Wash (28 page)

It was
past ten o’clock by the time they finished at Cherie’s. They
continued joking around and headed out of the bar.

“
Charity, lead the way to our next stop.” Simon made a grand
gesture of trying to bow and nearly stumbled on top of Julie. She
kept him on his feet and then nearly fell from laughing at
him.

“
We’ve apparently enjoyed Bob the bartender’s services
tonight.” Elijah slipped his arm over Charity’s shoulder. “Where’s
this club you were talking about?”

“
Follow me.” Charity’s arm found its own way around Elijah’s
waist. She glanced back to make sure Julie and Simon could follow
them and then checked her watch “It’s already ten, the club’s going
to be busy. Last time I went, the place was already crazy by nine
p.m. It’s going to be awesome.” She giggled in excitement. “Hidden
Beat awaits.”

Chapter 14

The beat
from the music reverberated against her chest. Charity couldn’t
wait to get onto the dance floor. They walked past people talking
and drinking by tall tables. Julie tapped her shoulder and pointed
to an empty one on the far side. Charity looked back to Elijah and
Simon following close behind. They nodded and headed to the bar to
get drinks.

Julie
leaned her elbows on the table and glanced around the room. “This
place is awesome! I can’t believe I never knew it was
here.”

Charity
bounced her head to the music, absorbing it like a drug. “An old
buddy of mine bought the bar about eight years ago and redid the
whole thing. Every year, just before summer starts, he repaints it
some funky color or design.” This year the walls were painted a
charcoal grey with mirrors everywhere – the walls, ceiling, even
parts of the ground had some kind of mirror flooring.”

“
It’s super cool. Where do you know the owner from? How come I
haven’t met him?” She giggled. “Maybe I don’t want to know.” Julie
stared at the people dancing. “The dance area is huge. There are
some die-hard boogie boppers out there.”

“
Boogie-boppers? Seriously?!” Charity laughed; her friend’s use
of words always cracked her up. “Kyle, the guy who owns the bar,
and I met at a jazz class. He loves dancing. Used to be a dancer
for a big UK pop singer. He met his wife here and bought the bar
when he retired.”

“
Really?” Elijah came up behind her, his warm body pressing
with just the exact right amount of pressure against her derriere
and back. He brought his arm around and handed her a drink. “Spiced
rum and Coke.”

“
Thanks.” She took a long sip and smiled when a new song
started. A proper dance version of Battlefield. It had a heavy bass
and great beat line. The drinks of the evening were giving her
liquid courage. She set the drink down and pulled Julie away from
Simon. “Come on, let’s dance.”

She
heard Julie tell the boys, “Wait till you see this.”

Without
looking back, Charity slipped by a group of guys and down the five
steps to the dance floor. Julie was close behind. Grabbing Julie’s
hand Charity led her to the middle of the floor. She waved to
Elijah and Simon drinking their beers at their table.

Charity
threw her arms into the air and let the beat take her away. Every
class she’d ever taken threw a bit of its knowledge into her
movements. In no time, people had moved away to give her space and
watch her move. Julie was a decent dancer and the two of them
mimicked and challenged each other with moves. Charity clearly
outshone, but didn’t care. She just wanted to dance and have fun.
It was the same story every time.

She
could feel Elijah’s eyes blazing through her and she wished he was
down on floor dancing with her. She’d make more than just his eyes
smolder.

A cute
guy moved his way between Julie and her. He danced with the two of
them. He grabbed Julie’s hand, spinning her into him and then
letting go of her as she twirled away. Julie bowed and dramatically
fluttered her fingers in Charity’s direction so she could have a
spin as well.

Charity
offered her hand to the cute guy’s extended one. He twirled her
around and then pulled her to him, wrapping both arms around so she
couldn’t step away. His dancing turned into rough, hard grinding
and the dirty grin on his face was unmistakable.

Similar
situations had happened before when she went to clubs to dance. It
had never happened at the Hidden Beat, though. It ticked her off…
big time.

Resisting the guy would be useless. She knew exactly what to
do. Moving to his jagged thumping, she shifted slightly to the left
and dropped down to match his grind and slipped around to face him.
His hot breath hit her face like venom. Driving her knee as she
rose up, she nailed him right between the legs. The guy fell and
writhed on the floor, holding his balls.

“
Sorry ‘bout that. You might want to put some ice on those.”
She spun and banged into Elijah, whose arm was drawn back. His eyes
were dark and his face red with anger.
Calm him down.
She slipped her arms around his
neck and pulled him to a less busy part of the dance floor. His
chest heaved and his jaw crushed so tight she could see his facial
muscles twitch and clench. She touched his cheek. “It’s fine. Dance
with me.”

