by A. K. Evans
I let out a little laugh. “Thanks, Nikki. I don’t want to create any tension in the group, especially since Emme and Charley are engaged to his best friends. Let’s hold off on the ass-kicking for now.”
She smiled at me. “Whatever you want, babe. You dancing today?”
“Yep.”
“Want to ride in together?” she asked. “I want to get to work on setting up the salon.”
“I think I do. How soon are you leaving?” I asked.
“Within the hour work for you?”
I nodded as I put the last piece of toast in my mouth. “I can do that. I’m going to go take a shower. Hopefully, I won’t feel so lousy afterward.”
“Keep drinking the water. It’ll help.”
“Thank you, Nik,” I said as I picked up the water bottle and went back down toward my bedroom. I didn’t wait around for a response and didn’t offer an explanation on what I was thanking her for because she already knew.
Not quite an hour and a half later Nikki and I arrived at our place. She came in and checked out the work Stone and I had done on the studio before she went over to get things set up in her salon. I walked back to the fourth room Stone and I painted yesterday. A feeling of sadness began to overwhelm me the moment I stepped inside. Fortunately, I didn’t have much time to dwell on that feeling because I heard the alarm chime indicating someone had walked in. I figured Nikki needed help with something since I wasn’t expecting any visitors, especially not this early in the morning. I walked back out to the reception area and saw Wes and Zane were there.
“Hey guys,” I greeted. “Are Charley and Emme okay?”
“Yeah, darlin’, they’re fine,” Zane said. “We heard you needed some help with mirrors.”
Crap.
I was going to cry.
My bottom lip quivered and my head dropped to the floor. I buried my face in my hands as the tears spilled down my cheeks. “Fuck,” I heard Wes mutter before he pulled me into his arms. As he pulled me in for a hug he urged, “Talk to me, babe.”
I didn’t answer immediately because I wasn’t sure what to say. Telling Wes and Zane about what happened between Stone and me wasn’t an option. They were his friends and I wasn’t about to come in middle of their friendship. “I’m sorry. You caught me off guard. I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”
“Not sure I understand why you are in tears then.”
I pulled my face back and stepped out of Wes’ arms. “It’s just really nice for the two of you to do this for me. Thank you.”
They both gave me looks that told me they weren’t buying my reasoning, but thankfully, they didn’t press me further. I then showed them how Stone and I hung the mirrors in the first room, so they’d know how I needed the rest done. Zane and Wes got to work immediately and within a couple hours they had all the mirrors on the walls. I spent the better part of the morning working on the décor in the reception area. After I finished, I went into the first room to put together a playlist that I’d blast and dance to as soon as the guys left. I was in the middle of that when Zane walked in.
“You’ve got mirrors in all of your rooms now,” he declared.
“Thanks again, Zane. I really appreciate you and Wes coming here to do that for me. Is there anything I can do for your troubles?”
He smirked and shook his head. “You’re here and that makes Emme happy. I’m going to do what I can to make sure you stay here so she stays happy.”
I dipped my chin in acknowledgement and gave him a small smile before admitting, “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You should know, Monroe, that Emme shared some stuff with me last night. She’s worried about you. I’m sorry that things with Stone are still strained.”
This was awkward.
“It’s not your fault, Zane. It’s not Stone’s fault either. I misinterpreted things...it was my fault. Please. I don’t want this coming between all of you.”
“Did he do anything to make you think he was interested in you?” Zane asked, his voice firm.
I nodded slowly.
“Then, you can’t blame yourself either. It’s not in the cards for him right now for reasons I won’t share because it’s not my stuff to share. I understand his reasons, even if I don’t agree with them. You should also know that just because he’s our friend doesn’t mean that we don’t care about you, too. Don’t think I forgot what you said to me when Emme and I announced our engagement. You want someone to love you, Monroe. There’s nothing wrong with waiting for that. I can appreciate the fact that you’re hurting right now, but don’t react to that hurt.”
“Zane…” I managed to get out, before he cut me off.
“No, darlin’. You need to listen to me. When all of the shit with Emme was going down I was constantly worried for her. My emotions were running high. I called her when I took a break from training one day to check in. My brother, Cruz, was with her that day while I was training. When I called, I found out that my brother, Levi, had shown up. I knew something was up. I knew Levi would not have come there if it wasn’t serious. My fear for Emme’s safety skyrocketed and I fucking yelled at her on the phone.”
My lips parted in shock. I had no idea this happened.
“When I got home I found Emme on the floor in our bedroom with her suitcases surrounding her. She was going to leave me not because I yelled at her, but because she thought she had upset me. I hated myself in that moment. Watching the tears fall down her face, knowing I put them there, gutted me. I promised myself I’d never let my emotions get the better of me again. What I’m trying to say to you, Monroe, is that you shouldn’t let the hurt you’re feeling make you do something you’ll regret.”
“He’s right,” I heard Wes call from the doorway.
I turned to look at him.
