by Jill Sanders
She smiled. “Why do you think my purse is so full?” She motioned to the small backpack she had worn all night.
“I like a woman who plans.” He kissed her, pouring everything he’d been feeling for her since the first time he’d laid eyes on her into the kiss.
Chapter 11
How was she supposed to fight against her heart when Rafe kissed her like he had on the beach? She knew she was losing it for him. All it took was him looking at her and her body responded as if she’d received a shot of adrenaline.
Sometimes it took over an hour for her to return to normal after she bumped into him. The more she bumped into him at work, the more she was sure that everyone at UM knew they were sleeping together.
For the most part, she spent every free minute either with Rafe or thinking about him. It was nice planning her days around his schedule. He even freed up a few nights by canceling his hours at the club so he could spend them with her.
Jamie and Blaine were still hanging out with one another but from what Emily could tell, they were just having fun. She had asked Jamie if they had slept together, but her friend’s response had been cryptic and too vague for Emily to tell if she was avoiding answering or if Jamie wasn’t sure herself.
Still, Emily really liked Blaine. The man seemed responsible enough that Emily no longer had to worry about Jamie when they went out. She hadn’t always had to babysit her, but in the past few months, things had worsened quickly, a lot faster than they had over the past couple of years.
Emily and Jamie had just finished an impromptu shopping spree and had decided to hit a small coffee shop for a quick pick-me-up.
“So, you and Rafe are getting pretty serious.” Jamie nudged her with her elbow.
Emily smiled instantly upon hearing Rafe’s name.
“Yeah, so…” She shrugged.
“It’s so cute. Every time someone mentions him, or you see him, you get that look in your eyes.” Jamie pointed to her eyes.
“Stop.” She nudged Jamie’s hand away from her eyeballs while she laughed. The line to order coffee moved and they both took a step forward. “What about you and Blaine?” Emily’s eyes narrowed as she read the computer screen menu, trying to decide what she wanted.
“What about us?” Jamie crossed her arms over her chest, a move Emily had never seen her friend make before. Jamie wasn’t one to be insecure. Hell, over the past two years, the only other time Emily had seen Jamie act nervous had been shortly before she’d started on her self-destruction path.
Emily turned and gave her friend her entire attention. “What’s up?” she asked, ignoring that the line had moved again.
“What?” Jamie frowned. “Nothing.” She waved her hands and turned her face towards the screens.
“Something’s up.” Then it hit Emily. “Oh my god!” She gasped and took her friend’s shoulders in her hands. “You like him.”
Jamie laughed. “Of course, I do. I’m not a monster. Blaine is cool.” She shrugged free of Emily’s hold.
“No, I mean… like, like.” Emily wiggled her eyebrows and her smile grew.
“Don’t be stupid.” Jamie sidestepped around her and ordered a chocolate chip muffin and an iced coffee.
She was having major cramps and knew that what she needed was herbal tea and a night at home. Instead, she ordered a cappuccino and a large chocolate muffin. She knew she would allow Jamie to drag her to the club for the night too.
“Admit it,” Emily said after placing her order and following Jamie to a small sofa in the front of the shop. The pair of them had spent plenty of time sitting in the soft leather sofa, especially in between classes. “He’s different than all the rest.”
Jamie met her eyes. “Of course, he is. He’s… Blaine.” She shrugged. “Rafe is different than all the other…” Jamie paused and then her smile grew. “Oh, wait, there haven’t been any others for you in how long?” She tapped her finger against her chin.
“Shut up.” Emily nudged her leg and crossed her arms over her chest, mimicking Jamie’s move from earlier.
“See.” Jamie motioned to her as their coffee and muffins were set in front of them. “Now who’s feeling the pressure?” She laughed and took a sip of her drink. “Besides, you’re hormonal. I can tell.” Her friend’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her.
Just then, the large television caught her eye, and Emily watched as a news report came on screen.
“Can you believe that? That’s the seventh woman to go missing along the Florida coastline in the past three months.” Emily quickly glanced around the coffee shop, suddenly feeling a shiver down her spine at the thought of someone watching them.
Jamie was quiet as she watched the report. Since the sound was off, they had to read the report across the bottom of the screen.
“Four of them disappeared from night clubs,” Jamie said in a faint voice laced with concern and something else.
“Even more reason to always have Blaine and Rafe around,” Emily added, sipping her coffee.
“Right.” Jamie pushed her untouched muffin aside.
“You don’t want that?” she asked, taking the last bite of her own.
“I’m not hungry all of a sudden.” Jamie shrugged. “I’ll take it home, maybe have it later.” Her eyes stayed glued to the screen until a commercial came on.
“So, do you still want to go watch Blaine and Rafe work tonight?” Emily asked. It was the last weekend before the semester started again, which meant they were both going to have less free time in the coming weeks and months.
“Yes.” Emily watched Jamie visibly shake the bad mood away. When she smiled, Emily almost believed her friend was back to normal, except there was still a lost look filling her eyes. “I didn’t just max out my credit card for nothing,” Jamie said, nudging the bags at her feet.
