When the song ended, everyone spread out a little. “Alright. Let’s have our ten dance boys back on the floor, and everyone else move off. Give ‘em room.”
This time, when the area cleared, Stryker came out with a piece of paper in one hand and a mic in the other. “Time to announce the winners. But first, can we get Braxton out here? Come on.” He waved Braxton over, giving the club owner a spotlight. We all loved him. Braxton not only owned and operated Afterglow but was also a Dom and a cool guy with a solid reputation. Everyone applauded when he joined Stryker on the floor, then settled down when he motioned them to be quiet. “Okay, I’m going to give you the third and second place winners, and then Braxton will announce the number one. Ready?”
More cheering.
“Great. In third place, dancer number three, Joey Bennick.” Joey jumped up and down and everyone yelled his name, clapping wildly. One of Joey’s other friends got in close, filming with his camera. I wasn’t surprised by any of that. Joey often did promotional videos and social media for the club. They were one of his clients. But he was also a very good dancer. If he were third, I didn’t think Cody had a chance.
I was wrong.
“Second place is dancer number four, Cody Schroeder.”
Cody jumped up and down, then his eyes scanned the crowd looking for me. I smiled, clapped, whistled loudly, and the smile on my boy’s face grew. He lit up the club as far as I was concerned. Good for him to get second place.
Then Stryker held the mic to Braxton’s mouth and showed him the paper. “And our first-place dancer is…. Do we have a drum roll?” The canned sound of a drum beating fast came from the speakers, ending in a crash and a salute from the DJ and then Braxton called out, “Andy Drake.”
The sassy twink wiggled around, did a dance, threw his hand in the air, but then he started hugging all the other dancers, which led to a big hug fest.
The DJ picked up the commentary. “Alright…congrats to our winners, please see Stryker for your prizes. Each will receive a gift card. For third, fifty dollars. For second, Seventy-five dollars, and our first place contestant will receive one hundred big buckaroos…and to all the other dancers, thank you for participating in our very own Pop-up Dance Contest.”
Music came on, signifying the end of the event, but most people joined the dancers on the floor. The three who won followed Stryker, and I followed them, along with Vince, to the bar.
What a night.
After the contest, our guys played in the little room of No Limits for a while, but it wasn’t long before Cody was tired, and we headed home.
He climbed into the car, and I buckled his seat belt. “Did you have fun, Mr. Runner-Up?”
“Yes. I was so surprised I won.”
“Do you know the first-place winner?” He was someone I’d seen around the club, but he never seemed to be with anyone in particular.
“Yeah, Levi said he’s the manager of the Koffee Kraze he used to work at. Comes around some.”
“Ah…he was a good dancer, right?”
I caught Cody shrugging out of the corner of my eye. “Guess so. He won. I thought Joey was better. I wisheded Danny andLevi coulda won too. And poor Skyler didn’t even getta play.” I looked over to see his eyes drooping as he slid further into little space.
“Well. They still had fun. But it’s time to get you home to bed.”
“Yes, Daddy…” He leaned his head against the window.
Chapter twenty-one
Cody – Working for a Living
Lunch time. Yay. I headed out to my car to make a quick fast food run after spending the morning trying to drum up new business. I sent out email blasts to current customers asking for referrals, then called two potential clients to get their information so I could send them quotes later in the day. Plus, I had to take several calls from current clients. That was the worst, but I did get retention bonuses.
I pulled into the drive-thru, wondering why I cared about any of it. When I first started, I liked the idea of helping people while making money, but over the last few years, it became all about making money. There was little to no helping others. So what part of this job did I really care about?
After ordering my food, I drove back to work and parked in the garage. Instead of going in, I sat there in my car to eat. Everything tasted like cardboard.
I called Daddy, and of course, he answered right away. “Hey, babe. What’s going on? You at lunch?”
“Yep, but this food sucks.”
“Watch that language, Cody.”
I huffed. “I don’t want to right now, Warner. I’m having a bad day.”