Wes continued speaking. “Said something to Charley once back before we went out to Aspen that made her think I was questioning her loyalty and commitment to me. The hurt in her face, much like Zane experienced with Emme, was gut-wrenching to witness. I said what I did to her that day because I couldn’t handle how I was feeling about something and I regretted it the second I saw the look on her face.”
“Guys, I appreciate what you’re saying and I’m glad that my best friends have found you both. They deserve every bit of happiness you’ve both brought into their lives. I just need to…” I said, before I was cut off again.
“Babe,” Wes began. “You deserve happiness, too. If you do what Charley told me and what I’m sure Emme told Zane you’re planning to do and I’m guaranteeing you, you’ll regret it.”
I looked away. I couldn’t bring myself to look either one of them in the eye.
“No need to feel embarrassed,” Zane reassured me. “We both just told you about the things we actually did when we made decisions to react based on our emotions. Everyone makes bad choices. You haven’t…not yet anyway. You’ve got something special to give to someone. Save it, and give it to the right person. If you do that, I promise you it’ll be something you won’t regret.”
I took in their words and felt sad again. These two men were incredible. My friends were the luckiest women on the face of the planet. They had found men who would get up on a Monday morning, when at least one of them needed to be at work, to go hang mirrors in a dance studio for their woman’s best friend. Men who, despite the potential awkwardness, would talk that best friend out of making an idiotic decision. I wanted a man like that. I wanted a love like that. I just wondered if I’d find it anytime soon.
I looked to the both of them and explained, “I don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life.”
“I think I speak for the both of us when I say that I can promise you that won’t happen. You didn’t find what you wanted in California. You’ve given it almost twenty-five years there. You’ve given Wyoming about five days. I think, you give it a little time, you’ll get what you want here.”
I smiled at him and said, “Thanks, Wes.”
“No problem,
babe. You good?”
“Yeah. I think I am now.”
“Good,” he responded as he walked over, kissed me on the top of my head, and walked out.
Zane did the same.
After they left, I spent the rest of my afternoon dancing away my pain.
Chapter 5
Monroe
It was finally Friday. After Wes and Zane left my studio on Monday I took the time I needed to dance and deal with everything I was feeling from the weekend. Their advice made sense and I was thankful for their willingness to confront me on a topic with which most guys wouldn’t likely be comfortable, at least, not with someone who wasn’t their significant other. It showed me just the kind of people they were and that while I didn’t have my brothers out here with me, I knew I could depend on Wes and Zane the same way I could rely on Remi, Vaughn, and Deacon. That realization filled me with such warmth.
Following my dance session Monday, I went over to Nikki’s salon and helped her with getting some of her salon set up. I told her about Wes and Zane stopping in, but she hadn’t been surprised. It was then I put two and two together and gathered that she was in on the whole thing with Charley and Emme.
My girls.
I loved them.
I spent the rest of the week preparing for the grand opening I was planning to have at the studio. Thanks to Stone, Wes, and Zane, all of the heavy lifting had already been done so I was simply putting finishing touches on the place. Seating in the reception area, pictures on the walls, and decorative pieces everywhere were finally making the place look like not just a real studio, but my studio. And I loved it. In fact, I was beginning to think I loved it more than my studio back in California. When I wasn’t working on the aesthetics of the studio I was working on getting the word out about the grand opening, which I was planning to have the Thursday evening following my birthday.
Yesterday afternoon I had a visitor. I was actually over at Nikki’s salon helping her with some of her final touches when a girl showed up. She asked us if we knew the owner of the dance studio next door.
“That’s me,” I answered, walking up to her.
“Oh, hi. My name is Jenna,” she introduced herself.
“Hi, Jenna. What can I help you with?”
“I saw one of the ads you posted online about the grand opening for your studio. I was wondering if you were looking to hire anyone?” she asked.
I took her in. She was a young girl, maybe only just eighteen, with brown eyes and blonde hair she had pulled up on the top of her head, several strands falling around her face. She was tiny, too -- maybe five foot four with a petite frame.
“I am, actually. Right now, I’m looking to hire two instructors and a receptionist. Are you capable of either?” I answered.
Her eyes got big and she reaffirmed, “An instructor?”
I nodded and replied, “Yeah. Do you dance?”
“I started receiving instruction when I was three-years-old. I had lessons for the next thirteen years. My parents both lost their jobs a couple years ago and we had to cut out everything that wasn’t a necessity. My dad has since found a job, but he doesn’t make anywhere near what he used to and my mom still hasn’t found anything.”
“Thirteen years of dance?” I asked. “If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you, honey?”
“I just turned nineteen last month. I still dance whenever I can, but I can’t afford lessons. I’ve gotten a few jobs hoping to use that money to pay for instruction, but unfortunately, my parents need help with the bills that stacked up. I figure since I’m living in their house, I should help.”
I smiled at her and said, “Let’s go over to my studio and see what you can do.” I turned back to look at Nikki and announced, “I’ll be back in a bit.”
