Crossing the Line (The Baltimore Banners Book 1) (10 page)

     She opened the door and stepped out, then turned and leaned into the car to stare at him. "I'm going inside." She straightened and closed the door then took a few steps across the parking lot, not surprised when Alec rushed up to her side and actually tried to stop her by stepping in front of her and walking backwards.

     "AJ, you can't go in there. It's...it wouldn't be right."

     She stopped a few feet from the door, hearing the bass of the pulsing beat of the music. "Why wouldn't it be right?"

     "Uh...because it's a strip club and—"

     "But it's okay for you guys?"

     "Um..."

     "No, this will be fun. C'mon." AJ pushed around him, trying not to smile at the look of surprise and chagrin on his face. She pulled open the door and felt the music wash over her, drowning out whatever Alec had been trying to say.

     The small lobby was relatively well-lit, showing a glass counter of merchandise with assorted shirts and posters displayed on the wall behind it. A young blonde wearing what AJ thought was supposed to pass for a bikini was leaning across the counter, talking to one of the two bouncers. The second bouncer was standing in front of a doorway that was framed by a metal detector, a scowl on his dark face, beefy arms crossed in front of his massive chest. A gold hoop earring hung from his left ear, and his dark bald head sported some kind of tribal tattoo across the side. He looked like the kind of man that any sane person would run away from.

     "Leon!"

     "Oh my God, it's little Amber!" The big man stepped toward her then leaned down to wrap her in a tight bear hug. He swung her around, planting a kiss on the top of her head before setting her back on her feet. "What are you doing here, girl? You gonna finally get up on that stage for us?"

     AJ stepped back, shaking her head and laughing. She couldn't see Alec behind her, but she was pretty sure he was frozen in place, probably with his mouth hanging open and a scowl on his face. "Oh no. Not me. I'm here with a friend, who's meeting some more friends."

     Leon looked over her shoulder and scowled as Alec finally came to a stop next to her. She rolled her eyes as the two did that whole male sizing-up thing. "This here your friend, little Amber? Now you tell me, what kind of man brings a date to a strip club?"

     AJ stepped toward Alec, stopping him from saying anything as she placed her hand on Leon's chest. "He's not my date, Leon. He plays hockey for the Banners, and I'm doing a story on him."

     "Yeah? No shit. Well, there's more of them hockey players in the back." Leon stepped back and eyed Alec up, then dismissed him with a slight shake of his head and turned his attention back to AJ, a broad smile splitting his dark face and twinkling in his eyes. "You better go say hi to Tawny before you leave or she'll be upset."

     "I will. Hey, how's Scott doing?"

     "He's doing great. He just got promoted from running that store at the aquarium, and now he's the regional director—oversees all the stores from DC up to New York."

     "That's great! Tell him I said hi, will you?" She gave Leon another big hug then grabbed Alec's arm and pulled him through the doorway and into the club area. The music was loud, but the crowd wasn't especially heavy so it was easy to move around the floor. AJ stood on her toes and looked around, then led Alec around the stage and toward the back corner, refusing to look back at him. Considering how bad he was dragging his feet and trying to pull her in the opposite direction, she could only imagine what would happen if she stopped to face him.

     She waved to a few of the dancers on the floor that she recognized, but kept making her way to the corner. Alec finally escaped her hold on him and grabbed her hand, yanking her to a stop and turning her around, stepping close so he could lean over and talk to her. She at least gave him credit for keeping a blank look on his face. Either that, or he was still in a state of shock and didn't know what to think.

     "Who is Scott?"

     "What?" Of all the questions she had been expecting, that wasn't one of them. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, and leaned forward to talk in his ear. "Scott is Leon's boyfriend. They've been together for something like ten years."

     Alec swung his head around, looking back toward the door. "No way. Really? Hunh." He turned back, his hand tightening on her arm when she went to move away. "Oh no. No you don't. Not until you tell me...I mean, how do you know...did you use to...?"

