Although Em has drunk a couple of vodka sodas tonight, it seems to have loosened her just enough to have fun. Kamila is stone-cold sober and looking at her best friend as if she’s never seen her before. It is funny to watch such an expensively dressed girl throwing twenties at a male exotic dancer.
Meanwhile, Luna and I have made ourselves comfortable on the leather couch near them. I was surprised when they broughtme to another town to the best and only male strip club in Ulster County. Emma had gone as far as booking us our own table with a bottle of champagne and a bottle of sparkling cider for me. Both came with sparklers when the staff brought them to us.
When we walked in, I thought I’d feel uncomfortable, but it was the complete opposite. There are barely any men here, and the dancers aren’t creepy. It’s very clear that this is strictly work for them, and the women are here for a silly fun time. Most of them are laughing with their girlfriends and tipping the men a good amount of money.
Although I’ve kept my promise to Levi about no touching, the rules don’t allow anyone to, which is perfectly fine by me. I wonder if Levi is in the same situation. The thought makes me jealous for a second, but I trust him.
“Girls, I’m scared our innocent Emma is gone.” Kami comes to sit with us.
Luna and I giggle. “I know,” I say. “She’s been?—”
“Stevie?”
The voice comes from behind me, and my body goes as stiff as a board. It’s all too familiar. A voice that I’ve heard hundreds of times, maybe even thousands, throughout the years we were together.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Kamila asks angrily over the music, and that’s all I need to confirm that this is happening.
“Look, I just want to talk to her.” Andrew sounds tired, like he hasn’t slept in a while. Unlike him, I’d recognize his kind of mood with just the tone of his voice.
“After what your ex pulled? Fuck no. You are not talking to her.” Kami stands up and points to the front doors. “Get out, or I’ll make a scene.”
Luna stands as well. She’s never met Andrew but recognizes him. Maybe from the Kappa party.
I still don’t look at him.
“Stevie, I tried warning you at the party that Tiffany was going off the rails.”
This time, I shoot out of my seat and turn. “You didn’t try hard enough!” I yell. “You should’ve used one of your friends, yelled it at the party, hell, you should’ve sent a frickin’ carrier pigeon if that’s what it took.” I feel my heartbeat in my ears. It’s not his fault that Tiffany did what she did, I know that, yet I can’t help feeling that he’s blaming me for not listening to him when all he ever did was manipulate and lie to me.
Andrew flinches at my words. “Stevie, please. I didn’t know she was going to go that far. Can you just please let me tell the whole story?”
I calm my breathing down. For the past month, I’ve been wanting to know why Tiffany did what she did, and maybe Andrew has the answers. Maybe he can tell me about my suspicion that she was watching me throughout the semester.
Levi said if a person ever treats you poorly, then closure isn’t necessary. But this is different. The woman tried tokillme, and I need to know why.
Em makes her way to the table. “The fuck is he doing here? How did you find us?!” she shrieks. “Leave us the hell alone. Haven’t you done enough?” Her voice is strong for such a petite woman. She sure is scary when she wants to be.
Andrew’s eyes widen, and that’s when I notice the bags under them. They’re almost black. “My friend overheard you guys talking about this club at Roxy’s when you were getting coffee, and I was in the bathroom. It was purely coincidental, I swear.”
I take a moment to look at his face, and all I find is nervousness and desperation.
“He’s telling the truth,” I say to the girls. They turn to look at me with confused expressions. Giving him a quick nod, I make my choice. “Fine, we can talk.”
His shoulders relax. “Thank you, Stevie.”
“But it can’t be far from the couch. My friends need to be able to see me and be close enough to snatch me.” I know Andrew wouldn’t touch me like that. He might be a cheating, lying douchebag, but he’s never been physically abusive. However, if I’ve learned anything from my experience with Tiffany, it is that you never know how evil someone can truly be.
He nods. “I completely understand.”
Em pulls my arm as I stride to the wall next to the stage. “Why would you want to talk to him, Stevie?”
I grab her hand gently. “I need to know why.”
Kami, Zoey, and Luna hang close behind me, and somehow, Emma and I have our first silent conversation. She lets go of me and shoots Andrew a nasty look. “Touch her and I’ll break your nose and kick you so hard in the balls, you’ll never be able to have children.”
Kamila laughs. “Trust me when I say we both know how to do that.”
Andrew shifts uncomfortably as he moves to where I point. Giving the girls one last smile of reassurance, I saunter to the wall that’s only a couple of feet away from the stage and couch. My ex-boyfriend faces me and takes a moment to look at me. It’s not a sexual gaze, only an observant one. His eyes freeze when he catches sight of my engagement ring. This time, I shift uncomfortably.
