by Toni Aleo
She reached out, moving the hair, as he said, “I know you said that I can’t blame myself for how my sister and mother were, but I can’t help it. I hate what they did and how they allowed things to happen to Claire. How could they allow her to beg for food, to have to fight to keep men off her? Why would my sister put her in that position? Why couldn’t she just give her to me? You know? I wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed back then but fuck, I would have protected her.”
Reese felt broken as she listened to him, his voice hitching in spots and slowly breaking her heart. “You’re right, you would have, and you are now.”
“It just sucks because it’s not my sister or my mom that have to deal with the aftermath of their actions, it’s me and Claire. I’m the one that has to fix Claire, to shower her with love and reassure her that she will never go hungry again or ever have to fight off a man. Not that I have a problem doing it, I would die for this girl but still, it shouldn’t be like this. They should be here, healthy and as a family, we should do this together.”
Reese cupped his face and brought it up so she could gaze into his show-stopping eyes. “Even though they aren’t here and have created all kinds of hell for you, let me just say that you are doing a marvelous job with Claire. I promise you that she is going to grow up and be happy and successful because you love her so much. You are the best thing for her, Phillip. She is lucky to have you.”
He smiled, leaning into her hand. “Thanks.”
She winked at him, receiving a laugh from him as she whispered, “Anytime.”
“The same goes for you too, you know.”
She gave him a puzzled look as she asked, “What do you mean?”
“You. You’re the best thing for her as well, and she is lucky to have you,” he said. He looked away and then in a lower voice, said, “So am I. Every time I feel like I’m fucking up, you reassure me. I couldn’t do this without you, so thank you.”
For some reason that statement didn’t freak her out, it pleased her, as she locked eyes with him. Biting into her lip, she ran her thumb along his bottom lip before saying, “You’re welcome.”
When he pushed up on his hands, she watched as his arms flexed before his lips were right at hers, his eyes boring into hers, a grin sitting on his beautiful lips. “I like that we are there for each other.”
She nodded, her heart hammering against her ribs because she shouldn’t like it but she did.
“Me too.”
Moving his nose along hers, he whispered, “Good, now kiss me.”
“Always so demanding,” she teased as her hands trailed down his back, cupping his fine ass.
“Damn right and you love it,” he said, right before he captured her mouth with his own.
All she could do was kiss him and think that he was completely right.
“WELL IF it isn’t Miss Reese Allen of the sought-after Reese Allen Company. You know I’ve been hearing your name all week!”
Reese turned and a wide smile crossed her face when her gaze met a pair of familiar, green, cat-like eyes. Mrs. Prissy stood with a confidence that came with being one of the best Burlesque dancers in the industry. Even retired, people knew who she was. With bright red hair, big pouty lips, breasts that gave Dolly Parton a run for her money and a trim, sexy waist, Mrs. Prissy was a showstopper, giving the saying that ‘the forties were the new thirties’ a new meaning. Of course, with the help of multiple plastic surgeries, but no one mentioned that part. Ever.
Reaching out, she wrapped her arms around her old friend and smiled as she hugged her back. “Mrs. Prissy, gorgeous as ever!”
She laughed as she waved her off. “Oh stop, you’re making me blush,” she said, but Reese knew she loved it.
“You, blush? Please, I think the only time I’ve ever seen you blush is when you were being spanked by the owner of that basketball team!”
Out the corner of her eye, she saw Phillip’s eyebrow cock up before looking back at the stage at the group that was dancing. She liked having him there. After spending a glorious night with him, she was feeling pretty amazing as they waited for her group to hit the stage. They were lucky that the group was performing early so Phillip could catch it before rushing off to the arena for the game that night. Reese hated that she would miss it, but she had some smaller groups performing tonight. Claire and the rest of the girls were stretching while Reese checked out the competition. Reese was only worried about two other studios and knew she needed to watch but she’d much rather talk with Mrs. Prissy.
