My twin, on the other hand, was in full party mode. Colin and Tiffany were grinding against each other as they danced to the music. Colin had one hand behind her back as he clutched a beer in the other. Katie came out of the kitchen with a newly opened beer and a plate with pizza. "Here you go. You look tired. Colin said you've been working a construction site."
"Yeah, it's hard work." I sat down in one of the oversized easy chairs, and Katie squeezed in next to me sitting halfway on my lap. It made pizza eating a little difficult. I put my beer in the cup holder and picked up the slice. I hadn't eaten since lunch, and I was starved. Bucky sat down in one of the other chairs, and Colin and Tiffany took the third one.
Tiffany all but wrapped herself around Colin. He had to stretch his neck to see past her. "How's the job going? I've hardly seen you since I got back. Or is that because of the new girlfriend?"
Katie sat up straighter and stared down at me. "What? A girlfriend? No, don't say that. The single female world is not ready to hear that another Wilde brother has been taken off themarket." She put on a pouty frown and snuggled down closer to me. "Please say it's not true."
I stared at her as I kept chewing my pizza. Rachel was the last thing I was going to talk about with this group. I'd stupidly mentioned to Colin that I'd met someone, and he'd been bugging me about it ever since.
"Any more pizza?" I asked.
Katie socked me playfully on the arm. "Well, if you're taken, then I guess I won't fulfill the fantasy I had on the way over here, and it all had to do with you, Ronan Wilde. It's been a few weeks for me, and I can tell you, I'm in the mood."
"Me too," Bucky said. He had a tendency to turn girls off just with the way he spoke to them, mostly in a loud, annoying tone. He was a great snowboarder, but his skills on the slopes weren't good enough to make up for his lack of skills in talking to women.
Katie looked over at Bucky. "You talk with your mouth full."
Bucky shrugged. "Yeah, I can do a lot of things with my mouth full." He'd meant it as a dirty comment, but it landed awkwardly.
"Yuck," Tiffany said. She nestled her mouth against Colin's neck, and he had his hand up her sweater.
It seemed Colin and Tiffany would leave the party soon, and I'd be stuck entertaining Bucky and Katie. I wasn't in the mood.
I slid out from under Katie, and she landed in the chair with a harrumph and crossed arms. I walked to the kitchen and picked up the last piece of pizza. I stood at the counter and ate it. As expected, Colin stood from the chair and led Tiffany by her hand to his bedroom. Katie was on her phone, and Bucky had moved over to the gaming console.
Katie hopped up from the chair. "Well, this party blows, so I'm out of here. Gonna meet Nick down at the Gold Rush." Shelooked pointedly at me and apparently expected some kind of jealous reaction.
"Have fun," I said and shoved in the pizza crust.
Katie marched out angrily. I grabbed a bag of potato chips and the rest of my beer. Bucky pulled on headphones and settled back for a video game. I was sure we'd find him snoring away in the big chair in the morning. I carried my chips into the bedroom. Colin and Tiffany were already at it, and his bed thumped the wall. Tiffany was a screamer. Fortunately, it didn't take long for the scream to happen.
I settled onto my bed and ate chips as I scrolled through my phone. I went straight to photos and pulled up a few of the last ones Rachel had sent me. All of them made my chest ache. I wanted to be with her. Not just occasionally, when we found the time, I wanted to be with her always. Tonight was my first real test. Katie was gorgeous and a lot of fun in bed, and there were no strings attached, but I couldn't work up even an ounce of interest in sleeping with her. It was crazy to think about. I'd teased Jameson and Zander nonstop about how quickly they'd settled into permanent, serious relationships. Now it was happening to me.
twenty-one
. . .
Rachel
Iwas in my trance, the one I often fell into while on stage. The dancing actually helped my mind. I forgot that I was stripping in front of hungry eyes. I was dancing, moving my body to good music, and my confidence was always boosted when I was dancing. If we could have afforded it, I would have gone on with a career in dance, but the lessons and the expensive costumes for competitions were too much for my single mom. I told her I was tired of dancing, but the truth was I hated seeing her come home from one of her two jobs looking so tired and sad. So, I left behind dancing, the one thing that made me incredibly happy and the one thing I thought could save me from a regular, dull life. Instead, I got pregnant, and my dreams were put away in a diaper bag. Now I was a stripper in a dingy, dark club, but at least I was dancing.
The tip jar looked stuffed as I swept up my discarded garments and walked off stage. I headed straight to the dressing room. Jasmine kept a cooler filled with cold drinks. I pulled out a bottle of water. I sat down at the vanity table to freshen up my lipstick before going out on the floor to serve. Jasmine knocked on the door and came inside.
"He's here," she said in a cryptic tone.
"He is?" I spun around so fast, I knocked over the bottle of water. I grabbed it before it soaked everything on the table.
Jasmine looked confused by my response. "He said he'd been out of town on business."
I relaxed. "Oh, Evan. I was hoping we'd seen the last of him."
"Speak for yourself. He's a good tipper, and he just bought my most expensive bottle of scotch." Jasmine walked up to the vanity. She pulled the white dishcloth from her apron and wiped up the small puddle of water. "Who did you think I meant? Judging by your reaction it must have been someone important."
"Uh no, I mean, I figured it was Evan. Like I said, I was hoping not to see him again." I was lying, of course. I had no idea why I was so against Ronan seeing me at the club. I'd kept my second job secret, and it was starting to irritate him. I had no idea how he'd react, and the truth was I didn't want him telling me he disapproved. I didn't want to have to break it off with him because he was angry about me stripping for a living. And with my financial woes, this job was the best thing that'd ever happened to me.
"He'd like to see you," Jasmine said. "He didn't say anything about sitting with him, but he's in his usual spot in the back corner."
"His hiding spot, you mean. Such a hypocrite the way he comes in here and then hides so no one sees him. As if any of our regular clients have a clue who he is."