After all, he protected me from Tommy in the garage. He protected me from Brit whenever she started breathing down the back of my neck. In his strange way, he gave me all the things I was craving, plus things I didn’t know I craved.
“I wonder when that court date is,” I murmured to myself.
And a quick Google search told me that the trial date was still three months out.
8
Rebecca
“I just need to go home,”I said breathlessly.
After standing on the sidewalk for nearly an hour, I made my way toward the nearest coffee shop. I got myself a small caramel coffee with a cheese danish and perched myself in a corner near the window. I loved people-watching. It was one of my favorite pastimes. My father and I used to do it all the time together, especially in the summer when other kids flooded our neighborhoods well past their bedtimes.
And as I sat there, my phone started ringing.
“Damn it,” I hissed.
I expected it to be JoJo calling me for the seventh time or some bullshit, but I found Brit calling instead. I furrowed my brow as I watched her number scroll across my screen, and I debated on whether or not to pick it up. For all I knew, she wanted to get together and back me into another corner. For all I knew, this was somehow her shot to take me down once and for all. But I also knew how stupid that all sounded, so I sated my curiosity by picking up the phone.
And I was glad I did.
“Hey there, Brit.”
She gasped. “You picked up! Hey!”
I furrowed my brow. “Where the hell are you? It sounds like there’s an entire circus behind you.”
“Girl, you have to get here now. There’s a burlesque show going on in one of the clubs, and it’s a wild ride. You have to experience this.”
“Did someone not go with you or something?”
“You mean to tell me you haven’t checked your text messages? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all night!”
I pulled my phone out and saw that I had four missed texts from her. All of them were a version of the same thing, though. She kept asking me why in the world I wasn’t answering and if I was interested in attending a show that sexually liberated anyone who dared to step into the confines of their walls at the club.
How could I say no to something like that?
“Sure, I’m down. My night’s a bust anyway. Shoot me the address?” I asked.
She yelped with joy. “Yes! Okay, okay. I’ll get a ticket with your name on it and set it aside at the ticket booth for you. But drinks are on you.”
I smiled as I downed the rest of my coffee. “Deal. How much are the tickets?”
“Fifty bucks.”
“Then, it sounds like we’re getting plastered.”
“Woo hoo! I’m shooting you the name of the place now. See you soon!”
I laughed as I tossed my trash in the trash can. “See you soon.”
It didn’t take me long to flag down a taxi, and after paying for the seventeen-minute ride I found myself standing in front of a place calledHighest Rise.I had no earthly idea what that was a euphemism for, but after snagging my ticket at the booth, I was led down a red, velveteen set of steps into what looked like a decked-out dungeon with two bars, and at least thirty different tables of all shapes and sizes, crystal as far as my eye could see, and dazzling lights that were ready to show off.
“Becca! Over here!” Brit exclaimed.
To my surprise, I found Brit with a few of our other female co-workers. They all embraced me before I sat down at the table and a waitress in a positively salacious outfit came over to take our drink orders. And after placing an order for a mango margarita, I relaxed against the plush chair.
“I mean, I had no idea what this place was, but I never would’ve figured all of this would’ve been inside.”
