by Frankie Love
“The night we met you asked me if I believed in fate. Destiny. Do you remember that? Out in the alley?”
I nod. “I remember.”
“I think you were right, Cal. Us meeting like we did... what are the odds?”
I know I need to tell her more about myself, that I’m not only a bartender, but I want her to know my intentions first. “Your dad doesn’t need to be the only man looking out for you, Jules. I want to look out for you too.”
She leans over, kisses me, long and hard and true. A kiss that means more than pleasure. A kiss that is a promise. A promise to me.
When she pulls away, she smiles softly and says, “You may be this rich boy from the city, but I think all that time behind the bar has kept you from becoming an ass.”
I laugh, stealing a kiss from her. “Oh, I’m still an ass.”
“No.” She looks straight at me. “You’re not an ass, Cal. You’re the most genuine man I’ve ever met.”
In the bar the music is loud, people are grinding against one another, women with pool cues lean over tables in booty shorts, and men buy rounds of shots for the girls they see. We may not be at the A-List Fuck Club, but it’s obvious there’s a whole lot of fucking that’s going to take place tonight.
“Let’s get a drink,” Jules says, fanning herself with her hand. It’s hot as hell in here. This place has the quintessential small town bar vibe. Peanut shells on the floor, darts in the corner, men in Wranglers and cowboy boots.
She grabs my hand and drags me to the bar, people stopping her along the way, saying hello and asking why she’s back in town.
“Oh, I just had a few days off is all,” she says, brushing past them, not giving them a second glance. “Came home to see my grandma.”
I watch the men she’s talking to check her out, head to goddamn toe, and I don’t blame them, but I also don’t like it. Jules is my woman now, and so I sidle up beside her at the bar, snaking an arm around her waist, and kissing her neck. She laughs, shaking her head at me.
“You think people talk in LA? They talk a lot in a small town. Next thing you know everyone is gonna be asking about the man I brought home.”
“And what will you tell them?”
“I’ll tell them that that man is my boyfriend.” She bites her bottom lip. “Does that sound cheesy?”
“It sounds like the truth,” I say, asking the woman behind the counter for two Buds. Sawyer would crack up if he saw me drinking this shitty beer, but it’s all they have on tap at this place. “Also, I made it clear I like things cheesy.”
“True,” Jules says. “You did.”
The bartender hands us our beers and as I pay for them Jules starts up a conversation with her. “I’ve never seen you before,” she says. “And I know everyone in this town.”
“I just got hired last week. My name’s Sadie.”
“Good to meet you. I’m Jules. I grew up here but have been out of town for the last month.”
“Ah, okay, so you’re the Jules everyone keeps talking about?”
“Talking about me?” Jules shakes her head. “I don’t know about that.”
“Oh, yeah,” Sadie says, smiling and raising an eyebrow. “You’re the gorgeous supermodel who’s gonna be in the Sports Illustrated magazine? I promise everyone is talking about you.”
Jules’ face flushes red, and I know she truly doesn’t love being the center of anything.
“Well, you are pretty gorgeous yourself, Sadie,” Jules says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
I take Sadie in, she wears a little tank top, her bra strap peeking through. She has the same sun-kissed look about her Jules does, but her eyes look a little more jaded, bitter.
“Thank you, darling,” Sadie says, smirking. She leans in, over the counter talking quieter. “But tell me, how did you keep the guys off you in this town?” Her eyes flick to mine. “No offense.”
“None was taken.”
Sadie continues. “I swear, this place is full of horn dogs who need to be neutered.”
Jules and I both laugh, but Jules answers. “Honestly, I never had that problem. I think I kept my head low and myself in the friend-zone.”
Sadie grins. “Girl, that’s impressive. There are more people hooking up here than any bar I’ve ever worked.”
Jules looks at me, thinking what I’m thinking. “I think it’s because you’re the cute girl behind the counter.” Teasing me, she adds, “Do you have the same problem at your bar, Cal?”
“You’re a bartender too?” Sadie asks.
“Yeah, the vibe is different where I work, but some things are universal.”
“Hooking up late at night with a stranger?” Sadie asks with a smile.
“Exactly,” Cal says, lifting his beer, and clinking his glass to mine. “To late night hook-ups.”
“And strangers,” Jules says. “Never forget the strangers.”
We walk away from the bar, drinking and laughing. And the rest of the night goes just like that. Jules showing me her moves on the dance floor, me betting on pool and placing late night orders of tater tots and chicken wings. I hardly recognize myself. Here, I’m just one of the guys having a good time.
The only difference is, I won’t be going home with a stranger tonight.
No, I’ll be going home with the woman who has stolen my heart. I’m not looking to get it back anytime soon.
7
The next morning I expect to have another long, lazy day, but Cal comes into the kitchen while I’m scrambling eggs and tells us that he has to go back to the city.
“Why?” I ask, handing him a cup of coffee.
“My boss needs me.”
I scowl. “Jordan? He’s the one who told you to take time off.”
Cal runs his hand through his hair. “I know. It sucks, but what can I do?”
I purse my lips together. “You could tell him no? I mean, why does he need you? I didn’t think the club was even open right now?”
