Chapter Seven
FRANKIE
Instead of goingto the dressing room, I headed outside. The wind blew chilly, but I didn’t care. It dried the sweat on my skin, and though I shivered, I made no move to go back inside.
Fuck.Why did that guy bother me so much? Not like I hadn’t been grabbed before. But I knew. Aaron being there made me realize I didn’t want to play the game anymore. I didn’t want these other men pawing at me. Touching me. And if that was the case, how could I keep dancing at Man Up?
The door squealed on its hinges, and I braced myself for Aaron’s barrage of questions.
“Frankie? You okay?”
It wasn’t Aaron, but Cort, and I couldn’t help but smile at my friend.
“Yeah. You saw what happened?”
Cort’s natural smile faded, and in one of those rare moments, his eyes turned to chips of stone. “Hell yeah. I was gettin’ ready to pound their faces if James didn’t do nothin’.” He closed the door behind him and joined me to stand against the dirty, rough brick wall. “You gonna be okay?”
“I needed a moment away from everything, to get it together.” I waved my hand. “It was too much. I’ll be all right. You should go back inside before you get in trouble.”
“Don’t care. You’re more important.” He pulled me into his big arms. “My friends always come first. That’s how I was raised. People first, everything else second.”
“Thanks,” I whispered into his chest. “I’m really glad you’re here.”
His arms tightened around me. “You’re my friend. I’ll always be here for you.”
“Cort?” a voice echoed, and Cort let me go.
“Yeah. Who’s that?” He took a few steps toward the street before I grabbed his arm.
“Wait. You don’t know who it is. You could get hurt. Let’s go inside. I’m ready to go back.”
“Cort. It’s me.”
A tall man stood under one of the lights. Tangled blond hair fell over his forehead, and his button-down shirt was all creased as if he’d slept in it.
“Harlan?” Cort turned back to me, excitement brewing in his eyes. “It’s the guy I told you about, from the bookstore.” He shook off my arm. “I told him I worked here. Maybe he’s in trouble. I’m gonna go see.”
Leaving me before I could utter another word of warning, he bounded over to the man, and they began to whisper. I caught a few words—sleepandtroubleandmoney—and knew Cort was about to do something very foolish, but I waited until they finished and the man disappeared.
“What did he want? Money? I hope you ain’t gonna give him nothing. These guys are con men most of the time.”
“Well, he ain’t. He’s fallen on hard times. He’s got no job and no place to live.”
A terrible thought crossed my mind. “You didn’t tell him he could stay with you, did you?”
“I didn’t say nothin’ to him, ’cept to meet me here after work and we’d get somethin’ to eat.”
“I don’t think—”
“Frankie.” Cort put his hand on my shoulder. “Remember how you hate people tellin’ you what to do? Well, consider me the same. I know what I’m doin’.”
“No, it’s not the same. I’m a New Yorker. I recognize a con when I see it. And I can take care of myself.”
“And I recognize shit too. I ain’t dumb just ’cause I’m from a small town. Me ’n Harlan been talking about things. Any man who talks to me about Shakespeare and Jane Austen and Dickens, in my book ain’t gonna murder me. I’m a guy who looks for the best in people ’cause I’ve seen the worst. I’m gonna go back inside now. You comin’?”
He challenged me, and I had to admit his attitude surprised me.
“Uh, yeah. I’m gonna go to the dressing room for a minute and clean up first.”
