Page 2 of Dancing With Temptation

“Hey, everything’s alright,” Roxie said, not wanting to give too much away to the driver. The woman looked nice enough, but she was a stranger.

“There’s been some shady-looking mofos hanging around since you left. One of the thug-looking bastards even came in and asked me where Nathan was.” Wendy sighed, her way of showing how annoyed she was.

“Sorry about that.” Roxie soothed, her lips stretched in a smile at her friend. “Has he been around?”

“No, not that I’ve seen. Where did you stay last night?” Wendy asked in a tone meant to convey total innocence, but Roxie knew better.

“Cow.” She said as an answer, knowing Wendy would take it all in fun. “I stayed at Lincoln’s. If you must know.”

“Oh, but I must. The man shows up, punches out your now ex-boyfriend, and takes off with you. Did you sleep with Prince Charming, master of all things manly, by any chance?” Wendy’s tone told Roxie she already knew the answer to that, purely speculation, but it was hard to deny the truth.

“That’s nunya, my friend. None ya business.” Roxie laughed and stared out the back window of the Honda the driver had picked her up in.

“That means yes, then. Listen, I don’t want to upset you, but I don’t think you should come back here for a while. Find somewhere to lie low. At least until these creepy fuckers stop coming around. If you need something let me know and I’ll bring it to you.” Wendy’s normally cheery voice turned serious and Roxie breathed in again, a little overwhelmed suddenly.

But she’d been in worse situations than this. It wasn’t a new position for her to be in at all. “Will do. I may need some more clothes, but I think I took everything he hadn’t destroyed.”

Which might have been admitting more than she wanted to, but something told Roxie the driver had probably heard and seen worse. It was Myrtle Beach after all. A lot of strange things happened here.

“That bastard,” Wendy whispered over the line. “I’ll go up and go through what’s left. Hopefully, some of your designer stuff survived.”

Designer clothes, even super-expensive designer clothes, were the least of Roxie’s worries, but she didn’t say it out loud.

“Okay, listen, I’m almost at the hotel. I’m headed over to the Pelican. I’ll get settled in there and then message you, alright?”

“Sounds good, sister. Don’t forget to buzz me, okay?” Wendy’s sweet voice, always so ready to laugh, was serious again and Roxie hated Nathan for making her friend worry like that.

“I will, I promise. Love ya.” Roxie offered, something she rarely said to anyone, but she felt that Wendy needed to know it right now.

“I love you too, Rox, take care, babe,” Wendy said and hung up.

“Rough night?” The driver asked, without an ounce of judgment.

“Men, what can I tell you?” Roxie gave her third shrug of the day and tried not to meet the woman’s eyes. Roxie hated pity.

“I know a safe place, if you need one, that’s the only reason I asked. If you need to disappear, honey, I know just the place for you.”

“I don’t think I’m in that bad of a situation that I need to disappear just yet.” She started to say, but decided not to turn down an opportunity that she might need later. She had learned that a long time ago. “Do you have a card, though?”

“I sure do, I’ll get one for you when we get to the hotel.”

“Awesome.” Roxie nodded and went quiet.

The drive took ten more minutes, but the woman was soon parked and handing Roxie a card. She smiled over her shoulder at Roxie, no pity in sight. “Call me anytime, even if you don’t have money for a ride, if you need out of a bad situation.”

“I wouldn’t do that.” Roxie protested. “I mean, not pay you that is. This is how you make money, after all.”

“I know, but sisters have to look out for each other, right?” The woman’s head tilted and Roxie looked away, down at the card in her hands. Lily Gonzales, that was her name.

“Thanks, Lily. That’s awesome, really,” Roxie finally answered and opened the door. “I guess I need to check-in, oh, here.”

Roxie tapped the app on her phone to pay Lily and added a tip. She’d leave a review after she checked in.

“Thanks,” Lily said and waited for Roxie to get out of the car.

“Thank you,” Roxie replied before she closed the door. She waved as the woman drove away and then headed into the reception area of the small hotel. It was an old place, built in the sixties if the interior was anything to judge by, but it was clean and cheap, which was why Roxie knew about it. She hadn’t always had enough money to afford a place on her own.

The hotel was close to a shopping plaza and had a restaurant on the other side of the parking lot. It was suitable as a home, for now. As she walked into her room a little while later, she wondered for the first time how Lincoln had known to show up at her place. He’d just…appeared. She’d ask him later. Like on Monday, when she went to work. Calling him now would just bring that heat back to her cheeks.