Page 122 of Off Limits
‘Wouldn’t wanna upset Kathleen Lafferty now, would we?’ Hudson says.
‘Oh, come on, you both know as well as I do that it’s not Kathleen who sets out the terms of the CMC contract,’ Harmony states, and it seems even she’s realized that it’s a little silly now, her keeping her distance.
‘Can you all please sit down?’ Jake raises his voice, exasperated. ‘We’re not done yet.’
Two of them do as they’re told. Then Harmony takes a step forward, pulls herself up a chair. Jakes squeezes my hand again. ‘You okay to do this?’ he whispers to me.
I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. This is the moment I get to lay everything out.
The room goes quiet. All eyes are on me. I snatch another quick breath, then look at Harmony first. ‘When I first applied to join the CMC, I wasn’t entirely honest about what I did for a living. I wrote down that I was a waitress at The Bounty diner… which is true, that’s my day job. But I didn’t write down that… until very recently I was a private dancer at Surly’s Tavern on the west side.’
The room is silent. Harmony is stunned. ‘A… I’m sorry, a p-private dancer?’
‘A stripper,’ I clarify in a whisper, and it makes my chest ache to say the words out loud to my squad captain. ‘I worked at Surly’s for five years. Until last night, in fact.’
I can tell by the looks on their faces that the captain and quarterback and the Mutineers’ wide receiver were not anticipating those words to come out my mouth, but it’s also clear that they know exactly what and where Surly’s is. Harmony too, because her eyes drift shut.
‘Wait,’ Jake says, pleading with them. ‘Hear her out.’
I swallow the lump that’s lodged in my throat. I realize that Ally has come back into the room and is lingering in the doorway. She’s heard everything I’ve said.
I tell them everything: the gambling, the debt, and how I’ve been juggling three jobs these last few months. How Jake and his grandfather helped set me free.
I look at Jake when I finish talking, and I’m on the verge of tears again. That’s when I notice the other three are staring at me.
‘You’re like a superwoman,’ Ally says behind me.
‘And she takes care of her father, who’s sick,’ Jake says, and there’s a note of pride in his voice.
‘How have you even had time for each other?’ Harmony asks.
I laugh and look at Jake. ‘We haven’t had all that much. Jake only found out that I was dancing in Surly’s last Friday night.’
Hudson Briar is glaring at me. ‘Hold on just one sec,’ he says, and gets to his feet. ‘You mean to tell me that for the past two months, you’ve been dancing as a Canyon Mutineers Cheerleader, in front of a crowd eighty-thousand strong, and not one of those people recognized you as a stripper from Surly’s Tavern?’
‘Private dancer,’ Harmony corrects him, but his expression sours at her addressing him directly. He averts his eyes, and the reaction is not lost on Harmony, who suddenly looks miserable.
‘It’s pretty much a miracle, I know,’ I say to Hudson. ‘I wear wigs at the club, but we get football fans in all the time.’
‘That’s wild,’ he mutters.
‘But it’s another rule broken,’ I say. ‘Technically, I’ve brought the Mutineers into disrepute.’
‘No, you haven’t,’ Harmony argues. ‘Nobody knew. And you don’t work there anymore.’
I take another deep breath. ‘What if the wrong person knew though? And they found out retrospectively?’
‘What do you mean?’ Harmony asks. ‘Which wrong person knows about it?’
I look at Jake. He gives me a small nod of encouragement.
‘I’m being blackmailed,’ I admit.
‘By who?’ Dalton demands, and there’s fury in his tone.
I look at my fingers, entwined with Jake’s. It’s like I can feel his strength seeping through into my bones, but I still hate that I have to confess.
I lift my head and look Dalton in the eye. ‘Brody Conway,’ I say.
