Page 50 of Rum & Coke

“Well.” I grinned. “I would never, but especially now that Vinny asked me on a date.”

“Shut up!” she shrieked. “When?”

“To one of the S&R guys’ wedding.”

“The one you stripped for?”

I shook my head. “No, the one who hired me to strip.”

“Wait. Two escorts are engaged?”

“Apparently.”

“So, there’s hope for you and Vinny then? Maybe he’ll quit for you.”

“We definitely need to talk about it.”

“Finally. This whole ‘you don’t know what the hell you two are’ thing is confusing me.”

“Me, too,” I admitted.

When Vinny asked me to be his date—a real date—I wanted to ask him again what we were, but Sophia was sitting in my living room, and I didn’t think it was the time. So, I was going to talk to him at the wedding—hopefully. I had to. It was time to go after the person who made me smile. Made me laugh. The man who was good with Colton and cared enough about me to walk me to my door each time, and who set-up a training at the shooting range. Even though I didn’t choose a gun, just the experience of having shot a gun was enough to put me at ease. If it came down to it, I wouldn’t hesitate with my pepper spray.

To get ready for the night, I curled my hair and pinned the left side back with a bobby pin to give it more of a styled look. While shopping, I came across a dark navy, A-line dress with a deep V-neck and pockets, and I couldn’t resist it. I fell in love with it instantly, and my silver heels went with it perfectly.

Sebastian had told me to meet him at Red Diamond, and then we would take a limo to the arena. I was okay with him not picking me up because the entire situation was still weird to me. I just kept telling myself it was an extra thousand dollars and I didn’t have to get naked. I could easily do that. When I pulled into the parking lot at Red Diamond, Galen was manning the door. “Wow, Scarlett. You look amazing tonight.”

“Thank you,” I replied. At the mention of my stage name, I wondered if I would need to be Scarlett or Tessa tonight. Scarlett was a man-eater in a sense, and Tessa was the girl next door. What did Sebastian need me to be in front of his friends? “I’m going to that boxing thing with Mr. Delarosa.”

“Ah,” he groaned. “You’re lucky. There’s a lot of hype about the fight. I bet on Campbell. He’s the underdog.”

“Is that who I should go for?” I’d never been to a boxing match before. The guys at work talked about them all the time because it was a big thing in Vegas. Apparently, they happened often, and it was a big deal when two popular men or women had a match. I knew nothing when it came to boxing.

He grinned. “If you want.”

I heard a car pull into the lot, and I turned, seeing a black limo pull in. “My ride is here.”

Galen whistled. “You’re riding in style.”

“Looks like it.”

The car pulled up, and Galen opened the door. “Have a good night.”

“Thank you,” I replied and slid inside onto the black leather seat. He shut the door, and I turned my gaze to the front. Sebastian sat across from me in a black suit with a red button-down shirt and black tie. “Hi,” I greeted him with a smile.

Sebastian handed me a flute of champagne, his gaze lowering to my chest briefly.Scarlett then?“Love the dress, Tessa.”Okay, Tessa then?

“Thank you, and thank you for the money for it.”

“It only seemed appropriate since I invited you to come. Have you ever been to a fight night before?”

I took a sip of the bubbly wine. “No, I haven’t.”

“Well.” He grinned. “Your first time is going to be amazing since we have ringside seats.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” I assumed it would be fun and exciting to be ringside. I would kill to be in the front row behind home plate or even front row near the dugout at a baseball game, and I supposed ringside was the equivalent for people who loved boxing. “What am I supposed to do tonight?”

He arched his brow as he studied me. “What do you mean?”