Midnight Ballerina (21 page)

The last girl I took out on a date was Tara and she was pretty easy to please, well most of the time. I think she just tried to go along with whatever I wanted, figuring she could win me over that way or something. She would always be like a sister in my eyes though, and I don’t know why I took her out and got her hopes up. If she and Mamaw had their way, we would be married in six months with a baby on the way.

I pulled into my driveway, groaning when I saw the place was lit up, meaning that Mamaw was still here. Normally, I didn’t mind, but I knew she would be giving me the third degree about where I was and who I took all of that food to. Earlier, I slipped out pretty easily since I had Luke and Tanner to distract her. With the news of Luke moving back, she probably wouldn’t have noticed me if my hair was set on fire.

I was glad that Luke was moving back and even happier that he would be my new manager at Pure. I could even possibly talk to him about becoming part owner, that way I had less responsibilities and more time to do other things, like spending time with Monroe.
Yeah, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, buddy.

“Oh good, Miller. You’re back.” Mamaw flipped off the water to the sink, wiping her hands off on her apron before smacking a kiss on my cheek. “Luke here tells me you were off seeing a girl. Mind sharing with me who that girl is and when exactly I’m going to meet her?”

I glared at Luke who just happened to shove a brownie in his mouth at the same time. I was going to get him for that one later.

“Um…her name’s Monroe and she’s a student over at the University. She didn’t end up going home for the holiday, so I took her some food over.”

“Oh, well that’s awfully nice of you. Glad to see I raised such a thoughtful boy, but you failed to mention when I was going to meet her. And what about Tara?”

And there it was. The one question I knew would be coming out of her mouth. I was surprised it wasn’t the first one, actually.

“Mamaw, you know nothing is going on between Tara and me.” I even had a discussion with her when she showed up earlier to help Mamaw with the food, telling her that I didn’t think it was a good idea if we went out again, and she seemed okay with it. Apparently, Mamaw wasn’t though.

“Miller, Tara is such a good girl. I just don’t understand why you can’t see that.”

“She is a good girl,” I agreed, even though she tended to get on my nerves often.

My grandparents had five children, three boys and two girls. My ma had been a failure when it came to being a daughter and Luke’s mom, my Aunt Trina, who I had never met, was killed in a car accident along with her husband when Luke was just a baby. So Tara was really like a daughter to Mamaw and I was glad that she had a girl around and not just all of us boys to deal with.

“But she’s not the girl for me.”

Mamaw frowned deeply before shaking her head, patting Luke on the back as she moved to sit down next to him. “And you think that this girl you went to see tonight is?”

"I don’t know, but it’s a possibility.”

“Hmm…well, you still haven’t answered me on when I’m going to meet her then.”

“And I’m not going to,” I called over my shoulder as I jogged up the stairs to my bedroom, laughing when I heard her sigh loudly and mutter something to Luke. I would leave him to deal with her because he didn’t have to do it as often. There was another plus of Luke moving back, maybe she would start nosing around his love life.

That would be interesting to witness.

I STARTED MY day early, wanting to get everything planned out for Monroe, but other than the horseback ride, I wasn’t sure what to do.

“What in the hell are you doing up so early? Don’t you know how to sleep in?” Luke asked, rubbing his eyes. He was laid out on the couch, covered up with a blanket.

“What in the hell are you doing on the couch? I have enough bedrooms for you to choose from.”

“Mamaw and I were up talking late after you dodged her questions. So, thanks for that, buddy. You took off, so she decided she needed to nose around in my life.”

I laughed. “I wish I could say I’m sorry about that but I’m not. Want me to cook some eggs to make it up to you?”

Both eyebrows raised and he sat up, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Since when do you know how to cook? I might get food poisoning or something.”

“I know how to cook some damn eggs, any dumbass does.”

I turned on the coffeemaker and pulled out a frying pan before grabbing some eggs and cheese from the fridge. Luke moved from the couch to one of the stools at the kitchen island and I pushed a cup of coffee toward him as soon as it was finished. “You look like you could use that. You don’t need to stay up, you can go back to sleep in one of the extra bedrooms.”

“I think I’ll stay up for a little bit longer.” He blew on the coffee before taking a cautious sip. “Because Mamaw’s not around, so now I need to know about this girl. What’s she like? Are you two dating? When do
I
get to meet her?”

I forgot what having Luke around was like. He wasn’t like Tanner. He
liked
to talk about my love life. In detail. Sometimes, he was almost worse than Mamaw. But the one good thing about talking to Luke was that I wouldn’t have Tara brought up constantly as another possibility.

“I met her at the club. She actually spilled a drink in my lap the first night I met her.”

“Really?” Luke gave me a look of disbelief. “Isn’t that like the oldest trick in the book?”

“Trust me, that’s just Monroe. It was completely on accident.”