“Haha, good times, Brent and I dated for a long time after that.” She smiled as she relived the moment and then shook her head, looking back at Reese. “So you’ve been good, I see? I was worried at first when you came home from New York, but obviously that was the greatest decision of your life.”
“I am very happy.”
“Good, I can tell. You are simply gorgeous, girl. I mean goodness, you are glowing.”
Reese smiled. “Thank you.”
“I’m very proud of you. I’ve been watching your girls all weekend, fabulous is the only thing I can say. That redhead you got, Claire? She danced with that one boy.”
Reese noticed Phillip turn again as she said, “Yeah, Claire Anderson.”
“Simply phenomenal. She rocked that stage. She reminds me of a special someone I know,” she said with a wink.
Reese giggled. “I agree. She is going to rule the dance world.”
“Or maybe even the Burlesque world. The girl is sexy and dances that way.”
Reese shrugged. “Maybe, but I’m hoping for headlining tours with big names.”
Miss Prissy smiled. “That too, you should have done both, but it wasn’t what the good Lord had in his plans for you.”
“You’re right.”
“Okay, well, I wish I could stay and chat for hours but I need to go. Do me a favor though; I need you to call me, meet up for lunch because I need some new stuff for the stage. A few of my girls quit and now the ones I have left can’t come up with jack. Help me, please?”
Reese nodded. She’d walk through fire for Miss Prissy. The woman was her source of income when she was going through college and dance school. She was the reason Reese had no debt and the main reason she had the dance company. She had put the capital down, and Reese had just paid her off a year ago. “Of course, I don’t even know why you are asking. Just tell me.”
She let out a gut-busting laugh as she reached for Reese, hugging her tightly. “I’d do no such thing. I am lucky to have such an amazing young lady in my life.”
Reese closed her eyes and hugged her back. “And I’m lucky to have you.”
“Good,” she said, backing away before cupping Reese’s face. “Call me when you get back.”
“Will do.”
“Great, oh by the way, did you see that poor excuse for a man? He’s here. I flicked him off and told him to eat dirt.”
Reese laughed as she waved her off. “Yes ma’am, and that’s a story for our lunch.”
“Awesome. See you soon.”
Miss Prissy kissed Reese’s cheek before strutting away like she owned the place. A smile played on Reese lips as she turned to look up at the stage. When she felt someone staring at her, she turned to see Phillip watching her, his brows up as he asked, “Who was that?”
“Mrs. Prissy, a longtime friend. I used to work for her.”
“Oh cool,” he said with a nod, “Burlesque?”
Reese smiled. “Yup.”
“Isn’t that like stripping?”
She shrugged. “Kinda.”
“So you were a stripper?”
Reese giggled. “Sort of. No man saw my tits or kitty if that’s what you’re asking.”
Phillip smirked before leaning into her. “Maybe you can show me some of your moves sometime?”
“Maybe,” she answered, looking up with her eyes shining. He leaned over, kissing her softly before rubbing his nose against her. She really enjoyed kissing him in public. She was surp
rised how much she liked it. She knew she should be worried about that because feelings could get involved, but she just couldn’t bring herself to care.
“I bet you had men blowing loads everywhere.”
She giggled against his lips. “You know it.”
“Mmm,” he moaned softly before kissing her again. When her studio name was called, she pulled away and smiled before saying, “The girls are taking the stage.”
“You’re lucky.”
She laughed as she smacked him away playfully. “Stop, you’re distracting.”
“You know you like it.”
“Maybe.”
He gave a throaty laugh before turning to the stage where Claire was center stage, posed with her hands on her hips, her legs parted and the fiercest look on her face.
“What the fuck is she wearing?” Phillip gasped before turning to look at Reese. “Where the hell is the rest?”
“What? She looks amazing, they all do!” Reese said back as she took in her gorgeous dancers. She had on a bright pink dazzling bra that had diamonds and pink feathers, with diamond strings going down the black-studded booty shorts that had a big, bright pink bow on the butt. Reese thought they were gorgeous and looked fabulous on stage with each girls’ hair up in a high ponytail.
