Tease

by Cambria Hebert

  The way he stepped closer, staring at my lips, I thought he was going to kiss me again. A tremor of delicious anticipation moved through me as I waited to see if this kiss would be anything like the last.

  But he didn’t kiss me.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Harlow.”

  My eyes snapped open as he turned and walked back to his car.

  I let out a shaky breath. I waited until he backed away before putting my car into drive and pulling out.

  It took the entire drive home for my heart rate to return to normal.

  5

  I stopped for coffee on the way to work the next morning. Even at nine thirty in the morning, the temperatures were climbing, so I ordered an iced latte to go. Today was going to be ridiculously hot and I was going to swelter. Whatever possessed me to take a job that required me to be outside all day was beyond me. Oh, wait. I did know. It was the same reason I got a job as a stripper. I needed money.

  I turned the AC on in my car as high as it would go and enjoyed the icy feeling on the surface of my skin because the minute I stepped outside again, I would do nothing but sweat the entire day.

  Oh well. Between the sweating and the dancing, I was going to be in great shape by the end of the summer.

  I parked my car and headed into the tiny snow cone headquarters—the little office off the shops where the snow cone carts and supplies were stored. I used my key to unlock the door and go inside to get what I needed for the day.

  I worked quickly, stocking the cart with ice and flavorings. I made sure I had cash in the register and enough change to get me started. I tucked the folded umbrella beneath my arm, set my coffee, which was already sweating and turning watery, on top of the cart, and then headed to my spot near the water.

  Broadway at the Beach is one of Myrtle Beach’s main tourist attractions. It is sort of like an outdoor mall where people can shop, eat, and have a great time. It sits around a lake of sorts that is home to huge orange koi (that people can feed for a quarter) and ducks and birds of all kinds. People can also rent paddle boats and take captained boat rides.

  There’s also a mini golf place where a dragon pokes his head out of his lair every thirty minutes and blows out smoke and puts on a little show for people to watch. It’s cute, but hearing it over and over all day stopped being cute for me a long time ago.

  On the far end of Broadway lies Ripley’s Aquarium. It’s one of my favorite places to go. Even when it’s packed with people (which is practically always). I always felt isolated and calm. All the water, the way the fish swam buoyantly through the water was very soothing to me after a very long day in the sun and crowds. Oh, and the massive air-conditioning inside helped too.

  There is a wooden bridge on each end of Broadway, both connecting each side of the shops together. And it was on one of the ends of these bridges that I parked my cart.

  I did so quickly and put up the umbrella so I could dive beneath it and at least be in the shade. My Snow Cone Heaven T-shirt was already sticking to my skin and I rolled up the sleeves to my shoulders to allow more air to move around me. Then I tied the excess length of the shirt into a knot at my back.

  Once the cart was ready, I sat down in my chair in the shade and sipped my coffee, people watching as the crowd began to grow.

  I doled out a lot of snow cones that morning because the heat was so brutal. As I hid beneath the umbrella, I heard my cell ring from the back pocket of my white shorts.

  “Hello?”

  “Violet!”

  I smiled. “Hey, Roxie.” I knew it had to be her because who else would call me Violet?

  “You ready for tonight?”

  Umm, actually I wasn’t. I was trying not to think about the fact I would be stripping every hour on the hour tonight. “Not really,” I confessed.

  “You will be after we go shopping. What time can you meet?”

  I didn’t get off until four. “Is four too late?”

  “That should work.”

  “I’m at work now over at Broadway at the Beach. Can you meet me here later? By the aquarium?”

  “Perfect. The place I want to go is right near there.”

  “It isn’t Victoria Secret, is it?” I asked, dread forming in my stomach. There was a VS shop right near the aquarium. “I can’t really afford that place right now.”

  “No one can afford that place,” she muttered. “It’s not. I know a local place. The woman pretty much sells for all the girls who work around here at all the strip clubs.”

  Her business must’ve been booming because it seemed there was a strip club on every corner here. After we agreed to meet, I disconnected the line and set my phone by the register. I glanced at my long-empty cup of coffee and sighed.

  “Thirsty?” someone said in my ear from behind.

  I screeched and shot a foot into the air. My hip caught the edge of the cart, and I groaned and grabbed the area where it hurt.

  “There you go again,” he drawled from behind.

  I turned. It was Cam.

  “Cam? What are you doing here?” I said, still rubbing at the spot on my hip.

  “Want me to kiss it and make it better?” he asked, his eyes hidden behind a pair of mirrored aviator glasses. Even still, I felt the heat of his gaze linger on my legs.

  Memories of last night crowded my mind and my skin tingled in memory of where he kissed me.

