Page 55 of Rum & Coke

“Great. Here.” He started to count the bills in his hand, and then reached toward me with a stack. “Two thousand to make up for your missed shift.”

“You don’t need to pay me to come to a party.”

Sebastian grinned. “I make a lot of money, Tessa. Two, three grand is nothing to me.”

Two or three grand was about a week’s worth of dancing for me, and he was saying it was nothing to him? What the hell was his other business, or did he make that much just from Red Diamond?

“Some of the other girls from RD will be there,” he continued. “Bring whoever you want. I’m only extending an invite because I truly like you as a person.”

“Okay. Thank you for inviting me tonight.”

“Thank you for coming.”

I smiled and said my goodbye just as the driver opened my door.

As I drove home, I wondered if making three grand forhaving funwas the start of something good or bad. It had taken a year for Sebastian to invite me to do anything. Maybe I was just the next one in line, and this was how it all started with the girls who did sexual favors.

I’d quit Red Diamond before that ever happened.

I knew onceI told the guys that Tessa was at the fight, they would give me shit. I didn’t care. Sure, we were having a guys’ night out for Paul’s bachelor party, but I wanted to get close to Tessa and let her know I was there. Luckily, when she found out, she wasn’t mad.

“You have it bad for her,” Gabe stated as I watched Tessa walk away—with a fucking bodyguard. What the hell was that all about?

“We’re just friends,” I lied. We were friends, but damn it if she didn’t make me hard, especially in that dress she was wearing with the deep V neckline. It was also blue, not Dodger blue, but close.

“You keep saying that, but it’s not true,” Gabe replied.

“Like I told you yesterday, I have shit I need to figure out before I get serious with her.” Tessa walked out of sight, and I turned my attention to Gabe. The other guys were staring at me, too.

“You better not be saying what I think you’re saying,” Nick warned.

“He is,” Paul stated.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not quitting.”

“Yet,” Gabe threw in.

“I’m not quitting,” I repeated.

“Yet,” Gabe said again.

“I’m going to talk to her and figure out what she wants. I’m not quitting until I talk to her and even then, it would only be a break.”

“She’s into you,” Paul affirmed. “If things get serious, your break will turn into forever.”

“Well, we can stand here all night and talk about it, or we can go get drinks and get back to our seat before the fight starts,” I suggested.

“Don’t get all pissy. You wanted to come see your girl. You’re lucky we came along.” Bradley slapped me on the back and started to walk away. We all followed to get drinks before heading back to our seats just as the fight started.

The fight was fucking awesome.

The older I got, the harder it was on me the day after drinking. That was why I didn’t have dates or drink on school nights anymore, except last night, and that was Paul’s fault. Okay, it was my idea to go to the fight, but it was his fault we all drank like fish after the fight.

I strolled into school hungover as fuck. Hell, I didn’t even remember much after leaving the fight other than we went to Commonwealth on Fremont Street. The guys and I drank and drank and drank some more. I should have known better, but Paul was getting fucking married, which meant he was getting married before Gabe, andnoneof us saw that shit coming.

Bypassing my classroom, I went straight for the teachers’ lounge in search of coffee. I needed something to wake me up and help with my pounding head, and I hoped the caffeine would help.

“You look like death. Are you coming down with something?” Kandace, one of the other teachers, asked as she walked into the room.