Page 30 of Husband to Go

“I –”

“Don’t say anything. Just meet me there, sweetheart. We can’t talk with all this going on around us,” I say, gesturing to the dance floor. “It’s insane to even try.”

She takes a deep breath and sighs.

“Okay. I’ll meet you there in five.”

I nod, exchanging one more meaningful look with my girl before turning away and making my way to the back. Navigating through the crowd, I pass Veronica. She’s still in her own world, obsessing over the male strippers while doing a series of glow-in-the-dark jello shots.

Good. My fiancée definitely won’t notice my absence, nor that of her daughter’s. Silently, I open a black door and let myself into the hallway. It’s sparsely lit and hidden away from the chaos of the club. Leaning against the wall, I wait for Kylie. She has a lot of power in her hands tonight, and to be frank, I gave it to her.

It’s not something I’m comfortable with, placing my faith in others. You learn quickly in business that having all the cards in your hand is the best-case scenario, and I like to operate under ideal circumstances.

These circumstances are far from ideal, obviously, but sometimes, you have to play the hand you’re dealt.

Each minute passing feels like twenty. Minutes seem to slow to hours. Where is she? Is she still coming? Maybe she’s had second thoughts and has already left the strip club. Maybe she wants nothing to do with me, not that I blame her. I’ve avoided really thinking about all of this because I knew there would be so many conflicting thoughts, and no clear plan to fix the situation. But now, what if she doesn’t show?

Suddenly, there’s a quiet rustle and a change in the air. It’s her. I can feel her presence even before seeing that lovely form. Heart racing, I hear her speak.

9

Tanner

“Hi, are you there?” her voice echoes in the darkness of the hallway.

I push myself off the wall and see Kylie standing a few feet away from me, unsure and shifting her weight from foot to foot. She looks delectable as always, and now that we’re alone I have a curious urge to stroke her brown curls. To press a kiss to her lips that’s chaste yet passionate, showing her how I feel.

“Hi, sweetheart, I’m over here.”

She nods and minces towards me, straightening her shoulders. Once Kylie’s about two feet away, we fall into silence, staring at one another. The curvy girl wraps her arms around herself.

“What did you want to talk to me about that you couldn’t say out there?” she asks in a quiet voice.

“I wanted to tell you that …,” I pause.

Should I say this to her? Reveal that I’m just as lost as her?

Kylie smiles gently at me. It makes me come undone and my heart breaks open of its own accord.

“What is it Tanner?” she asks gently.

I take a deep breath.

“I wanted to tell you that I don’t know what I’m doing either. I don’t have the answers you are looking for. It’s the reason I haven’t said much whenever you ask me about what we should do. I just don’t know, sweetheart. This is a sticky situation and there aren’t any obvious answers.”

There, that should do it. It’s the truth of where I am, and where we are as a couple. But Kylie has a curious reaction.

“Oh,” is all she says. She looks straight at me, her expression blank. Maybe telling her all that was a mistake. “So, we’re kind of just here?”

“Yeah, sweetheart.”

This feels awkward.

“So, what do we do now?” Kylie asks, but then she shakes her head. “Sorry, I know youjusttold me we’re here but also nowhere.”

She turns her head away from me, her brow deeply furrowed. I might have just made this whole thing worse, and regret makes my heart curdle.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize. “I wish I knew, but there’s no playbook for what we’re doing,” I explain. “This kind of relationship isn’t exactly commonplace.”