Page 14 of Rum & Coke

I grinned. “I did. I wanted to make sure you made it home safely after you left us in the woods.”

“You could have called.”

“But I wanted to see you,” I admitted.

She sighed. “Vin—”

“Friends can want to see friends,” I stated, already knowing she was going to mention the whole not looking for a relationship thing.

She stared at me for a beat. “Just so we’re clear, I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

I held up my hands. “And like I mentioned, I’m not looking for a girlfriend. But I want to be your friend, Tess.”

“Why? You don’t even know me.”

“Why does anyone want to be friends with someone? Because they think a person is nice, funny, whatever. And I think you’re nice and a cool chick.”

She took a deep breath. “As long as we’re on the same page and you’re not expecting anything.”

“Nope. Who knows, this may be our one and only lunch.”

I wasn’t sure why I’d said that. Maybe it was because Tessa was so adamant about us only being friends and I hadn’t had a girlfriend—ever. I wasn’t used to being turned down because women usually wanted more from me, thinking just because I made them feel good for an hour, that I’d form some sort of attachment to them. It wasn’t the case at all, and either they accepted that fact, or I’d never book with them again.

“Doesn’t need to be that way,” she replied. “Do you like baseball?”

I balked at her change of subject just as the waitress walked up to take our order. After we ordered, I replied, “Yeah, I like baseball. Why?”

Tessa grinned. “Who’s your team?”

“Why? You like baseball?”

She took a sip of water. “Just tell me. This will determine if we can be friends.”

I chuckled and draped an arm on the back of the booth. “Dodgers.”

“Oh, God!” she shrieked. “I need to call a cab and get out of here.”

“What?” I laughed nervously and leaned forward, ready to grab her hand so she couldn’t leave.

“I’m a Giants fan.”

Being a huge Dodgers fan, I knew that the Giants and Dodgers were big rivals. So much so, fans had come to blows over games in the past.

I grinned. “No need to leave. You just made this friendship more interesting.”

Stripping had taughtme a lot about relationships, sex, power, and intimacy—or the lack of, in my case. Men toldScarletttheir private fantasies and desires hoping for more than just a dance or boobs in their face. While I was staring across the table at Vinny, I wanted to tell himmyfantasies and desires and that I didn’t want to be only friends. That I wanted to see what would happen if I told him I’d lied and wanted to be more. But then, I wasn’t sure if I could be in a relationship with someone who had sex for a living. We used our bodies in two different ways to make money, and that thought made me not tell him the truth.

It was better that we were only friends because I had Colton to think about. He was starting kindergarten in a few months, and I needed to focus on his progress to get him ready. Next week I was meeting with his teacher to discuss a plan for the new year even though this year wasn’t completed yet. If Vinny and I did become friends, and hang out for more than just the one lunch, then maybe I would tell him I wanted a male figure in Colton’s life, but I had to do it when the time was right.

That wasn’t right now.

The following Wednesday, I was at Red Diamond, ready to do my third set when Sebastian stopped and stood next to me, his hands in his pocket as we both looked toward the curtain. I slowly turned my gaze as I looked up at him and wondered to myself why he was backstage. I only saw him up in his office or on the floor greeting customers or whatever.

“Tessa,” he greeted.

“Mr. Delarosa.”

He grinned down at me, and I noticed his slicked-back, dirty blond hair was perfectly in place like it always was. “How long have you been dancing for me? Ten months?”