She waved and I walked over to my studio with Jenna. Twenty minutes later, I hired my first official employee. Jenna was an incredibly talented dancer. I was blown away by her ability to throw something together right on the spot for me. She performed two pieces for me, one contemporary and one hip-hop. The contemporary piece demonstrated her years of formal training in ballet and her exquisite lines. The hip-hop routine showed me that, despite not having the funds available to afford training, she still knew what was current and could easily use those movements to tell a story. I was impressed by her and immediately hired her on the spot. She was over the moon. Thankfully, I had my reception area completed at this point and all of my paperwork was organized. I pulled out the employment forms and told her she could start on the Monday before the grand opening. She left, happy and excited, and I made my way back over to Nikki’s salon.
Now it was Friday, late afternoon, and I was on my way home to get ready for a night out with my girls. Wes and Zane were tagging along, mostly acting as our escorts slash designated drivers. I was no longer going to actively pursue someone just to sleep with them; however, I wasn’t going to sit around pining for someone who didn’t want me either. Still, it was time to put myself out there and hope that I’d find love.
I made it back to the condo, took off to my bedroom, and went directly into the bathroom. After turning on the shower I stripped out of my clothes, pulled the hair tie from my hair, and hopped in. Once I finished in the shower and dried myself off, I threw on a pair of panties and my pale yellow, satin robe. Figuring it was worth going the extra mile, I decided to give myself and manicure and pedicure. While I was waiting for my fingernails to dry, my phone rang. I looked at the display and saw Charley was calling; so, I carefully slid my finger across the screen to answer and tapped on the speaker button.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” I answered.
“Hi, mama. You busy?” she asked.
“Just got out of the shower and I’m waiting on my nails to finish drying. What are you up to?”
“About to hop in the shower myself, but wanted to call you first. Elle is performing tonight and I thought you should know.”
“Okay,” I began, hesitantly. “I’ve seen Elle perform before. Why should I know about that?”
“As long as they aren’t away at a snowboarding contest, or anywhere else for that matter, the guys always come to Lou’s when Elle performs to show support for her.”
“Oh,” I murmured, understanding in my tone. This meant Stone was going to be at Lou’s tonight. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him since I kicked him out of my studio on Sunday. Even two days ago, when Luke stopped in to see Nikki and I at work to officially welcome us to town, I hadn’t gotten any news on Stone then either. I thought maybe Luke would have said something since Stone seemed closer to him than he did to Wes and Zane. If Luke knew what had happened, he gave no indication. Perhaps Stone never mentioned anything to Luke because it didn’t really matter to him.
“You still up for going, honey?” she asked gently. “I can call Elle and explain to her that I can’t make it tonight. She’ll understand.”
No way. I wasn’t going to allow that. I didn’t need to be the girl who came in from out of town and ruined what this group of friends already had going. I could be an adult about this.
“It’s okay, Charley. I’ll be fine,” I assured her.
“You’re certain?”
“Positive.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go so you can finish getting ready. We’ll be by to pick you and Nikki up around six. Wes said we can just do dinner at Lou’s before we head up to the saloon if you both are cool with that. Zane and Emme are good with it.”
“Sounds perfect. See you at six.”
“Great. Later,” she called out before disconnecting.
My nails were finally dried so I hopped off my bed and went into the bathroom to get ready. I put my lotion on my face and let that soak in while I went about drying my hair. After, I put lotion on the rest of my body and did my makeup. I decided to go the extra mile tonight and put some curls in my hair. I rarely took the time to do anything fancy with my hair since I was always at my studio dancing and it would be thrown up on top of my head anyway
. On the rare occasion I curled my hair, I always received compliments on how nice it looked and since it made me feel pretty, I decided to go with it.
It was only ten minutes to six and I had just finished my hair. I was getting dressed when I heard people down the hall in the family room. I quickly finished getting my clothes on and took off to meet them. Charley, Wes, Emme, Zane, and Nikki were all there, ready to go.
“You look smokin’ hot, babe,” Nikki announced.
“I’ve always loved your hair like that, mama,” Emme chimed in.
See?
“Ready to go, girls?” Charley asked.
We all nodded in agreement and took off to Lou’s. Upon arriving, we went into the saloon and were immediately seated. For whatever reason, it always seemed that no matter how busy Lou’s was, we never had to wait. From what I could gather, Wes and Zane were hometown favorites, so Lou always saw to it that they were treated as such. In addition, when Emme was kidnapped, she was taken from Lou’s. Even though she assured him that it wasn’t his fault, I believed Lou still felt some guilt over it.
Once we were seated and gave our drink and food orders, I spoke.
“So, I wanted to thank all of you for your help with the studio. As it turns out, I’m just about ready to go. Nikki and I have been working on getting everything finalized at her place. We’ve scheduled the grand opening for the studio and the salon for Thursday evening after my birthday. We’re hoping you can all make it.”
“Of course, honey,” Charley said. “We’d never miss it in a million years.”
I smiled at her and looked to the guys. “I’m hoping you both can make it, too. Wouldn’t have been able to do this so soon if you hadn’t helped.”