“That is more reveling than the other one!” he complained.
“It’s the dance world. This is what we wear; it covers way more than a bathing suit.”
“Whatever.” He glared before looking back at the stage as the music started. For the love of dance, Claire ruled and demanded the attention of everyone in the room. Reese was a little worried what the other parents would think because it was obvious that Claire was the star, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was striking, unbelievable, and it brought tears to Reese’s eyes she was so proud. When the end came and Claire was the only one on the stage, a look of domination on her face, Reese and Phillip were the loudest people in the house because Reese knew that they just placed first.
When awards followed three numbers later, Reese was right, and she felt like her winning weekend was within reach. The only thing left was the solos and with the way Claire was dancing, she knew she’d take the title home.
And Reese was beyond excited.
The next morning, Reese stood along the wall as she watched Claire and Brian stretch. Brian had already gone on but he was there for moral support, and Reese was sure that Claire liked that a lot. It had been a full morning of solos, and this was her last one. After awards, they were going to head home and she was actually excited for the ride home. It would be fun riding with Claire and Phillip, especially since Phillip was in a great mood after winning last night’s game. When he came to her room, he was jubilant, telling her that they were on a fourteen game win streak. She knew they were winning a lot but didn’t realize it had been that many. It was awesome, and they only needed four more straight wins for a new franchise record. He was very excited and sure they would make it. Reese completely believed in him, in the team, and she made plans to go to a game.
Reese hadn’t been to a game since Elli started dating Shea. It had been a while, and she was excited to get a new jersey, since she had borrowed one of Elli’s, and cheer for the home team. She was beginning to fit Phillip in her life, something she thought she’d never do, but somehow it had happened. She wanted to go do things with him and Claire, now that Claire knew about them, and for some crazy reason, she was okay with that. She also wasn’t worried about the dinner with her parents. Crazy huh? But all she could think was that Claire and Phillip were awesome people, her mom and dad would love them, and even if they thought something more about her and Phillip, they knew the truth. This was fun until it wasn’t. Then they would part ways as friends because since he had been in her life, she couldn’t imagine him not being there. Plus, she didn’t want to lose Claire, so she would work to be friends no matter what.
Moving her hair out of her face, she checked her Facebook as she waited for Phillip to come back. He went to get them Starbucks before Claire hit the stage. With her being last, Reese was really excited because she would be very fresh on the judge’s mind while they did the scoring. Reese’s other girls and Brian did well, probably their best, and even though Claire was mind blowing, she had a lot of competition today. Not only from the company but from other studios. Reese was really nervous. She wasn’t sure if the dance was strong enough. It was gorgeous, but was it award winning? Blah, she hated when she did this. Second-guessing something she knew was the best. They had worked hard on this dance, and she stood behind it completely.
So she needed to stop or at least have Phillip come to distract her.
“Hey, Reese, are you busy?”
Looking to the side, she took in a sharp breath. Kevin stood there, looking beautiful in a baggy sweatshirt and tight jeans. He had boots that came to his ankles, his hair was back in a ponytail, and Reese decided that this was not the distraction she wanted. She’d much rather go back to thinking her dance sucked than dealing with Kevin Edds. When a gorgeous blonde appeared next to him, with a little boy in her arms, Reese prayed to God that she wasn’t who she thought she was.
Cutting a look back to Kevin, she glared as she said, “My dancer is about to hit the stage.”
He gave her a pleading look before looking over at Claire and then back at Reese. “This will only take a second; my wife wants to meet you. Stacey, this is Reese.”
“Hi, Reese! It’s so wonderful to finally meet you!” she said with bright grey eyes. She grinned as she took a step forward, holding out her free hand. She had full lips, sweet, blushed cheeks, and was dressed in a very SoHo way. Looking deep into the woman’s eyes, Reese couldn’t figure out why Kevin cheated on her. She was breathtaking and had legs for days. She had to be a model or used to be, since she was very pregnant too.
