Chapter Thirty
Lucy
“I have just got off the phone with Suzy. She said you are amazing and that you’re starting tomorrow night!” Riley’s excited voice carries over the phone. “I knew you would like it.”
“I loved it, and Suzy was lovely. Honestly, how can I ever thank you for this?” His excitement is contagious. I have an extra skip in my walk as I head back to Tommy's place.
“No! I’m the one who should be thanking you. We really needed something extra to add to the bar. I’m not sure if it’s the area, but it’s quieter than my other venues. So hopefully now we have you adding that little something extra, we will start to get more custom coming in.”
“I don’t know how long it will be for, are you sure that’s okay?” I ask, worried I'll be leaving him in the shit once again when I leave.
“No, not at all. Also, I’ve arranged with Suzy so that you get a set wage, rather than tips like the others, since you won’t be doing solos.” He says, and relief floods me. Dancing on stage is second nature for me, but going off and doing a lap dance? No, thank you!
“That’s amazing, honestly, thank you so, so much!”
“Listen, I’ve got to go. You just do what you do best, and make sure to message me when you finish tomorrow so I know how you’ve got on.”
We say our goodbyes, and by the time I hang up the call, I’m already outside Max and Tommy's building. I know they’re both out at the minute, and all I want to do is sleep, but where do I go?
I have a key to Tommy's place, so that makes more sense. But I really want to go to Max’s.
The thought of him crawling into bed next to me later sends a flurry of butterflies in my stomach.
No, I will have to go to Tommy's and hopefully see Max tomorrow before my first shift. As soon as I get to my room, I drop down onto the bed, pulling off my clothes in my haste to sleep. All the excitement from the past twenty-four hours must have caught up with me, because the next thing I know, I’m jostled awake.
What the hell? Is there an earthquake? Is this it? Is this how I die?
My panic starts to rise until I notice a presence slipping under the sheets, and I would know that groan anywhere. Max has climbed into bed with me in Tommy's spare bedroom.
“Max! What are you doing?” I whisper-shout at him.
“Missed my girl. Too much whisky. Need sleep.” He mumbles as he buries his face in the crook of my neck.
“What if someone finds out?” I chide, wriggling out of his reach. The stubble he has from not shaving for the past few days is tickling me so bad. The last thing we need is for me to burst out laughing right now. “Does Tommy know that I’m in here?”
“Shhh. Please. Too loud. Everything will be fine. Just sleep, baby.” He rambles on some more. “Turn around and back on in, I want to hold you.”
Even in his drunk state, he needs to be close to me.
Max has so many different layers to him.
I love finding out about a new one each time I’m with him.
He tugs me into him as his little spoon, twirling a piece of my hair around his finger.
The feeling of being in his arms settles me back into a deep sleep.
“Luuuuucy,” Max sings down my ear just as the beginning of morning light breaks through the curtains. “It’s time to wake up.”
“Ugh, how can you be this chirpy after a night of drinking? I didn’t drink and feel like death.”
“That is because of years of practice. Now, you might want to get out of bed. Shit went down last night that I need to fill you in on before you head out there.” He nips at my ear as he tries to rouse me some more.
“What shit? Why didn’t you tell me last night?” I bolt upright in bed to stare him down.
“Because I knew it would panic you and you needed some sleep.” His cocky smile is in place, melting me as it always does.
But when I don’t smile in return, he huffs out a breath and sits up next to me.
“Okay. Long story short… Tommy and Maya connected, had a dance, and had a great time. Then someone barged into Maya's room and left her a letter that scared her, and we think it was from Jake. Who the police think is the main cause of the accident, by the way. So everyone came back here to speak to the police and ended up staying. I don’t think anyone knows you were even here.”
My eyes grow wide, and my throat begins to tighten.
“Hold up, so the police were here last night? And multiple people are here now?” My voice wobbles at the realisation. “How the hell did I sleep through all of that?”
“You were shattered. That is exactly why I didn’t want to worry you when I found you asleep in here.” He says. Like that is the most natural thing in the world to do.
“Max! Be serious. What are we going to do?” My voice is starting to rise. I can feel the edge of hysteria coming on.
“I am going to give you my key, and you’re going to head upstairs to my place and wait for me there.” He smiles, pulling the key from his pocket.
“But… what if they see me?”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. Everyone is asleep except Tommy. He has just left for his run and won’t be home for another twenty minutes.”
Oh fuck.
I all but fall off the bed in my haste to chuck my clothes back on. My trousers are on, and my arms are through the arm holes of my t-shirt, but I’m yet to put my head through when I notice Max staring at me with a ridiculous smile on his face.
“What’s so funny?” I demand. “It must be nice not to have a care in the world about what others think. You might be okay with all of this. But I am not okay.”
“Baby, I promise I understand. It’s just that your clothes are inside out.”
I can tell he is fighting back laughter now, but he climbs off the bed and comes over to me. He helps to strip me back off and righten my clothes, all before helping me put them back on.
“You need to calm down. Everything is going to be fine. I’ll go out there and check that the coast is clear. Then you just need to go upstairs, okay?”
I nod my head, feeling a little overwhelmed at the stress. I have only just opened my eyeballs, for God’s sake.
Only a few minutes later, I have successfully made it out of the apartment undetected, and I’m already climbing the stairs to Max’s new place. Thank God I asked him for the door number, as he’s never actually shown me where it is. I wonder what it’s going to look like inside.
Knowing Max, he has either gone completely crazy and has all the colours of the rainbow, or he’s done something stupid like mimicking Tommy's place just to wind him up. Now that the adrenaline from my master escape has faded away, it’s been taken over by anticipation.
My mind is running wild, coming up with all the different scenarios I could be walking into here.
Well, here goes nothing. I turn the key, opening the door slowly, smiling as I do. But the smile soon fades once I step inside, and awe takes over. My eyes are like saucers. Trying to take in everything I can see.
It is almost as if someone has gone into my mind and copied all my dreams for a home and pasted them in here.
It’s so warm looking. All the walls and flooring are plain beige, but everything else is dark with little pops of colour.
Dark wooden bookshelves filled with books, dark leather couches with the snuggest looking throws, even the rug in the centre of the room looks like heaven.
It kind of looks out of place to be in an apartment rather than a house.
Yet for some reason, it works. Was this all Max’s idea?
I always knew we were similar in taste, but this is another level.
My fingers glide over anything in touching distance as I wander around the room.
It’s fricking huge in here. Even with the dark furnishings, it doesn’t take away from the size.
I love it.
I’m torn between snooping in all the other rooms of the house or waiting until Max gets back. Surely, he won’t be much longer, but I just don’t think I have enough self-control to wait.
Giving in, I start to wander from room to room. First the kitchen, then the office, and there is even a laundry room! I come to the last door at the end of the hall, the only one that’s closed. Turning the handle, I step inside and gawk at what I see.
“Holy shit!”