Chapter 8

"W ell, hello gorgeous," Tony crows as we slide past the bar. "You are a sight for sore, sore eyes Ames. I take it from the smile on your lips that you're not coming home to us?"

"Sorry Tone. I think I'm starting to like New York a bit too much and I guess I'll just have to pass on that name tag."

Rafe clears his throat as I finish giving Tony a hug and I bite back a laugh. The second we pulled into the parking lot, he'd grown uncomfortable and it's simply amazing that I'm the one who's totally relaxed. I mean let's get real, if you had to ask who'd be most likely to be found in a strip club would your answer be the man who grew up in New York City or the girl who lived in a tiny rundown town where everyone knew everything about you?

"Tony, I'd like you to meet Rafe Gordon, my new boss. Rafe this is Tony, the bartender here and the best pizza maker in all of St. Louie."

"Nice to meet you," Rafe says, and I can tell he doesn't really mean it but that's okay. He'll come around in due time.

"There's a booth in the corner with your name on it Ames. I'll have your pie out in a few," Tony tells us, and we head over to it.

I let Rafe choose his spot first and I'm happy when he chooses not to look directly at the stage, at least he hasn't decided to go for broke. True to his word, Tony brings out the pizza before we've been there for five minutes, and he includes my favorite wine and a choice of beers for Rafe.

I am not shy when it comes to pizza and Tony's…I love them, love them, love them. I would probably marry the man simply in order for him to make them for me day after day after day but since he wears more eyeliner than I do…that's not gonna happen. I finish a slice before Rafe does and simply shrug at his amused look, but I know better than to waste my time since half the girls working know I'm here and the half that don't are quickly becoming aware of it.

"Best pizza you've had?" I ask taking a long sip of my wine.

"It ranks pretty high," he admits, and I can hear the victory shouts in the nonexistent soundtrack of my life. "So this is where you worked? Is it always like this?"

"This is tame…the place does a pretty solid early evening but it's usually about nine before it gets packed and since it's Thursday there'll be a special on drinks starting at seven."

"So you know the people who'll be coming in?"

"Not like that…I've never dated anyone who comes in here, especially not the regulars. It's too…weird to imagine it really," I tell him as a smile appears on my face and I raise my hand in a tiny wave.

His head swivels around to see whom I'm sending it to and the way his body relaxed spoke volumes.

"Ame!" Sam shouts rushing over and pulling me from my seat. "Look at you. Maura said you'd been to her place but left the weekend before last."

"I got a new fulltime job with Rafe and his company," I say nodding towards him.

"Excuse us for a moment," Sam states and pulls me away from the table. "Amelia, please tell me you're not doing what I'm hoping you're not doing with him."

"Sam! No…you know me better than that," I finally cry when I get her drift as she raises her eyebrows at me. "I am not sleeping with him and especially not for money or anything else. I was working as a temporary fill-in, and I had some info that helped them acquire Lemans, the place I worked for here."

"I know who they are girl. I'm just surprised you'd bring him here."

"It's a long story and it looks like you've got some problems to take care of," I tell her nodding towards the girl who'd just come in on crutches.

Sam let out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush before she turned her eyes to me pleading.

"Oh no….no, no, no, no, no…I am not… NO !"

"Ame, please, Crystal already called in and I was planning to double up Misty's tables. She can't work on a bum leg, and I need someone who knows what they're doing. We've been slammed the last few Thursdays."

"I'm here as a paying customer for some of Tony's fabulous pizza," I tell her as I head back to the booth. "I am not filling in."

"Ame, just for tonight. Come on, do it for old times' sake," she prodded as Tony headed over to us.

"I take it you've seen Misty. Becca called, she's down with this bug too," Tony states and I feel myself wavering, but I can't do it. I mean it'd be one thing if I were here on my own but Rafe's sitting right there watching and hearing everything now.

"Sorry, I can't," I tell them as they turned to me again.

"Why not?" Rafe asks and my mind blanks.

Did I really hear him just say that? Did he really just give me what seems like permission to waitress and why do I need his permission in the first place? He doesn't own me and if I want to continue to work at Vivian's when I get back to New York that's exactly what I'm going to do and it's none of his damned business…

Whoa, so not what I need to be thinking of right now.

