by Harper Sloan
It doesn't take me long to get lost in my work, only allowing my thoughts to drift where they always do when I find myself stressed--to the daydreams of a faceless lover, one who always comes back to me when I need the warm promise of something more than the nothing I allow myself.
In no time, though, my thoughts drift back to Piper. The trouble between her and her fiance being too worrisome for me to think about much else. At least I got her to agree to accompany me to Barcode, one of our favorite local bars, tonight. We haven't been there in so long, and I know a huge part of that is because of Matt. He dislikes the place just because of its proximity to the most popular strip club north of the Vegas Strip. We meant to go back a few months ago when both establishments had a few theme nights that interested us, but Matt's distaste for the place stopped Piper, and without Piper I wasn't going. However, it's not lost on me that Matt's car has been seen parked in front of the same strip club that he says is full of nothing but trash and disease.
Well, tonight I plan to show my best friend that she is better than the emotionally abusive and manipulative man who she thinks she can't leave.
Tonight, I'm going to take the old Ari out of the box she's been stored in and help my friend see she deserves to have nothing but perfection.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'll work on believing I can have that for myself again.
Maybe.
With a smile, I tuck my crossed leg out of the way when a customer enters the dressing room area. She takes the only open room out of the four we have without noticing me, or if she did, she didn't feel the need to share pleasantries with someone she assumed was just shopping. Most of my clients are repeat business, but every now and then, I get a socialite brat who, even though she's shopping second-hand, acts like everyone around her is beneath her.
I hear one of the doors open and meet Piper's blue eyes when she steps out of the dressing room, and a genuine smile curves my lips as I stand and walk over to where she's studying herself in the mirror.
Oh yes, red was a great call if I do say so myself.
I've always envied her body, tall with legs for days, a great butt, and an even more generous chest. With curly blond hair that literally bounces with every step, and eyes bluer than any Caribbean waters I've seen, Piper is the very image of perfection--even if she's lost the ability to see it over the years. But when you encase that body in a skintight red dress that hits her about five inches below indecent levels, well, you have a showstopper. Even if the neckline doesn't show off her cleavage, the tightness of the dress will turn heads.
"You're going to turn heads tonight," I tell her honestly, smiling and tapping my chin before leaving the dressing room area. Stepping out into the store, I look over at our massive collection of heels, and it doesn't take me long to find what I'm hunting for. Grabbing a pair of black heels that sport sleek red bottoms, I head back to her with my arms outstretched and the heels hanging from my fingertips. "And probably stop a few hearts while you're at it," I finish with a wink.
She turns in the mirror and smiles. "I've had my eye on this dress for weeks, Ari."
"I know. That's why I grabbed it a week ago when I saw someone circling it."
She runs her hands down her flat stomach and spins, taking the heels and lifting her feet one at a time to slip them on. "Well, what about you?"
I look down at my outfit: black pencil skirt that tests my ability to sit with its tightness, white camisole tucked into the skirt, a black blazer on top, and the sexiest pair of red peep toe heels to add some color. I shrug off my blazer, tossing it on the chair I just stood from, then start removing the pins holding my long black hair up in a bun. After placing them on the little table between the waiting chairs, I push my fingers into my thick hair and give it some good fluffing. Then I look at my best friend and raise a brow.
"Right. I forgot, you're perfect," she smarts.
"Ha." I snort. "Hardly, Pipe. Just got lucky I wasn't wearing jeans today."
"When do you ever wear jeans?"
I roll my eyes but don't respond because she's right. I always dress nice because it gives me an air of confidence I don't always feel. Plus, Piper knows I avoid them because she definitely wears jeans, and I'll do just about anything to be as different as I can from her. Again, not something I need to remind Piper about because she gave up jeans the second I did in some silent move of solidarity. She'll joke about my classy outfits, but she understands why I am the way I am.
"Let me go grab my purse and we can get out of here. Will you take care of the Uber while I'm shutting things down in my office and checking with the girls?"
