by Lexi Wilson
I’d seen more of her body than that, and having her in front of me put last night into perfectly clarity.
“Stop thinking about me on the stripper pole,” she said, wagging her finger as she sat down next to me.
“Was it that obvious?”
“Sure was. Believe me, I’ve seen enough regulars outside of the club to know the look they all get on their faces when they see me in my civilian clothes but are thinking of something, ah, different.”
“Well, when you look as good as you, it’s hard to think of anything else.”
She laughed. “Smooth talker.” Then she flagged down the bartender, ordering whiskey sour. Once that was in hand, she wrapped her full, red lips around the straw, took a sip and regarded me carefully, like she was trying to size me up right then and there.
“So,” I said. “How’s the post-dancer life treating you? Unless they came to their senses and gave you your job back.”
Amber shook her head. “Fat chance of that happening. Nope – when Lucien gets an idea into his head, he doesn’t let it go.”
“Lucien?”
“That’s my boss’s name. Well, ex-boss.”
“Mind if I ask what happened? Strange thing that you got your ass grabbed and ended up being the one who got in trouble for it.”
Her expression darkened, as if she was worried.
“It’s…a long story. But it was a long time coming. Needed to happen.”
I didn’t want to pry, so I left it at that.
“Only thing is,” she said. “Finding a new job among normal people after being in that line of work isn’t proving to be the easiest thing in the world.”
“Really? You have a degree?”
“Sure do. It’s a liberal arts degree, but it should count for something, right?”
“It should.”
She laughed. “Well, I’d hit up the CEO of Horvath Construction for a job, but we both know that’s not the case.”
I was confused. “Wait, what?”
She grinned. “Come on – there’s no way a guy as young as you is in charge of one of the biggest construction companies in the country. Are those fake cards or something?”
It took me a second to realize what was going on – she honestly thought it was lying about being the CEO.
“Actually,” I said, ready to correct her.
But it didn’t finish. Instead, I decided to let her believe it. After all, I was so used to people both in and out of work treating me differently because of my position. If she wanted to act like I was just some normal guy, that was fine by me.
“Actually what?” she asked.
“Actually…you got me.”
She laughed. “I knew it. The CEO’s got to be some old fart in his seventies, right?”
“Pretty much.”
“But let me ask you this,” she said, leaning in. “Why would you lie about that? Like, going as far as having fake cards made up.”
“OK,” I said, coming up with a lie on the spot. “It’s kind of a stupid story.”
“I love stupid stories.”
“Well, have you heard of manifesting?”
“Like, believing in your dreams until they come true?”
“More or less. My dream’s to be the CEO of Horvath, so I’m visualizing it happening. I got the fake cards made up so I can really feel like it’s true. You know, like something you can hold in your hand.”
She laughed. “Yeah that is kind of stupid. But I get it. When I was a kid I used to write out over and over again that I’d be a princess.”
“And how’d that work out for you?”
“I got to be a princess, alright – a Disney princess, as a matter of fact.”
“That’s right. Just not in the exact context you’d hoped.”
“You got it. So, Mr. pretend CEO – what’s your real position at Horvath?”
“Project manager.” It was only an embellishment – that had been my position there about five years ago.
“Nice,” she said. “And what’s it like to have a normal person job like that?”
“It’s…normal.” It wasn’t, however – being CEO of a company like Horvath was as far from “normal” as it got. “Lots of paperwork, lots of supervising.”
She shook her head. “God, sometimes I wonder if I made a huge freaking mistake. Guys like you were out there putting in the time, earning your way up in the world. Me, I went right to stripping and now here I am, right out on my ass.”
“If you’re going to be out on an ass, might as well be a nice one like that.”
She laughed. “You’re killing me here.”
“Seriously,” I said. “You’ll be fine. I can already tell you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. It’ll be a tough transition, but you’ll land on your two feet.”
And I wasn’t lying about that. I’d done my fair share of hiring over the years, and one of the skills I’d developed was being able to spot talent from a mile away. Amber was smart, sharp. She’d be fine.
“Thanks for the kind words. But we’ll see how it actually pans out.” She placed her hands on the bar. “Alright, I’ve been spilling my guts enough about me – tell me what’s on your mind?”
“What makes you think I’ve got something on my mind?”
“Because I’m good at reading people. Comes with the territory when you’re in my line of work. Or, former line of work. Believe it or not, some of those guys aren’t even there to look at boobs.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Oh yeah. They slip you a few twenties for some personal time and the moment you’re on their lap they start talking about their ex-wife or their shithead boss or their kids who don’t respect them. Sometimes I felt more like a therapist than a dancer.”
“And you think I’ve got something weighing on me.”
“Definitely. So, let’s hear it. Only fair.”
I took a long sip of my beer and shook my head, not believing I was really going to talk about my personal life with someone I barely knew.