  “No,” I said firmly, even though the thought of his lips anywhere near that part of my body literally made my mouth run dry but caused other places on my body to become very moist.

  He grinned and damn, he looked so good with a backward baseball cap on his head, the sunglasses, and a sleeveless dark-colored T-shirt and board shorts.

  He even looked good in his flip-flops.

  No man looked good in flip-flops.

  Until now.

  “Was on my way home from surfing and damn if I didn’t get a craving for a snow cone.”

  I ignored the way my fingers slightly shook as I pulled open the ice bin and packed some fluffy shaved ice into a striped paper cup.

  I told myself I leaned a little farther into the ice bin because the cold felt blissful against my heat-tortured skin. It had nothing to do with the fact I was trying to compose myself before facing him again.

  When I couldn’t delay any longer, I pulled up and closed the lid, reaching for the cherry-flavored syrup. “How were the waves this morning?”

  “Righteous.”

  I laughed. “That is such a surfer dude thing to say.”

  “How do you stand this heat all day?” he asked, taking the red-drenched icy treat from me.

  “Some day’s are harder than others.”

  “Today?” He tilted his head and took a bite of the red ice, ignoring the spoon.

  “Today’s no picnic.” I admitted. “But I only have a couple more hours.”

  “What time you get off?”

  “Four. Then I’m meeting Roxie. She’s going to take me shopping for tonight.”

  He paused in his inhaling of the snow cone. “I love my job.”

  I laughed. Another customer approached with two children, and I quickly made three rainbow-colored cones and made change for them. When they walked away, I turned back to Cam, but he was gone.

  Disappointment made me sigh as I flung myself back into my chair. From across the way, the dragon poked its head out of its lair and let out a roar. I rolled my eyes. This heat was making me grouchy.

  A few minutes later, a giant plastic cup appeared in front of my face. It was filled with light-yellow lemonade and several round lemon slices. The cup was packed with ice and liquid and looked so refreshing that I actually whimpered.

  I stared at the cup, transfixed, telling myself my mind was conjuring up mirages because I was so heat exhausted. As I watched, the cup came closer until it pressed against my cheek and then my forehead. I sighed. That felt so incredibly good.

  Then the cup slid down until the straw poked at my lips and I pulled it
between them, taking a long pull of the sweet yet tart liquid. I felt its icy temperature plunge all the way down my throat and then spread through my stomach, coating it in a chilled wave.

  I groaned because it was probably the best drink I ever had. The lemon was perfectly refreshing and the ice was crispy cold.

  “You keep making those sounds and I’m going to bring you one of these every single day.”

  My eyes shot open and I turned. Cam smiled and pulled the cup back so I didn’t knock it out of his hands.

  Well, wasn’t I embarrassed? I was also an idiot, thinking that my lemonade cup was a mirage.

  “You brought that for me?”

  He nodded.

  “Thank you. I really needed that. I forgot to put my extra water in the cart before I came out here.”

  “You owe me again,” he said, reaching around to set the lemonade beside the register.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m already going surfing with you. What else do you want?” I said it like I was annoyed, but I wasn’t. The thought of owing Cam anything made me giddy, and I secretly couldn’t wait to hear with what he came up with next.

  “Haven’t decided.”

  I arched an eyebrow.

  He stepped forward and pressed a kiss to my hairline. “Drink your lemonade while it’s still cold.”

  I didn’t reply because he was touching me, and all I could think about was how he smelled like the ocean and coconut oil and how his lips felt cool against my skin.

  “I’ll see you tonight,” he said and then turned and walked away.

  He didn’t even look back.

  Which was probably a good thing because I couldn’t tear my eyes away until he was out of sight. I turned back to the lemonade, staring at it while I climbed back into my chair. The outside of the cup was already sweating and I watched as a drop of water made its way down the side. Then something around the side of it caught my eye.

  I leaned forward, picked up the cup, and spun it around to look.

  There in the frosty perspiration Cam had drawn a heart.

  * * *

  HushHush was located just a few miles from Broadway at the Beach, but it could have been a hundred miles away because here it was a lot less touristy and more of an area where the locals would hang when they didn’t want to deal with crowds and out-of-towners.

  It was a little shop nestled between a bakery and a tobacco store. It was tasteful out front, with purple drapes lining the windows and just a small sign on the door with the name of the shop.

  Roxie grinned like a pirate who found treasure when she yanked open the door and motioned for me to go inside.

  The inside was not as tasteful or… shall we say… discreet as the outside, and part of me felt like a giant nun because I was slightly embarrassed.

