Chapter 1
Twenty years later . . .
Twirling her petite body around the pole every night was not how Sweetie thought her life would turn out, but she really wasn’t mad at it.
Dancing was the only time she felt connected to others.
It was the only time her introverted nature turned extroverted, and she loved being in the limelight.
The only issue she had was the money was slow in this place.
The last melodies of her song fizzled out, allowing her to end in her final position.
To the crowd, she knew she looked like a sexy silhouette bent with her juicy ass in the air.
She knew the lights bounced off the sexy panther tattoo she had on the back of her shoulder, which only drove niggas even more wild.
She grinned as more money rained down on the stage. The stage manager, Kelly, hurried onto the platform and helped Sweetie down as she bossed the guards around to pick up her money and get it to the owner.
The Honey Pot had been her place of work for the past year.
Because of her father, she couldn’t land a job at a more popular or higher end strip club.
This one was super low-key and didn’t have many ballers passing through.
There were plenty of bachelor and bachelorette parties that came through, and old men who only had a few dollars to spare, but no real big spenders.
“Good set, Sweetie,” one guard said as she expertly stepped off the stage in her six-inch heels.
She adjusted her dark purple bra so her breasts were back in place and smiled at him with a quick nod. “Thanks.”
She rushed toward the back so she could change and then work the room for the rest of the night.
She bypassed everyone who worked there, not uttering a word.
It wasn’t that she was rude. She just wasn’t super friendly because women never liked her, and niggas never lasted.
Nothing had changed since childhood. She still didn’t have any friends.
Her mind wandered to junior high as she opened her locker and pulled out her second outfit for the night.
Junior high changed everything for her. Everything.
Her father had pulled her out of that school so quickly, and she never had a normal schooling experience since.
Her mom homeschooled both her and Audra.
That caused a huge rift between her and her sister.
Audra was a social butterfly, and she hated being homeschooled.
She blamed Sweetie for messing it up for them.
Sweetie blamed herself too.
With a sigh, she closed the locker and quickly got changed before stepping back out into the main room. It was dark, and smoke filled the space. She strutted in her orange two piece set that showed off her toned body and soft curves.
“Damn, baby girl. You finer than a two-dollar bill,” an older gentleman said as he gently grabbed her hand.
Sweetie tried not to giggle. She didn’t even know what the hell that was supposed to mean.
Older men and their pickup lines rarely made sense to her and always made her laugh.
They were mostly harmless. She would much rather dance for an older man than one of these broke ass YNs who thought the world owed them.
“You want a dance, daddy?” She purred as she leaned down to talk in his ear. She had long ago mastered the art of seduction.
Before the man could open his mouth full of dentures to speak, Sherry, one of the bottle girls, shouted Sweetie’s name. “There’s a table requesting you for the night!”
Sweetie grinned. She knew that meant money, and she was thankful. The motel she lived in needed to be paid up another week, and her own table for the night would secure that.
“Sorry, baby. Another time,” she whispered to the man.
He frowned but nodded in understanding before she turned to leave. Her vicious walk carried her over to Sherry, who was at the bar waiting on drinks.
“Just give me a second, and you can follow me over to the table. You got lucky, girl. It’s a big party, and they only requested three girls. You were the only one they wanted by name.”
Her curiosity piqued. Sweetie waited patiently for Sherry’s drink tray to be filled before she followed her through the crowd of smoke and people. When her eyes landed on Chloe, Sweetie beamed.
“There’s my girl!” Chloe hopped up and wrapped her arms around Sweetie’s neck.
Sweetie reciprocated. She never got along with other girls, but Chloe seemed to be the exception. They weren’t friends, but any time Chloe came to The Honey Pot, they were definitely friendly. Not only that, but Chloe always cashed out on Sweetie.
“Chlo-money. It’s good to see you,” Sweetie said in a syrupy tone.
“And it’s always better to see you,” Chloe said as she pulled away.
“What’s the occasion?” Sweetie asked as she glanced briefly behind Chloe to see a ton of people, mainly niggas, in her section. Chloe normally only ever came with a friend, maybe two, so the gang of people with her was out of the norm.
“It’s my birthday!” She clapped and squealed, and Sweetie grinned. She could tell the woman had a few drinks already.
“Aw, and you came here to spend it with me,” Sweetie gushed playfully.
“Damn right I did! This place may not be all that, but you are. I still don’t understand why you work here.” Chloe frowned, and she seemed to finally take in her surroundings.
She wasn’t lying. The place really wasn’t all that, and Sweetie did deserve a better workplace, but shit had been hard for her over the past year. She didn’t expect a better job to fall into her lap no time soon.
A year ago, she had finally had enough of her father’s controlling ways.
She packed up a few of her things and left.
Her father cut her off financially, which Sweetie expected, and she’d been on her own since.
She hopped from motel to motel, never able to make enough to get into her own apartment.
The high-end strip clubs kept turning down her job applications, and Sweetie knew that was because of her father.
