Chapter 22
LOLA
Morris stood in his usual spot when we entered The Hot Spot, and because I wasn’t the one he wanted to see, I greeted him with a quick hi before hurrying past him to get to the guys.
I had to get Leo’s vest to him before the show started, and as I walked down the narrow hallway, Morris called out to me, telling me that I could just walk backstage because they were waiting for me.
“Thanks, Morris!”
The red door slid open, and I found myself in a bar full of people. There were more guests than last time, which was great. I just hoped they wouldn’t be disappointed by seeing only three of the four men dance.
“Hey, Lola.” Elia smiled at me from behind the bar.
I walked over to him and gave him a small wave. “Hey. Which one’s the door to get backstage?”
“Right over there.” He pointed at a black door with the words STAFF ONLY written on it. “Go through there and then take a right.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right back. Will you make me—”
“An Espresso Martini. Of course. And a Moscow Mule for Willa?”
I started to walk backwards, pursing my lips as I moved my gaze to the red door. “Probably.”
“I’ll have one of my guys bring it out there to them,” Elia assured with a wink.
“You’re the best!” I blew him a kiss and turned around to push open the black door. I had Leo’s vest clutched in my hand, determined to get it to him in time.
After turning the corner, I heard voices coming from the only door I could see, and as I walked up to it, I noticed that they were arguing. I frowned and stepped closer, ready to knock and enter. But when I heard my name coming from Kline’s mouth, I pulled back my hand and listened.
“Don’t you want to do the final dance with her on stage?” Leo sounded annoyed.
“Of course he does. But you know how it ended the last time. We don’t want to overwhelm her again,” Watson argued.
“Besides…we’ll all end up standing on that stage with big fucking boners, and you know we can’t have that. Not with all those women taking pictures and videos,” Kline added.
I bit the insides of my cheeks as a grin tugged at my lips. They were arguing over me, but in a good way.
“We’ll just get a random woman up there and do our show like we normally would,” Kline continued, and there was silence for a moment.
Leo let out a heavy sigh before he spoke again. “I don’t want another woman touching us. Especially with Lola watching.”
I decided it was time to step in. They clearly had a dilemma, and it involved my name too. I pushed open the door and pulled all their eyes on me as I stood there, holding Leo’s vest close to my chest. “Hi.”
“Hey, gorgeous.” Watson smiled at me. “Shit, did you hear all that?”
“Yes. Well, some of it.” I pursed my lips and stepped closer to Leo to hand him his vest. “And I think it’s really cute how you don’t want another woman touching you.”
“We don’t want to make you jealous,” Leo stated, taking the vest from me as he added a quick, “Thanks.”
“I won’t be jealous. It’s your job,” I said with a shrug. “Besides…Kline is right. It’ll be way too intense if you take me up on stage.”
Leo didn’t look pleased. “I don’t wanna dance for a random woman,” he muttered.
Kline and Watson raised their brows.
“Jesus…” Watson ran his hands through his hair. “And I was worried you wouldn’t be okay with us continuing to dance for other women.”
I laughed softly and stepped closer to Leo. He looked like he needed to be comforted. He was sitting on a chair with his head hanging low, and his elbows resting on his knees.
“Hey.” I rubbed his back before squatting down to look at him. He lifted his head slightly, meeting my eyes. I smiled and squeezed his arm. “I won’t be upset or angry or jealous. Actually, I’ll be excited to go home with you after the show. It’ll be such a turn-on watching you guys dance again. Coming here has sort of become a hobby of mine.”
Leo chuckled and rubbed his eyes with his fingers and thumb. “Great, now I just want to take you home.”
“But you can’t. So, you better put on your best performance tonight or I’ll be disappointed.”
His gaze lingered on mine, and I had never seen his icy-blue eyes get so dark and intense. After a moment, his gaze moved to Kline and Watson, and a smirk appeared on his lips. “We should hire her as our manager. Shit…that’d be so damn hot.”
I laughed and shook my head, and with one hand on his cheek, I made him look at me again. “I’ll be watching from the bar. I can’t wait.”
I leaned in to give him a kiss, and he quickly took over, deepening it by tilting his head to the side. His tongue slid into my mouth and curled around mine, and with his hands on my waist, he pulled me closer.
“Leo.” Kline’s voice was a warning, telling him to put a stop to this as they had to start the show soon.
He muttered a curse when he broke the kiss, and when he looked at me again, he furrowed his brows deeply. “Wait, you didn’t kiss Ben today, did you?”
