Ten Tiny Breaths (9 page)

“Yeah, that’s what they tell me. But the
money’s too good and I’m putting myself through law school.” He
catches my raised brow and his grin widens. “Didn’t expect that,
did you?”

“You don’t give off lawyerly vibes.”

Ben turns his body and rests his elbows on
the bar so he faces out into the crowd while he talks to me. “So I
hear you just moved here?”

“Yep.” I busy myself with wiping the counter
down and stacking freshly washed glasses.

“You’re a big talker, aren’t you?”

“Us fully-dressed girls have to work extra
hard for our money.”

His head falls back to look at me. “Fair
enough. Listen—next time you’re at the gym and I’m there, come get
me. We can go a few rounds.” He saunters away, not waiting for my
response.

Oh, I’ll go a few rounds with you, but
probably not the kind your crotch brain is offering.
I follow
his movements, about to holler, “You got it, Lawyer Boy!” but the
words die on my lips.

Trent is sitting at a single top bar height
table.

And he’s not watching the naked pretzel on
the stage. He’s watching me.

Check that. Staring at me.

Trent is here and he’s staring at me.

“What the hell …” I grumble to no one in
particular, ducking my head. I can’t deal with him and what he does
to me now. Here. Tonight. Fuck!

I sense a form step up to the bar and I
cautiously look up. It’s Nate, thank God. He’s back from the cowboy
eviction already. “Is that guy bothering you, Kacey?”

I swallow. “Nah.”
Yes, but not for the
reasons you think
.

“You sure?” He pivots his massive body to
check the table. Trent’s still there, leaning his long body back
into his chair, sipping on his straw, his focus now on Cherry.
“He’s been there for half an hour. He’s been watching you.”

“He has?” I squeak and then quickly add in a
normal tone, “he’s my neighbor. It’s okay.”

Nate’s dark orbs wander the rest of the room,
looking for grabby guys that he can toss out the door, no doubt.
“You make sure you tell me if he bothers you, okay, Kacey?”

When I don’t answer, he looks down at me
again, that thunderous voice of his a little softer. “Okay?”

I nod. “Yup, you got it, Nate.”

With a curt bob of his head, he wanders back
to stand at his post like a sentry. One who could rip a guy’s legs
right out of their sockets if he sneezes too hard.

“What was that about?” Storm sneaks up behind
me.

“Oh, nothing.” My voice is still shaky and I
can’t get my tongue to work properly. I hazard another glance over
at Trent. He’s leaning into the table, toying with his straw, while
Mediterranean Barbie—Bella, I think she goes by—presses her
scantily clad body against his thigh. I watch as she gestures
toward the V.I.P. room, her hand slipping over the back of his neck
affectionately.

“You okay? You look like you’re trying to
choke someone.” She’s right, I realize, as I notice my fists
wringing the dish cloth in my hand like it’s a neck. It is
someone’s neck right about now. Bella’s …

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I toss the cloth down and
hazard one more peek at Trent, the same second his gorgeous blue
eyes dart back to touch mine. I jump. He gives me that teasing
smile that peels away my defenses, leaving me as naked as the
dancers on stage. Why does he affect me so? It’s unnerving!

“Uh, that’s not ‘nothing,’ Kacey. Are you
looking at that guy? Who is that?” She leans over my shoulder to
catch my line of sight. “Isn’t that—”

My hand goes up to gently shove her face
back. “Turnaround! Now he knows we’re talking about him.”

Storm doubles over, laughing. “Kacey’s got a
crush,” she sings. “Our neighbor’s eye-humping you. Go and talk to
him.”

“No!” I growl back, throwing my best set of
icy eye daggers at her.

She ducks her head and busies herself by
clearing glasses off the bar. I can tell she’s stung by the venom
in my tone. Guilt instantly swells inside me.
Dammit,
Storm!

I struggle to ignore Trent’s table, but it’s
like passing a train wreck. It’s impossible not to look. By the end
of the night, I’m exhausted and annoyed by the seismic waves of
jealousy crashing into me as the parade of strippers visit his
table, touching him, giggling, one of them sliding up onto his lap
to talk. My only relief comes from the fact that Trent politely
declines them all.

***

Reaching into her purse that sits between us
in the console, Storm tosses a thick envelope on my lap.

