by Kat Mizera
“Everyone on the floor,” Tony said, sticking his head in the door. “We’ve got a full house and customers are waiting more than twenty minutes for drinks. I want all of you out there. Including you…Cassidy.”
There he went again, with some sort of veiled threat, and Cassie glanced over her shoulder at him, arching her brows. “So you want me on the floor and in the middle of serving drinks when I have to dance?”
“You’ll figure it out.” He backed out and Cassie scowled.
“Why does he have it out for me tonight?” she demanded.
“Dana’s back,” one of the other girls whispered, brushing past her.
Cassie stared after her. “Seriously?” That was all she needed.
Dana and she had been competing for the top spot here at the club for ages. Dana had been the one who first brought her here and then she’d gotten jealous when Cassie had taken the midnight slot on weekends, so she’d left and gone to another club. It had impacted their friendship, too, but Cassie hadn’t known what to do. The whole idea of working here was to make money, and it felt unfair that Dana was mad that she was doing well. The news that she was back just made an already stressful night that much more stressful and now Cassie understood why Tony was being a dick; he and Dana had been sleeping together on and off for over a year.
She quickly finished her makeup and headed out to the floor. She would make a few bucks before her next dance and then stay backstage as long as possible. Usually, once she danced at two thirty, Tony let her go home, but she had a bad feeling about tonight.
The room was really packed as she made her way into the main part of the bar and found a tray.
“Hey, the boys at table fourteen are asking for you,” one of the waitresses said, walking up next to her. “They look like spenders.”
Cassie turned in that direction and nearly groaned. Logan, Ryder, Vik, and a few of their teammates were sitting at one of the better tables, right near the stage. Well, at least this group would know she didn’t do lap dances.
“I got them, thanks.” She headed in that direction, forcing a smile to her face. “Hey, guys. What’s everyone drinking?”
“Bring us three pitchers,” Logan told her, smiling.
“And many glasses,” Vik said, nodding.
“Be right back.” She headed for the bar and hoped the table with Logan and the others would keep her busy long enough for her to escape to the back to get ready for her show.
“It’s nice seeing you on the floor tonight.” Bob’s voice made the hair on her arms stand on end and she turned slightly.
“Thanks,” she said dryly, ignoring him as she called out her order to the bartender.
“I’ll give you a thousand dollars for a lap dance, Nympho.” Bob was standing a little too close and Cassie stepped to the side.
“I don’t do lap dances,” she said, not looking at him and grabbing six cold beer glasses out of the freezer next to the bar.
“Fifteen hundred,” he cajoled.
Jesus, that was a lot of money for something that would last maybe three minutes. But even before she could say anything, he’d slid an arm around her waist.
“Come on, say yes. You know you want to.”
“Bob, knock it off.” She tried to shrug him off, but if she nudged him any harder, she’d knock over the glasses on her tray and Tony would make her pay for them.
“Nymph, here are your pitchers,” the bartender called out.
“I have to go,” Cassie said to Bob. “Let me deliver these drinks.” She picked up two pitchers by the handles in one hand while balancing the tray of glasses with the other. “I’ll be right back for that one,” she called out. She moved away from Bob and got to Logan’s table, setting down the two pitchers and passing out the glasses.
“Let me pour you all a glass and then I’ll be back with the last pitcher.” She picked up the pitcher closest to her and had just reached for Logan’s glass, since he was closest, when Bob sidled up to her.
“Come on and dance for me,” he whispered against her ear, putting his arm around her again.
“Jesus, give it a rest, will you?” she snapped. “I’m trying to serve drinks.”
“I’ll pay you a hell of a lot more than these punks will.” He ran his hand over her bare bottom since she wore a thong and a corset to serve drinks.
“Would you get your hands off me?” she hissed under her breath.
“Two thousand,” he said, yanking her against him and causing her to spill half the pitcher on Logan.
“Jesus fuck!” Logan jumped to his feet.
