Page 36 of The Dance

“Was just curious.”

He raised five dollars of his own. “Just curious? Why?”

I looked at the pair of aces in my hand and then at the one sitting face-up on the table. I called his raise and replied, “Thinking of opening up my own nightclub or something one day.”

Truth be told, even though Brandon was the golden boy, I still looked up to him. Sure, I’d wished him good luck when he left for California, but honestly, he was my best friend.

“I see.” He turned his king and jack over, showing he had two pair. “It’s a lot of hard work.”

I grinned and flipped my aces over, showing that I had a three of a kind. “I know it will be.”

Brandon nodded as he saw I had won. “I’ll tell you this. When we first wanted to open Austin, that was our only focus. We stopped partying down to 6thStreet and only concentrated on the gym. We stayed in, ran numbers, did research, drew up a business plan.”

“Yeah, but you had the cash to open a place.” I raked in my winnings.

“Having money is one thing. Being successful is another.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“If your dream is really to be a club owner, you need to focus just on that. I went to school for business and can give you advice, but maybe you need to go back to school and learn yourself?”

Brandon was right. I’d never tell him that, though. I also knew someone else who was getting a degree in business, but I hadn’t seen Stacey in months.

“So, are you still dating that crazy chick Christy?” I smirked.

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Since moving to San Francisco, Brandon had started seeing a woman he couldn’t break up with. He’d tried several times, but she always found her way back into his bed. I thought it was hilarious and another reason I never wanted to date or get serious with anyone.

Since my chatwith my brother, I took some of his advice and stopped partying, focusing more on my future. I never created an account with Sweethearts. Even though the money was tempting and could possibly let me save up faster, I didn’t pull the trigger and join. I wasn’t a dater, and the thought of dating—even for thousands of dollars—just wasn’t something I wanted to do.

Instead, I’d taken some of Brandon’s advice and stopped partying, focusing more on my future. However, I was still hooking up with women who came into the bar, like …

What was her damn name?

“What can I get you to drink?” I asked last Saturday’s fling.

She grinned. “You don’t remember?”

I racked my brain, but I couldn’t come up with anything. “What you drank last Saturday isn’t what I remember.” I winked for good measure.

She blushed. “A lemon drop.”

I nodded, vaguely remembering that was what she was drinking, and grabbed a bottle of vodka. “Are you here—”

I was at a loss for words as I saw Stacey walk through the front door. It wasn’t because I hadn’t seen her in months, but because of how she looked. At a glance, I saw her hair was disheveled, but not in a sexy way. She looked scared, and instantly my heart stopped.

Coming around the bar, I left the unmade drink sitting on the bar top and rushed to Stacey, placing my hands on her shoulders. She flinched, and I released her. “Toots?” I squatted slightly to look into her eyes.

Her brown eyes lifted, and I saw the skin under one of them was turning purple.

“What the fuck happened?”

She started to cry, and I scooped her up, striding toward the office in the back. I ignored anyone and everyone. My only concern was for her.

I set her on the couch, closed the door, and crouched down, holding her hands. “What happened, toots?”

“Can … Can you not call me that?” She sniffed.