Without much thought, I tear it open and flip
through the bills. “Holy shit! There’s got to be, like …”

“I told you so!” She sings, adding with a
wink, “now imagine what you’d make if you got up on stage.”

There had to be five hundred dollars in here!
Easy! “You’ve been working at Penny’s for … four years you said?
Why are you still on Jackson Drive? You could have bought a
house!”

She sighs. “I was married for a year to Mia’s
father. I had to claim bankruptcy after I left him because he
racked up so much debt. No bank’s going to give me a mortgage
now.”

“He sounds like a real … jackhole.” I shift
in my seat, uncomfortable for more than the fact that we’re in her
Jeep. Storm is getting into her private life and my defenses
naturally go up. When people share, they expect you to
reciprocate.

“You don’t know the half of it,” she murmurs,
her voice drifting off. “It wasn’t so bad in the beginning. I was
sixteen when I met Damon. I got pregnant and he got into drugs. We
needed money bad so I started working for Cain after Mia was born.
Damon said I had to get these if I wanted to make any real money,”
she gestures at her breasts. “Of course I was stupid enough to
agree.” A rare spike of bitterness laces her words. “It hurt like
hell. That’s the only reason I haven’t gone back to get them
reduced. I swear, the thing girls will do when they’re blind to
love.”

“So when did you finally decide to leave
him?” I ask before I can stop myself.

“The second time he kicked the crap out of
me.”

She says it so matter of fact that I’m sure I
misheard her. “Oh … I’m sorry, Storm.” And I am. The idea of
someone hitting Storm instantly gets my hackles raised.

“The first time, I lied to everyone. Told
them I ran into a wall.” She snorts. “They didn’t buy it, but they
let me live in my little delusion. But the second time …” She
exhales heavily. “I came in to work with a fat lip and a bloody
nose. Cain and Nate drove me right back home and stood over me
while I packed Mia’s and my things. Damon came in as we were
walking out the door. Nate roughed him up a bit. Warned him if he
ever comes near me or Mia again, he’ll be peeing through a straw.
And you’ve seen Nate.” Storm gives me a wide-eyed look. “He can do
it.” She pulls into her parking spot outside our building and shuts
the Jeep off.

“Cain set me up with the apartment and I’ve
been here ever since, hoarding all my money until I have enough to
buy a house with cash. If all goes well, I’ll be out of the club
scene for good in another two or three years.” She adds softly,
“and my parents don’t have to be ashamed of me anymore.”

I snort. “Tell me about it. My parents would
be rolling in their graves if they knew where I’m working …” My
voice drifts off into an awkward silence, mentally chastising
myself for bringing them up.

“Hey, Kacey?” There’s that cautious, nervous
Storm voice again and my shoulders tense. I know exactly where this
is going. “Look, I’ve pieced together a few things—your parents are
dead, I think it has something to do with alcohol ... you have a
lot of scars. You don’t like people touching your hands …”

I don’t let her finish. I open the door and
rush out.

I decide that Storm is brilliant. A regular
fucking rocket scientist.

“Air conditioning!” I moan, peeling my sheets from
my sweaty body.
We need real friggin’ curtains
, I think to
myself, as I glare at the airy scraps hanging in front of the
window. They do nothing to stop the sun from beating in. We haven’t
had air conditioning since before my parents died. Aunt Darla
didn’t believe in paying for cool air when there are starving kids
in the world. Or husbands with gambling problems. Now that we live
in Miami, I don’t know how it’s not illegal.

Livie and Mia are in the kitchen, humming
‘pop goes the weasel’ as they empty a brown bags’ worth of
groceries. “Good afternoon!” Livie sings when she sees me.

“Good afternoon!” Mia echoes.

I check the clock. Almost one. They’re right.
It is afternoon. I haven’t slept in that late in forever.

“I picked up food. There’s money on the
counter there.” Livie’s chin directs me to a small pile of bills.
“I had to argue Storm down to half of what she wanted to pay
me.”

I smile. Storm swears she’s found her angels.
I’m sure that we’ve found ours. I need to cut my bullshit with her,
I decide, then and there. I don’t know how, but I need to.
Strolling over to grab the money from my purse, I slap the thick
envelope onto the table. “Bam! Take that!”

“Holy Sh …” Livie’s wide eyes pass from the
stack of money to Mia’s curious face “… shnikies! You just served
drinks … right?”

