“Don’t be embarrassed. One day, you can tell me about what happened, but right now, I’d just like it if you had dinner with me.”
“Are you sure? After what happened, I—”
“Don’t think about that,” I cut her off. “Just come up and eat. Please.”
Nodding, she steps out of her apartment and closes the door behind her, and I notice she slipped on a pair of flip-flops. I take her hand, leading her back up the stairs to my place, then settle her on the couch before going to the kitchen to grab the bags of food. When I return to the living room, I can tell she’s still embarrassed about what happened, but I know there’s nothing I can do about that right now. It’s going to take time for her to realize she can trust me.
“Tell me a little about yourself,” I say, handing her the food while setting a glass full of orange juice on the coffee table in front of her.
“There isn’t much to tell.” She shrugs.
“How long have you been here?” I ask, setting my feet on the coffee table, lounging back, and hoping if I’m relaxed, it will help her relax too.
“Just a few months,” she says between bites. “I was just nine-weeks pregnant when I got here, and now I’m almost due.” She rubs her hand over her stomach unconsciously.
“Where’s the father?” I question quietly, and her bottom lip goes between her teeth as her eyes meet mine.
“Hopefully dead,” she whispers, catching me off guard by the fierceness of that statement.
“Does he know about the baby?” I murmur, and her head shakes side to side.
Studying her for a moment, I see there is something there, something ugly, and it takes everything in me not to drag her to my lap and hold her while she tells me about it.
“Eat, baby,” I mutter, nodding toward her bowl. “You can save that story for another day.” Her chin wobbles as she nods. I turn up the volume on the television and sit back, pretending to watch the show on the TV but actually keeping an eye on her as she digs into her food.
“Thank you. That was delicious,” she says, and I turn my head to look at her and smile as she sets her bowl on the coffee table.
“My mom tried to teach me to cook. It never worked out. If I wasn’t able to eat out, I’d probably starve, since the only things I know how to make are mac-and-cheese, hotdogs, and eggs. I suck in the kitchen otherwise,” I tell her, watching as she tucks her feet under her.
“My parents are Irish and they both love to cook. Thankfully, they shared their talent with me.”
“Where are they now?”
“Vegas. Well, all of my family lives there—my mom and dad along with my brothers and a few cousins.”
“You came to Tennessee alone?”
“Yeah, they didn’t want me to keep my baby,” she whispers, placing her hands over her stomach protectively. “I hate her dad, but she’s half of me and innocent. I know it may sound crazy, but when I found out I was pregnant, I knew—regardless of how she was made—I loved her more than anything else in this world. And I’ll never let anyone take her from me.”
“You keep saying she. Are you having a girl?”
“Yeah.” She smiles then reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling it to her stomach. Letting her lead the way, I watch her hand press down on mine and feel movement under her shirt as the baby moves around. Looking up at her, I feel my face go soft as I watch a beautiful smile spread across hers and her eyes light with excitement. Without thinking, I use my free hand to push a piece of hair behind her ear. Her sharp intake of breath has me leaning close enough to feel her exhale against my mouth.
“I really want to kiss you, Aubrey,” I whisper, and her eyes close briefly before she leans forward, resting her lips against mine. I kiss her softly then pull away, sliding my hand behind her neck to drag her head forward so I can touch my mouth to her forehead.
“That was nice.”
I shift back to look down at her. “Only nice?”
Her blue eyes fill with humor as she smiles up at me. “Better than nice.”
“How much better?” I rub the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip, amazed by how soft it is.
She tilts her head to the side and taps her finger against her chin like she’s thinking hard about my question before she answers. “I think it was the best first kiss I’ve ever had.”
I like her answer, but I want more. “I think I should kiss you again, just so you’re sure. You know… so you have something to compare it to.”
“You do?” she asks with a smile. I nod, and she whispers against my lips, “Okay.”
I softly brush my lips against hers. “What do you think now?”