When she nods, I head to get everything I need done so we can head over to Barcode, to give my best friend a girls' night guaranteed to take both of our minds off everything swirling around us.
Just like old times
"When did your sisters start working here?" I question in shock, looking at Piper's little sisters behind the bar at Barcode, wearing next to nothing.
"Uh, your guess is as good as mine, girlfriend." Piper's brows pull in, confusion only lasting a second before her anger flashes red hot.
Piper grabs my hand and starts dragging me toward the bar. With each of her stomped steps, I scurry and stumble behind her. Well, aren't I just the picture of grace? I hear her telling people to move, pushing us through the crowd around the bar until she has enough space to brace herself on the wood bar top, lean over, and turn toward the sister closest to her.
"Meggie Ross! Get your ass over here right now!" Piper yells, gaining her sister's attention immediately, even with the music as loud as it is.
"Piper!" Meggie exclaims. "One sec, big sis!" She holds up her finger, smiles, and then turns to the men she was filling shots for with a wink.
"Don't you one second me, Meggie." When she still doesn't get the reaction she was aiming for with her barked orders, she turns in the other direction where her other sister is still working, completely oblivious to the arrival of her insane big sister. "Melissa Ross! Get over here!"
"There a problem?"
At the question, I see Piper's head turn at the same time mine does. Her grip becomes painful on my wrist as she takes in the man who had spoken. I try to yank my wrist away, but before I can get loose, she tightens even more.
"Pipe, let go!" I yell with a jerk, stumbling back a little before regaining my balance.
"I said, is there a problem?" the man repeats, looking at Piper with an interest that I'm not sure has everything to do with her acting like a raging maniac. He's handsome, that's for sure. Dark blond hair, cut short, blue eyes, and a face that belongs on billboards.
When she just stands there, I lean in and look around her body to see her face frozen, staring at the stranger with an expression I haven't seen in her eyes since middle school and Bobby Turner grabbed her barely there boobs for the first time. I give her a beat before turning to the man, seeing both sisters moving in from either side of his body.
"Uh, sir, if you'll excuse my friend here, she's just being ... well, she's their big sister and ... okay, I'm not really sure why she's acting insane, but she's apparently forgotten how to speak. So, sorry? From both of us."
"Do Mom and Dad know you two are working at a bar IN YOUR UNDERWEAR!?" Piper finishes her rant with a scream, finally coming unglued and glaring at her sisters.
"You two deal with your family issues. I'll cover the bar, but fuck, for Christ's sake, do it in the back."
I look at Meggie, then over at Melissa and offer them a small smile. They just roll their eyes, not even looking the least bit mad at Piper for being an embarrassing nutcase.
"Follow us," Meggie says, walking down the long area behind the bar.
Piper grabs my hand again, pulling me with her as she follows her sisters in to what looks like a nice size break room. The second the door closes the loud sounds of the bar are dull enough that I can sit through the Ross sisters loving each other the only way they know how. Loud and louder. I lau
gh silently to myself, used to the craziness with them after a lifetime growing up beside the three of them.
"You two look like strippers," Piper snaps first, hands on her hips and glare aimed at the girls.
"And you look like a call girl." Meggie laughs, waving her hand in the air at her big sister's outfit.
"I think they like to be called escorts now," Melissa adds, giggling right along with her.
"Would you two stop it!?" Piper yells over their laughter. "And an escort wishes she could be as classy as me!"
One of them snorts when her giggle turns into a full belly laugh.
"Meggie, I think Pipe might be mad at us."
"I swear to God, I'm calling Dad!" Piper continues, reaching into her clutch to grab her phone.
"Ah, well, tell him we said hi! Even though we just saw him about two hours ago. You should try the Blue Moon Dad is always raving about. I haven't yet, but that's all he drinks when he visits us at work."
