by Harper Sloan
She stands there as I lean down and take the stick from her red lips. Holding the stem to my crotch, I pull her from behind the neck until her lips are touching the wet candy. She gasps when I run the wet candy over her open mouth by thrusting and rolling my hips before I release her head and stick the lollipop back in her mouth. I give her a wink before I finish moving on top of the bar. Continuing to move my body with the heavy thumps of the music, I run my hands up my tee shirt, starting at the hem, and pull the fabric up until it's over my head and tossed to the floor at her feet.
I don't put my all into the dance, but regardless, before the song is over, there's no question in anyone's mind that had there been a woman up there with me, I would have been fucking her right there on the bar.
"Wow," she pants when the song ends and silence once again fills the room around our group.
"Thanks, ladies. What do you think of our spotlight dance and the new signature drink here at Dirty Dog?" I ask the room before jumping off the bar and letting my heart rate settle back to normal. They all give different variations of the same nod and breathy praise.
Just what I was hoping for.
"Well, I guess that's one way of doing it." Denton laughs.
"Someone's been practicing," Shane grunts, slapping me on my sweaty shoulder. "And here I thought you would have lost some of those moves over the years."
"Do you see this," I ask him while gesturing down my body. "No need to practice when you're working with perfection."
He rolls his eyes. I open my mouth to say something to the guys but stop when Julie walks into my space.
Rolling onto her toes so that she can get closer to my ear, she says, "Call me later?" She drops back down so that her heels are back against the concrete floor before giving me a devious smile. I should have known it was a mistake to bring her on; we hooked up once, a long fucking time ago, but now that she's working for me, it won't happen again.
I don't respond. Instead, I pick up my shirt and pull it back over my head.
"Opening night is Friday," I tell the room, instantly feeling the energy go from aroused to electric with excitement. "Has everyone got their schedules for the next month?"
"Went over those before they had their fitting with Hilary. We're set, no issues, and we've already gone over the girls' responsibilities for working the floor." Shane grabs a clipboard from behind the bar. "We've got these three ugly bastards working opening night and the next three nights after." He points at Travis, Garrett, and Denton before looking back at his paperwork. "After that, it's a rotation between them. Some nights all six, though, especially weekends, working the main bar. Then we have the other guys working the three other bars, but they won't be in until tomorrow."
I nod. I know without adding that he's made a note to have Denton fill them in on "Lollipop" before looking over to where the girls are standing. "You ladies ready for opening night?" They all smile and nod. "Things might be a little intense, but you're all aware of where the bouncers are stationed and there won't be a second when you girls aren't covered. But if you don't feel safe, find one of them or us and let it be known."
"And let's not forget that we're expecting close to five hundred bodies opening night. That's just ticket holders, so I'm sure we're going to have our share in the holding room. For those who aren't assigned the VIP area, don't forget to make the rounds out there, too. None of the VIP assigned girls should be handling anything but the people in your area up there. Everyone else remember--just because they're not in the hot zone and stuck out in the holding room doesn't mean they shouldn't have fun. Plus, allowing them to drink in there means they're going to be ready to party once they get in the door. They're carded before they even get that far, so no worries there." Shane looks over at me when he's done talking and we both get the same giddy-as-fuck smile on our faces.
"Most importantly, have fucking fun and remember we're the best of the fucking best," I boom. Everyone laughs, and with the excitement of opening night giving us all one hell of a high, I walk around the bar and start making enough of my go-to drinks for everyone. "Grab yourself a drink and let's toast to Dirty Dog!"
"FAMILY DINNER," I HEAR MY sister bark through my phone, and I pull it away from my ear with her sharp tone. Bam, my five-year-old English mastiff, looks up from his bed in the corner but loses interest quickly. With a huff, he drops his big head back down. "That means the whole damn family, Em. What part of that is confusing to you? You've skipped the last eight! Eight months you haven't been there and don't think that hasn't gone unnoticed."