It takes a moment for her lashes to flutter open and for her to focus on me. “I don’t know. I think you should kiss me again.”
“I like the way you think.” I nibble her bottom lip then soothe it with my tongue.
“Oh, that’s nice,” she says then giggles when her stomach moves between us.
I lean back and rest my hand on her belly. “Does she always move so much?”
“Yeah,” she replies softly, and I look up at her. “Especially when she knows it’s time for me to go to sleep.” She scoots back on the couch. “I really should go.”
Fuck, I don’t want her to, but I know she’s right. “I’ll walk you downstairs.”
“It’s not a big deal. I can make it on my own.” She slides her feet into her flip-flops.
“I’ll walk you,” I repeat, standing, and she eyes me for a moment before nodding once. I open the door for her to step out ahead of me then take her hand and walk her downstairs, leaving her at Shelly’s door with one more kiss and fucking hating that she’s not going to sleep where I can keep an eye on her.
Chapter 3
AUBREY
I STAND BACK to look at Stella, making sure the makeup I’m doing on her looks flawless. It took me a few months to get used to being backstage at a strip club. But now I don’t even think about the girls who are mostly naked, primping in the mirrors, chatting about what’s going on in their lives and which big spenders are in the crowd as they get ready for their turn on stage.
“Aubrey’s gone and gotten herself a boyfriend!” Shelly announces as she walks in wearing nothing but sheer panties and glitter, and all the girls stop talking.
My cheeks flood with heat as they all turn and stare at me while Shelly plops down on her chair, swiveling around to fix her makeup before she goes out to work the floor. “Shelly!” I hiss.
She meets my eyes in the mirror and lifts her brows. “What?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“I call bullshit.” She twirls back around and points her mascara in my direction while she taps her foot clad in five-inch clear heels. “A guy came out and worked on the doors of your car on Tuesday afternoon while you were here doing the books for Johnny. When I spoke to him about the bill, he said it was already taken care of. Who else would’ve paid for something like that except a boyfriend?”
I tap my chest and argue, “Me. I could’ve paid to have my own car repaired.”
“If you were going to take care of it, you wouldn’t have put it off all this time. And you just said ‘could’ve,’ not that you did,” Shelly points out.
Damn, I did say that.
“Shelly’s got a point.” Stella looks up at me as she nods in agreement. “My momma’s always sayin’ ‘Ella baby, you need to find yourself a good guy to take care of things for you.”
“My mom says that too,” Shelly agrees.
“You sure you don’t have a boyfriend you’ve been hidin’ from us?” Stella asks.
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Then who’s been driving you to and from work, even after getting your car fixed for you?” Shelly asks with a smirk before she whirls back around to face her mirror.
“Oooh, girl. No way did you pay for those repairs if you haven’t even been driving your car,” Lana, another dancer, says and crosses her arms over her chest. “
Are you gonna try to keep fooling us or are you gonna admit you got yourself a man?”
I look at all the women in the room, women who have been nothing but kind to me. I love them, but I know from past experience that they’re like sharks in bloody water whenever they smell gossip in the air. I also know they aren’t going to let this go until I spill my guts. “You guys have this all wrong. And plus, the driver side door on my car is better, but I wouldn’t say it’s totally fixed. It still sticks every once in a while, and the repair guy said the others are all lost causes, since they’ve been welded shut.”
“You shouldn’t be crawling over car seats and consoles in your condition anyway,” Maria, the youngest dancer in the bunch, mutters, staring at my round belly with wide eyes. “Not when you’re ready to pop any day now.”
“Is that why the new boyfriend is still drivin’ you around?” Stella asks. “If so, that’s a good sign. Protective guys are hot, especially when they go all caveman.”
“Oh, I love a caveman.” Lana gets a faraway look in her eyes.
“Stella’s right,” Shelly agrees, catching my attention. “I know I haven’t met him yet, but he already has my stamp of approval if he’s looking out for you.”
A blush creeps up my cheeks and my gaze drops to the floor.