And that stops Piper. I roll my lips between my teeth to keep from laughing out loud. I'm not shocked in the least that Papa Ross spends time at the bar, supporting his girls ... even if they are dressed like strippers. When Piper joined me at Trend, he would pop in all the time for almost a year. No doubt that he loves his daughters.
"He did not."
"Uh, Pipe," I interject, knowing these three could go on for hours. "I feel like I should point out that it isn't really any different than that summer you worked at Hooters."
Her head jerks around, curls going wild, and she narrows her eyes at me. "This isn't even close to that."
"Actually, it was worse because at least they have jeans on. You had shorts wedged up your butt."
"Whose side are you on?" Piper hisses.
I shrug. "I've only known you longer because they were born when you were eight. So I'm not picking sides. But I will add that you're being slightly irrational."
"My baby sisters are working at a bar that everyone knows is just an extension of The Alibi. Dressed like that, you know what men will think," she hisses, referring to the strip club in the large converted warehouse next to Barcode.
Melissa steps forward and takes Piper's hands in her own. "You know I love you, but seriously, what is the big deal?"
"Someone's projecting," Meggie adds, picking at her nails and looking bored.
"Don't, Megs," Melissa tells her, looking at her with annoyance before returning her attention to Piper. "What's wrong?"
"Why are you working here?" Piper asks, much calmer. "What happened with the hospital?"
"Nothing happened. We're just picking up a few shifts here on the weekends we're off. With the budget cuts, we both lost a few shifts. You know we're trying to save money."
"So come work at Trend!" Piper responds in exasperation, her voice picking up again, and I know she's winding up to keep this argument going.
"Piper, we're not going to work at Trend."
"You could if you wanted to," I add so Piper won't feel like she's on her own, fighting a battle that, in my opinion, doesn't need to be fought. "And, by the way, sorry about the budget cuts. That happened when I was at the hospital too."
"No thanks to Trend, Ari. No offense. We had a feeling they were coming. I completely forgot about when it happened to you. I bet you're happy you left that place," Meggie replies, changing her focus before her words even stop and finally walking over to her sisters. "Wild's a great guy, Pipe. He keeps us safe, and the tips here are unreal. And when I say he keeps us safe, I mean he keeps security at both ends of the bar and throughout the place. There has never, in the two months we've worked here, been someone who even had a chance to get close. We have fun. Bottom line, we've been here for what feels like a second and have already saved more than we could ever hope to put aside with just our nurse's salary."
"But what if someone gets the wrong impression and ..." She trails off, and the room instantly gets heavy as understanding dawns on the three of us. And just as swiftly as awareness dawns on us, the mood shifts. I can't believe none of us connected the dots to what had happened to Piper over a decade ago.
Easy to forget things, I suppose, when you're too busy burying your own pain.
"Pipe, we're safe. I promise," Meggie stresses with assurance--and understanding--in her tone. "I swear to you. Wild wouldn't let anything happen to anyone, employee or patron."
"Wild?"
"Our friend, well, boss. Wilder Fox."
"His name is Wilder Fox?"
"I know. Sounds like he was born to be a porn star, doesn't it?" Melissa jokes.
"Dad's really okay with you guys working here?" Piper continues, not laughing at her sister and ignoring the joke about their boss. Even if I wanted to laugh, I keep my mouth shut and have my best friend's back.
"Swear, Pipe."
"And you're safe?"
"Safer than we are at the hospital."
The silence ticks on until Piper lets out an audible sigh. "I'm sorry," she mumbles under her breath.
"That hurt to say, huh?" Meggie jokes, nudging Piper with her elbow before wrapping her arms around her shoulders and hugging her sister. "I love that you're protective of us, Pipe, I really do, but you have to let us live our lives. We're big girls, you know? Nothing will happen to us here, swear it."
"Even if we're going to be living our lives with our best bras showing," Melissa adds with a giggle.
"You do look hot," I add, joining the huddle and turning it into a group hug right before the door opens.
