Page 78 of Up In Smoke
Considering we know each other fromAlcoholicsAnonymous, that’s pretty fucking rich coming from him. I want to rip his head off, but my media training is deeply ingrained. Everything in me is screaming to defuse the situation and try not to make anyone upset.
“None of the staff drink here,” I tell him firmly. “Ever. Look, it was nice to see you, Emerson. But I really am working, and I can’t hang out. I hope you have a fun night, but we’ve got to go.” I notice the DJ has subtly segued Abe’s solo track into a different song for the time being. Hopefully, the rest of the audience haven’t noticed the slightly longer pause between numbers.
“Oh, Jesse, I’m sorry!” Emerson cries in horror as we start turning away. “I didn’t mean to upset you! You’re not mad, are you? I just wanted to support you! I thought it would be cool having your friend show up as a surprise.”
He’s trying to make me feel like the bad guy, but he’s basically admitted that he came here to stalk me outside of meetings. How did he even know I work here? The website doesn’t exactly have headshots of us all for obvious reasons. And even if it did, how would he have even known where to look? I’ve never mentioned the Tavern by name, and when I talked aboutperforming, I kept it vague to sound like a singer or a stand-up comedian or whatever. That way, no one could link me to the only stripper bar in a ten-mile vicinity.
So has he beenfollowingme?
The thought makes me feel physically sick.
I turn back to give him a mouthful, but it’s Trixie that pushes past us and marches up to Emerson, her hot orange nail millimeters from his nose. “Y’all quit botherin’ my boy, you hear? He asked you nicely now I’m tellin’ you not so nicely. Scoot! Before I have the bouncers haul your ass out!”
Abe steps back toward him as well, his metal grinder raised. Out of all of us, he’s easily the tallest and broadest. Personally, I wouldn’t fuck with him. “You heard the lady,” he growls.
Lucas and Riley come and flank me, their hands resting on my bare shoulders. This whole exchange feels so much more gross because I’m literally standing here in a damn thong.
“Jesse,” Lucas asks me. “Is this guy actually bothering you?”
I shift uneasily and grimace at Emerson. “You know none of us are really supposed to see each other outside of meetings,” I mumble. “I’m sorry, man. I appreciate that you want to be friends. But, um, that might not…I mean…”
“SCOOT!” Trixie shouts, her eyes blazing.
“Hey, I’m a paying customer!” Emerson shouts back shamelessly at her.
“Not anymore, you’re not,” Abe says cheerfully. He seizes Emerson by the arm, the metal grinder swinging effortlessly from his other hand as he starts dragging my creepy stalker back into the crowd.
“Wait, no!” Emerson yells, twisting to look at me again. “Jesse, I’m sorry! Tell him to stop!”
I shake my head, feeling nauseous and shivery as Riley wraps his arm around my back. “I’ll see you later, Emerson.”
“Fucking dick,” Lucas fumes.
“Now, now,” Trixie says, waving us into the changing room. The music is muffled as soon as the door closes behind us. “You pay that troublemaker no mind, Jesse. You hear? He’s just a lost little lamb and I wish him all the best gettin’ the help he needs. But that ain’t your problem.”
I scrub my face as I feel several of the other guys turning to see what the matter is. I feel like I’m contaminated. The fact that he tracked me down here is so not cool.
What if he’s waiting for me when I leave? What could someone like that be capable of? All it would take is a second with a knife or a gun and…
And I’d lose everything I’ve fought my ass off for. My life is finally starting to become something I love, something I’m proud of, and that douche bag could steal it all in an instant. I wouldn’t be the first celebrity to be murdered by a psychotic fan.
My legs falter under me. Luckily, Riley is still holding onto me and manages to guide me into an empty chair.
“Hey, Jesse,” Yang calls out with a frown. “Are you okay?”
“Some creep just tried to creep on him,” Riley says eloquently, shaking his head as he stands back up. “That was so creepy.”
“And he was a dick to Trixie,” I mutter angrily.
The room erupts. But before the guys can grab their pitchforks, Trixie jumps on the chair next to me and shakes her hands at the room.
“Now y’all quit it!” she hollers, calming them down immediately. “I’m fine. Jesse might need some TLC, though. So are you boys cool to do the last number without him?”
“I can stand in,” Lucas offers. I didn’t realize how relieved that would make me, but I deflate like a punctured balloon.
“Thanks, man,” I tell him gratefully.
“No problem,” he says, squeezing my shoulder.