“I’m so sorry, Logan,” she cried, trying to push away from Bob. “Dammit, Bob, knock it off!” She elbowed him, hard, and he let out a whoosh of air before grabbing her by the arm and yanking her against him again.
“I have two thousand dollars I’m willing to pay for your services, and I expect you to do it. Now.” His eyes gleamed, and she winced as his spittle landed on her face. She’d never wanted to hit someone so much in her life, but she had to find a way to get him off of her without losing her job.
“Bob, I already told you I don’t do lap dances,” she said. “So please let go and find someone else to dance for you.”
Bob glared at her. “I. Want. You.”
“The lady asked you to let her go.” The look in Logan’s eyes told her he meant business.
Shit.
8
Logan wasn’t at all concerned about being drenched in beer as he stood up straighter and looked down on Bob.
“This isn’t your concern, buddy.” Bob had a pair of steel balls, that was for sure.
“It is now.”
“Logan, I’ve got this,” Cassie murmured under her breath.
“Bob, come on.” One of the bouncers finally came over to them. “You can’t be manhandling the girls. You know that. And now you made her spill a pitcher, which comes out of her pocket. It’s too busy tonight for this bullshit.”
“Fuck you!” Bob spat at him. “She owes me a lap dance, and I want it. Right fucking now.”
“She dances in a few,” the bouncer tried to explain, but Bob was having none of it.
“I don’t give a shit!”
Damn, every time this idiot opened his mouth, he sounded more like a petulant toddler than a grown man trying to get laid, and Logan had to work hard not to laugh.
Cassie had hurried off, and she came back with the last pitcher and a handful of towels. “I’m really sorry about the beer, Logan.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said under his breath, his eyes never leaving Bob’s.
“Just sit down, pretty boy,” Bob said, turning back to Cassie. “Now come on over to my table and let’s do this.”
“How many ways can I say no to you?” she asked, throwing up her hands. “I’m not giving you a lap dance or anything else.”
“You will.” He reached for her, but the bouncer put out his hands.
“Come on, man, are you really gonna make me call the manager?”
“Uncle Tony said I can make her dance for me as long as I pay her enough.” Bob didn’t seem ready to let this go, and it was getting old.
Logan had had enough, though, and folded his arms across his chest. “As long as the lady says no, you’re not touching her.”
“Logan.” Cassie’s voice was quiet. “It’s all right. I’ll talk to Tony.”
“Oh my god, is this your boyfriend?!” Bob whirled around and out of nowhere threw a punch, swinging at Logan’s head. Logan ducked out of the way as the rest of his friends got up, coming to stand beside him, and the bouncer pulled Bob back.
“Okay, everyone, that’s enough. Let’s not turn this into something.” The bouncer turned to Bob. “Tony says you can stay if you behave, but if you rile up the other customers, you’re not behaving.”
“I just want Nympho—these guys can go fuck themselves.” He was weaving now, too drunk to stand up straight and too belligerent to walk away.
“I have to dan
ce now anyway,” Cassie muttered, shaking her head. “Beer’s on me, guys. I’ll see you later.”
“Where the hell are you going?” Bob rushed after her, grabbing her and yanking her against him, his hands all over her.
Logan didn’t know exactly what happened after that, but everything flashed red when Cassie yelped and tried to pull away. The next thing he knew, Bob was on the ground, Logan’s hand hurt, and Bob’s nose was at a really weird angle. There was blood, and people were yelling, and it took both Ryder and Vik to get him off the guy.
“Logan, stop!” Cassie tried to get his attention, but Logan was pissed.
“You’re out of here!” the bouncer was yelling, pointing to the door.
“It was his fault—” Cassie began.
“All of you are out of here.” Tony came up from behind and yanked his nephew up by the shirt. “Jesus fucking Christ, Bobby, can you stay the fuck out of trouble just one goddamn night? I told you to bribe her, not make a scene.” He swung his gaze to Logan and the others. “You guys need to go. I’m done with the bunch of you. It’s never good when the dancers’ friends come hang out, and this is a big reason why.”
