Chapter 32 Aspen
Aspen
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - T.S. Eliot
Thursday night. Ladies’ night. The Forbidden Nightclub was crowded as usual.
After I splashed on a little makeup and slid on my favorite pair of tight pants with tall leather boots and dressy top, I strolled into the club, unable to stay away from my man.
Hugging the edges of the crowd, I kept close to the dark walls, wondering whether he’d be working tables or the bar this evening.
I scanned the tables first, until I spotted a server.
Noel’s roommate stood at one small table pulling some bills from his black waist apron to give a table full of girls their change.
I had a bad feeling I knew exactly where he’d gotten the black eye he’d been sporting all week, so I’d never asked Noel about it.
As Ten handed the change back, he leaned in to speak into the ear of one girl. But whatever he said must’ve been pretty offensive because her mouth dropped open right before she slapped him. He merely grinned, blew her a kiss, and sauntered off.
Shaking my head, I wondered how Noel had ever befriended such a character.
The next waiter I spotted happened to be another student of mine. Another football player too. He must’ve sensed my gaze because he glanced over as he passed, and nearly tripped over his feet. He gaped a second before stepping toward me.
“D...Dr. Kavanagh,” he greeted. Shit. My cover was blown. “Do you need a drink?”
“No, I—” I started before cutting myself off. Great, if I didn’t need a half-priced drink on ladies’ night then what possible reason did I have for being here? So I opened my mouth to order something—anything—when he nodded his head toward the back of the club. “Noel’s working the bar tonight.”
My jaw sagged. “I...excuse me?” I wrinkled my brow as if I was überly confused. Inside, my nervous system went haywire with panic.
But why in the hell would he automatically tell me where Noel was? He should not know I was here to see Noel.
As if realizing he’d just misspoken, his eyes grew big.
“I mean...” He coughed into his hand. I watched the wheels in his brain churn, trying to come up with a cover.
“I just meant...my friend, Noel, was at the bar...you know, in case you changed your mind and wanted to order anything. You could go up there, no problem, and order something from him...if you wanted...later on.”
He had to be the worst liar on the face of the planet. An instant sheen of sweat had already coated his face and his eyes darted as if begging me to believe him. But at least he seemed to know he was caught because he whirled away before I could answer and darted off into the crowd of people.
I stared after him, my heart pounding. He knew. He knew about Noel and me. My flight instincts kicked into gear. I wanted to race toward the door and keep running, because if this guy knew, then who else knew? Noel’s roommate knew. More were bound to find out.
I suddenly felt as if I was standing on a ticking time bomb. This was going to end badly. There seemed to be no way around it.
“Hey there, pretty lady?” a voice said to my right, startling me back to the present. “Can I get you a drink?”
I turned slowly, mechanically, to see another waiter approaching.
This one had a tattoo on the side of his neck, more running up and down both arms and too many piercings for me to count.
I looked at him but really didn’t see him.
The certainty of my impending doom weighed down on me, and I couldn’t breathe so well.
But the waiter merely grinned and snapped his finger as if he recognized me.
“You were here a few weeks back, flirting with Gamble, weren’t you?
He’s working the bar tonight.” Winding his arm around my waist, he applied the lightest pressure to the base of my spine and urged me forward as he accompanied me to the bar.
He wasn’t being pushy, but actually really considerate, so I knew I could back away and escape if I wanted to.
The bad part was, I did want to escape. I wasn’t sure if I could face Noel just then.
My mind was spinning and the object in my purse seemed to heat right through the leather and burn into the side of my leg.
But I let Noel’s coworker sweep me along anyway. He bent slightly to talk in my ear. “He’s a little crabby tonight, so maybe you can cheer him up for us, huh?”
I wanted to ask why Noel was crabby, but all too soon, there we were, at the bar.
“Yo, Gamble,” the man at my side called as he pulled out a barstool and offered me a hand to help me climb up and sit down.
Noel’s back was to us. He was busy mixing a drink, so he didn’t turn immediately.
I’d just settled my purse in my lap and straightened my spine on the stool when he finally glanced over.
His coworker leaned one arm on the bar and another loosely around my waist as he shouted over the noise. “Got some orders over here.”
Never taking his eyes off me, Noel carried his drink to the bar and set it on the countertop in front of the person who’d ordered it. And then he came directly to us.
“I need two beers from the tap, Corona in a bottle, and a fuzzy navel,” the tattooed waiter started.
Noel didn’t even give him the time of day. His lips twitched and his eyes brightened into a smile. Finally, he asked, “What’re you doing here?”
He looked too pleased to see me for me to start slinging questions about how many people knew about us.
Hell, I even forgot about what lay in my purse.
I was too thrilled to be in his company again.
Our secret stolen time together had been rare this week.
A few longing glances across the classroom was all we’d been able to manage.
My body flooded with awareness. I wanted to grab his tight black shirt and drag him to the nearest supply closet to reenact our first time together. From the way his eyes glittered, I had a feeling he was having similar thoughts.
“I came for a drink,” I managed to say.
His half smile turned into a full grin. With a wink, he leaned across the bar and in a husky voice said, “Then you came to the right place.”
“Hey.” His coworker tapped on the top of the bar between us. “Did you hear me, princess? I said I needed—”
“Heard ya,” Noel snapped, but he kept looking at me. Voice dropping again to address me, he said, “Be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
He returned with a whole batch of alcohol. “Two house beers, Corona, and a fuzzy navel,” he said, setting them in front of his friend. “And a Bud Light Lime for the lovely lady.” As he set my drink in front of me, he added with a wink, “On the house.”