“It’s not.” Cal swallows and I can tell he’s holding something back. My dad must see what I see because he excuses himself from the room, saying he’s gonna go check on Grandma.
“I feel like you aren’t saying something. One of the reasons I like you so much is because you’re so honest. I just don’t get why Jordan needs you.”
“It’s business Jules, and I’m sorry, but the jet will be ready in an hour.”
I turn my back on him and go back to scrambling the eggs. “Alright,” I tell him. “I’ll be ready to go by then.”
Leaving Grandma is hard, but she kisses my cheek and tells me she loves me, and I make my dad swear he’ll use some of my money to buy an iPhone so I can FaceTime with them.
“They are so damn expensive,” he moans, but when I tell him it isn’t a request, it’s essential, he caves and promises he’d go to town and get one.
“Not this town though, Daddy, you’re gonna have to drive to a shopping mall. Okay?”
On the plane ride home Cal is quiet, and I am too. Both of us fall asleep, and while our hands are laced together, I feel like something is going on I don’t understand.
When the car pulls up to my apartment to drop me off, I have to ask, “Is it about the person taking the photos?”
Cal just sighs. “Sort of. Jordan needs my help with it, and it’s my job to help him.”
“And you’re sure that’s it?”
“Jules, trust me, okay?” He kisses me softly on the lips. Then the forehead. Then my cheeks. I can’t help but smile when he does that.
“Okay, Cal. I trust you.”
“Good. I’ll call you, okay?”
Three days pass, I get vague texts from Cal, and not much else. I ask if he can hang out, but he says he’s busy with work. What I want to know is what kind of bartender has work to do when the club is closed?
“Maybe you’re being too needy?” Collette says through gritted teeth so we don’t mess up our make-up. We’re on set at a photo shoot and Gretchen, Collette and I
have all been painted head to toe to look like snakes. Not exactly sure how this is sexy, but Danny promises it was the right job to take.
“Maybe you’re right,” I say, my words half mangled as I seethe through my teeth. “I mean, I’ve never been a girlfriend before.”
“Over here, ladies,” the photographer says, snapping his fingers like we’re dogs. Which we’re not. Right now we are very clearly snakes.
We move the way he asks, allowing aides to reposition our arms and legs, and my breasts are so close to Gretchen’s face I’m semi-mortified.
It’s a paycheck. It’s a paycheck. This is not crossing my non-existent line in the sand.
“Has Danny been driving either of you crazy?” Gretchen asks. “He keeps asking me to dinners and I go, but none of it seems necessary.”
“Kind of,” Collette and I both answer. When the photographer takes five, and we have a moment of privacy, I tell them how my paychecks have been disappointing.
“Same here,” Collette says. “I’ve never made good money so at first, I was just happy to have a paycheck, and, not to sound greedy, but… we’re working our asses off.”
Gretchen agrees but none of us are savvy enough to know if this is just the way the business works. “I’ll ask Cal what he knows about Danny next time I see him,” I tell my roommates.
Eventually, we’ve been photographed for two hours and we’re allowed to call it a day.
As we head to the dressing room to shower and change, Gretchen brings up Cal again, and the way he went all MIA on me. “Look,” she jokes. “If he’s playing hard to get you should become the aggressor. Like a snake in the jungle.”
I roll my eyes. “Right, because men love venomous women.”
“It’s better than not being seen at all,” Collette says. “Maybe he just got super busy. When’s the last time you guys had sex?”
I tell them about the plane ride... well, parts of it.
“But then you stayed in Resting a few days,” Gretchen says. “So did you hook up in your old bedroom, because guys like that. It’s kinky but in an innocent way, you know?”
“Actually, I don’t know,” I say as a make-up artist begins wiping the face paint off me. “And we didn’t. We slept in different rooms, and then we went to a bar and stayed out super late. We came home and crashed and the next day we left.”
Gretchen and Colette share a look.
“What?” I ask.
“You should go take care of your man.”
“It’s been like less than a week. And he hasn’t exactly been knocking down my door.”
“And he’s also going through a really shitty time. Right? Isn’t that why you left to go to Indiana with him in the first place? Because he’d locked himself up in his loft alone for weeks? Maybe he’s doing that again.”
I close my eyes, feeling shitty. “I bet you’re right. I bet he’s still struggling. I’ve been so self-involved since we got back I didn’t even consider that.”
Collette smiles. “Then you know what you need to do.”
I nod, knowing she’s exactly right. I’m going to find my boyfriend and make him feel all better.
I can’t believe I’m doing this.
Stilettos.
Trench coat.
Nothing else.
Like. Nothing at all.
If this doesn’t make him happy, nothing will.
In my room I text him. “Are you still at work?”
He replies, “Yeah, I’ll be here a few more hours.”
I purse my lips together, my thumbs hovering over the keypad, debating if I should say more.
I decide against it.
I’ll say plenty with my body the moment I arrive.
I order an Uber, slide in, and give the driver directions a block from the Fuck Club. Once there, I drop my chin to my chest and walk as quickly as possible without drawing attention to myself.