But there was something about her, something that made me feel…OK with doing it. Maybe it was a vibe she’d developed over the years, but the way she looked at me made me want to spill my guts.
“It’s my sister. Her name’s Natalie.”
“And what’s the story with Natalie.”
“Might need a shot for this one.”
“More than fine with me.”
I ordered a pair of whiskey shots. The bartender placed them in front of us and we raised them in the air.
“What’re we drinking to?” she asked.
“How about…to pouring it all out to strangers.”
She laughed. “I’ll drink to that. And if you ask me, it’s good way to not be strangers for much longer.”
“Fair enough.”
“Anyway, here it is.”
I went into it, telling her about my sister, about how she’d lived with me for years, how I’d looked after her when no one else did. I didn’t mention the whole “losing parents” thing –that was still too personal to talk about- but I gave her the rest of the important information.
“So,” she said, nodding her head as she processed all that I’d told her. “You’ve got a kid sister who’s acting out for reasons you don’t understand.”
“Right.”
“And the more you push her, the more she makes things difficult for you.”
“Right. But here’s the thing – I’m not really pushing her. All I want to know is what’s going on with her, why she’s being that way with me. I just want to help, whatever’s happening.”
She nodded and smiled, as if getting it. “That’s just it. See, you’re looking at this like a man.”
“Like a man? How’s that?”
“You see a problem, and you want to fix it. And when you want to ‘fix it,’ that means ‘doing something’.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Your heart’s in the right place. You want to fix whatever’s going
on with your sister. But I’m telling you, the more you press, the more she’s going to push back.”
It made sense. Nothing I’d done so far had helped.”
“Then…what do I do? Nothing?”
Another smile and nod. “That’s right – nothing. You give her time, and you give her space. Don’t try to force anything. Just be there for her, and if she wants to come to you for advice, she’ll do it. But like I said, if you want her to keep acting out, then keep pressing her – because that’s what you’ll get.”
“Just…do nothing?”
“No, you’re not doing ‘nothing.’ You’re doing something subtle – you’re being there for her. And that’s going to go a hell of a lot further than trying to pry out whatever’s wrong with her.”
“But what if it’s something really bad. Like drugs.”
She laughed. “Didn’t you just get done telling me how she was a Straight-A student? I doubt that’s what you have to worry about. And trust me, I’ve seen enough of those types in my line of work to know that they can’t hide something like that for long. No, what I think is you’ve got a confused girl who’s not sure what to do with her life. Space and time – that’s all she needs.”
“Space and time,” I said, repeating her words.
Then her eyes went wide. “Shoot,” she said, taking her phone out of her pocket and checking out the screen. “OK, it’s my Mom. Sorry, got to take this – single mom stuff.”
“Go for it.”
She hopped up and went over to a quiet corner of the bar, talking on her phone. And as she did, I sipped my drink and thought about what she’d said.
Space and time. Was it really as simple as that?
Amber came back over to me, a grim look on her face.
“Listen,” she said. “This was fun, but I’ve got to cut it short. My mom’s had my kid all day and she’s about to collapse.”
“Sure. Let me see you out.”
We finished our drinks and I paid the tab, the two of us leaving the bar and going out to the parking lot.
“I’m right here,” she said.
“Yeah, familiar car.”
“Anyway,” she said. “This was…fun.”
“Yeah, same here.”
Then neither of us said anything next. Instead, we gazed into each other’s eyes. Her lips parted slowly, and at that moment all I could think about was kissing her.
And it took all the restraint I had not to do it.
“OK!” she said, shaking her head as if snapping out of a trance. “See you around.”
“Bye.”
She hurried into her car and drove off.
And when she was gone, all I could think about was how much I wanted to see her again.
Chapter 9
AMBER
Maybe it was the alcohol.
Yeah, it was probably that shot.
But either way, I couldn’t get Nick out of my mind.
It was so freaking silly. I was a single mom – an unemployed single mom. I should’ve had much bigger things on my mind than men.
Still, I kept thinking about him.
“How was your date last night?” asked Mom over coffee that next morning.
“What?” I asked, totally shocked at the question. “What date?”
“The date you obviously went on.”
“I didn’t go out on a ‘date’.”
“Sure, you did. Amber, I’ve been around the block a few times – I know the look at girl gets on her face when she’s met a guy she can’t stop thinking about.”
“That’s…that’s totally not what’s happening!”
Mom laughed. “Just fess up – it’ll be easier for you to talk about it.” She leaned in, clearly interested. “So, who is he? Tell me he’s not some low-life from the club.”
I sighed, knowing there was no way I was going to get out of it. When Mom got something into her head, she didn’t let it go.
“Well, he’s from the club. But I just happened to meet him there. This guy…he um, grabbed my butt.”
“Wait, you went on a date with a guy that grabbed your butt?”
“No-no-no, it was a different guy. And then this guy, Nick, came in and punched him in the face.”