"You two done with the family reunion back here? I could use some help on the bar," their boss, who I now know is named Wilder, says before leaving just as quickly as he came.
"You obviously came here for a reason, so why don't you go find a spot at the bar and let your sisters take care of you guys for once?" Meggie suggests, smiling brightly before turning and walking out the door without waiting for us to respond.
Melissa gives Piper another hug, their blond curls dancing together. "I love you, you overprotective lunatic."
"I love you back, brat," Piper says.
We follow Melissa out, walking around the bar and into the sea of people around us when she goes behind the counter. I hear Meggie telling people to move because her VIPs were coming through, opening a hole dead smack in the middle for us. We sidle up, and before we've even had a chance to get our elbows on the sleek wood, two very full shot glasses are plopped down in front of us.
"Enjoy," Wilder says, giving me a warm smile, his blue eyes dancing before looking at Piper--his interest in my best friend clearly obvious in their bright depths.
Well, this is interesting.
Ignoring him, she takes the glass in her hand, turns to me, and lifts it in the air. I watch his eyes land on her engagement ring, and he looks almost pissed, but before I have a chance to study his odd reaction, Piper starts talking. "To girls' night and sister strippers!"
With a hoot of laughter, I'm thankful we quickly got past her reaction to finding her sisters took a side job as bra-wearing bartenders. Even if it brought up painful memories for Piper. I grab my own shot glass to clink against hers, then place the cool glass to my lips and down the shot. The burn of the tequila making me cringe.
Three shots later, we're both nursing a healthy buzz if the carefree giggles we are emitting are any indication. I'm not sure which one of us made it to the dance floor first, but the next thing I know, we're losing ourselves in the music, dancing like we were born to wear four-inch heels and make it look effortless. Both of us laughing with our arms in the air and not a single worry in the world. At that moment, we're just two friends having a blast after the healing powers of tequila and a best friend's love.
Just like old times.
Just like always when we lock our troubles away and forget it all.
By the time we head back to the bar for more shots, I can feel the cool bar air hitting my heated cheeks and damp skin, making goose bumps dance across my skin. When we reach the bar, I place my purse on the wood
and grab my compact and red lipstick out of it to touch up what had worn off during the past hour of drinking and dancing.
I'm not sure what made me turn my head, but with my mouth still slightly open from applying my favorite red shade, I look over my compact and straight into the gaze of someone who defines the word carnal at the curve of the bar about ten feet away. I feel a punch to my heart as it awakens with arousal. My hands lower, my mouth closes, and I just stare. Even when I realize the rest of the man's face is hiding behind the woman he's kissing deeply, I still don't look away ... and neither does he. Oh, he's giving his all to the woman his lips are savoring, but he's doing it with those eyes boring into mine. The only other part of him that I can see with her blocking the rest of his face and the dim lighting--aside from the thick, styled dark hair on top of his head--is one of his hands as he holds her head still. My whole body buzzes with awareness.
What is wrong with me? What kind of woman watches another's man with desire when he's clearly taken? I'm a disgrace to the sisterhood.
The woman's arms move up, and then I lose his eyes when, I assume, she adjusted their stance.
Holy crap.
If I felt that kiss from thirty feet away, I can't even imagine what she is feeling. Not that I'll ever know, that's for sure. As much as I would love to. I look down, putting my compact and lipstick back in my purse right as another shot is placed in front of me by Meggie on her way down the bar. Not waiting for Piper, I down it and don't even notice the burn. How could I when my body is on fire from something that has nothing to do with the alcohol I've consumed tonight and everything to do with the gaze of a stranger. I jerk my head back suddenly to where he was, only to find both him and his woman gone.
Stupidly, I feel the disappointment over his absence, knowing damn well I was about to attempt to memorize everything I could about that stranger's eyes so I could use the memory of the feelings they evoked to keep me warm when I get home to my empty house.
Clearly, it's been WAY too long since I've played this game of attraction if the past few minutes are anything to go by.