Logan threw some money on the table for Cassie but when he looked up, she was standing there with her hands on her hips.
“What the hell did you do?” she demanded. “I can take care of myself. You’re not my boyfriend, and I don’t need some knight in shining armor to protect me—I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself.”
“Cassie, you’re done here.” Tony made a slashing motion with the flat of his hand. “I can’t have this nonsense going on, especially on weekends. I’ll pay you for your final hours in cash, so go pack your stuff.”
“Aw, geez, don’t do that,” Logan said to him. “Look, this is on me, not her. Don’t fire her because I’ve got a temper.”
“Too late.” Tony headed toward the back.
“Thanks a lot, Logan.” Cassie gave him a look of disgust before stalking off in the direction Tony had gone.
“Holy shit, what just happened?” Ryder asked.
Logan ran a frustrated hand through his hair, shaking his head. “I just got Cassie fired.”
Logan had tried to talk to Cassie, but security wouldn’t let him into the employee parking lot, and she’d driven away without giving him a second glance. He didn’t blame her for being mad, but he wasn’t sure what he should have done. Security hadn’t been doing a good job of protecting her, and he couldn’t stand watching Bob touching her against her will. It had been an impulsive, hotheaded thing to do, but how could he have just stood there and done nothing?
He’d tried calling and texting her a few times, but she wasn’t talking to him at all and he was still bummed about it a few nights later. The team had played a good game so he was in a better mood when Ryder brought it up as they were getting dressed afterward.
“Did you hear from Cassie?” he asked. “She okay?”
Logan frowned. “She’s not answering my calls or texts.”
“Oh.” He looked thoughtful. “I might text her then, just to check in.”
“I took her out to dinner last night,” Jude said, coming over to them as he buttoned his shirt.
“What?” Logan turned to him, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“She’s been bummed since the other night, so I took her out. Thought maybe I’d cheer her up, but she’s super stressed. I felt bad.”
Logan wasn’t sure why he felt weird about them going out to dinner, but he had a funny feeling in his gut, like he wanted to hit someone, which made no sense whatsoever. He’d never been jealous in his life, but this was what he assumed it felt like.
“Has she found another job?” Ryder asked.
Jude shook his head. “She went over to the Crazy Horse, but I guess they’re not hiring so she’s looking for a regular waitressing gig. She’s really worried about paying for school, though, since she’s getting ready to graduate from community college and the four-year university is a lot more expensive.”
“Maybe we could pay her rent or something for a few months,” Ryder suggested, “until she finds a new job.”
Logan was still trying to get past the fact Jude had taken her out, but he couldn’t say that out loud. “I really fucking hate that we got her fired.”
“We?” Jude arched a brow. “That was all you, bro. And she’s royally pissed about it.”
“Bob was manhandling her!” Logan protested. “I wasn’t going to stand there and do nothing.”
“The bouncer was handling it,” Ryder pointed out.
“The bouncer wasn’t handling shit,” Logan muttered, though his friends were probably right.
“You are dating her now?” Vik asked Jude.
Jude shook his head, giving a little shrug. “I tried, ’cause she’s pretty great, but she friend-zoned me big-time. She wasn’t kidding when she said she doesn’t date, and I’m not gonna force the issue. I’m good with being friends.”
“I don’t know what to do,” Logan said, changing the subject since Cassie friend-zoning Jude made him happier than it should have. “But it feels like I need to make this up to her.”
“I don’t think she’ll take money from us,” Jude said slowly. “I don’t know her that well, but well enough, and I get the feeling she’d be uncomfortable with us just giving her money.”
“Maybe we can think about it,” Ryder suggested, “and come up with a plan. But I have to get going because Coco has probably torn up everything in her cage and then some.”
Jude laughed. “Maybe you can pay Cassie to watch Coco.”
