to help.
I’d always been rather high strung. Some may say abrasive, while others downright mean.
Like most people, I was a product of my upbringing, but, as I got older, I’d come to realize there were things about myself that I wanted to change. So, I’d been finding the tools I needed to do so.
It wasn’t that I wanted to change who I was as a person. I actually like myself and don’t give a shit if other people don’t. But, I don’t think being angry and closed off all the time is healthy, and since my physical health was on point, I figured it was time to work on my mental health.
Self-care and all that.
“Anyone need anything?” I asked the girls as I looked around the room.
There were girls in different stages of dress. Some applying makeup, others spraying on self-tanner, as they got ready for their time up in front of the lights. Not all would dance on stage. Some would give lap dances, while others simply walked the room and gave little dance previews on the floor in between performances.
I wouldn’t say they were my friends, but I would say the people who worked in this club, both in the past and in the present, were my family.
The only family that had ever mattered.
“Oh, Simone, good, I was hoping to catch you back here.”
I heard Ginger’s sweet, fairy-like voice say from behind me.
I turned and looked down.
I had a good eight inches or more on the red-haired pixie, with the face and voice of an angel and the body obviously imagined from the dreams of the devil himself.
“What’s up?” I asked, trying to keep the edge out of my voice.
In the past, I’d always tolerated Ginger, but eventually she’d worn me down and I’d started to actually enjoy being around her. Then she and Micah had started hanging out, and I’d gone into self-preservation mode.
I didn’t want to admit that we’d become close enough that I’d given her the power to hurt me, but I couldn’t deny that it had felt pretty shitty the first time I’d seen them head to head, whispering together like long-lost lovers.
“Come here,” Ginger said, putting her hand on my arm.
I looked down at where her fingers were touching my skin until she flinched and took her hand back.
Still, I followed her through the room and around the curtain.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked once we were alone, or, at least out of sight.
“No,” I protested, a little too quickly. “Why would I be mad at you?”
She shrugged and scrunched up her nose. On anyone else it would be unflattering, but on Ginger, it was cute.
“I don’t know? Because I’m friends with Micah?” she asked cautiously. “Do you see it as me betraying you by talking to him? I mean, I hope not, I like to be friendly with everybody, when possible, and you and Micah are two of my best friends.”
We were? I was?
“Wait, are you saying that you and Micah aren’t together?”
Ginger blinked at me, then smiled widely.
“Ohhhhh,” she said annoyingly in a sing-song voice. “You thought Micah and I were together, that’s why you’ve been giving me the stank eye and silent treatment.”
“Ginger…” I warned, and she was back to looking at me like I was a wild animal. And, I was all right with that.
“Sorry, no, Micah and I are not, have never been, and will never be, a couple in any way. He’s like my brother. Besides, there’s someone else I’m interested in,” she told me, her cheeks getting flush.
I felt such relief that she and Micah weren’t together that it took a few moments for me to register what she said.
“There is? Who? You’re always here and I never see you with anyone but Micah or Big Mike. Ewww, it’s not Big Mike, is it?” I asked, feeling nauseous at the thought.
I loved Big Mike and all … He was family, but he was kind of a creeper.
In fact, I think he’d slept with every girl who’d ever danced in his club, except for me, and, I hoped, Ginger.
“Seriously, Simone?” Ginger asked, her eyes comically wide. “First of all, Big Mike would probably break me in half.” I laughed picturing the height and weight difference, then threw up a little in my mouth at the mental image. “And, second, ah, no. I have more self-respect than that. I was with Bo when I met Big Mike, and he helped me through that fiasco. No, I could never be romantically involved with him.”
Ginger had moved to Las Vegas with her hometown boyfriend, Bo. Things hadn’t worked out and he’d ended up leaving her, brokenhearted, and moved back to Texas.
“So? Who is it?” I prodded, forgetting my distain for back room gossip.
“Remember when I took that trip to see my friend, Belle, in South Carolina? Well, I met a guy there, Jones, and he’s pretty special. We’ve kept in touch here and there, and since I’m going to be moving out there, I’m hopeful that we can get something started.”
“Wait, what?” I asked, feeling like I’d just been sucker-punched. “You’re leaving Vegas?”
“Yeah, I’m gonna open a restaurant with Belle.”
I felt suddenly bereft at the knowledge that, once more, someone I cared about would be leaving me behind. And, although I vaguely remembered Ginger’s trip, I hadn’t realized she was invested enough in this Belle person to uproot her life. She’d never even mentioned Jones.