“I spent too much.” Emily sighed and thought about the cute black boots, the leather leggings, and the cream-colored bustier she’d purchased for herself.
“My parents are going to be pissed.” Jamie laughed. “I used my mother’s credit card to purchase all this.”
“You swore you weren’t going to do that again.” Emily knew that Jamie’s relationship with her very uptight elite family was strained. Still, they continued to give her credit cards, money, and anything she wanted. Jamie, for her part, continued to push the envelope with them.
Emily had only met Jamie’s parents twice when they had come down for the holidays over the past two years. But, instantly, Emily had been even more thankful for having such a loving and caring father.
“I promised them a lot of things.” Jamie shrugged and picked up her muffin. Emily was thankful she’d changed her mind, since she knew Jamie would probably not eat anything before heading to the club. “How are your dad and… his new girlfriend doing?”
“Kimber,” Emily supplied.
“Right.” Jamie nodded, and Emily knew that she’d forget the woman’s name again.
“They’re doing okay, I suppose.” She’d gone over twice now to her father’s new condo overlooking Biscayne Bay. Her father’s new place was directly between her place and Rafe’s. Every time she passed the tall building when she went to hang out with Rafe was a reminder that she hadn’t spent as much time with her father as she needed to.
Still, the fact that her father was filling his time with Kimber helped justify it in her mind.
“She’s not younger than your father? Like, twenty years younger or anything?” Jamie asked.
Emily chuckled. “No, she’s actually a few years older. She’s a lawyer as well.” Emily sighed. “I don’t know what I would do if dad started dating someone my age.” She shivered at the thought.
“My dad had an affair with one of my old high school friends.” Jamie shrugged. “Wendy got a large check from my parents’ lawyers not to go to the press about it. She’s happily spending the family’s money and living in the Keys now.”
“Does your mother know?” Emily asked.
“Wh
o do you think wrote the check.” Jamie set the half-eaten muffin down again and finished off her drink.
“Doesn’t that bother you?” Emily asked.
Jamie smiled. “Not as long as they continue to pay my tuition and rent.”
Jamie’s eyes moved back to the television and then she stood up. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Emily finished the last of her coffee and stood up. “Jamie, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” She touched her friend’s shoulder.
Jamie’s smile changed. “You complete me,” she joked as she hugged Emily.
“Love you,” she said back.
Hours later, when they walked into the club together, Emily was excited to see Rafe again. It had been almost two days since she’d last seen him, at the hospital. Her schedule had been hectic, and she’d barely gotten to say a few words to him then.
She’d had registration and last-minute preparations before classes started, so she hadn’t had time to see him the last couple of days. She’d missed him.
Seeing him sitting at the bar, dressed as a fireman as he chatted with a group of older women, made her smile.
“Looks like you’ll have to fend off the grannies to get a moment with your man,” Jamie said into her ear over the music.
Emily glanced around and found Blaine dancing on the stage with a group of bridesmaids. “I have a better chance than you.” She motioned to where Blaine was grinding for the younger women. “You’ll have to fight off a whole wedding party.” Emily laughed.
Still, Jamie chuckled. “I may just head over and enjoy the show myself.” She turned to her. “Drinks first.” She tugged Emily towards the bar.
It took Rafe less than a second to see Emily standing next to him as they waited for the bartender’s attention to order drinks.
“Hey, sexy.” He moved closer and wrapped an arm around her, then placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “God, I really want to kiss you properly.” He whispered next to her ear.
She knew the drill around his work. To keep up his reputation as a free man, he couldn’t show her any special attention over the rest of the women in the club.
Her body reacted instantly but instead of acting on it, she smiled up at him. “Hey, hot stuff.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him and had him laughing.
“Don’t mind me. It’s good to see you too,” Jamie said sarcastically before she ordered them each a drink.
“I’m glad you could make it tonight,” Rafe said into her ear.
“Oh?” she asked, hearing the concern in his tone.
“Yeah.” He sighed and glanced around. “How about a dance?” He took her hand.
“Sure.” She turned and took the drink from Jamie’s hand.
“Remember to watch your drink,” Jamie warned, then she turned to Rafe. “Watch her.”
“Will do. Blaine’s been waiting for you.” He motioned to the stage. “See you after this song.”
“Right,” Jamie said, sipping her drink as she headed towards the stage.
Emily allowed Rafe to pull her back to the dark private dance area. Instead of dancing, they sat on the leather sofa.
“Crissy disappeared last week,” he said with a frown.
“What?” Emily tried to remember who Crissy was.
“She’s been working here while attending classes. She’s a mother of a ten-month-old. She’d changed from dancing to waitressing until she could lose the rest of the baby weight.” His eyes scanned the crowded club. “They think the last place anyone saw her was here.”
“In this club?” Emily sat up a little and set her drink aside. Rafe instantly picked it up and handed it back to her.
“Don’t set this down,” he warned. “If you do, leave it and get a fresh one.”
She took the drink. “Do you think…” Emily swallowed and closed her eyes, suddenly remembering the pretty blond who had waited on them the last time she was in the club. Her stomach rolled.
