Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chelsea
I would have enjoyed the concert a lot more if I wasn’t watching Atlas out of the corner of my eye the entire time. He grooved, clapped and sang along with everyone else in the audience, as though he forgot our conversation already. He looked like nothing more than a rugby god, out to enjoy himself at a rock concert. He even knew every single word of every single song, even the new stuff.
Jasper only appeared on stage a handful of times, playing the saxophone and occasionally winking at me or another woman in the audience. The lead singer, Decker Bolden, was just as flirty, clasping hands with various women and taking their phones to take photos of himself. The crowd loved every minute of it.
I just pretended to.
When the band finished their final encore, I shuffled out behind everyone else, Atlas on my heels.
He placed a hand on my shoulder and held me there as he said, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“It was…fun,” I said awkwardly.
His fingers tightened on my skin. “If they ever need a backing dancer, I know where they can find one. If you can dance and keep your clothes on.”
Fortunately the arena was still loud enough that only I heard him say that.
I looked at him over my shoulder. “I’ll stick to medicine. That’s what I do best.”
He snorted, his breath brushing my neck. “I bet that’s not true. Anyone who gets paid to fuck must be good at it.”
I stiffened. “I’m very good at it.” I brushed off his hand and hurried up the steps leading out of the arena.
He strode along behind me, keeping pace. When he followed me into the foyer, he was stopped by a couple of women a few years younger than both of us.
“Atlas Underwood!” one squealed. “You’re even better looking in person. Can I get a selfie with you?”
“Of course,” he said without glancing at me. His attention was all on her and her friend.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” I said.
I did, but it would also be a good way to slip away from him and any watchful eyes. Even if I had to climb out the window. That was a last resort, but the longer I was with him, the uneasier I became. He was as volatile as Storm. Better to sneak away before things went south.
“Stay,” was all Atlas said without taking his eyes off the women. He stood between them and smiled warmly at the phone in the first woman’s hand. That was quickly replaced by the other woman’s phone and more smiles.
“Thank you so much!” Both women squealed now. “We’re going to Hazards for a drink. Are you coming?”
I doubted anyone missed the emphasis on that last word. It was obviously an invitation to fuck one or both of them. Divina would have remarked they both had the perfect mouths for giving blowjobs. She would probably have offered them a job on the spot. What would they say to an offer like that? I suspected they’d decline.
“I might be along a bit later,” he said. “Go ahead and start without me.”
They pouted but walked away, hips swaying. One of them actually glanced back and gave him an air kiss before disappearing in the throng. Neither of them seemed to have noticed I existed, or cared. If they thought we were together, they still would have made the offer.
His obvious hypocrisy annoyed the hell out of me. He didn’t like it when Jasper came on to me before the concert, but it was okay for those women to come on to him? If that was how he was, I’d be better off without him.
“Maybe you should go,” I said. He might enjoy spending time with them instead of me. Women like that might be more his type. A quick fuck with no complications. Honestly, that didn’t sound too bad right now.
“We’re not done,” he said. “Come with me.” He took my hand, lacing his fingers in mine and guided me out the big glass doors at the front of the arena. He walked beside me like we were nothing more interesting than a couple out on a pleasant date, enjoying the concert and then the night air. Maybe later we’d go home, bake some cupcakes and have vanilla sex.
“I know you must have been surprised,” I started. That was an understatement. He was obviously a lot more than surprised.
He glanced around, uneasy eyes scanning the crowd to see if anyone was paying us any attention. A couple of people glanced at him, but most seemed in a hurry to get away from the arena. To reach their cars, or a bar where they could enjoy a few drinks.
“Not here.” We walked a couple of blocks until we reached a quieter part of the city. We weren’t completely alone, but we were away from the thickest of the crowds. If he decided to kill me, he’d have an audience. And so would I. But we were far enough away from anyone else that we could talk and not be overheard. Not unless things got heated and loud.
Finally done with waiting, I stopped, pulling him to a halt with me. “I don’t regret what I did. I needed to work. That’s all there was to it.”
He let go of my hand and placed his on the wall behind me, pinning me in.
“I had to work before I turned professional. Do you know what I did? I delivered pizza. I had a shitty little car that I used to drive around Sydney, delivering fucking pizza . Later on, it was on the back of a bike. Dodging in and out of city traffic, trying not to get killed to bring people their hot fucking meals. Never once did it occur to me to take my clothes off or fuck strangers. Not once.”
