“I wouldn’t turn down a little work.”
“Lucky for you, I have an opening.”
Slater stiffened slightly and reached for his beer. After he took a sip, he grabbed the blonde who was sitting beside him and started making out.
“An opening?” I asked, looking away from Slater and not so much as glancing back.
“One of my crew had to take a leave of absence.”
“Why?” Slater was still kissing the blonde, but I knew damn well he was listening.
“He got a little too ambitious.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I knew not to press the issue even though I really wanted to. Instead of asking straight out, I said, “So what happens when he comes back and I took his job?”
“He ain’t coming back.”
That didn’t sound very good. I forced myself to smile slowly. “Well, it looks like it’s my lucky day.”
“I’ll be in touch,” he said and then slid out of the booth and turned to walk away. Then he glanced back. “One thing,” he said.
I flicked my gaze up to his.
“You ever touch me again, I’ll kill you.”
I felt Slater’s adrenaline rush, his sudden hawk-like attention. I didn’t dare look his way. I thought it would be a dead giveaway something was up. I stayed lounged in my seat. His threat didn’t scare me. I realized maybe it should, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
I think my lack of reaction got under his skin because he added, “And don’t keep that little piece hidden. She’d look good at my table.”
My teeth ground together. I wanted to plow my fist into his face so bad that my insides quaked with it. Stay cool, I reminded myself. If I showed Julie was any kind of weakness for me, it could be dangerous for her.
Luckily, he didn’t seem to want a response because he finally left. Thank God too, because the more I looked at him, the more I wanted to beat his ass.
Most everyone at the table followed him. I watched as he slid into another of “his” booths and then I looked away.
A waitress came by with a tray full of drinks. I grabbed one. “Hey!” she said, annoyed.
I pulled a couple bills out of my pants and slid them in the front pocket of her apron. “Thanks, sweet cheeks.”
The annoyance slipped right off her face and she winked.
I downed the drink, knowing I shouldn’t drink any more, but not caring. This night had been all kinds of messed up.
Slater and I sat there a while, bullshitting with the girls, listening to the music and Slater making out with any girl he could get his hands on. Man, he really got into his undercover role.
After a while, I slid out of the booth. “Later, man.”
He pulled away from the brunette in his lap and got out of the booth to offer me his fist. I bumped mine against his and he said, “He’s gonna check you out with Pike. You pass that and you’re in.”
I’d pass. I knew I would.
Slater clapped me on the shoulder and leaned in. “Thanks for the info.”
I didn’t acknowledge his words as I walked away. Is that why he was undercover? Was he investigating the “leave of absence” by one of the crew? I thought he was called in for the drugs as well, but now I was beginning to wonder if maybe there was more.
9
Julie
I pretended to be drunker than I was on the ride home. I didn’t want to face Dee’s never-ending questions about the guy she saw me with, the other guy I was dancing with, and if I saw what happened when a fight broke out.
Luckily, she had been too far away to see I was practically in the center of the fight. Luckily, she didn’t know what Blue looked like, because if she’d realized the man in the gray knit cap was Blue, there might have been a second fight that night.
I leaned my head against the cool glass of the backseat window and stared out into the darkness. Every once in a while, I would let my eyes droop closed so Dee would think I was close to passing out. Really, I wasn’t nearly drunk enough.
The alcohol I did drink seemed to vacate my system the minute Blue started beating up the guy I was dancing with. My eyes closed again, this time not because I was trying to fool Dee, but because I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
The way it felt to be pressed into his side as he steered me toward the exit. It was a casual touch, but I was close enough that I felt the tension in his muscles; I felt the awareness in his body. It didn’t make me afraid… It made me feel protected.
I wasn’t the kind of girl who needed to be protected. I lived alone, I took care of myself, and I refused to rely on a man. But that didn’t mean the inner princess in me didn’t squeal in delight when his arm draped around me and I felt small.
Even tough girls want to feel safe sometimes, too.
When Craig pulled the Hummer up to my house, I got out quickly, shocking them with my movements. Dee probably thought she was going to have to peel me off the backseat to get me inside.
She climbed out of the SUV and met me on the sidewalk. I smiled at her. “Thanks for the ride and for the fun.”
“You gonna be okay?” she asked, concerned.
My heart softened at her genuine concern, and I pulled her into a big hug. Maybe the alcohol was still in there somewhere after all. “Thanks, Dee. You’re the best.”
“I know,” she agreed when I pulled away. “I’ll walk you in.”
“You don’t have to,” I said, grabbing my keys. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to pass out anyway.”
“Call me tomorrow.”
“You know it.”
I knew she wouldn’t leave until I was inside, so I trudged up the steps and unlocked the front door. It took a couple tries to get the door open because my hands were shaking and my vision was slightly blurry. Yeah, the alcohol was definitely still there.
Still, I couldn’t pretend.
I couldn’t pretend that everything I was feeling was liquor-induced. The blurred vision, yeah. The exhaustion I was feeling? Probably the liquor. But the shaking? That was all Blue.
Once I was inside, I waved to her and Craig and then shut the door and leaned against it. The quiet serenity of my home enveloped me like a giant hug. I sighed in relief. I was so on my way to becoming one of those crazy old women who lived alone and watched reruns of Jeopardy all day long.
Upstairs, I yanked off my boots and clothes, leaving them in a giant heap in the center of the floor. I padded into the bathroom to wash off my makeup and comb out my hair. I clipped my bangs away from my face with a little pink clip that was lying on the edge of the sink.