“Well, I guess I’ll trust you then since you don’t let just anyone in. So, when am I going to meet her?” he asked again.

“I’m going to pick her up in a little bit and we’re going to spend the day together before I head into Pure.”

“Oh really? So is this a date? What do you have planned?”

I told him about the horseback riding idea and Luke looked disgusted by it. He’d never been into that growing up, explaining to us every time that he’d rather ride in a car and that he didn’t see it as fun. I think he was just scared of the horses and didn’t want to admit it.

“And that’s it? Well, good thing I’m here. I’ll help you plan the best first date ever.”

I rolled my eyes at him as I set down our plates of eggs, but I was secretly happy he offered to help. “All right then, plan away.”

I REACHED FOR my phone as soon as I got out of the shower, answering when I saw it was Amelia, probably calling to question me about everything that went down with Miller last night. I was surprised she hadn’t tried to call me earlier.

“Monroe Hartley!” she screeched through the phone and I moved it away to rub my ear. I think she damaged my eardrum, especially so early in the morning.

“Yes, Amelia. It’s me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a stripper?” She gasped after saying the word stripper and I dropped the phone in shock, pinching myself as I picked it back up to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

“What…what are you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t play stupid with me. I met your boss last night!”

“Okay and….” I played with the towel that was wrapped around me and then realized the time when I glanced at my phone and took off for my room, needing to figure out what I was going to wear.

“And? Really, Monroe? I know who Miller Buchanan is. I mean, I’ve never met him before, but I’ve definitely heard his name around these parts. I think he’s actually working for my parents on some big deal, which is a shock really, because whenever his name is mentioned, my mom has to make a comment about his dirty money. Daddy was intent on working with him, though, says he’s the best up and comer in the business.”

“Well, I’m working at his construction business so I don’t know—”

“Then you literally just started that job because if you were working there, it would be during the day. Not the ridiculous late night hours that you work all the time, so don’t lie to me. I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t tell me the truth. I promise, I wouldn’t have judged you, but when I suggested working as a stripper, it was only a joke. I didn’t think you would take me seriously.”

I sighed loudly, deciding just to tell her the truth. She pretty much had it figured out anyway. “I took it as a joke, Amelia, but then my bills started to pile up a little bit and I panicked. I only worked there as a cocktail waitress, I swear.” My two minutes on stage didn’t count.

“I wish you would’ve just asked for help,” she quietly answered. “But I know that’s not you. You’re so stubborn.”

“Oh, whatever. I really am working at Miller’s office now, though. Well, I start Monday. I don’t work at the club anymore.”

“Do you think you’re going to be able to handle that?”

“Um…yeah. I’m sure it won’t be too hard, a little bit of computer work and answering phones. It’ll probably be the easiest job I’ve ever had. I won’t be on my feet the whole time.”

“That’s not what I meant. Are you going to be able to work that closely with Miller? The fact that he owns a strip club, makes him a little scary.”

“What?” I almost dropped my phone again and then began laughing. “You’re kidding, right? Miller’s scary? You do remember dating Dr. Doom, or whatever his name was, right?”

“Monroe, you know I only did that to piss my mom off. And
Eric
was perfectly nice. You just had to look past the thirty tattoos, black clothes, and fourteen piercings.”

Only Amelia would remember the exact number of everything on his body when she only dated the guy for about a month, and I knew all along it was just to make her mom mad. “Wait, I thought I only remembered counting thirteen.” I had been a little wary when I first met him and he kept talking about weird things to Amelia, which she completely paid attention to, but I always just got lost in space. So I ended up counting his piercings to pass the time. “So where was number fourteen exactly?”

“Roe, I’m not telling you that!”

“Oh my…you little slut. You didn’t tell me you ever had sex with him!”

“So anyway.” She changed the subject quickly, but I was so going to bring it back up the next time I saw her. “What’s going on between you and Miller then? I know he’s your boss, but bosses don’t just show up on your doorstep with food. Especially on a holiday. Spill it.”

I told her all about my night and even filled her in on the kissing details, which of course she was thrilled about and pressed me for more, convinced that things had gone further. I wished there was more to tell but if Miller wanted to take things slow, then I guess I was okay with that. I didn’t even know if we were really dating or how exactly to label what we had going on. I told Amelia what his plans were for today and she helped me decide what to wear.

“You better call me as soon as you get back,” she demanded. I finished sliding on a pair of dark brown, knee- high boots that Amelia suggested, and checked my reflection in the mirror. I looked casual in a pair of jeans but sexified it up a bit with a tight, emerald green tank top that accentuated my assets nicely, and I threw a denim jacket on since I knew it would be a little chilly out. Well, not for me really. I know people around here thought it was winter out and most of them bundled up, but not me. This was the perfect weather in my eyes.