Page 42 of The Dance

Yawning, I set my phone down and turned to Blake, who had followed me to his room. “Since you won’t take me home, can you at least hold me until I fall asleep?”

He smiled warmly and stepped closer to the bed. “Of course.”

13

Blake

Seven MonthsLater

The more themonths went on, the more I realized that Stacey and I were no longerfriends. It wasn’t as though we were dating—I didn’t date—but I hadn’t heard from her since the morning after she was attacked. I’d pleaded with her to go to the police, but she believed the guy couldn’t be traced. I tried to explain to her that he had to have rented the hotel room with his credit card or something, and the cops could track him down by the name he’d registered with or seen him on the video cameras in the lobby, in the elevator, and on the floor of his room. Hell, maybe even at the valet. He had to be on some sort of footage because the asshole wasn’t invisible, but Stacey hadn’t wanted to report him, and she hadn’t spoken to me since.

Maybe she reported him and never told me. Maybe I hadn’t seen her because she was dealing with facing the fucker in court. If that were the case, I wish she would have told me. She trusted me enough to seek me out after she was raped. She had to have known I would have been there for her.

After a few months, I’d expected her to walk through the doors of The Wild Pony, but month after month, she never did. School had to have ended for her. Maybe she moved to San Antonio. Maybe she went on tour like she’d always dreamed of. Maybe one of us was living our dream because I wasn’t.

Even my brother continued to live the life of dreams. He’d opened the gym in San Francisco, broken up with that one chick, and swore he was in love with some woman who had a guy’s name. Sammy, Stevie, Scottie, Spencer … Yeah, Spencer. That’s what it was.

Brandon was in love with a girl named Spencer.

Perhaps if I had listened to my brother, I could be living my dream too. Or at least be closer to it. I’d wanted to do it on my own but saving a few hundred grand was hard as fuck. Brandon was right. I should have gone to business school because while I was focused on the money, I had no idea how to start a business. I should have asked him to be an investor. If he invested, I could go to school at the same time.

I was doing shit ass-backwards.

Before climbing out of my truck to start my shift at the bar, I took my phone out to text Brandon. I pulled up the chat, but stopped as I glanced out the windshield. Stacey was getting out of a Bentley across the street at the steakhouse that cost a week’s worth of tips for one meal. The guy she was with was older, and I knew instantly he was a daddy.

Instead of Brandon, I sent a text to Conrad:

Gonna be about ten minutes late. Sorry man.

Before I realized it, I was walking across the street. I wasn’t dressed for a fancy dinner, and I was worried I would be turned away at the door for wearing jeans, but that didn’t stop me.

As I walked in, I spotted Stacey immediately. She was being led to a table with the old guy. I waited for the hostess to return.

“Can I help you?” she asked, taking in my attire.

“I … uh … I work across the street at The Wild Pony.” I hooked my thumb in the direction of the bar. “I was wondering if I could get some ones? We’re out of them.”

She blinked. “Change? You need change?”

I nodded, pulling a hundred-dollar bill from my wallet. “Yeah. Is that okay?”

“I’ll have to get my manager.”

“Yeah, sure. No problem.” I smiled my Montgomery smile for good measure.

She left to search for her manager, and I didn’t hesitate as I strode to where Stacey sat. She looked up at me as I passed, her eyes going wide when I winked. I didn’t know if she’d remember from the last time I’d seen her at a restaurant, but I walked toward the restroom and waited. A minute later, she came storming down the hall.

“What are you doing here?” she whisper-hissed.

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the wall. “You’re across from my bar. Just wanted to say hi.”

“I’m on a date,” she whispered.

“I can see that.”

“Can we not do this now?”

“Do what? I haven’t seen you since December.”