As I struggled to be happy with Ginger, while still feeling sorry for myself, I excused myself from the conversation by saying I was needed back out on the floor.
Running from my feelings was a lifelong sport, after all.
Four
Micah
“Sir, can you please keep your hands to yourself?”
This was the third time I’d heard Cara, one of my servers, ask the suit at table twenty-three this question, and I was tired of it.
“Be right back!” I shouted to Carlos as I rounded the bar.
I caught the eye of one of our bouncers and nodded toward the table I was stalking toward.
Tiny lifted his chin in acknowledgement and started to weave through the crowd.
“Hey, buddy, if you can’t keep your hands to yourself, you’re going to have to leave. I heard Cara tell you more than once to keep your hand
s off. Since you seem unable to listen to her, I thought maybe you’d listen to me.”
“Who the fuck are you?” the guy asked, his words slurring.
“Me?” I asked affably, pointing to my chest. “Well, I’m just the guy who’s cutting you off. It’s that guy you need to worry about.”
I turned my finger toward Tiny, who was anything but, and gave the suit a grin, then turned my attention to his buddies.
“I think it’d be best if you guys got your friend out of here.”
“We haven’t seen the main event yet,” the suit argued, but his friends were already getting up.
“Come on, Frank, let’s get going,” one of the guys said, looking warily at Tiny. “We don’t want any trouble.”
“What’s going on?”
I turned my head to see Simone heading our way with a scowl on her sexy face.
“Just a guy who had a little too much and got handsy, we’ve got it covered,” I explained.
I braced, waiting for her to make a snide comment, or get pissed I didn’t call her to handle the situation.
Instead, I was surprised when she said, “Good, thanks for handling it,” then nodded at Tiny and walked back toward the stage.
Huh, that was weird, I thought as went back to the bar.
I tried to remember the last time she hadn’t given me a hard time, and couldn’t, but I knew it had to be before the hookup.
I glanced across the room, catching sight of her blonde head, and wondered what had changed in the last half hour. Not that I was complaining; if she was finally ready to cut me some slack, maybe she’d be open to listening to my apology and moving on.
“What can I get you?” I asked as I got back to work.
I spent the next hour and a half making drinks. We were so packed I barely had time to take a sip of water, so once there was a lull, I let Carlos and Gina take five, then I did the same to hit the head and down a bottle of water.
We did our best to keep everything clean as we worked, but being behind the bar meant spills and the occasional broken glass.
I also kept a couple bar backs on hand to help clean glasses as the bussers brought them back, but I hated the back of my bar to be too congested, so I usually only had one on shift at a time, which meant the bartenders had to pick up the slack.
We’d been working together long enough that we had a rhythm, and could usually make it through the night with minimal mistakes and have a good time even if we were working our asses off.
That was one thing I’d miss when I left. My team. It took time and patience to build a cohesive team, and I finally had one. I knew I couldn’t take them with me when I left, although they’d always be welcome wherever I worked. I wouldn’t do that to Big Mike, who’d given me a shot when I was still young, eager, and full of shit.
“Micah.”
Speak of the devil and he appears.
I turned to Big Mike and lifted my chin.
“Can you make sure inventory gets done tonight? I’m gonna place the order first thing tomorrow, so if you could have it on my desk before you leave, that would be great. I gotta head out early tonight, Tanzie said if I missed another anniversary, it’d be the last one.”
“Sure thing, boss,” I replied as I finished making a long island. “Get her something shiny.”
“Already done,” Big Mike replied.
Big Mike had been dating Tanzie, who used to work here, off and on for the entire time I’d been here. He cheated, they broke up. She cheated, they broke up. He lived at the club, they broke up. Honestly, I had no idea why they put up with each other and hadn’t realized they were on again this month, but who was I to judge if they got off on driving each other nuts.
Not everyone could have the kind of relationship my parents had.
They’d been together since high school. Each other’s first kiss. First time. First everything. And they’d been married thirty-five years now.
When I was younger, I thought that shit was corny as hell and vowed not to stay with the first chick I’d dipped my wick in. Or, hell, the thirtieth chick. But, now that I was older, I was better able to understand what they had was special, and see the benefits of living your life with that one special person.
I chuckled and shook my head.
Simone was already scared shitless of men and relationships. If she knew the thoughts I had when I looked at her now, and that they didn’t all involve the two of us trying out every position in the Kama Sutra, she’d be shocked.
Big Mike had left early, which meant she’d be closing. And, since I was staying to do inventory, we’d finally get that chance to be alone.