     That was one of the questions she had been expecting. At least, part of one of the questions, since Alec seemed to have trouble finishing the sentence. Part of her was sorely tempted to play it up, to tell him yes, she had been a dancer and that yes, she used to work here, just to see what his reaction would be. But he seemed so shell-shocked as it was that she didn't want to take a chance and send him over the edge.

     "No Alec, I've never worked here. I did a freelance piece on some of the girls last year." She gently pried her arm free of his loose hold and turned away, not sure what to make of the relieved expression that crossed his face. He caught up to her and took the lead just as they approached the alcove where half a dozen of his teammates were gathered. Some of the players—those who didn't have their eyes glued to the stage—greeted Alec, then stared in surprise when they noticed her standing just behind him.

     AJ pursed her lips and looked around in feigned innocence, waiting to see how Alec would handle her introduction and explain her appearance here. He still looked as shocked as he had when they first arrived—even more so. And she still couldn't figure out why he thought bringing her here had been a good idea. Although, judging from his reaction in the parking lot, he really
hadn't
realized exactly where he was bringing her. And if it had been any other club, she would have never stepped foot inside.

     The lack of conversation finally caught her attention, and she turned to find several sets of eyes focused on her. The looks ranged from speculative to wary to intrigued. She smiled at the two players she actually knew—Ian Donovan and Randy Michaels—but the others were barely more than familiar faces. Yeah, she knew who they were, but she hadn't really had any interaction with them.

     "You seriously brought your girlfriend here?" Jean-Pierre Larocque asked in his slight French-Canadian accent. He tipped a beer bottle back and drank deeply as his gaze roamed over her with an appreciative gleam. He was slouched down on the bench seat, his lean legs stretched out before him, a dark red polo pulled tight across his broad chest.

     AJ crossed her arms and stared back with an unimpressed look on her face. Jean-Pierre was another one of the hockey team's attractive players, but he was too cocky. He offered her a half-smile then turned to Alec. "That is so wrong, Kolchak. No wonder you never go anywhere with us."

     "She's not my girlfriend, Larocque. And stop staring, it's disrespectful." This time it was AJ's turn to swing a surprised gaze in Alec's direction. He was actually telling someone to stop staring? When had he ever noticed before? He wouldn't meet her gaze. In fact, his gaze wasn't resting in any one spot, just shot from place to place every few seconds.

     Everywhere except on her. And the stage.

     She almost started laughing when she realized it. Alec was embarrassed! Embarrassed from either being in a strip club or from bringing her to a strip club. Or both. Probably both. She was getting ready to say something when she heard a squeal and felt thin arms wrap around her from behind.

     "Amber, sweetie! Leon said you were here."

     AJ turned, smiling as Tawny jumped up and down, her ample bare breasts barely jiggling with the movement. Tawny squealed again and gave her another big hug then stepped back, clasped AJ's face in both hands, and planted a loud kiss on her lips.

     Stunned silence echoed from the seven men behind her. A split second later AJ heard a bottle fall to the floor with a muted splash, and she turned to see seven sets of eyes glued on the two of them. She looked down at Jean-Pierre, at the now empty hand he still held in front of him, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he just dropped his beer.

     AJ and Tawny shared a knowing look and rolled their eyes simultaneously. Jean-Pierre blinked at them, shifted in his seat, then looked at Alec, who was still staring in mute shock.

     "Since she's not your girlfriend, I'll take her."

     The words triggered something in Alec and he snapped out of his daze. "Go to hell Larocque. AJ, we're leaving." He grabbed her hand and tugged, pulling her away from Tawny, away from his teammates. She dug her heels in to stop him but it was no good. AJ looked over her shoulder and saw Tawny waving good-bye, a twinkle in her eye as she made a 'call me' motion then turned her attention to the cocky French-Canadian.

     AJ said good-bye to Leon in much the same way as Alec rushed her out of the club and to his car. He opened the door for her, giving her barely enough time to get situated before closing it and climbing in on the other side. She turned to look at him, surprised to see his jaw clenched and his brows lowered in a scowl. His hands were fisted around the steering wheel as he pulled out of the parking lot, and he refused to look at her.

