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Gary licks his lips and looks at the two of us. “Hold on. You guys are friends?”
Jamie laughs awkwardly. “Well, I’m her boss, but yeah.” He grins maniacally. “We’re friends.” Why is he looking at me that way?
Gary furrows his brow, blinks, and chugs the rest of his drink, slamming his empty glass down on the bar. “Excuse me.” Gary spins the barstool, leaps off, and storms toward the exit.
Jamie raises his eyebrows. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Just give me a second. Save my seat.” I hop up from my barstool and sprint after Gary. It’s a cool Houston night and a brisk breeze whips my hair back as I exit through the glass door. Gary is standing on the steps out front, looking down at his phone. “Gary, will you just give me a second to explain?”
“Explain what? That you lied about your boss being Jamie fucking Albrecht?”
My chest tightens. “I didn’t lie… I just didn’t tell you.”
“That’s the same fucking thing, Lara! I told you I could get you a job, where you could work with me, and instead, you take a job working for him?Him! He was such an asshole to us in high school. Did you forget that?”
“No, I didn’t forget that. But this could be a proper job. Like a career. Which I’ve never had. You know that.”
He plants his hand on his hip. “Do you hear yourself? A real job. A career?” he mocks. “At a strip club?”
“I made more money in my first week there than I’ve ever made in two months. And I meant what I said. I’m not sleeping with him. It only happened once. And I’m not even sure why I did it.”
That part is true.
Gary’s Uber pulls up and stops in front of the steps as he shakes his head. “Either way, you lied to me, Lara. And I thought our friendship was stronger than that.”
A ball of emotion clogs my throat, blocking the words from forming. “Gare…”
He’s not wrong. I did hold back that part of the truth. And I know why. I never thought these two worlds would collide. The past that I only wanted to forget, and the best friend I have in the world now. A friend whose past with Jamie wasn’t much better than my own. Only a week ago, the thought of Jamie Albrecht barely ever crossed my mind.
Without a word, Gary opens the Uber door, slides into the back seat, closing the door behind him. As I watch it disappear into the darkness, my breath feels like it’s been sucked out of me.
A large group of college-aged coeds nearly knocks me down the steps as they hurriedly brush past me, bantering loudly something about alcohol. They are obviously on the prowl for their next fix.
“Lara?”
Jamie appears behind me, holding my purse as I step onto the curb and out of the rush of foot traffic exiting Andrea’s. “Sorry, they’re closing,” he says.
I take my bag. “Thanks.”
“Is everything okay?”
I force a smile. “Not really, no.”
He clenches his teeth. “Shit. Were you on a date? Did I just crash that?”
“No, nothing like that.” My half laugh loosens my shoulders. “What are you doing here?” I question the edginess in my voice, half intentional. My emotions are charged. He did kick me out of Eden’s and I have a right to be annoyed about that, but getting frustrated with him about this is misdirected. The only person I should be frustrated with is myself. Gary isn’t mad at Jamie.
Jamie slips his hands into his pockets. “I was having drinks with a friend and saw you,” he answers, glancing at the ground. “Listen, I owe you an apology. I should not have taken Shelly’s side tonight. And I definitely should not have asked you to leave the club.”
Well, I definitely wasn’t expecting that. “It’s okay. I needed a night off.”
Jamie’s head bobs from side to side. “No, it’s not okay. I was being a stubborn ass. I’m just… I’m not really used to change, and clearly, neither are the girls at Eden’s. But you were right.”
Maybe I’m drunk, but I need to hear that again. “What was that?”
His eyes soften as he meets my gaze. “You were right, Lara. We tried going back to the old ways tonight. To call it a shit show… well, that’s an understatement. We had our worst Saturday in months. We did less than five grand. Eden’s needs you.” There’s that strange smile again. He’s looking at me the way I look at puppies and babies. Am I imagining that?
“Ineed you.”