So Livie figured it out on her own
. I
cock my head and narrow my eyes, pausing for effect as if I'm in
deep thought. “Define serving drinks.” I chuckle as I pull out the
OJ from the fridge and chug straight from the bottle, feeling her
glower at my back. “I’m kidding! Yes, just drinks. And an ass
sandwich for one lucky grabber.” Mia’s brows spike and I wince,
mouthing “sorry” to a scowling Livie. It’s quickly forgotten though
as she flips through the wad of money with her thumb. “Holy
cow.”

“I know, right?” I know I have a stupid grin
on my face and I don’t care. This might work. We might survive. We
might not have to eat cat food.

Livie looks up with a secretive smile.

“What?”

She pauses, then, “Nothing I just … you’re
giddy.” She bites into a baby carrot. “It’s nice.”

Mia mimics her, scrunching her nose like a
rabbit as she chews. “It’s nice,” she parrots.

I steal one from the bag, smash a giant kiss
on Livie’s cheek, and then swagger toward the bathroom.

“I’ll be in the shower while you count all
our money. And remind me to phone Starbucks and quit, okay?”
There’s no way I’m going back to minimum wage. No way in Hell.

***

I don’t care that there’s no pressure. I
don’t care that the water has a funky chlorinated scent to it. I
simply close my eyes and massage a thick layer of shampoo into my
scalp, inhaling its rosy fragrance. For the first time since
stealing off into the night with Livie, I think I can do this. I
can take care of us. I’m old enough, strong enough, smart enough.
My issues won’t hold us back. Everything will be alright. We’ll
come out of it clean and strong and …

An odd soft rattling sound pulls me from my
revelry. Cracking a lid, I spot red, black, and white stripes
coiled around the pipe above the shower head. Two beady little eyes
stare intently at me.

It takes a whole second for me to scream.
Once I do, I can’t stop. Scrambling backward to slam against the
opposite wall, I don’t know how I manage to stay upright, but I do.
The snake doesn’t move. It sits in the exact same spot, shaking its
tail and staring at me. Like its deciding how it’ll fit its jaws
around my head to swallow me whole. I continue shrieking as I hear
Livie’s panicked voice behind the door, but it doesn’t register.
Her pounding doesn’t register.

Nothing registers.

Suddenly there’s a loud crack and sound of
wood splintering. “Kacey!” Livie shrieks as a set of strong arms
swoop in to pull me out. A towel quickly lands on me and I’m being
whisked out of the bathroom and into my bedroom.

“I hate snakes. I hate snakes. Fuck! I hate
snakes!” I repeat over and over again to no one and everyone. A
hand smooths my hair. Not until my heart rate slows to a
semi-normal range and I stop shaking am I able to focus on my
surroundings.

On Trent’s furrowed brow and the flecks of
turquoise in his irises.

I’m in his arms.

Naked and sitting on Trent’s lap, in his
arms.

My heart rate ramps back up to a dangerous
level as I appreciate this new situation. His shirt is soaked and
covered in my shampoo. I can feel the warm skin of his forearms
against my bare back and under my knees as he holds me tight to
him. All vital body parts are completely covered from view with a
towel, but I can’t be any more naked than I am at that moment.

Livie storms in, eyes blazing. “Who do you
think you are, barging in here?” she screams, her face as red as my
hair, looking ready to claw Trent’s face off.

“Trent. This is Trent.” I answer. “It’s okay,
Livie. There’s … there’s a rattlesnake in the shower.” I shudder
involuntarily. “Get Mia out of here before it eats her. And get
Tanner here. Now Livie!”

Livie’s attention passes from me to Trent and
back to me, drifting down to my bed. She doesn’t want to leave me,
I can see that. But finally she decides something and nods. She
closes the door behind her.

Trent pulls me tight against him until I feel
his chest’s hard ridges pressed against my arm. “You okay?” he
whispers, his mouth so close that his bottom lip grazes my ear. I
shudder again.

“I’m fantastic,” I whisper, adding, “aside
from almost dying.”

“I heard you screaming from next door. I
thought someone was killing you.”

“Not someone. Some
thing
! Did you see
it?” One arm flies out, gesturing toward the bathroom, while the
other fusses to keep my towel up to cover my breasts. “I was two
seconds away from behind eaten alive!”