The Decent Proposal (Trust In Me) (4 page)

Six

After finishing up breakfast at his favorite
diner, Rob got in his car and pulled out his phone, opening up his contact
list. He still had a little time to kill before he was expected at the office,
so when he found her name, he decided to send her a text:

Got your
message last night. You working today?

While waiting for her to respond, he dialed his
dad’s number. His mother hadn’t been feeling well, and he wanted to check in on
her. Something wasn’t right. He could just feel it. But it wasn’t like his
parents to keep secrets from him. Usually it was the other way around. They
would ask how he was doing, and he would tell them he was fine, no he wasn’t
stressed, yes he is staying busy, all the usual one-liners that most people
perfect after years of being suffocated by overly concerned parents. Anyway, if
something was bad wrong with his mom, pops would probably spill, but they were
getting older, and there was no denying that people handle the process of aging
and approaching death in different ways.

Mr. and Mrs. Goings were no June and Ward
Cleaver, but they were always very loving and supportive parents, to Rob at
least. As a child, he engaged in the usual boy activities: little league,
soccer, summer camps, and fishing. His dad would take him to practice while his
mom stayed home to cook traditional southern meals like chicken and stew,
cornbread and biscuits, and green beans and corn on the cob. Mrs. Goings grew
up in South Carolina before her father had gotten a job in Arizona when she was
seventeen, and she would spend all day in the kitchen just like her mother had.
She knew of no other way to live. Not one person in the Goings house ever went
to bed hungry, whether a guest or a resident. Okay, so maybe they were a little
like the Cleavers, but they certainly had their fair share of problems, too.

As a little girl, Rob’s sister—who was
twelve years his junior—was usually off in her room listening to music
and playing with dolls, until she got older and began sneaking out of her
window to meet boys and drink beer with her friends. This caused a lot of
friction between their parents. His dad wanted to send her to a disciplinary
boot camp for girls, but Mrs. Goings thought it too extreme.

“She just needs her father to spend more time
with her. Why don’t you take her to the movies or skating, something!” his mom
would say.

“She doesn’t give a rat’s patootie about
spending time with me. What she needs is a swift kick in the butt!” Mr. Goings
would answer. By the time they were done arguing about it, which consisted of two
or three sternly spoken sentences, his sister would be in her bedroom with the
headphones on, either cleaning up or working on homework. It was as though she
got off on the power she had in getting her parents to fight over her. Due to
the dynamics of the relationships, Rob always knew his parents favored him over
his sister. Parents weren’t supposed to have favorites, but apparently they
didn’t get the memo. They never pushed her to go to college the way they did
him. They didn’t even act surprised when she came home and announced at the
ripe age of eighteen that she was moving in with her boyfriend, Matt. The young
couple married two months later in a private ceremony by the local County
Clerk.

The honeymoon proved to be short lived, however.
Within six months of the wedding, Rob got a call from his sister in the middle
of the night. Matt had beaten her up pretty badly before taking off, leaving
her all alone. After almost twenty-four hours of waiting at home in fear, she
broke down and called her brother. The pain had become unbearable. When Rob
went to pick her up, her face was so swollen that he rushed her straight to the
hospital. She had two broken ribs, multiple contusions and abrasions, and a
bruised kidney. But the worst part was, prior to this incident, she was four
months pregnant. She lost the baby. Something inside of her broke, and Rob sat
with her for hours as she lay in the hospital bed crying. After that, she was
never quite the same.

She swore Rob to secrecy as she was ashamed and
feared their parents would go into their usual rant of ‘I told you so! Why
don’t you ever listen to us?’ She just didn’t want to deal with it. Rob went
into his usual protective mode and had been taking care of her off and on ever
since.

When he didn’t get an answer from his dad, he
tossed his phone aside seconds before it began buzzing. Alyssa was responding
to his text.

I’ll be
here til 2! I got fucked with my schedule today. U stopping by?