     "Alec—"

     "AJ, please." He turned to glance at her, and she was taken aback at the steely look in his eyes. "Don't say anything. Not a word. Please. Just...don't say anything."

     AJ clamped her mouth shut and faced straight ahead, wondering what it was she had done to upset him this time.

**

     Alec unlocked the door to the condo and opened it as AJ pushed past him, not even looking at him. He gritted his teeth at the physical contact but said nothing, just closed the door behind him and tossed his keys on the hall table before following her into the living room.

     She kept going, turning through the formal dining room into the kitchen. He heard the refrigerator open and close, then her footsteps as she retraced her path into the living room, a large can of iced tea in her hand. She carefully stepped around him, not touching him, not even looking at him.

     "AJ—"

     "Good night, Alec." She kept going, heading for the stairs, her foot touching the first one before Alec moved after her, grabbing her arm to stop her from walking away. She turned and finally looked at him, an expression of impatience written clearly on her face. Impatience, and something that looked like disappointment. Alec dropped her arm but didn't move away, just looked down at her, trying to figure out what to say.

     The night had not gone even remotely close to how he had expected, not that he had known what to expect. All he wanted was for them to go out and have fun and get over the awkward distance that had developed between them the last couple of days. To get back to the light bantering relationship they had.

     Yeah, and taking her to a strip club was the perfect choice. Christ, he still couldn't believe he had done that. He hadn't been thinking, hadn't even realized that it was a strip club at first because he had been so distracted just by having her sitting next to him.

     But she had taken it in stride and even surprised him by going in. It didn't matter that she had obviously been there before, and that she knew people there. Although yeah, that had surprised him even more, but not for long.

     But even after that shock, he had stupidly thought there was still a chance for them to just kind of hang out and have fun.

     Until that asshole Jean-Pierre Larocque—who Alec actually used to like before tonight—had opened his mouth. Irritation had swiftly taken over Alec when he had caught Jean-Pierre blatantly ogling AJ. He had been ready to leave right then and there.

     And then the stripper had come over and rubbed against AJ, had actually kissed her and...shit, there was no doubt in Alec's mind that every single one of his teammates had an instant hard-on at the sight. And
that
infuriated him, knowing exactly what was going through their minds as they stared at AJ. They had absolutely no right to stare at her like that, to think what they were thinking about her.

     And he knew exactly what they were thinking, because the same thoughts had raced through his mind. Which was bad enough because—

     "Alec! Do you want something or are you just going to stand there giving me dirty looks all night?"

     He shook his head and realized he had been staring at AJ, though he didn't think he was giving her dirty looks. What was it she asked? Did he want something? If she only knew...

     He stepped forward and grabbed her, pulling her toward him and dropping his mouth to hers so fast that she stumbled against him. It took less than a second for him to realize that the move was one of the stupidest he had ever made, and he stepped back, aided by AJ pushing against his chest with her free hand.

     "Shit, shit. I'm sorry. God, that was so stupid." Alec ran his hands through his hair and down across his face, almost afraid to look at AJ. She was staring at him with one eyebrow raised, a look of disbelief etched across her features.

     "Yeah, I get it. Typical male reaction. See two girls together and
boing
! Whatever. Good night Kolchak."

     "Wait!" He reached for her again before she could turn around, but wisely stopped before touching her. "Is that what you think this is about? A quick fuck because of what happened back there? Christ, AJ. Is that what you really think of me?"

     "So, what are you saying? You and your buddies didn't get turned on back there? It didn't effect you at all?"

     "No! Trust me, I know exactly what was going through everyone's minds and it pisses me off. And I'd be lying if I said it didn't have a certain...effect...on me, which pisses me off even more. But that's not what this is about, AJ."

     "Really? Then what is this about?" She crossed her arms in front of her, the can of tea dangling from one hand, and leaned one shoulder against the wall. It was the perfect picture of casual disbelief and impatience and Alec gritted his teeth, trying to figure out what he wanted to say.