Page 14 of The Dance

She paused. “With the way things are, it means money will be tight, and I don’t have the means to keep paying your rent on your apartment. If things don’t turn around in two months, I will need to close for certain. I’m sorry, pumpkin.”

I closed my eyes. “What am I going to do? I have another year of school.” Plus, the two months left of the current year and the summer.

“Maybe you can get a job?”

“A job?” I questioned. I’d only ever worked for my mom at her store. “Where?”

“Waitressing is easy. Maybe you can find a college bar or something to work at.”

Sitting on my bed, I let her words sink in. There was one bar I wasn’t going near.

Ever.

Again.

5

Blake

My brother was gone.Before he left, he told me that if I ever wanted to visit him in California, to call him. Even though I resented him a little, I might one day take him up on his offer. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Pacific Ocean and all the babes frolicking in their bikinis on the beach.

But first, I had to focus on getting my shit off the ground. I was leaning toward a club rather than a bar because I could charge more for drinks, plus an entry fee, and I wouldn’t have to worry about offering food. I didn’t want to serve food because that would mean more permits, more inspections, more, more, more.

I didn’t know how my brother did it. His gyms weren’t just gyms. They were massive and offered healthy food. They were a place where you could spend your entire day. If I needed to, I could always ask Brandon for help. He would help me get things set up, maybe even give me a loan to start, but I wanted to do it on my own. Prove to him and my parents that I wasn’t a youngkid.

The Wild Pony was semi-busy for a Sunday night, and I was in my rhythm, grabbing orders, making drinks, and collecting money before moving to the next person. We had a few more hours until closing.

“What can I get—” I started to say as I turned around. I had just finished stuffing a tip into a pint glass behind the bar. I grinned as my words died off. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

Stacey lifted a shoulder. “I thought that too.”

“Then why do I get the pleasure of seeing your lovely face after what? A month?”

She rolled her chocolate eyes. “Why do people come to The Wild Pony?”

I leaned on the bar top, getting closer to her. “Of all the bars in Houston, you chose this one to get a drink in?”

“I’ve had a shit few weeks, Blake. I thought … I thought you could help me with that.”

I didn’t want to tell her it would be cheaper to go to a liquor store and buy whatever she needed to forget about her problems. “All right. Long Island, then?”

“A double.”

I blinked. “That bad?”

“You have no idea.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?” I grabbed a cocktail shaker and filled it with ice.

“Nope.” She popped the P, and I knew where I stood. Even though we’d hung out a couple of times, we weren’t friends. We were strangers. I didn’t blame her for not wanting to open up to me. I was the guy who’d used her to dupe my family into believing I was dating someone in college with a bright future ahead of her. And it had worked. They really seemed to like Stacey, and if I was being honest with myself, I liked her too. Not so much that I would change my dating rule, though. I didn’t have time to date, and I didn’t want to be tied down to one woman for the rest of my life. Hell, myperfectbrother didn’t even have a steady girlfriend. He was as single as I was.

I placed the cocktail in front of Stacey and winked. “It’s on me.”

“Good.” She took a long sip.

I chuckled. “It’s like that, is it?”

“It’s the least you could do.”