Lewis grabs my wrist before I can walk away. I look down at the contact and gently tug my arm away.
“Sorry,” he says. “You’re leaving?”
“We’re closing soon.”
Lewis glances at his friends, then proceeds to ruin the entire interaction, just like they always do. “Can I call you? We could talk about art or whatever you like.”
I scrunch my nose. “Sorry. I don’t mix business and pleasure.” I cup his chin to soften my rejection. “For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the conversation and I really hope you make it to Paris someday.”
I walk away before he can say anything else and head to the dressing room while the club clears out. By the time I’ve changed into street clothes and wiped the makeup off my face, the place should be empty.
I sit at my vanity, gazing at my reflection. I’m fortunate, I know. I got my mother’s Brazilian complexion and features, but my dad gave me his eyes—kind of green, kind of blue, and oddly brown at times. He used to call them my marble eyes.
A pang of grief zaps my chest, but I’m well practiced at tucking it away quickly. They’d hate what I’m doing to pay thebills, the bills I shouldn’t have to pay, but that’s neither here nor there. I’ve learned that drowning in resentment and the pain of things I can’t change doesn’t do a thing to make life easier, so I shove it down and cover it up with as many happy things as I can find. It mostly works.
Rudy bounces over to me dressed in baggy jeans and an oversized sweatshirt that swallows his petite frame. “Ready? I’ll walk out with you.”
“I am.” I grab my bag and slide my feet into my well-worn sneakers. It’ll be a sad day when I finally have to toss these since I can’t find them anymore. After putting my bag over my shoulder, I pull my hair into a messy bun and walk out with Rudy.
Gus is waiting dutifully by the back door for us, and his presence is always comforting. Not that I can’t protect myself, but who wants to? We step outside into the cool night air and I inhale deeply, clearing the dark, smoky aroma of the club and replacing it with the crisp air of impending autumn.
We’ve only made it about halfway across the lot when Rudy bumps my arm, nodding in the direction of a black car parked close to ours. Gus is already on full alert, putting his massive body between us and the man opening his driver side door.
Unsurprisingly, it’s the man from earlier who couldn’t stop staring at me. Rudy and I freeze. We know the drill by now.
“What the fuck do you want?” Gus demands. “Club’s closed.”
“I just want to talk to him,” the man says.
I can’t really see him from behind Gus, but I don’t want to. His voice is creepy.
“Talking is for club hours. You need to go.”
“Can I give him my phone number? Just in case.”
“You’ve got ten seconds to get in your car and drive off before I call the cops.” Gus folds his thick arms over his chest. “And if I have to do that, you’ll be filing assault charges on me when they get here.”
I peek around Gus to see the man raising his hands in surrender. “I wasn’t gonna do anything. Swear.”
“Go.”
The man scrambles to get inside his car, and we wait until he clears the parking lot and turns down the street. This way he doesn’t know which car is mine or have the opportunity to follow me. For extra security, I’ll take the long way home so I can be sure I’m alone.
“Fuckers,” Gus growls while he waits for me and Rudy to get into our cars. “Be safe out there.”
“Always am. Thanks, Gus.”
After waving to Rudy, I pull out of the parking lot onto the street, hyper vigilant and on the lookout for any lurking creeps. It’s pretty late, so it’s not hard to tell if any cars get too close for too long. Once I’m satisfied that I’m not being followed, I blow out a breath and relax a little, hitting play on the car stereo to start my streaming playlist. I’m feeling chill now, so I skip to a song that matches my mood.
I only live about ten minutes from the club, which is both good and bad. On one hand, it wouldn’t be hard for a stalker to find me, but on the other, it sure makes it easy to get to work in the winter. I park in my designated spot, glancing around the empty parking lot before I leave my car. I have several items of protection with me at all times, but who wants to go through that?
Again.
Once I’m safely inside my apartment, I kick off my sneakers and shuffle to my bedroom to undress and take a shower. The hot water always feels amazing on my muscles after a night of dancing.
Tomorrow I have a new routine I’m showcasing. As I wash, thoughts of Specter fill my head. I have to admit that I love the way he watches me. It’s different from the others, with their greedy, sleazy gazes. I have to block out those looks, but notSpecter’s. He looks at me like I’m made of magic and light. Like he actually sees me as a person and not just a pretty ass. He looks at me like I could matter to him.
And that’s exactly why I have to keep my distance.