“Girl.” Stella grabs my hand. “That’s a guilty look if I’ve ever seen one.”
“Um. Well, it’s just that Shelly’s wrong. She definitely knows him, since he lives upstairs from our apartment,” I admit softly.
I lift my head to see Shelly’s eyes widen in surprise, and she shrieks, “Your new boyfriend is Justin? Holy fuck! How’d you get in there with the Viking hottie?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” She shakes her head, laughing. “He’s barely said two words to me in all the time I’ve lived there. He’s a nice guy, but I’ve always gotten the impression he isn’t too happy about having me as a neighbor, which is strange as fuck, since most guys are more than happy to be anywhere near me.”
Maria snorts, and Shelly glares at her, asking, “What? You don’t think it’s weird for a guy to not be interested in having all this”—she waves a hand at her body—“living right downstairs from him?”
My nose wrinkles at the idea of my Justin being attracted to Shelly. I know it’s crazy for me to think of him as mine, since we only met a week ago and I’m about ready to pop out a baby, but I just can’t help myself. My feelings for him are growing by leaps and bounds each and every day we spend together. I mean, I let him kiss me on day one, and now one week later, I can’t imagine my life without him in it. He’s become that important to me in such a short time. It’s kind of scary, but not in a way where I’m afraid. More like an exciting scary.
“Nope. I don’t think it’s weird at all.” Maria aims a smile my way. “I really like that the guy Aubrey is dating isn’t interested in his stripper neighbor. It means he has a little class.”
“Hey!” Shelly cries. “I’m classy.”
“Quit tryin’ to make this about you, Shelly. It’s about Aubrey and her new boyfriend.” Lana sighs.
“He’s not really my boyfriend,” I say for the hundredth time, even though I’m becoming a little confused about the status of our relationship. I’m not exactly sure how the whole relationship thing works, since I’ve never been in one before, but I’m pretty sure you aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend until you have a conversation about it.
“Did he get your car fixed for you?” Stella asks.
“Yeah.”
She looks up from doing the straps on her heels and raises an eyebrow at me. “And he’s still drivin’ you to work?”
“Uh-huh.”
“He feedin’ you too?”
Stella is one of my favorite dancers, but if she keeps up with this, she might lose her spot.
“Umm….”
“He better be,” Shelly grumbles. “She hasn’t been around enough to touch any of the food in our kitchen all week.”
Stella’s smile is blinding. “So he’s been makin’ sure you get breakfast, lunch, and dinner?”
Breakfast and dinner, mostly, I think but don’t say. “Umm, we eat together, but he has work too.”
“Mm-hmm,” Maria hums. “He’s spending all his free time with you and taking care of you while he’s doing it. Definite boyfriend material!”
“Hold up!” Stella holds up a finger. “We skipped one important step in the boyfriend test. I know the baby is due any day now, but have you gotten physical with him? Even if it’s just kissin’?”
“Don’t you all have work to do?” I ask, knowing I’m now bright red.
“Oh, avoidance. It must have been good,” Lana says.
“How was it?” Shelly asks.
I shrug one shoulder. “Amazing, even if I don’t really have anything to compare it to,” I reply quietly, and everyone’s eyes drop to my round belly and the ripple of my shirt where my baby girl is kicking. I know these women have seen enough of the ugly side of the world to understand how I could be having a baby and never really been kissed.
“Oh, honey,” Maria whispers, and my throat gets tight as she turns away to blot under her eyes with a tissue.
Watching her, I startle when Stella takes my hand, and my gaze meets hers for a moment before she squeezes my fingers then leaves the room and Lana does the same.
I take a seat in Stella’s now empty chair and try to fight back the tears I feel creeping up my throat as I watch Shelly put the finishing touches on her makeup. “I know we’re complete opposites and I haven’t been the best roommate, but I’m damn proud to call you my friend. You deserve the best, and if Justin’s gonna give that to you, he’s got my stamp of approval,” she says quietly.