I took a drink, relishing the way the cool liquid wet my dry throat. Noel stuck around to watch, his gaze dipping to my lips. Knowing how much he liked mouths, I drew my bottom lip in between my teeth and sucked a drop of beer off it.
He lifted his gaze. “Stay till closing,” he said, wording it as a half-question, half-demand. “I’m going home with you tonight.”
The futility of our situation flooded me again, but I nodded anyway. I just couldn’t keep away from him. And I didn’t want to.
So I remained until last call, and then I stuck around a little longer. By the time only a handful of customers remained, all four of Noel’s coworkers had curiously glanced my way, but none of them ever asked to me leave. I’m fairly certain they all knew exactly why I was here.
Though I’d been excited to spend time with him after he clocked off, I grew worried as I sat there.
Did everyone he worked with know about us?
We were being too obvious, weren’t we? God, how pathetic was this?
We knew each other inside and out, had shared more intimacies than I’d ever share with another living soul, and we had to sneak around and hide everything like a pair of pathetic teenagers.
This had to stop.
As if sensing my mood, Noel glanced over. His gaze seemed to see everything inside me, and he started forward just as someone else approached the bar. I could tell by the way his jaw bunched that he gritted his teeth in frustration as he glanced at the middle-aged woman who interrupted us.
“Sorry, ma’am,” he told her. “But we’re closed.”
“That’s okay,” she answered, slowly and methodically setting her hand on the bar. “I didn’t come for a drink.”
Warning bells screamed inside my head as I turned more fully toward her and took all of her in.
Something about her, from the neat, precise way she dressed to each and every calculated move she made, reminded me of my mother.
This woman was a cobra, and she was coiled tight, ready to strike her next victim.
When she turned to look directly at Noel’s coworker behind the bar, I had to turn and look too.
Mr. Lowe, who took World Masterpieces from me with his ever-cheerful, energetic girlfriend stood at the cash register, counting the drawer, with his back to us.
As if he sensed eyes on him—or maybe he’d heard the woman’s voice and recognized it—his hands froze in the pile of twenties.
A breath passed before he turned slowly and stared straight at the cobra.
Then he locked up tight as if she’d somehow immobilized him and trapped him in her sights.
The color drained from his face, and a handful of twenty-dollar bills fluttered from his limp hand, scattering the air as they drifted to the floor.
The look on his face was so familiar to me. I’d seen it too many times in the mirror after I’d been attacked by Zach. Every time I’d wondered to myself, why did this happen to me, why does the world hate me so much, what have I done to deserve this, I’d had that very same expression on my face.
Tossing him a conniving smile, the woman murmured, “Hello, Mason.”
Directly across the counter from me, I could actually feel Noel stiffen.
A glance at his face told me he could sense the unease between Mason and the woman just as thickly as I could.
His gaze darted between the two and he looked as if he wanted to jump in and defend his friend, but wasn’t sure how. ..or why.
After taking a large swallow, Mason finally opened his mouth. “Leave,” he said softly, except the steel behind that one word sent shivers through me. If I were the woman, I’d have been gone, see you later, bye-bye now.
But she merely smiled as if his hard command amused her. Then she gave away her tell when she blinked, fluttering her eyelashes rapidly. He’d managed to make her nervous.
“I need to talk to you, darling.”
Mason’s face went from white to green so fast I thought he might vomit all over the floor. “Not interested,” he said and bent down to gather the fallen bills, his hands shaking enough to make him fumble.
Growing impatient with him, the woman leaned over the counter. “Don’t you want to know what I have to say? I came all this way just to see you.”
“I don’t care what you have to say,” he growled, still scrambling to collect all the cash he’d dropped. “I just want you gone. Forever.”
She narrowed her eyes and ground her teeth. She didn’t like being ignored...just like my mother.
Noel bent down and helped Mason pick up the money. I couldn’t hear what he said, but he murmured something, and Mason nodded his head in return. About as soon as he did, Noel bobbed back upright, straightening and spinning to send the woman a pleasant smile.
“So, like I said,” he started again, “the bar’s closed. If you could leave now—”
“I’m not leaving until I talk to Mason.”
Noel’s smile fell and his jaw bulged again. “Well, he doesn’t want to talk to you, so...get lost.”
She glared, a sound of repugnance hissing from her nostrils before she turned back to watch Mason stand and ease the twenties back into the cash drawer.
“He doesn’t know what you are, does he?” she called past Noel’s shoulder.
“I doubt anyone in this room knows what you’ve done.
” She turned to glance at all the other guys who’d worked ladies’ night.
They were the only people left now. She and I were the last two remaining customers.
All the boys who’d played waiter and were wandering around the floor, picking up trash and sweeping, paused what they were doing, their attention on her.
Having gained her audience, the evil woman laughed and turned back to Mason. “I bet they’d be very interested to know how you used to make your money.”
Mason slapped the cash register closed, making me jump. He whirled around to glare daggers at his visitor. “What the fuck do you want?”
Pleasure bloomed across her face. In a mellow voice, she murmured, “I told you; I need to talk to you.”
“Then say whatever you’re dying to tell me and go away,” he growled. “And never come back again.”
She glanced at Noel and then me before tactfully licking her lips. “I think you’d rather hear this in private.”
He laughed, hard and short. “So not happening.”
“Fine.” She tossed her hair and gave a brittle smile. “Since you’re forcing me to speak out among your friends, then I will. I’m pregnant. And you’re the father.” She took a step back from the bar and untied the sash on her coat to let it fall open, revealing the bulging waistline under her blouse.