He immediately regretted texting her and considered
not replying but figured he might as well go and see her now. If he waited
until another day, he’d probably have to fight the evening crowd on top of the
loud music. And going to her apartment wasn’t really an option as she was
hardly ever there. When she was, she was usually partying with her friends
anyway. Rob exhaled loudly and texted her back:

I’ll be
there in five.

During the day, the flashing neon lights weren’t
as bright, but most people could put two and two together and know that the
picture of a pussycat below the
Girls!
Girls! Girls!
sign meant that they could come in and be entertained twenty
four, seven. At night, those bright lights attracted all kinds of interesting
people, sucking them into the dark recesses of the strip joint where Alyssa
worked. As he walked into the club, the thick wad of money in his pants pocket
pushed against his upper thigh.

Every time he came to this place it appeared
unchanged—same dimly lit room, same beer stench, same tables. The only
thing that changed were the hordes of men and women who filtered in and out on
a daily basis, and even they changed in some way from the time they arrived.

The girl dancing on stage had short, red hair
and unusually small breasts—more like tiny bumps with nipples—that
made her look freakishly masculine. She was lean and muscular, and Rob
suspected that her boobs might be bigger if she didn’t work out so much. As she
grasped the pole in front of her, she stared at the floor as if someone was
watching from below. The straps of a bright purple thong hugged her hips as she
slowly swirled them round and round. Two men sat in front of her, hypnotized by
her gyrating ass, grins planted firmly on their faces. When Rob pulled his eyes
away from the dancer, he was met with a familiar stare.

“Hey Roberto! Haven’t seen you in a while, you
must be busy these days.” The cute, blonde bartender was the only one there who
didn’t act like a fool every time he came in. On an impulse, he had asked her
out shortly after his last relationship ended. But she turned him down,
explaining that she was involved with someone.

“Yeah, work and then more work. You know how it
is,” he replied.

“Oh my God!” Rob heard Alyssa’s familiar voice.
“I’m so glad you stopped in! Are you not working today?” Her arms flew around
Rob’s neck, squeezing him tightly.

“Of course I’m working… and… can you put on a
shirt or something?”

Blondie tossed a bikini top from behind the bar,
and Alyssa threw it over her head and fastened it in place. “Sorry, just got
done doing a lap dance. Hey, you want to come to the back?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“If my boss sees you giving me money,” Alyssa
whispered, “I’ll catch some heat. He’s a fucking douchebag sometimes.”

“No problem.”

They slipped inside a dark hall that led to
several rooms as Rob pulled the cash out of his pocket.

“Look Liss, you know I love you and I’ll always
be here for you, but you really need to watch your finances. I can’t keep
giving you money like this all the time.”

“I know, I know. I’ll pay you back, every penny.
Like I said—”

“You don’t have to pay me back, Liss. That’s not
the point. Why don’t you look at one of the community colleges around here? My
offer still stands. I’ll pay for your education if you promise to finish.
You’re smart, you could get that nursing degree you used to talk about—”

“I know, it’s a scheduling thing. My shift here
is constantly changing. How can I register for classes when I don’t know from
week to week when I’m going to be working?”

Rob rubbed his forehead. He sympathized with
everything that she had been through, but it seemed to always be the same with
her, making excuses as to why she can’t do this or won’t do that.

“Alright then, maybe it’s time to give serious
consideration to working somewhere else. This isn’t the Taj Majal, you know? No
benefits, crazy hours, not to mention the countless men that you have to grind
up against just to make a few bucks. You’re selling yourself short, and you
know it.”
           
Alyssa
stroked his cheek. “You’re amazing. Look, I’ll do my best, okay? But I’m not
making any promises.”
      

“Just think about it.”

Alyssa tucked the money Rob gave her into her
bikini top. “Thanks a lot for the cash. Don’t think for one second I don’t
appreciate the hell out of you doing this. And I’m almost caught up on
everything, too. Listen, I better go and put this somewhere safe.” She tapped
her breast.