Tears spill down my cheeks as she comes over and squeezes my shoulder before walking out of the dressing room to head out on stage for her set. I know Shelly and I will never be best friends, but I owe her a lot. Without her allowing me to live with her, I’m not sure where I would’ve ended up living. Finding a job would’ve been harder too, since she’s the one who introduced me to Johnny. And I might never have met Justin, which would’ve been a tragedy, considering the way he makes me feel.
“Lover boy might have gotten the thumbs-up from Shelly and the rest of your girls, but I need to meet him before I can sign off on this relationship,” Johnny says, and I spin my chair around to look at him as I wipe my cheeks.
I smile, thinking about how he’ll react to Justin, whose nothing like I expected, not from just looking at him. And if Shelly hadn’t told me he was nice, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to get up the nerve to accept that ride from him. Lucky for me, he’s the kind of guy who won’t mind being checked out by a brute and a bunch of dancers, if that’s what it takes to make me happy. But that doesn’t mean I’m in a rush to make it happen, at least not until I’m sure what’s going on between the two of us.
Chapter 4
JUSTIN
TWO WEEKS. TWO weeks of mornings and evenings with Aubrey, and every single one of them have left me feeling completely fucking unhinged. I want her more than my next breath and know from the look in her eyes when we talk or when I kiss her that she feels the same thing. I breathe deep, finishing my set of reps. Working out isn’t helping like I thought it would. I have never been a gym rat, but with her, I’m turning into one. It’s my outlet, my way of getting rid of the pent-up energy I’m now carrying around.
Drying off my face and chest, I pick up my cell and frown when I see she’s called me more than once. If she’s calling me over and over in the middle of the day, then something must be wrong. She’s always careful about using her phone, since she’s on a cheap prepaid plan with limited minutes. And so far, she’s refused to let me buy her a new one or add her to my plan. The only reason I’ve let the argument slide is because she spends all her free time with me, so I haven’t pushed the issue yet.
I call her back and my heart drops when she doesn’t pick
up. “Fuck,” I grunt, shoving my shit into my bag and dragging my shirt on so I can head out to my Rover. After I toss my bag into the back seat, I climb behind the wheel. My cell rings, and seeing her name on the screen loosens some of the tension in my muscles as I answer, “Aubrey, baby, you okay?”
“No,” she sniffles out in a small voice, and my heart drops again.
My need to get to her is even more urgent, hearing how scared she sounds. “Where are you?” I ask, starting my car.
“At my doctor’s office,” she replies, and I step on the gas, thinking about all the things that could possibly go wrong at this stage in her pregnancy. “Can you come pick me up? I can’t get my stupid car to start.”
She’s usually okay with me driving her around, but this morning she insisted on taking her car to work. Now I get why. Last week, I took her to her appointment. She’d been embarrassed to change into a gown with me in the room, even with my back turned. And then there had been an awkward silence when the doctor had done the physical exam, and when I turned around, her cheeks and neck were the cutest pink color. For someone who is due to have a baby any day now, she seems so innocent, and that only makes me want her more.
“Where are you now?”
“Sitting in my car, praying to the gods it magically turns on.”
I chuckle. “Leave the car and go back inside,” I order, sensing this is the opportunity I was waiting for to get rid of the damn thing. “I’ll have it towed and get it looked at.”
“We both know I don’t have the money to cover the tow, let alone what it will cost to fix my piece-of-crap car.” I smile as she grumbles, because I know there isn’t going to be a bill to fix it. And the only person who will be looking at it is the guy at the junkyard.
“Babe, go inside. I’m on my way, and I don’t like the idea of you sitting in your car.”
“Justin.”
“Please, baby.”
“I know it’s wrong to accept your help on something this big, but I’m uncomfortable and just want to be home, cuddled up on the couch with you, a fuzzy blanket, and something to drink.” I hear her pull in a breath. “It’s already been a really long day, and I’m tired and thirsty.”
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