He’d found out she was stripping two months after she left his home, and he was enraged.
Instead of responding to Chloe about her working conditions, she said, “Happy birthday, girl. How about a lap dance?”
Chloe clapped. “Yes! But first, let me introduce you to my husband.”
That threw Sweetie for a loop. She didn’t know Chloe was married. She actually figured the girl was a lesbian the way she came to this place and blew a bag on all the women.
Chloe dragged Sweetie through the crowd of people in her section until she got to her husband. When Sweetie’s eyes met his, shock filled her.
Denzel DeLuca?
She couldn’t even form the name on her lips before her name was called. “Sweetie?”
Her brows dipped, and she slowly turned around. She had to tilt her head back to look up into the man’s eyes.
Boogie.
Her heart leaped with joy as a smile filled her face. “No way! Boogie?”
She threw her arms around his neck, and he held her securely into him.
He’d grown up. Damn, did he grow up. His dark skin was littered with tattoos, and his arms were bulky, like he lived in a gym.
When she pulled back, he grinned at her with perfectly pearly white teeth framed by the juiciest lips she had ever seen.
She’d kissed those lips once. The best kiss she’d ever had.
“Sweetie Bishop. Ain’t no way I’m layin’ eyes on you right now.” He let her go completely and held her hand up, prompting her to twirl. “And you look the fuck good, girl. You workin’ in this spot?”
His thick brows pulled in. She knew he was confused. Suddenly, she felt a bit self-conscious.
“Yeah, just tryna get on my feet.” She looked down at her heels as she spoke.
Sweetie had learned to have a really tough exterior, so although she felt a lump in her throat forming, she held the tears back.
She didn’t even know where that reaction was coming from.
Something about seeing Boogie knocked her off her rock.
“What I gotta do for a dance then?” Boogie asked.
When she looked up at him, he had a grin on his face, which made her crack a small smile. “For you? I’ll dance all night. You the reason I love dancing so much.”
His smile turned sad, as if he never wanted his love for dancing to land her at a strip club. That would make two of them, but after a life of being sheltered by her parents, she was never really good at anything else.
Boogie led her over to a quieter corner, and he sat.
She didn’t waste any time. She sat on his lap with her back to his chest and moved her body.
Her pulse raced as she felt his warmth against her.
His hands found her waist and then moved to her thighs, and she threw her head back, never losing the beat.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
“To stay,” he muttered, though she swore she heard him incorrectly.
It felt liberating dancing on Boogie like this. If only her father could see her now. He would have surely blown a gasket. The thought made her smile as she ground her ass harder.
This dance, . . . it was forbidden. They both knew it.
A DeLuca and a Bishop fraternizing? It was cause for war, but since Boogie didn’t seem worried about it, Sweetie wasn’t either, at least for now.
Since her father pulled her out of Boogie’s life, she never minded giving him the middle finger whenever she could.
He had dominated her life into her thirties, and she was proud of herself for finally walking away.
This right here was just the icing on the cake.
After a few songs, Boogie tapped her leg. “Unless you really wanna give these folks a show, I’ma need you to get up, baby.”
She giggled and slid into the seat next to him, her breathing labored.
As she tried to calm her nerves from the top-notch dance she just gave, Boogie slid a knot of money toward her.
Sweetie’s eyes bulged, and she tried to push it back toward him.
“No, Boog. It was free. I would never charge you for no shit like that.”
He moved her hand and slid the knot into her bra, his finger grazing her nipple.
She gasped.
He grinned.
She slit her eyes at him.
“Take it and go home for the night. I’ma take ya address down and slide after this shit ends.”
Her brows pulled in. “I can’t just leave work.”
“Fake sick. I don’t want you givin’ out no more dances today.”
“But Chloe—”
“Is my sister-in-law. She’ll be aight. I can deal wit’ her.”
Sweetie looked down at her lap. “I . . . I’m staying in a motel right now.”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Boogie reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “What’s ya number?” After she rattled it off, he flipped the screen toward her. “This ya Cash App?”
“Yes, but—”
“I just sent you some money. Go to the Ritz and book us the penthouse. I’ll be there in a bit.”
Her mouth hung open, and it took her a moment to speak. Even then, she didn’t know what to really say. “Boogie . . .”
He brushed her long black hair out of her face. “Do this for me, please? I ain’t seen you in what? Twenty years? Let me have you to myself for the night.”
His words caused butterflies to take flight in her stomach. Her mind flashed to her first kiss. Their first kiss. A silly smile came to her face as she blushed. “Fine. Text me your number so I can confirm the room once I book it.”
She stood and made sure to add a little extra bounce to her strut as she walked out of the section.
That childhood crush that gripped her all those years ago seemed to come crashing back, and she wasn’t sure what the hell to do with the grown-up version.
One thing she did know, she wasn’t about to let the opportunity to be in his presence again slip by her.
She was curious about what Boogie DeLuca had been up to all these years, and she knew he was just as curious about her.