“Funny, it never occurred to me to deliver food on the back of a bike,” I said tartly.
I would have preferred to work in a restaurant, carrying food to tables. Or behind a bar, pouring drinks, side by side with Sadie. “I danced because I was good at it. Because the money was good. And guess what? Because I enjoyed it. And I was much less likely to be hit by a car while spinning around a pole.” The job wasn’t without its risks, but I never had to worry about getting run over.
“No, you had strangers staring at your body,” he hissed. “Leering at you and getting turned on.”
I cocked my head at him. “Judging by those women who wanted selfies with you, that’s exactly how they see you when you’re out on the field playing.”
“It’s not the same thing,” he snarled. “I’m out there playing football, not baring my tits. Not spreading my legs for fuck only knows who.”
“Is that the problem?” I asked calmly. “Are you jealous? Do you wish you were the one I was spreading my legs for? Or is this one of those ‘women shouldn’t behave like that’ things?”
“It’s—” He closed his eyes and shook his head before shoving himself off the wall and taking a few steps away. “I don’t know. If it was one of my sisters, I’d want to rip out their eyeballs.”
“I’m not your sister,” I pointed out. “But if any of them wanted to dance, I’d support them even if you don’t. Because, guess what? Women get to make decisions about what they do with their own bodies. If I wanted to take my clothes off here in the street, I could.” I might get arrested for it, but I could still do it.
He ran a hand over the back of his head. “Fuck. I know that. I just hate the idea of you doing it.”
“No shit,” I said dryly. “I think this is something you need to think about and come to terms with. If you can’t do that, I guess that’s that.”
“I don’t know if I can,” he said. “I don’t know if I can get my head around it. If the team finds out…”
“Is that the actual problem?” I asked. “If they find out, I’d be screwed. You’re worried I’d take you down with me.”
“Wouldn’t you?” he asked evenly. “How would this look?” He raised his hands to either side before dropping them to his thighs with a slap.
“I offered to leave the concert,” I pointed out. “You were the one who insisted I stay.”
“People would have noticed if you walked out on me,” he said. “They would have started speculating. If they start looking into you, how difficult would it be to find out what you used to do?”
“Someone already did,” I said. In as few words as possible, I told him about Belinda Simmons and what happened to her.
“This just gets better and better,” he said sarcastically. “Let’s just kill everyone who digs into your past. And here you are, trying to get a job in a high-profile situation. Why?”
“Because I don’t think being a dancer should have any bearing on anything else in my life,” I said. “I’m a good doctor. I’d work hard for the team. Why should a past job prevent me from doing that? That’s as ridiculous as suggesting delivering pizzas should stop you from playing rugby. A job is a job. That’s all I see it as. Would you have preferred I do a job like Belinda Simmons? Follow people like you around and wait for an opportunity to take an embarrassing photo? To dig into your personal life and that of your family? Maybe I could have exposed some deep, dark secret one of your sisters has. Or I could expose to the world the fact you work with people like Daisy Lasalle. How well do you think that will go down if the team finds out?”
“As far as anyone knows, they’re just businesspeople,” he replied sharply. “Friends I do favours for.”
“Have you killed for them?” I asked. “Broken a few bones? Maybe a finger or two? Or a kneecap?”
He averted his gaze. “I haven’t killed anyone. Yet.”
“You’re not denying the rest of it,” I pointed out. “What I did, it never hurt anyone. Quite the opposite. I entertained them, just like you do out on the football field. Just like Ice Blue Roses did for us in there.” I waved roughly in the direction of the arena. “It’s not different just because you say it is. Just because you’re uncomfortable with the idea of other men looking at my body. You know Storm looks at me, right? And Frost. And Dallas. Do you have a problem with that?”
“They’re not paying you for it,” he said.
“Not now they’re not,” I said quietly. I watched as my words sank in.
“They—” He gaped at me. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, fuck,” I said. “As meet cutes go, it was a little different. But it doesn’t change things between us. This shouldn’t change things between you and me either. But that’s something you have to decide for yourself. I like you, but if you can’t deal with my past, I’ll do my best to stay out of your way.”
“You’re not working with the team,” he stated quietly.
“I haven’t heard back from the GM about my interview,” I said. “It’s possible I’m not.”
“That’ll make it easier to stay out of my way,” he said. “I can’t see you if you’re not there.”
“Not unless I get the job,” I said.
He gave me a look like if he had his way, that was out of the question. Without another word, he turned and walked away.