Guilt flooded her as she looked into Stacey’s eyes. She never knew about her but still, she hated that she was involved in helping Kevin cheat. Not wanting to be rude, Reese took her hand, hating that she was shaking as said, “Nice to meet you too.”
“I’ve heard so much about you, saw you perform a billion times. You are simply amazing. I hate that you had to come home but apparently, it was the right choice. Every single one of your dancers has been outstanding.”
Reese had to swallow around the lump in her throat. “Thank you. I am very proud of them.”
“You should be. My favorite is her. She is astonishing and reminds me so much of you,” she said, pointing at Claire.
“I agree, she reminds me of you, too,” Kevin said, but Reese ignored him as her eyes stayed locked with Stacey’s. Something inside her wanted her to apologize, say that she never would have done such an awful thing if she would have known, but she couldn’t find the words.
“Thank you, I am very proud of Claire. She is my top student.”
“I wouldn’t doubt that! I’m so excited for her solo,” Stacey gushed as she leaned into Kevin.
“Me too,” she said before reaching out to touch the little boy’s arm. “He is a beautiful little boy, favors you completely.”
Stacey beamed. “Thank you, this is Braxton, our little man. I’m pregnant with a little girl, Bailey.”
Soon it was hard to breathe. Reese had so many plans with Kevin. She wanted to marry him, have a little boy and girl with him, when the whole time, he had that with someone else. When her lip started to wobble, she knew she had to get out of there but, before she could, a hand wrapped around her wrist. She turned to look up into a pair of stunning blue eyes and relief washed over her.
Oh, thank God, she thought as she took the coffee that Phillip had out for her.
“Thank you,” she said, thanking him for way more than just the coffee.
“Sure, I think they are about to call Claire back, ready?”
Stacey asked, “Is Claire your daughter?”
Phillip looked over at her and smiled. “She is my niece.”
“She is pheno
menal. We love watching her dance.”
“Thanks, I am very proud of her.”
“You should be,” Stacey said as Claire and Brian showed up beside them.
“Sorry to interrupted, but I go on in nine minutes according to the backstage lady,” Claire said.
“Sounds good, stretched?” Reese asked before sipping her coffee as she admired Claire. Her hair was up in a bun again with a big, black flower that had feathers coming out from behind to the side of her bun. Her outfit covered a lot more than her others. It was a dark red bra and booty short set with black lace covering the bra, her stomach, and her shorts. It was bedazzled like crazy with big, shiny stones and on the hip was a big red and black flower. It fit her like a glove and was really striking on her.
Claire grinned. “Yup, I’m ready.”
“Awesome, well if you’ll excuse us, it was great meeting you, Stacey,” Reese said but, before she could get away as quickly as she hoped, Brian stepped up with a look of awe on his face.
“You’re Kevin Edds, right? From New York, the Flash Forward Company?” Brian asked.
No, walk away, Brian! Ahh! There was no getting away so she looked over at Kevin as he nodded, reaching out to shake Brian’s hand. “Sure is, it’s nice to meet you. I really enjoyed your solo and your duet with Claire.”
Brian looked as if he was going to cry as he nodded his head quickly. “Thank you. Man, it’s amazing to meet you. I’ve applied to your company and hope to get in.”
“Is that right? I haven’t went through my apps lately, we are touring right now, recruiting students, but when I get home, I’ll make sure to put yours to the side. I really enjoyed watching you dance.”
“Wow, thank you! Are you touring in Tennessee? That’s where we are,” Brain said, pointing to him and Claire.
“Yeah, we’d love to have you at our studio. You’re like a dancing genius, right Reese?” Claire asked, her eyes bright as she looked over at her.
Refraining from telling her students that no, she would not love to have him at her studio and that she actually thought he was a dancing jerk off, she looked up at Kevin and said, “Yeah, you’re more than welcome to come any time you’d like. I know your tour is probably full now, but maybe next time.”