Dropping my brush into the water next to my canvas, I walk over to the couch in the corner and look out the window of my back room. When I moved out on my own, this room sold me on the small house. Huge picture windows cover every inch of the back wall, giving me a breathtaking view of the woods that surround my property. I've been here a year now, and I still get chills when I'm in my painting room.
"I'm busy," I tell her, which isn't a lie, just not the full truth. "And it wasn't eight. I came a few months back." Six actually, but who's counting.
"You're always busy. I know for a fact that you finished up the last piece you had to do for your exhibition next month, so don't give me that busy shit."
I sigh. "Just because I finished all of that doesn't mean I don't have other pieces that need my attention."
Maddi's humorless laugh comes through the line. "You could knock out any of your beautiful paintings in no time. What is going on with you? You've been like this for a while now."
I watch a bird fly around one of my birdfeeders before leaning back on the couch. "I'm just busy, Maddi." Bam's head settles on my leg, and I move my hand to scratch him behind his ears like he loves.
"Dad said if you aren't there, he's going to come toss you over his shoulder and force your ass to--and I quote--make time for your goddamn family."
"No doubt he will too." I laugh.
"Don't you know it," she responds, her tone less heated than just moments before.
"I'll be there, okay?"
"Perfect. Don't forget we have plans this weekend too!"
My brow furrows, and I try to remember what plans we could possibly have.
"What plans?"
"I swear, Emberlyn Locke! You're the only girl I know who couldn't care less that her twenty-first birthday is coming up. We have plans! All the girls. Even Dani's in. Her parents are watching the boys, and you had better believe she's ready to turn it up now that Evan's finally off the tit."
"You're so crass," I interrupt.
"No, I'm not. She's the one who said it. The second he hit six months and tried to take off her nip with his tooth, she was done. Off the tit, she said. Time to party, she threatened. So Cohen is all-in for a girls' night out getting his wife drunk off her ass because he says he will reap the benefits when she gets home."
"That should be interesting," I comment, not really listening to her.
"You bet your ass. She hasn't had a lick to drink since right after the honeymoon when she found out he knocked her up again. She might just be all the entertainment of the evening we need."
"Who else is coming? And what are we doing?" I ask, picking at some of the dog hair and lint on my leggings.
"Everyone," she responds but doesn't elaborate and doesn't answer my other question. That could mean so many things, but since I sadly don't have many friends outside of Nikki and the close-knit group of kids that make up our 'family,' I figure everyone isn't that big of a bunch. I know it's pointless to try to get my stubborn sister to spill the beans when she clearly doesn't want me to know the plans, so I just let it go.
"Sounds like a blast." I dryly sigh.
"Yup. I also heard from Dani that Nate's new club is opening this weekend. I can't wait to check it out! He hasn't said much, but just by the hype he's gaining on social media alone, it's supposed to be a club like no other."
At the mention of Nate, my throat closes and I forget about the lint picking.
; Of course, she doesn't understand that Nate is the main reason I've been skipping our monthly family dinners at the Reid house, a tradition started before I was even born. No one knows that he's the reason I've backed away and now spend so much time focusing on my paintings that I eat, sleep, and breathe brushstrokes.
And humiliatingly enough, not even Nate seems to know what he did to cause me to pull back.
"We aren't going there? Right?" I ask.
"I'm not telling you what we have planned. Plus, I heard it's sold out, tickets only, for opening weekend. Oh! I already talked to Nikki, and she's also in. I think that friend of yours is coming too since Seth is going."
I don't even waste my breath to respond. My sister had made no bones about letting me know she didn't approve of the man I've been seeing for the last two months. She loves Nikki, even gets along with her boyfriend, Seth, but Levi ... no, she hated him on the spot. It's been a constant bone of contention between us. She does nothing to hide the fact that she doesn't like him--even to his face--while I'm helplessly stuck trying to keep the both of them happy.