“Ahh,” she said, getting it. “Now, when you tell me your line of work means you have to deal with men grabbing your butt I’m not exactly going to feel bad about you losing your job.”
“I know, I know. And I’m done with stripping – that’s for damn sure.”
“Anyway, this guy punches someone in the face for you and then you go out on a date with him? Who is he? What does he do for a living?”
“He’s…kind of a CEO.”
She was clearly impressed by this, raising the upturned gray parentheses of her eyebrows.
“A CEO? What kind of CEO?”
“The kind who runs one of the biggest construction companies in the country. You heard of Horvath?”
“I sure have – their billboards are up everywhere. And you went on a date with the man who runs it?”
I shifted in my seat, trying to think of how to describe the situation.
“I mean, it wasn’t really a date. It was me and him having a drink and talking for a little bit. We weren’t even together for an hour.”
She gave me a curious expression. “What, he didn’t like you?”
“I don’t think it was that. I…I don’t even know how to think about it.”
“And does he know about your…ahem.” Mom put her elbows at the sides of her body and stuck out her arms, shimmying her chest back and forth.
“Mom!” I said, shocked, laughing a bit. “Come on!”
“Well?” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “You know I don’t even like thinking about it, let alone saying the ‘S-word’.”
“It’s not like you need to worry about that anymore.”
“And thank heavens for that. Trust me – you might be upset about losing that awful job now, but you’ll be glad it happened. A blessing in disguise.”
‘We’ll see about that. Anyway, he knows about it. He was there on my last night, as a matter of fact.”
This got Mom’s interest. “He’s a CEO and he knows about your sinful little job and he’s still interested? Amber, this sounds too good to be true.”
“It’s nothing,” I said. “We got drinks and that was it. There’s a good chance we won’t even see each other again.”
“Not with that attitude, you won’t. Baby, this guy sounds like a real catch. You need to go after him if you want to land a man like that.”
I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed by the idea. “A man’s the last thing I need to be worrying about right now. I need to find a job, and I-“
“Mommy?” We both turned in time to watch Jamie come out of her bedroom, school clothes on and her backpack on her back. “I’m ready.’
“Speaking of the little devil,” I said with a smile, getting up and looking over Jamie. “You finish getting ready, kiddo?”
She gave a thumbs-up. “All ready.”
I checked my phone and saw that it was long-past time to get moving.
“Alright,” I said to Mom. “I’m going to drop the little munchkin off. Be back soon.”
“Remember what I said,” Mom reminded me with a raise of her eyebrows.
“How could I forget?”
Moments later Jamie and I were on the way to school. Jamie’s forehead was crinkled in that way it always was when she had something on her mind.
“What’s up, kid?” I asked.
“How come you were home last night?” she asked. “Like, not at work?”
My gut tensed at this question. Sure, not being a stripper any longer made things a little easier with Jamie, but the last thing I wanted was to tell her I didn’t have a job. I didn’t need her getting worried, wondering if we were going to be poor.
I had to do the worrying for the two of us.
“Um, well, I’m not going to be going in to work for a littl
e while.”
“Really? How come?”
I wracked my brain for an explanation. Coming up with fanciful lies on the spot had never been my strong suit.
“Um…bugs.”
“Bugs?”
“Bugs. The place is full of bugs. Someone left a, um, hot dog out overnight, and then when people came in the next day there were bugs everywhere. Tons of bugs.”
“Eww!” said Jamie, scrunching up her face. “That’s nasty? What kinds of bugs?”
“Big gross ones. The kinds that eat people.”
“Bugs don’t eat people,” she said, her voice confident as if she’d caught me in a lie.
“These ones do. Anyway, they had to call in a bunch of exterminators to get rid of them. But it’s going to take a couple of weeks, so I won’t be working until then.”
A couple of weeks. I figured that’d be a good amount of time to take to find a job. If I didn’t, I’d be all kinds of screwed.
“Does that mean we’re going to get to hang out at night now?” she asked, totally excited.
“It sure does. We’ll even be able to have dinner together.”
“That’s so awesome!” she said. “I hope you never have to go back to work!”
I smiled, pleased that at least one of us was happy about the situation.
I pulled into the circle road in front of the school, the place abuzz with students making their way up the front steps of the building, teachers here and there watching over the procession.
“Alright, kiddo,” I said. “Have a good day. And I’ll be here at the usual time, OK?”
“OK!”
We hugged and I opened the door to let her out. As I did, I caught eyes with Ms. Halper, one of Jamie’s teachers. She was tall and skinny with jet-black hair pulled into a tight bun, always reminding me of some kind of a tall, lanky bird.
Ms. Halper forced a prim smile onto her face, coming over to the car. She greeted Jamie as they passed one another, Jamie giving me one last wave as she disappeared among all the other students.
“Amber!” she said, stepping over to the car and leaning over onto the passenger’s-side window, grasping the edge and peering in. “So good to see you, finally.”