Offering him no more than a nod in response, I made my way to the private rooms. “Thanks, Freddy.” We bumped fists. “How drunk is she?”
He smiled and chuckled. It was odd to see Freddy entertainedbecause he was usually so stoic and serious. As a three-hundred-and-fifty-pound black man, with his arms eternally crossed, there weren’t many other options on the emotional spectrum. “Ohshe’snot too bad,” he said, his words heavy with humor.
Not knowing exactly how to reply to him, I rolled my eyes and moved the red, crushed velvet curtain to the side. I should’ve known better. “What do youwant?”
Noah stared back at me, a bright twinkle shining in his deep blue eyes. “To apologize.”
“Well, those weren’t the words I was expecting,” I muttered, moving toward him.
“Give me another chance,” he tossed out there. “I’m full of surprises.”
We shared a laugh before an awkward blip of silence settled between us, the loud, thumping bass echoing in the small space. “I was shitty this morning,”he said finally. “And I’m sorry. I was entirely out of line, and it was unfair of me to take everything out on you.”
Rocked to my core by his honesty, I couldn’t formulate any kind of response. Exhausted from the night before, the session at the gym, and dancing for the last two hours, my legs shook as I walked over to the leather couch. My ass made a squeaking noise as I leaned back into thecushions. “Dude,” Noah accused as he lowered himself into the space next to me. “A little warning.”
“It was the couch,” I defended, my voice taking on a higher than usual pitch.
“Sure it was. Sure it was,” he joked. And just like that, the awkwardness was severed.
“Didn’t want to be up on stage tonight, huh?” I asked, referencing our last appearance here.
Something shifted. The air sizzledas we were both reminded of why we were back here. “I wanted to talk in relative quiet. I felt like I owed you that much.” Again, so genuine and honest. “I really did overreact.”
I knew I didn’t owe him an explanation, but I also knew I wasn’t hiding a damn thing so there was no reason other than my damn pride to keep my mouth shut. “It was my friend Gavin,” I explained. Confusion set in fora split second, before I added, “Who picked me up. It was his turn to drive to the gym.”
“Oh. Okay.” Noah’s leg twitched nervously next to mine, the soft fabric of his dark jeans rubbing against my naked thigh.
He didn’t ask so I didn’t tell him I was on the phone with my brother. There was something about Benny that I still felt the need to protect. And it wasn’t like Noah was the big bad wolfor something like that, but I simply didn’t feel the need to bring Benny into it yet.
“So Rob—” he began to explain before I cut him off.
“Look,” I said, twisting in my seat to face him, my ass making a fart noise on the couch once more. “Whoever thought to put a leather couch in a strip club was clearly a genius.” We both laughed. “Anyway, as far as Rob is concerned, I get it. He burned you.Bad. But I’m not him.” I took a deep breath and said, “We met each other at a bar. Gavin and I went out for a few drinks for happy hour one night, and Rob happened to be there.” Just at the mention of his name, I sensed the change in Noah’s temperament. “He bought me a drink. Asked me out for a date, said he needed someone to go to his brother’s wedding, so I figured what the hell.” Again, it waspartially a lie. Benny was out with his team for a tournament. And I needed to eat. Clearly, shame wasn’t an issue for me.
“I just want to put him behind me,” Noah admitted.
As his words left his lips, Freddy pulled back the curtain. “Time’s up, man.”
“Can I see you at the end of your shift?” Noah asked, standing before me and holding his hand out for me to take.
“Sure.”
And just like that,the stupid misunderstandings coloring our morning were gone. As was Noah, back to his spot at the bar, to watch me finish my set, and think only God knows what.
But one thing was for sure, I couldn’t wait to see what he thought.