Remembering the side alley entrance, I watch it for a few minutes to see if anyone is coming or going. A food service truck is in front of it, and a few men unload crates of liquor, load them on a dolly, and open the side door.
I follow them, flashing a smile, and I’m sure a little more thigh than I planned, but they don’t say anything and I watch them head to a storage room.
In the club, the lights are mostly off, it’s actually kind of creepy being here alone.
I don’t want to be alone.
I want to find Cal.
Walking the opposite direction of the way I came, I look for some sort of office space or water cooler, somewhere that people who work here would hang out.
But why is Cal even here? This club is closed and no one’s around besides the delivery guys.
I walk past a row of tables, a bank of couches, and eventually hear some voices around a corner. Turning left, I notice Cal talking with some guys I think may have been the bouncers who helped break up the fight the first night I came to the club. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I make myself known.
“Cal?” I say, still standing back in the shadows. “Cal, it’s me.”
He turns and a frown covers any potential feelings of I’m happy to see you.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he says gruffly, walking toward me and reaching for my elbow. He pulls me down the hall, and I try to shake free of his hold.
“What’s wrong with you?” I ask. “Why are you being like this?”
“Being like what?”
“So... so... rude.”
Cal stops in his tracks, spins to face me. “This is not me being rude. This is me being—” He shakes his head. “Fuck, Jules. We need to talk. Now.”
I pull the collar of the trench coat tighter on my neck, and nod, seeing that things have changed between us, but not understanding why.
8
The woman standing before me is one thousand kinds of wonderful. She’s beautiful, generous, and trusts me more than she ought. It makes me feel awful about the way I’ve held back the truth from her, but it was for her own good. It is for her own good. But seeing her here in the dark hallway, her brown eyes so sad, seeking mine for understanding, I know the secrets can’t go on.
They were only in place to help her anyway, but right now they’re not helping her at all. They are pushing us apart, and that’s the last damn thing I want.
“Why did you come here?” I ask as I guide her by her elbow down the hallway.
She shakes her head, hard.
“Did something happen?”
She shakes her head, harder, and I remember the way she acted back in the kitchen at the farmhouse, how even though she was angry at her father, she wasn’t a fighter, not like that. She wasn’t the kind of woman who would throw words in my face, even if the words were ones I deserved.
So she shakes her head again, not wanting to tell me what’s really wrong, not wanting to tell me why she really came.
“Is someone hurting you? Because I swear to God if the press is after you—”
She pulls her arm for me. Pushes me against the wall, a fire in her eyes I’ve never seen before. “No press is after me. There’s no sex scandal I just discovered. The problem is you, Cal. You.”
I nod as her finger presses against my chest, not wanting to piss her off anymore. I know she’s angry. God knows she deserves to be. The last three days I’ve been working so hard with Jordan and the bouncers and then coming up with a plan with my attorney so that everything could be out in the open after we bust the mob for leaking those images.
The whole thing is hella complicated. There are lots of moving pieces. Once we figured out what we wanted to do to lure them here on the next night we’re open, I had met with my attorney for a fuck ton of billable hours, figuring out how to get out of the Fuck Club altogether.
“Look, there’s a lot I want to tell you,” I say, taking her by the hips and drawing her to me. “There’s a lot I want you to understand. But before I say anything I want you to know I haven’t been distant because I didn’t want you. It wasn’t because I
didn’t want to be with you or see you spend time with you the last three days. I’ve just had a lot of shit—”
She cuts me off. Her eyes no longer angry, suddenly that sadness from before has returned.
“I know,” she says softly. “I know you’ve been having such a hard time. With Sawyer and—”
Now it’s my turn to cut her off. “It wasn’t about that.” I shake my head.
But she’s already unbuckled her coat and held it open.
“You asked why I came?” Jules asks. “I came to give you this. Now please, Callahan. Please take it. Afterward, we can sort the rest of this mess out.”
Holy fucking hell, standing before me is my Jules wearing nothing at all. I take in her long legs and narrow waist, her bare breasts. Holy fuck my cock is hard as steel just looking at her. Still, I don’t want her to think sex can fix everything.
Though right about now, I have a feeling it might fix an awful lot.
“You don’t have to do this,” I tell her.
She looks at me. “I know I don’t need to do this. I want to do this. For you. With you. The person who is supposed to be my boyfriend. Is that still who you are Callahan? Or is there someone else that I don’t know about?”
“Baby,” I whisper, pulling her to my chest. “Baby, there’s no one else. Just you.”
My words seem to soothe her because she sinks against my chest, my arms holding her tight.
Then she steps back and I tie up her coat, taking her hand.
I lead her down the hall, going the opposite direction of where we came.
“Where are we going?” she asks.
“You came to the Fuck Club wearing nothing but your birthday suit and you wonder where I’m gonna take you?”
She smiles and her smile manages to light up the dark and dank club. I don’t know how I got so goddamned lucky, but I did. And after I fuck this woman silly, I will tell her the truth.
About me; my past. And what I want my future to become.
Hers.
Once in the fuck room, I turn on the lights. Hundreds of electric candles turn on, casting a sensual glow to the room.