This time, she was going to listen.
Five
Simone
“Have a good night,” I called as the last of the girls started out of the club, giggling as they made their plans for the rest of the night.
Oh, to be young and still eager to go out drinking at three a.m. after pulling an eight-hour shift on your feet. I remembered those days. Lately, I’d been finding it much harder to work all night and sleep half the day away.
I was getting old and sleep was more important than going out.
“Need anything before I go?”
I looked up and shook my head. “Thanks, Ginger, I’m good.”
“See you tomorrow,” she said with a tired smile.
“Same time, same place,” I replied.
It was starting to feel like I was stuck in that movie Groundhog Day. Stuck reliving the same day, over and over, with no change or variation.
Wake up, do yoga. Grab something quick to eat, straighten up my apartment, come in to the club, repeat.
I needed something more.
What I’d really like, is someone to break up the monotony.
A man to talk things over with, to plan my future with, and to curl up next to at night.
I sighed as I left the dressing room to the cleaning staff and headed for the back office. I still had some scheduling to tweak. A couple girls had asked to switch shifts, and I wanted to make sure all the changes were in and the schedule was complete, before I forwarded it to Big Mike.
I sat down behind the desk and kicked off my heels, biting back a moan of relief.
Wishing I could also get rid of my skin-tight dress in favor of sleep shorts and a tank, I logged into the computer, promising myself I’d finish up quickly and get home so I could do just that.
Thirty minutes later, I logged off and stood, stretching as I envisioned crawling into bed.
Suddenly, I felt exhausted.
That’s when I noticed the Post-It on the corner of the desk that said Inventory in red and was underlined twice.
Shit! Is that note for me?
Big Mike hadn’t mentioned inventory to me before he left, but it wasn’t unusual for him to get distracted and forget. Normally, Micah was the person in charge of inventory, but my conscience wouldn’t allow me to assume Big Mike had spoken to him and Micah had taken care of it.
I couldn’t just leave. I had to make sure.
Forgoing my heels, I grabbed a pair of flip-flops out of my bag, and threw it back down on the desk.
Then, I took a water bottle out of the mini fridge and headed out back to storage to check the inventory list. All I could do was hope that Micah had completed it and simply forgot to put it on the desk.
If not, I wouldn’t be crawling into bed for at least another hour.
I opened the door, stuck the door stop in, and turned on the lights. When I noticed the inventory sheet still hanging on the wall, I muttered, “Mother fucker,” under my breath, then crossed to take it down.
“Oh, hey, I was just coming to get started.”
I turned to see Micah standing in the doorway and ignored the quick pulse in my stomach at the sight of him.
“I was helping Carlos behind the bar, but he said he’d finish up so I could get started on the inventory.”
I nodded, feeling relieved that I could end my day, and walked towar
d him.
Once I was close enough, I held out the clipboard to him and said, “Great, I’m going to go ahead and head out.”
“Wait,” Micah said, not taking the offered clipboard. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
I groaned and pleaded, “Micah, I’m really tired. Can we not do this now?”
In response, Micah kicked out his foot and the door slammed shut.
I stood there for a second, not comprehending what he’d done, then felt a flare of anger.
“What the hell did you just do?” I asked, slamming the clipboard against his stomach and rushing to the door.
I placed my hand on the round handle and pushed with all my might, but it didn’t budge.
“We’re locked in,” I said, beginning to panic. “Why would you do that? You know the thing is busted.”
“Calm down, Carlos is right inside. I’ll call him … after you give me a chance to explain.”
I spun on my heel, crossed my arms over my chest, and glared at Micah.
“You have two minutes, then I want that fucking door open.”
“Okay,” Micah said, shuffling his feet as if he were nervous. “Simone … I want to apologize for what happened at the Bellagio. Not the weekend, that was the best couple days of my life. But, when you told me how you were feeling, I thought you were fucking with me. I never imagined that you, Sexy as Fuck Simone, who ruled the club and took no shit from anyone, was actually interested in something more than a weekend from me. I was a little scared at the thought, and laughed as more of a reflex than anything. I never meant to hurt you … It’s the last thing I wanted. And, I want you to know, I’ve never felt like that with anyone before. I like you, really like you, and if I haven’t already fucked things up, I’d like another shot.”
We both stood there in silence, my heart pounding in my chest as his words seemed to reverberate through me.
There were a million things I wanted to say, but I couldn’t help that one part of me that wondered if he was saying these things to make his life at work easier, not because he really meant them.
Night & Day--A Time for Love Series Novella Page 2
