Page 47 of Fifty First Times (Sharing You 0.40)
And I wanted to kill every one of them.
Brooke
HE WAS WATCHING me like he wanted to eat me up.
I get that was the point. I was taking off my clothes. I understood that they all wanted me. That was the whole goal. Get them riled up so they tossed money at me.
But he was the only one I saw when I looked out at the blur of faces. Of course, he was good-looking, but it wasn’t even that so much. He was quiet and intense, unmoving in his seat. He didn’t shout or clap or wave money like the rest of them. He seemed above them all somehow.
I inched closer to the edge of the stage like Chels taught me to do and let them slide money into the leather boy-briefs that hugged me. I flinched as strange hands slid over my legs. One man tucked money inside my briefs and his fingers slid inside, too, caressing my skin. I pulled back quickly and lost my balance. He took advantage of my clumsiness. His hand cupped me, right there, squeezed me between the legs, and I screeched. I couldn’t help it. It was just instinct. When a strange man grabs you there, you scream.
Then he was gone. There was a blur of movement as the creep was shoved against the stage. A loud crunch of bone on bone. At first I thought it was one of the bouncers and then I saw that, no. It wasn’t.
It was him.
Mr. Quiet and Intense himself. Grabby Hands managed to get out from under him and land a punch, but then my would-be savior was up again and swinging. The other guy was bigger, but my guy—uh, when did he become my guy?—was younger and no slacker in the muscle department. His arm flexed as he pulled it back and crashed his fist into Grabby Hands’s face.
The crowd loved it. They pushed close and cheered. It wasn’t that much different from how they behaved when a dancer was on stage.
Finally bouncers appeared. The pulled my guy off Grabby Hands. His eyes met mine as they hauled him away, a beefy bouncer at each side of him, pulling him toward the door. And I felt like I was suddenly naked standing there on the stage. Yeah, I was close. One boob was bared for the world to see, but it’s like he saw me. All of me. Straight to the core. Awareness crashed through me. He knew me. He knew I was a fake up on this stage. And for some reason that mattered to him. He wanted to protect me. Because I failed. I didn’t conduct myself like a professional. My sister would have. But I didn’t. I’d really screwed up.
A pro would have handled the whole situation better. Smoother. She wouldn’t have screamed when some asshole grabbed her. I wasn’t a pro. Not even close. I doubt I ever would be.
“Brooke!” My sister hissed my name from the back of the stage. My song was over. I hadn’t finished my routine, but hey, they got their show.
I hurried off stage.
“What happened?” Chels demanded, her eyes bright with worry as she looked me up and down. “You okay?”
I shrugged. “Some guy got fresh.” And I blew my cool.
Right then the manager materialized next to my sister. “Well, that was real good. Real good.”
Chels looked at him hopefully. “Really?”
“No,” he snapped. “Not really.” He dragged a hand over his balding head. In my heels, I towered almost a foot taller than him. “We don’t have fights at the Cave. We’re not that kind of place. This isn’t supposed to be that kind of place.”
“Sorry, Andy. It’s her first night.”
“Yeah, yeah.” His angry expression softened. “Look. Sorry, Chels.” His gaze flicked to me and then back to her. “I don’t think this is going to work out with your sister.”
I immediately felt relief, followed fast by disappointment because I felt relief.
“Andy, please.” Chels grabbed his arm. “We need the money.”
He shook his head. With a wince and a shrug, he patted my shoulder. “Hang in there. Maybe you’ll make manager over at the Burger Land.” He walked away.
Chels cast me a desperate look. “I’ll talk to him.”
I hugged myself as I faced her. “He’s right. It’s not my thing, Chels. It’s never going to be.”
“And you think it’s my thing?” She slapped a hand to her chest. “No! But I do it. I do what needs to be done.”
“I can make it without this!” I waved a hand, encompassing me, the stage, everything. The world of suck we both inhabited.
“Fine. But I’m not gonna carry your forever. I can’t.” Her voice broke a little here, and she turned like she didn’t want me to see her face.
I touched her shoulder. “I’ll work more hours at Burger Land.” More than the forty I already worked. “Take another student loan. I can make it work.”