Ryder laughed, too. “Yeah, I don’t know if there’s enough money for someone to watch Coco full-time. Little mischief-maker that she is.”
“Not so little,” Logan quipped, since Coco was almost a hundred pounds.
“I’m out!” Ryder waved and disappeared down the hall.
“I should go, too,” Logan said finally.
“Call her,” Vik murmured as Logan walked past him. “Apologize. This is important.”
Logan didn’t know how to respond, since Vik was right, so he just nodded and kept walking.
9
Cassie rarely sulked about anything, but losing her job at All the Way put her in a funk unlike any other she’d ever had. On one hand, she was so happy to not be at the club every night, but on the other, she had bills to pay and college tuition to come up with. She’d done the numbers for living on campus in the fall, but she still had to find a place to live in the summer, which would be expensive. She could potentially move in with her mom for eight or nine weeks, but that was a last resort, and even if she did, she’d still have to take out student loans.
The whole thing was a disaster, and she didn’t understand why Logan had felt the need to get involved. She’d handled guys like Bob before, and the club’s bouncer was right there ready to help. Yet Logan had gone all caveman on her, practically pounding his chest in some outdated move to protect her.
Why the fuck hadn’t he just backed off? It wasn’t like they were dating or anything. Hell, she’d gone out on an actual date with Jude, and he wasn’t half as overprotective as Logan was.
She closed her statistics book in frustration. She couldn’t concentrate for shit, worried about how she was going to pay bills going forward. She had enough put aside for a couple of months, but that was supposed to go toward tuition in the fall. Now everything was messed up, and she was more stressed than she’d been in a long time.
Logan had called and texted at least a dozen times, but she hadn’t answered or responded because she didn’t know what to say. He was undoubtedly sorry, and would most likely offer her money, but that was a short-term solution to a long-term problem, and even a few thousand dollars wouldn’t really help at this point. It was only February, and the next semester didn’t start until September, which meant seven long months of bills until then. Assuming she even got the loans she needed. The whole thing was a mess, and she got annoyed all over again.
Her phone rang, and she smiled when she saw Charli’s name on the screen. Charli and her husband, Miikka, were expecting a baby, and she’d been a little under the weather of late, so Cassie hadn’t talked to her since she’d seen her at the game a couple of weeks ago.
“Hey, girl.”
“Hey, I heard you’ve had a rough week.”
“You heard?” Cassie asked, grimacing to herself.
“Well, Logan talks to Miikka, and he feels really bad, so Miikka told me, and I figured I should check in. I wish you would have called me so I could be there for you.”
“I’m okay.”
“Tell me the story. Miikka only gave me highlights.”
Cassie told her what had happened and sighed. “I wish I knew what he’d been thinking.”
“He’s thinking he’s hot for you,” Charli said, “but in denial.”
“No way. Logan has made it a thousand percent clear he’s not into dating. Or me, for that matter. He was just being a good friend, which normally, I would appreciate, except it wasn’t necessary and I wound up getting fired.”
“He feels terrible and told Miikka he’s been trying to apologize, but you haven’t been answering.”
“What is there to say?” Cassie protested. “I can call him back and accept his apology, but I’m still out of a job and completely overwhelmed with tuition for next year. It’s a lot, Charli.”
“I know, honey. Really. What if Miikka and I loaned you—”
“No. Thank you. I mean it. You’re the best. But that just adds the stress of having to pay you back.”
“Isn’t paying us back, interest-free, better than taking out loans that are going to accrue interest?”
“Yes, but… I have to do this on my own. I don’t want to owe anyone money, least of all a good friend like you.”
“Well, if things get to a point where you can’t find the money, or a good enough job, the offer stands. I’ve been where you are, completely on my own, trying to figure out college, and I wound up taking out a shit ton of student loans. In fact, Miikka just paid them off for me, and even though he’s my husband and the love of my life, I still had that same little twinge, where I kind of wanted to pay it myself. Except we love each other and we’re having a baby, so paying them off was the right move.”