I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “Nope, just Watson.”
I got up and turned around, seeing Watson grin like a teenage boy. “That wasn’t a kiss, baby. That was a hot makeout session in my car.”
My cheeks turned red as I recalled what we did earlier today, but I was pulled out of my thoughts when Kline’s hand gripped my elbow.
His expression was serious, but he wasn’t mad at me. He was just focused, ready to perform on stage. “I hate to kick you out, sweetheart, but we got a show to get to.”
“Yes. Of course. I’m already gone. Break a leg!”
I rushed out of the dressing room and walked back to the bar. The lights had been dimmed already, and everyone was on the edge of their seats, excitedly waiting for the men to come out.
“Ready for your drink?” Elia asked as I sat down on one of the stools.
“Ready. Is Willa still out there?”
“Yes, and she said to keep the drinks coming.”
I pursed my lips and reached for my drink once he placed it in front of me. “Bring her water after her third drink.”
He chuckled and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
I turned in my seat to get a better view of the stage as I sipped on my Espresso Martini, waiting for my handsome men to come out. And just as the first song started playing, and everyone cheered, a woman took the seat next to me.
I gave her a quick smile, but my eyes lingered on her when I realized I had seen that woman before. She had been the woman who complimented me at the grocery store, and while I recognized her, she didn’t seem to recognize me.
“Isn’t this so exciting? Male strippers…I’ve only ever seen them in movies, but I’m so glad I found the Four of Hearts. They’re so hot, but most of all, they’re such kind men. Is this your first time here? Have you seen them before? I saw them every weekend this year. Well, except from that one weekend I was visiting my parents.”
I couldn’t keep up with her. She kept on talking and asking questions. In the meantime, the guys had already taken the stage. I didn’t want to be rude and tell her to shut up, but I desperately wanted to enjoy the show.
I smiled again, nodding every time she said something, and when she finally came to a stop, I held up my hand to keep her quiet. “They started,” I told her, pointing at the stage.
“Oh, dear. I’ve talked too much again. I’m so sorry. I’m just super excited every time I’m here. This is my favorite place on earth and—”
“Vivian.” Elia interrupted her, seemingly annoyed by her rambling. “Eyes up front. You know not to bother other guests.”
“Oh, yes. Of course.” She looked at me again and smiled, but her smile faded when she looked to the stage to only find three instead of four men. “Where’s Bennett? Why is he not on stage? Is he hurt? Did he get hurt or is he sick? How are they going to do the show without Bennett?”
I had to bite my tongue to stay quiet. She was getting annoying, but I didn’t want to be rude. I looked at Elia who had the same expression as me.
“Bennett is sick, Vivian. He’ll be back next weekend,” he told her. “Now, would you like a Coke? Otherwise I will have to ask you to go take a seat at your table.”
“Sick? What does he have? Oh, dear God. Hopefully it’s nothing bad.” Vivian looked truly horrified and worried, and it was then when I realized that she wasn’t so well herself. I couldn’t get mad at a person who clearly had some serious issues.
I turned to her and placed my hand on her shoulder, smiling gently. “He has the flu. It’s nothing life-threatening. He’ll be back on his feet in no time,” I assured her.
Her expression changed, with confusion lingering in her eyes. “How do you know all that?”
“Vivian, please get back to your table,” Elia urged, giving her a serious look. “You will miss the whole show.”
Vivian kept staring at me with that intense glare, and almost as if there was a switch inside of her, her expression changed again. “Oh dear, you’re right. I don’t want to miss out. Oh, I sure hope they choose me to go up on stage tonight. They’ve never chosen me. Can you believe it? And I’ve been to all of their shows. Well, other than the one I couldn’t attend because I went to visit my parents.”
“Vivian.” It was Elia’s last warning. This time, she acknowledged it and walked away.
“Sorry about her.”
I looked at Elia and waved a hand. “It’s fine. Has she really been to every show this year?”
“No, she definitely hasn’t.”
“Why would she lie about it?”
Elia shrugged. “She’s not well. This is not the only bar she goes to in town. She’s everywhere. And everywhere she goes, she causes trouble.”
I followed Vivian with my eyes, watching her leave the bar instead of sitting down like Elia had suggested. I tried to understand her motives for talking so highly of the guys when she didn’t even look at them while she left.
She was a grown woman. She had her reasons, and so I decided not to bother any longer. I took another sip of my drink and turned my focus to the guys.
I was here to enjoy the show, and to later be taken home by the three hot police officers dancing on stage.