I should be figuring out how to get out of this club without everyone turning on me.

"Did you…"

"Why shouldn't you help out? Your friends are in a bind and it's not like you don't know what you're doing. If you're holding back because of me…don't worry Amelia. Like I said, your job's safe."

"You seriously don't have an issue if I help out or would decide to continue working at Vivian's?" I ask because I honestly don't know what to say.

"If it's what you want I won't stop you. I would just remind you that we are going to be travelling back and forth between New York and here quite often until we have Lemans' new production line well under way. I'm not sure how much notice we'll always have before getting a flight so I can't guarantee you won't miss shifts."

The looks on Sam and Tony's faces sent me backstage and grabbing an old outfit that I knew I'd left. I borrowed a pair of heels from Misty and headed back out onto the floor, which was beginning to get crowded. My first table was the booth Rafe was sitting at and the look that crossed his face sent my eyelashes fluttering back.

"Wow…damn…"

"Thank you," I say flashing him a real smile and not the one I use to gain more tips. "You don't have to stay you know. I can take care of myself, and I've got Sam and Tony to watch out for me."

"Maybe I've decided to give this type of establishment a try…"

"If that's true you might want to turn and face the stage so you can see what's going on," I tease noting from his spot that he would have a good view of the floor but not of the stage.

"I think I like this view better."

"A typical male response…let me know if you want another beer or something else to drink. Sam will comp it since I'm technically not getting paid for tonight."

"I'm good for now. I have to drive still."

"If I'm working, I'm not drinking. I can drive back to the hotel with my eyes closed so I'll bring you another beer and you can decide if this is your forte after all and if not, I have a tablet in my bag you can use—a computer tablet," I add when he gives me an odd look. "It'll automatically connect to the Wi-Fi network, and you can browse the internet."

A few hours later, I walked by to find him on it and another smile graced my lips. At least he wasn't lying when he said he wasn't interested in the show being brought to the crowd up on the stage.

I can feel his gaze on my backside every now and then and it's kind of nice. I know my legs look amazing, and despite the pizza I'd eaten my stomach was as smooth as ever and my breasts…well they certainly are a party all in themselves.

"You sleeping with him?" Tony asked when I'd stepped behind the bar to make some drinks.

"No."

"You want to?" he added, and I swear I'm blushing again. What is up with me? I don't blush, I'm not that sort of girl but yet anytime anyone mentions anything regarding sex to me in relation to Rafe and I light up.

"That's a bit personal isn't it? I don't ask if you want to sleep with Nikki, do I?"

"You just did…come on kid," he says knowing I hate being called a kid, "you like him."

"Maybe I do but he's my boss and it's complicated. He's got an eight-year-old daughter. What do I know about kids?"

Okay another lie, because I've been babysitting and watching the nursery at church since I was thirteen at least. I can change a diaper and soothe a crying baby all in two minutes. I just don't want Tony knowing the real reason I'm so flustered when it comes to Rafe.

If the people here knew I was still a virgin they'd run me out of here faster than one, two…oh shit…again, the language but seriously? I come back in for one night…to eat a pizza with Rafe and get roped into helping and now this?

"You okay Ames?"

"No. Do you see the slightly balding gentleman…if I can even call him that anymore, heading towards the front of the stage…he goes to church with my parents. He's the father of a friend, well, classmate from school and I can't…if he sees me there's no way that he won't tell my parents even if it means revealing he was here."

"Look he's leaving with someone," Tony said nodding towards the other man he was pulling from the table.

"Thank god, if my parents knew…don't laugh Tony it's so not funny. You might want your mother to keel over and die and at times I do too but no matter how utterly annoying I find her she's still my mother."

"You're priceless Ames. I've missed your spunk."

"Thanks Tone," I said tossing him a flirty smile and a wink as I take my drinks to their owners. A table of college students who should be studying for exams and not out drinking at a strip club.

Now here's the thing with college students. They think they're adults but really, they're simply overgrown teens with hormones that they can't control. So when you take one table of half-drunk slobbering idiots and then add in a second table of equally drunk fools from a rival school, who happen to be in town for the big game that weekend, the only thing that's bound to happen is trouble and if there's one thing that follows me…it's trouble.