Of course, Levi only gets frustrated when Maddi starts her crap, so it's made me pull back from her more to keep him happy; another thing that hasn't escaped her notice.
Just another reason I've felt like breaking things off with Levi is the best move. I hate that I've even let him come between my sister and me.
"No worries about Levi; he's working this weekend. Please drop it, Maddi. I don't have the patience to deal with it right now. I'll be there tonight, okay? We can talk more about this stupid birthday celebration then."
We make small talk for a minute before I drop the phone on the couch next to me and look back over at the portrait I had been working on. One of the many I have of the very man who's caused me more pain than I thought possible. No matter how many times it happens, I'm still shocked when I see a picture-perfect likeness of Nate Reid filling a once-blank canvas. What's sad is I don't even realize I'm doing it. I just zone out and hours later ... there he is.
Leaving everything where it is and ignoring the huge canvas of Nate, I walk from the back room and through the house so I can start getting ready for tonight. Bam's nails click on the hardwood behind me as he follows. It's been childish for me to skip these monthly dinners, I know that, but that doesn't matter. The hurt he caused me years ago holds nothing on the pain he inflicted more recently. He was right that night I professed my true feelings for him when he said he would ruin me, but stupidly, I was too naive to believe him then.
Pushing back the same hurt that ruin caused, I do what I have been doing for the last year and pretend it never happened.
When I pull up to the Reid's house later that night, I curse myself for procrastinating leaving my house for so long. I spend so much time lost in my head that I'm almost always late, but since Maddi made such a big deal about me showing up tonight, I can only imagine that they've assumed I wasn't coming again.
I park my car behind the many others that line their driveway and groan when I see my dad leaning against his truck. True to Maddi's word, it looks like he was prepared to follow through with his threat.
Turning off the ignition, I fiddle with my phone and shoot Nikki a quick text to let her know I'm at a family dinner and I'll call her later. We've made a habit recently by turning Wednesdays into our wine night, so if I don't let her know I'm not home, she's going to freak out. I'm always home, so it would be about as abnormal as it gets for me.
The second I reach the handle to open my door, it's swung open and I let out a startled scream. My phone clatters to the driveway with a sickening sound that has me saying a prayer I didn't just crack the screen.
"Cutting it close," my dad says, bending over to pick up my phone and handing it over before stepping back so I can get out.
"Sorry," I say with a shrug and lean up to give him a hug. He bends, meeting me halfway, and I instantly feel settled when he wraps his arms around me. Just like coming home. "I lost track of time. You know how it goes when I'm working."
He leans back, giving me a kiss on my temple, and I get one of the rare smiles that he reserves just for 'his girls.' Eyes so like my own crinkle at the corners, and he just shakes his head.
"I'm here?" I continue, hoping to get off the hook from what I'm sure would end up being the third degree of questioning if he had his way.
"Yeah, sweetheart, you are. I've missed you," he says, and I instantly feel guilty for not being around. It's not his fault this is the last place I want to be.
"I missed you too, Dad."
He turns, favoring his bad leg, and I frown. He just shakes his head. "Don't even start, Emberlyn. Your mom's already been on my ass for overdoing it this weekend."
"Then maybe you should start listening to her before your ass is on the ground."
"Sass," he warns. "Just like your mom. Just like your sister. I'm surrounded by fucking sass."
"Whatever." I laugh, wrapping my arm around his waist as he pulls me to his side with one arm over my shoulders. "What did you do this time?"
"And still she sasses me."
I look over and up, way up, and stick my tongue out at him. His soft laughter vibrates against me, and I smile at him.
God, I love my dad.
"Went head to head with Asher at Crossfit the other day. Little shit still can't handle the fact that I can kick his ass with one leg."
"I swear you two act like kids sometimes," I joke.
We walk the rest of the way together, and I selfishly soak up the comfort his nearness brings me before we walk into the madness of family dinner night. As usual, the Reid's house is full to bursting and the echoes of two dozen or so voices carry from the back deck. When we round the corner to where their back family room is, I stop short at the sight in front of me.
