Total pages in book: 212
Estimated words: 207966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1040(@200wpm)___ 832(@250wpm)___ 693(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 207966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1040(@200wpm)___ 832(@250wpm)___ 693(@300wpm)
“We’re all new, I think,” Ella said.
“Surely not you, Gia,” Sara called out.
Gigi gave her a look of surprise. “Um, yeah, I’m new.”
“I call bullshit,” Sara said, cattily.
“No, really.”
“What are you tryin’ to say, Sara?” Ella snapped.
“I mean… look at her. She looks and dresses like a stripper. Or a porn star.”
“Doesn’t mean I’ve ever been a stripper,” Gigi said. “Though if I had, I wouldn’t be ashamed of it.”
“Dancing is honest work,” one of the girls from the unknown crew called over.
“Amen,” Gigi said.
“And you don’t dress like a Sunday school teacher either, Sara,” Deanna pointed out.
“Besides, you’re a regular here, Sara. You’re in my pole dancing class and you work the pole like you’re a pro,” Jenna said.
“Yeah, probably because she’s tryin’ to keep her man interested since he’s clearly not,” Deanna clipped.
I wondered if the girls knew why Deanna and Scott had split, if they knew Deanna had fucked Sara’s man. Scott and Skip had that scrimmage in the bar, but maybe word hadn’t traveled.
“Ex man,” Sara stated. “I kicked his ass out. But what would you know about it since I heard your ass just got dumped? By some chance, have you had to fill any prescriptions lately, Deanna?”
Shit.
“I’d like you to leave my studio right now,” the instructor stated, eyes on Sara. “This is a bigotry-free zone.”
“Whatever,” Sara mumbled and then she and her friends marched out. Her friends didn’t look too happy about it, though.
Sara startled with surprise at seeing us. I glared at her.
She rolled her eyes.
Her friends looked concerned as the five of us stood giving Sara stink-eye.
“Stop fuckin’ with her,” I said through tight teeth. “Get over your bullshit.”
“Don’t matter. I’m moving back to the falls anyway.” She held her head high as she passed us. “Just brought my friends here in case they wanted to join. Fuck this place. Fuck this town. And fuck the Dominion Brotherhood, too.”
“Bitch,” Bront muttered as she stormed out.
“Um, excuse me?” Jenna was in the hall now with her hands on her hips. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Looky loos!” Pippa came out too, mirroring Jenna’s stance.
Rider laughed. “Busted.”
“Go wait outside,” Ella demanded. “All of you.” She pointed.
“Dang,” Bront muttered.
I walked past her and went to Gigi, who was still sitting on a mat. “You good?” I asked.
She smiled, but it didn’t touch her eyes.
“I’ll be outside,” I said. I pointed to my mouth. She got up off the mat and kissed me.
“You good?” I repeated.
She nodded.
“She’s leavin’ town. It’s gonna be over with her before you know it.”
She relaxed a little.
“Right,” the instructor called out. “Men, out, unless you’re willing to get up here and demonstrate your skills on a pole. Anyone?”
“Nope,” Bront was the first to say and we all moved toward the door.
“That’s what I thought. Girls, let’s resume. Can I have two volunteers who have no experience?”
“Me!” Pippa exclaimed.
“Me,” one of the girls from the crew of three also raised her hand.
“Can we stay in the hall and watch through the window?” Bront asked in the doorway.
“Fuck no. Move your ass,” Spence clipped, obviously wanting none of us watching Pippa swing around a pole. “Outside, boys.”
***
It was Sunday night, and the mood was mellow in the clubhouse. All the guests who’d come in for Blow’s shindig had cleared out and couples were chilling in the lounging areas as well as the bar on the main floor of the hall since Deke’s Roadhouse was still closed due to cleanup from last night’s bash.
We had a big industrial kitchen in the basement for cooking for a crowd but there were two smaller kitchens upstairs as well near the members’ rooms. Gigi was shredding cheese for the eggs I was scrambling. I’d already made bacon and fried potatoes. She’d been quiet all afternoon since coming back from the pole dancing class, which she said she would not be joining. Neither was Ella, saying she felt too top-heavy to try to defy gravity. Deanna and Pippa were planning to join.
Gigi told me she wanted breakfast for dinner despite the fact that we’d had breakfast for breakfast that day as well, whispering that she didn’t like Rider’s scrambled eggs nearly as much as mine.
“Again, baby, Sara’s moving. She’s not gonna fuck with you anymore.” I dumped some salsa into the pan and kept stirring. I was on this topic again because she still wore the same expression I’d seen at the pole-dancing studio.
“Unless she takes him back like she usually does,” Gigi muttered.
“That’s true. But, baby, you’ve got other people taking your back beyond me. You’re fitting in with the girls.”
“Yeah, I like them a lot. But they’re always gonna look at me a certain way, aren’t they?”
“Stop worrying about what other people think.”
She sighed.
“Dump that cheese in here,” I pointed to the pan.
She poured it, and I folded it into the eggs.