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“Dude. I told you three times. It’s almost-naked men dancing on stage for screaming women. They dotours,” he emphasizes. “They go from city to city, stage to stage, and they make thousands of dollars in each town.”
“Thousands of dollars? A night?” Ford asks and Zander grins and shakes his head.
“You thinkin’ about getting up there, pretty boy?” The waitress asks as she delivers another round to our table and Lex whips her head around and narrows her eyes at Ford.
“The hell you will, Crawford James.” She snaps and he shoots her a grin.
“Don’t worry, baby. You’re the only one that gets to see all of this.”
“Damn straight,” she nods her head once and turns back around to face the stage with the other girls.
“Shit, Nikki, you almost got me castrated,” Ford says, downing half the beer she just sat in front of him. Her grin and wink let us know that’s exactly what she was trying to do, and she passes the girls their drinks before moving on to the next table.
“You and Lainey?” I murmur to Zander as I take a drink of my beer. He lets out a sigh and leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m not sure how it happened, honestly.” He chuckles, “one minute I was trimming the hedges between my yard and Polly’s and the next, I was tripping over myself to get her to give me a chance.” Zander is known for his womanizing ways, even way back in high school. He scrubs a hand over his chin, grin splitting his face. “She’s a spitfire.”
“I hear you on that,” I murmur, letting my eyes settle on the back of Avery’s head as she leans over to whisper in Whitley’s ear. She must feel me watching her because she shoots me a look over her shoulder, tucking her hair behind her ear and giving me a small smile. I wink at her and she shakes her head, turning back around.
The lights in the club dim just as the stage lights kick on and the song changes. The girls let out a high pitch squeal just as the bikini clad men take the stage. Zander groans from beside me as they start to gyrate on stage, all the women throwing dollar bills up there as the stocky guy shakes his ass in Clarissa’s face.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Dean says, his face blanching as one of the men on stage points at him and he shakes his head no.
“Hottie in the hat,” bellows and the guy that pointed at him is now holding a microphone. Dean tugs his hat over his eyes and sinks down in his chair. “Now, now. Don’t be shy.” He motions for Dean to join them and Whitley turns around.
“Move that fine ass, honey!” She hollers and Dean groans as the guy with the mic is now pulling him out of his chair.
“God damnit,” Dean hisses at Whitley as the guy tugs him along behind him. “You owe me big, Whit.” He curses when the man slaps his ass. “Hands off the merchandise, bro!”
“Oh fuck,” Zander chuckles as the music changes toGinuwineand one of the guys whips Deans hat off his head and tosses it at the girls. All five of them scream and stand from their chairs, cheering. The song plays for a few seconds before Dean lets out a huge sigh, pointing at Whitley.
“Seriously. You owe mebig.” He finally gives the women what they want, ripping his shirt up and over his head, tossing it at Whitley before giving in to the music. It’s not long before he’s dancing right along with them as all the ladies in the club toss more money on the stage.
“Christ, he should not know how to dance like that,” Ford winces as Dean shakes his ass and we all toast in agreement. The song winds down and Dean finally excuses himself from the stage and makes his way over to our table. Whitley tosses his shirt at him and he tugs it back over his head, dropping down into his chair and draining the rest of his beer before holding it up and signaling to the waitress for another round.
“Where’d you learn to dance like that, pretty boy?” Zander razzes him and Dean chuckles.
“Chip N Dale's used to come to the bar I worked at in Colorado, sometimes twice a month. Biker chicks, man, they really love their naked men. Glen,” he motions at the guy that drug him onto stage, “recognized me right away.” Glen winks and blows him a kiss from stage and Dean shakes his head. Dean spent ten years road tripping across the country before finally making his way back home and to the love of his life, Whitley. I was always a little jealous of the fact that he could just take off like that. Once dad died, I was the man of the house. Someone had to be, and I was all mom had left.
When I wasn’t busy taking care of stuff around the house, I was busting my ass in school to get a 4.0 and my accounting degree so I could take over the family business. My mom’s brother, Scott, kept Callaway Accounting up and running until I was ready to take over and I’ve been busy ever since, trying to prove to the town that I can do as good of a job as my dad did.
Avery appears in my line of sight and my mouth ticks up on one side in a grin as she works her way around the table before finally winding up in my lap, twining her arms around my neck.
“Having fun, handsome?” She asks and places her hand against my cheek, eyes flicking back and forth between mine.
“Mmhmm,” I murmur, turning my head and pressing a kiss to her palm before sliding my fingers through hers. Her face softens and she presses a kiss to my lips, briefly slipping her tongue into my mouth before pulling back.
“I love you,” she says, and my heart skips a beat like it always does. This woman,this fucking woman. I could live a thousand lives and in each one, my soul would still find hers.
Avery
“Mama, it’s me again. Please call me. I’m worried.”
I disconnect the phone and drop it back in my purse, hoisting it up on my shoulder. We still haven’t heard from mom and there haven’t been any sightings. I’m starting to become concerned that something has happened to her.
I finish the trek towards the print shop here in town, walking down the cobblestone road that sits in the heart of town. Waving hello to Poppy and Penny, two old busy bodies that are sitting on the park bench, I duck into Flawless Copies. I’ve got some memory cards from Christmas and New Years that I need to drop off to get developed. It’s Sunday morning and Jaxson is at his mom’s house helping her with some things she needed done. Genevieve is at a friend’s house and Blake is at Ford and Lex’s playing with Aria, Ford’s daughter, so I’m trying to run as many errands as possible while I have the time.
“Avery, hey. Isn’t this a nice surprise,” Joan, the shop owner, greets me as she comes out from the back. I love photography, it’s always been a hobby of mine, so over the years Joan and I have gotten to know each other very well. She rounds the counter and pulls me into a hug.