"I think the little fucker has some cross-dressing tendencies if you ask me," I hear and take my eyes off the scene in front of me to look over and meet Cohen's laughing eyes.
"I'm starting to agree," my dad jokes, releasing me and walking through the open patio door that leads to where the rest of our huge family is.
"Molly!" I look up when Megan walks in from the porch and give her a smile.
"Yes, Mommy," Molly sings from her spot in the middle of the living room.
"Would you leave Nate alone and come on out?"
"I can't. He isn't a princess yet," she continues with her singsong voice, the smile in her tone matching the huge toothless one on her face.
"Yeah, definitely has some cross-dressing tendencies," Cohen repeats, taking a huge pull from his beer. "Hey, Em," he says and walks over from the kitchen island to give me a hug.
"Hey," I softly respond, looking back at Nate.
"The girls are asking about you. They're down at the dock acting like little schoolgirls. All you hear is giggles coming every few minutes. They've been like that for the last half hour, ever since Dani got out of time-out."
"Time-out?" I laugh, my eyes moving back to Nate again.
He looks up after Molly stops brushing the god-awful electric blue shadow on his lids and gives me a smile. My stupid body starts to burn with just that little bit of attention from him, and I hate myself for it. Why can't I get over him? Even now, when he is as far from appealing as it gets, I crave him.
His shoulder-length hair is pulled in every direction with little butterfly clips of every color of the rainbow. Aside from the eye shadow, he has bright pink lipstick on, what I'm assuming is blush making huge circles on his cheeks, and as if that wasn't enough, he has a bright pink tutu on.
And still, he's the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes on.
If anything, the horrendous makeup just accentuates the hard chiseled lines of his face. He looks just like Cohen said, like a cross-dresser, only a cross-dressing Adonis.
"She needs to learn to listen. She tried to tell my Molly-Wolly that blue wasn't my color, so she had to go to time-out until she thought about her actions. Right, Molly-Wolly?" Nate
answers my question with a smile.
I ignore his smile and turn my back to him, just as I've done every time I've seen him over the past year. I can feel his eyes on me as I make my way out back. Maybe a year ago, I would have laughed with him and asked him why he continues to put the women in his life in time-out, but not now.
Cohen continues down the steps when I pause at the railing and look around at everyone spread out over the large backyard. Megan is walking away from her husband, smile on her face, and heading down toward the dock. Lee, her husband, is standing with Cohen's brothers, Cam and Colt, following his wife's retreating back. That is until Cohen steps up and gives him a good-natured shove. Zac, Jaxon, and their dad, Asher, are tossing the football around with Beck and Greg. Axel and my dad are standing around the grill while Izzy, Dee, and Chelcie move around the huge farm table that takes up one side of their outdoor dining area.
Spotting my mom with Melissa, Sway, and his partner, Davey, I make my way to where they're playing with Dani's boys. I stop to give my mom a hug, saying hello to everyone else I pass as I make my way down to the dock.
Just as Cohen said, all the girls are there. All six of them indeed giggling in their little makeshift huddle. My sister looks up when my feet hit the wooden planks and gives me what I couldn't mistake as anything but a relieved smile.
Being the baby of the girl side of our group--hell, the baby of the whole group--I don't spend as much time with them as she does, but it doesn't mean our bond isn't strong. All of our parents have been friends for so long that even though I only share blood with one of them, we are very much a family.
Dani breaks away and gives me a hug before pulling me forward. Megan smiles and gives me a hug as I walk by, and then Stella, Lyn, and Lila are next before my sister gives me one of her bear hugs that I swear cracks a rib every time.
"About time you got here!" she yells after backing away.
"Don't start. Dad was in the driveway when I pulled up."
She laughs, and the others follow suit. "I told you. Over the shoulder threats are never made lightly by him."