Mid-way through the next set of dances the two tables began to shout at each other drowning out the music, a nearly impossible feat, but they managed to do it. Gus the bouncer was immediately in the middle of the situation, but he wasn't getting the results they needed so…I stepped in.

Stupid move I'm sure many of you are thinking but it beats the alternative…running. It didn't take long to get them back into their seats, especially not with a little twist of the arm here and there and once I had them there, they shut up. I could feel Rafe's gaze burning through my back, but I couldn't look at him. If I did, I'd find concern etched on his face for sure and that would be my undoing.

"Listen up. If you want to go beat each other up over a dumb, yes I said dumb , game then fine have at it…outside. You may not care about having to clean up blood, but I do, and no one here wants to watch you imbeciles go at it. Most of the people in here are interested in what's going on up on the stage and not whether you think your team's going to beat theirs or if you have a better whatever than they do. So either sit there and shut up or get out…I know which one I hope you pick."

I turned and walked away as Sam sent me an approving look and Tony flashed me a thumbs up. Yeah, I still had it but now I had to show Rafe that I was fine, when truthfully each of these little tirades left me a bit shaken.

"Another beer?" I ask jutting my hip towards him slightly.

"No…do you always handle situations like that?"

"Worried about my safety? Don't be. I have a black belt in karate, and I've taken dozens of self-defense classes."

"So if someone tried to cop a feel…"

"I'd show them exactly how unwelcome their advances were in the simplest way possible. I'm not stupid Rafe and I don't walk into situations unless I know I can find a way out."

"Does that go for relationships too?" he asks watching me closely, too closely for me to lie.

"Usually…I don't like feeling trapped. I use a rope when I go mountain climbing, I make sure the equipment is sound when I'm ziplining, I pack extra batteries when I go camping…I…"

"You like being prepared but you weren't prepared for the attraction between us."

"Not even close," I admit. "I honestly had just reminded myself that I wasn't looking for a relationship, of any sort, and then…there you were, and things changed."

"And you're looking for a way to resolve it. Is that why you didn't want to help out tonight?"

"Huh? Oh, you think that I thought if you saw me wearing this, you'd instantly turn lustful and try and ravish me or something?" I tease because secretly it's what I had thought and what part of me wanted.

"Something along those lines. You tried to be something you're not at dinner last night and it didn't quite work but there's nothing saying that you couldn't have cooked this up with someone else to try and get me to back off."

"Yes, I wanted two girls to come down with the flu and the third to break her leg just so I could dress up like this and send you packing," I say sarcastically with a little laugh that puts a hint of color on his cheeks. "No, I just…maybe I didn't want you to see this part of my life. Not everyone can accept it."

"Your parents?"

"They have no idea, and I don't plan on telling them anytime soon. I figure I'll wait until after the first grandchild arrives for that. At least they'll be too thrilled about it to question my past choices."

"You want kids?" he asks me, and I wish the floor would open up beneath my feet so I could disappear.

"Someday…I suppose everyone does."

"Not everyone. It's why my ex is my ex. She didn't want Maggie in the first place, but I convinced her to have her because I'd always wanted to be a dad. I thought she'd feel the same way once the baby was here, but I didn't turn out that way. Once Maggie was born, Donna took off."

"I'm sorry," I tell him softly seeing the pain and anger of that in his eyes. I don't think any of the pain is because of Donna leaving him, but for her leaving their daughter and I can totally understand that. I can't imagine what it'd be like to have a man walk away from me and my child. God, a child is something I really don't need to be thinking about right now. "Look I still have a ton to do before this place closes. Why don't you head back to the hotel and enjoy the rest of the night? I'll get Tony to drop me off later."

"I'm not leaving Ame. I'm staying right here until you go. Besides," he adds with a grin, "I like watching you work."

"You just like watching my backside."

"True, but I also like knowing that I'm the one who gets to spend time with the real you while the people in here, other than your friends, only get to see the act."

"You're too clever sometimes," I tease as I walk away.

How can he read me so well? We don't know each other but still…he's got my number while I'm still struggling to find his. So far, the only things I really know are he loves his daughter, hates his ex and…he knows me.