  The walls were all painted a deep shade of plum and appeared made of some sort of stone. The dark color made the inside feel intimate and cave-ish. There were large posters hanging on the walls in gaudy gold frames. The posters were all of women in sexy lingerie lying across unmade beds, sitting provocatively on chairs or other women, or draping themselves along a stripper pole.

  In a couple of the posters toward the back, the women were completely topless.

  From the ceiling, a chandelier hung in the same gaudy gold color, dripping in crystals. In between the posters were floating shelves, all with mannequin heads sporting wigs in all colors and styles. There was a makeup counter in the back and a leopard-print velvet sofa in the center of the room perched atop a white faux fur rug.

  And everywhere else there were clothes.

  If you called the garments that hung on the racks and bars coming out of the walls clothes.

  To me it looked more like really fancy, really tiny bikinis.

  From beside me Roxie giggled and I glanced at her. “I love newbies,” she said with a grin.

  So it wasn’t just me. She knew this place was over the top too; she was just used to it. I guess if I came here often enough, the décor and nakedness surrounding me would lose some of its surprise.

  “Honey,” Roxie called toward the back. “I’m here.”

  A few minutes later, a woman with dark skin and a bright-red wig came out of the back. She wasn’t a small woman, standing probably close to six feet tall with a wide build that appeared to enjoy a lot of southern cooking. Her wig was styled in an ultra-sleek bob that ended just at her shoulders and was the kind of red you might get out of a Kool-Aid packet.

  She was dressed in a loose golden caftan that shimmered when she moved, and she had a ring on almost every finger and the biggest, happiest smile I’d ever seen anyone wear.

  “Roxie, girrrllll,” the woman named Honey purred. “You are looking good.”

  “You too, Honey, you too.”

  Honey’s eyes turned to me.

  “Honey, this is my new friend Violet. She’s brand new at the Mad Hatter.”

  The woman’s brown eyes lit up and she lunged at me, taking me into a huge bear hug. “Welcome, Shug,” she exclaimed. “Any friend of Roxie’s is a friend of Honey’s.”

  She pulled me back and looked me over. “You need a little more meat on your bones. Men want something to grab on to when they reach out their hands.”

  I felt my cheeks bloom with bright pink splotches.

  Honey laughed. “It’s all right, Shug. I keep telling Roxie here the same thing.”

  Roxie nodded sagely.

  “So what kind of things do you need?” she asked me, looking me over again.

  “I—” I began, but Roxie cut me off.

  “She needs everything.”

  Honey made an mmhmm sound and headed for the racks. Roxie and Honey began talking real fast and holding up scraps of fabric, debating and laughing about everything they said. Roxie held up a couple things to herself while Honey kept adding to the mountain in her hand, and I began to worry about how much all that barely there fabric was going to cost me.

  Then she held up a G-string.

  “No!” I said, butting into the conversation that I had purposely stayed out of. “I am not wearing any of that butt floss.”

  “Butt floss?” Honey said and looked at me with wide eyes.

  Roxie began giggling and then Honey burst out in a huge rowdy laugh. The two of them laughed for a good ten minutes. I mean, I started to get bored. I don’t really know what was so funny about sticking a string up your butt crack.

  When they finally stopped laughing, Honey put down the G-string and announced she wouldn’t add “butt floss” to the pile.

  “I don’t want anything too skimpy either,” I told her.

  She stared at me like I had three heads.

  “I want to leave something to the imagination. I want people to wonder what I’m going to show when I get on the stage. I don’t want to be trashy,” I finished, feeling self-conscious. I didn’t want either of them to think I was insulting them, because I wasn’t, but I had my own personal limits I wanted to adhere to.

  “Violet is your stage name, isn’t it?” Honey asked, looking at me freshly again.

  I nodded.

  “Your real name Harlow?”

  “How’d you know that?” I asked, looking at Roxie. Roxie shrugged.

  “Ty told me there was new girl, a Miss Harlow, at the bar and he told her not to be trashy.”

  I smiled. “You know Ty?”

  Roxie giggled.

  “Child, I’m Ty’s better half.”

  I tried not to gape. “You and Ty are married?”

  “Did you think that chocolate bar of a man was walking around single?” she said, waving her finger in my face.

  I hadn’t really thought about it at all, actually. But now that I did… “No, I suppose not.”

  “Mmhmmm,” she said and thrust the pile of clothes at me. “Get your skinny butt in the back and try some of this on.”

  I hurried toward the back, stopping to glance inside the makeup case, hoping to spy some body shimmer powder.
>
  Only this wasn’t a makeup case.

  It was full of… um… personal massagers.

  One of them was so big and bumpy looking that I was sure there was no way in hell anyone could think it felt good in there.

  After that thought, I spun away and ran behind the curtain where the dressing room was.