“Alright. By the way, have you talked to mom and
dad lately?” Rob asked.

“No. The last time we talked I hit dad up and he
got pissed. Why? Is something wrong?”

“Huh, I hope not. I don’t think mom’s been
feeling well. Just wondered if you knew anything.”

“Nope.” Alyssa’s short reply wasn’t unexpected. Because
her relationship with their parents had always been so strained, anytime there
was a problem she immediately distanced herself.

“Alright, I’m out of here.” Rob turned to leave.
“Don’t catch the herp!”

“Uh-huh, love you too, big brother.” Rob got
halfway down the hall before Alyssa stopped him. “Hey, Rob?”

“Yeah?”

“You’ll let me know if you learn anything about
mom, right?”

“Sure,” Rob replied. Before turning the corner, one
of the other dancers came flying through, almost slamming him in the chest.

“Oh!” she cried. “My God, look at you! Gorgeous
as ever. Where have you been stranger?” Kerry pushed herself up against him and
wrapped her arms around his waist. Her face was sallow like a corpse. She
looked like she hadn’t slept in a week.

“Hey Kerry. I’m late for work, sorry. Got to run.”
Rob gently brushed her aside before catching a faint glimpse of her pouty lips.

“Aww… when you going to let me give you that lap
dance?”

“Some other time, okay?” Rob winked at her and
walked out of the club as fast as he could. For the first time in weeks, he
couldn’t wait to get to work.

* * * * *

Ana left the financial aid office feeling no
better than when she first opened their letter. The school had lost the funding
for her particular scholarship. She could apply for others, but the competition
among them was so fierce it was unlikely that she would be approved. Applying
for a grant was another option, but most of those would barely cover the cost
of her books. It seemed hopeless. Best-case scenario, she would have to take a
semester or two off and try to save up enough money for several classes at a
time. Worst-case, she would have to transfer to a community college or drop out
altogether. What the hell was she thinking, enrolling in one of the top five
most expensive public universities in the state?

Over the course of the next few days, she
coasted on autopilot through her work schedule and classes, mulling over her
options. On Tuesday afternoon, she got a call from Rob.

“Hey,” he said. “You answered fast! It didn’t
even ring on my end.”

“I was just sending a text to Beth when the call
came through,” Ana lied.

“Oh, are you busy?”

“Not yet. Getting ready to head to work, though.
What’s up?” Ana tried to sound casual.

“I was just passing through the area to drop off
some documents for one of my account managers.” Rob voice was light and happy.
Maybe he was going to ask her to meet up somewhere.

“Oh? How long you going to be in the
neighborhood?” She could always grab a coffee with him and go in a little late.

“Not long. I thought we could meet for lunch,
but since you have to work, that’s out I suppose.” Rob said.

“Maybe another day?” Damn work! She should just
call out sick and be done with it. But then Rob would think she was a slacker,
which she most certainly was not.

“Or how about tonight?” Rob suggested. “I’m
thinking about a nice, quiet dinner. Maybe you know a good place out your way?”

She sure did. “How’s my apartment? I love to
cook if you’re up for it?”

“Really? I don’t want to put you out.”

“That’s very considerate, but believe me, you’re
not putting me out. I cook every day. Any requests?”

“Nope, I’m pretty easy to please. Are you sure
it’s alright? Can I at least bring some dessert?”

“Dessert is a necessity. How does eight o’clock
sound?”

“Perfect! See you then,” Rob answered.

Ana hung up and walked to her car with a grin
across her face the size of Texas. With her inability to make a decision about
school and taking on more work, she could really use the distraction from a man
who didn’t have to work very hard to get her attention. Scratch that. She
needed the distraction from a hot and sexy, powerful business executive who had
full permission to snatch her up, rip her panties off, and make her feel like
the woman she was.