Page 117 of The Dance

“And my nightclub is poppin.’ People are loving this concept.” I mean, truly, where could someone workout, shower, and then hit the club for dancing and drinks? Nowhere except Club 24 in San Francisco.

“That’s great, but it’s only been a month.”

“Should just keep getting better and better, right?”

“You better hope so.”

I held up my hands. “I know, I know. I’m working fourteen-hour days.”

“As you should be, if not more.”

“Anyway, I was thinking I could go to H-Town and scout a location.”

“Is this because of Stacey?” Brandon arched a brow.

“What? No,” I lied.

Ididwant to go to Houston to see Stacey. Since she came to the opening of my club a month ago, we’d been texting and talking on the phone a lot. It felt good to have her back in my life, and I hated to think of all the time wasted.

San Francisco had changed me. Well, my brother firing me, then changing it to three months of probation, changed me. During those three months, I focused on the renovation of the space for the nightclub. I went to the club every day and then back to my apartment. There was no partying or women or anything that would cause me any distractions. Brandon had told me once that when he and Jason wanted to open the Austin location, they spent all their time working on a business plan and whatever else it was that they needed to do, so that was what I did. And after the first month of walking into an empty apartment, I got nostalgic.

I would remember how Spencer greeted Brandon each night while I lived with them. How we would all have dinner together and talk about our day. How they would go on date nights or cuddle on the couch while we watched a movie. During my three months alone, I realized I envied what they shared. Once it got closer to the club opening, I dated, finding women on dating apps, but no one was who I truly wanted.

So, when Stacey showed up at my club, I decided to never let her go.

Of course, that would be much easier if we lived in the same city and not almost 2,000 miles away.

“I don’t believe you,” Brandon stated.

“My buddy Ronnie is in commercial real estate. He says he has the perfect location for a combo gym and nightclub.”

“Where’s that?”

“In midtown somewhere. He told me to come check it out, and soon.”

Brandon rested his elbow on his desk and ran his hand through his hair. “Do you even know how to scout a location?”

I leaned forward. “I’ve watched you open four locations, and I’ve worked here for almost a year and a half. I think I can manage. I’ll send you the location, pictures, video call you, whatever.”

He thought for a moment and then sighed. “All right. Go check it out. If it’s promising, we’ll need to bring in Jason to make the final decision.”

“Of course.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Going to look up flights now.”

* * *

The next day,I boarded a 7 AM direct flight to Houston. My mom, being the best mother ever, was waiting for me as I exited the doors into the Texas humidity I was no longer used to. She got out of her car and rushed to hug me.

“I’ve missed you.”

I wrapped my arms tightly around her. “I’ve missed you too.”

“Are you hungry?” she asked as we pulled apart.

“Starving.”