Rafe reached over and took her hand in his. “I don’t know.” He answered her unspoken question.
“The cops have been here, undercover, several times now, and have interviewed everyone, including me.”
“Do they think it’s someone she knew?” she asked.
“No, they’re pretty sure she’s the eighth woman in the serial case.” He sighed. “God, I hope not. Crissy was nice. I liked her.”
Emily took a sip of her drink, needing the alcohol to soothe her nerves. She wanted to run over, grab Jamie, and hightail it back to the safety of their home.
“Hey.” Rafe’s voice soothed her. “It’s okay, you’re safe. I’m here,” he assured her. “I’m not going to take my eyes off you.”
“Right.” She sighed.
Just then the song ended, and he was called up to the stage.
He pulled her up, and she followed him across the crowded room. She stood in front of the stage as he changed from the caring boyfriend she knew to the totally hot fireman stripper all the women gathered around the stage drooled over.
It was hard not to get turned on watching his tan muscles glisten under the spotlights as he slowly undressed in front of a room full of screaming, horny women.
She’d enjoyed several private shows from him and each time he’d fulfilled all the dark fantasies she’d had about him.
By the time he was done with his songs, she’d tucked almost twenty dollars into his shorts and, by the time they met up with Blaine and Jamie afterwards, she had shoved all the negative thoughts about kidnapping to the back of her mind.
Chapter 12
There was nothing sexier than watching shy Emily loosen up. He doubted she knew how sexy she was when she let go.
It was one of the things about this job that he really enjoyed—watching normally uptight working women cut loose and have fun.
After all, it was just sex and it wasn’t as if he was swinging his dick around in the open. But now that he was starting to think of himself as a one-woman sort of guy, he just wasn’t into the job as much as he used to be.
Besides, now that Blaine had closed on the condo, their monthly payments had gone down by almost a quarter, since the mortgage was less than what Karla had been charging them.
It wasn’t as if he needed the extra money. He’d just gotten used to it. But after what had happened with Crissy, he didn’t know if he wanted Emily to continue coming to visit him while he worked. Nor did he think he could ever really let his guard down again.
Everyone who worked at the club knew that a handful of undercover police officers would be hanging out in the place for the next few days. At least until they were sure that whoever had kidnapped Crissy wouldn’t be returning.
Less than an hour later, he was over being at the club and requested the rest of the night off. What he wanted was to go back to Emily’s place and fall asleep with her in his arms.
But as he walked out of the backroom dressed in his normal clothes, he found Emily talking quietly to Jamie in the corner booth.
“What’s up?” he asked, gaining their attention.
Emily noticed his change of clothing and her eyebrows shot up. Scooting in next to her, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“We were just chatting,” Emily said eagerly as she shifted next to him.
“Girl stuff,” Jamie added easily. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah, I thought I’d clock off early.” He shrugged. “Headache.”
He didn’t have to lie about it. He’d had one since hearing about Crissy when he’d shown up earlier that evening for his shift.
“Good thing you know someone who can prescribe something for that,” Jamie added dryly. “I’m going to go find Blaine.” She scooted out of the booth, but stopped before she left. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“Everything okay?” he asked when they were alone.
“Yes,” she sighed. “It’s just…” She shrugged. “It’s my girl time.” She rolled her eyes.
Hearing that didn’t change his desire to wrap
his arms around her for the rest of the night. But he could see that she wanted to pull away, which scared him. Maybe she was using it as an excuse? Maybe she wasn’t. Either way, he didn’t figure he’d get to the bottom of it in the loud club.
“How about a walk on the beach?” he asked, suddenly.
“Doesn’t your head hurt?”
“The quiet and a walk will help.” He slipped out of the booth and took her hand in his.
He hadn’t thought about losing her so soon. It seemed as if they had just gotten started in their relationship. He wasn’t ready for things to end with her yet.
They left the club and crossed the street, walking along the pathway until they hit the open sand and headed towards the darkness of the beach.
“It’s a perfect night,” she said with a slight sigh.
“Yes,” he admitted, already feeling his headache dissipate a little. Her hand was locked in his, their fingers tangled together as they walked.
“Are you okay?” she asked after they had hiked across the deep sand to the edge of the water.
“Yes.” He motioned to see if she wanted to sit down in the cool sand.
Since she was wearing club attire, he doubted she would, but she surprised him by easily sitting in the soft sand.
Sitting next to her, he glanced out at the dark water.
“I don’t know if I will continue working at the Sunset Strip,” he said, voicing his thoughts for the first time.
“Why not?” She glanced in his direction. “Don’t you need the money to pay off your school debt?”
“Sure, extra money is always nice but… after Crissy.” He turned slightly towards her. “You’re happy, right?”
She blinked a few times to catch up with his change of topic.
“Yes,” she finally answered.
“I mean, with how things are between us?” He knew he was acting like a teenager, but he needed to know if she wanted to pull away from him.
“Yes.” She smiled. “Why?” She suddenly frowned.
“No reason.” He turned away from her, not wanting to show her the relief he felt hearing her answer.