His
hands slipped around her waist but his gaze travelled over to the
not-so-cute dancer now limping his way off the other side of the
dance floor. “I should punch the shit out of that guy.”

Charity
laughed, the moment’s adrenaline running its course and calming
now. “That’d be smart, doctor. And break your wrist or fingers for
some schmuck? How would that work for performing
surgeries?”

Elijah
stared down at her, his eyes intense. “Good point.” His hand ran
over her derriere. “So this is the reason for these firm muscular
glutes?”

“
Are you liking my
ass
ets?” She pressed closer to him, still easily carrying the
beat of the music.

“
Damn right.” His fingers trailed up and down her sides,
sending sparks deep inside her. Music could drive her crazy but his
touch went further. “You do realize you just let your little secret
talent out and now I’m going to bug you to dance just for
me.”

She
playfully punched his shoulder. “I like dancing, but I’m no strip
dancer.”

“
Lap dance then?” He raised his eyebrows.

She
rolled her eyes and then leaned close to his ear. As she spoke her
lips brushed against his skin and it took everything not to start
nibbling on his neck. “You show me your hidden talent and maybe
I’ll dance just for you.”

Elijah
stopped moving and his eyes grew bright. “You are seriously killing
me here.”

She
grinned and slipped her fingers through his. “Come on, I could use
that drink about now.”

“
I could use a couple.” They walked back to Julie and Simon.
Charity let go of Elijah’s hand until they got to the
table.

“
Where the heck did you learn to dance like that?” Simon
asked.

Charity
reached for her drink and took a long gulp. She shrugged. “I always
loved dancing. My mother danced ballet and signed me up for every
kind of dance class as a kid. It was awesome. I had no dreams to
become a professional dancer, nor would I have ever made it, but I
do like it.”

Simon
laughed. “Does Dr. Thompson know you’ve got those
moves?”

A large
pitcher appeared and someone set it on their table. “Jug of spiced
rum and Coke for my favorite lady,” a deep voice boomed. “When
Charity was in med school, Dr. Thompson had no idea what kind of
trouble this little peanut got into!”

“
Kyle!” Charity swung around and hugged her friend. “I wasn’t
sure if you were here.” A waitress brought four glasses.

“
I was upstairs till I saw you start cutting it up on the dance
floor. The pitcher is for taking care of the dickhead.”

She
laughed. Kyle was still fit like a dancer, but now in his late
forties, his jet black hair had started to turn grey and a few
laugh lines had etched characteristically into his face. “Kyle,
these are my friends: Julie, Simon, and Elijah.”

Kyle
shook their hands. A crackling erupted from the walkie-talkie on
his hip. “Trouble at the back door. Couple of kids trying to sneak
in.” He pounded the table. “Let the bartender know if you need
anything else. Great seeing you.” He hugged her again and then
left.

Elijah’s
stared at her, his head slightly tilted. “You went to med
school?”

Charity
poured each of them a drink. She didn’t want to get into this
conversation at a bar. “Yup.” She pressed the glass to her lips,
refusing to say more.

Julie
leaned forward. “That’s where we became best buds. University
roommates and then did med school.”

“
How come you never told me Charity can dance? Wait a minute –
can you pole dance?” Simon glanced back and forth between the two
girls. Julie elbowed him, but he winked at Charity when no one else
would notice. He must have understood she didn’t want to talk about
it. He turned to his wife. “Julie, do you want to try pole dancing
for me? Maybe Charity will teach you… maybe you girls could
videotape it.”

Charity
tossed an ice cube at him. “I was the maid of honor at your
wedding! You’re like a brother!”

As Simon
and Julie continued to tease each other, Elijah moved closer to
Charity and slipped an around her waist. He pulled her close
against him. His lips teased her neck and ear as he spoke. “Where
to next, gorgeous?”

Chapter 15

“
Home.” Julie squeezed between Charity and Elijah. “I’m drunk.
I can’t drive. We need to get a taxi.”

Simon
grinned from the other side of the table. He had the pitcher of
spiced rum and was pouring three glasses. “Ignore my wife. She just
needs a girlie drink with a load of sugar to pick her
up.”

Julie
pouted.

Charity
leaned over and grabbed one of the glasses Simon offered. “Juls,
put the lip away. I’ll go get you a pretty drink.” She patted her
friend’s shoulder. “We’re just getting started. I want to dance
some more.”

As she
turned to head to the bar, Elijah grabbed her hand and entwined his
fingers in hers. “Every guy in this bar wants to hit on you after
watching you dance. No way I’m letting you out of my
sight.”

She
laughed and set her glass down on a table as they passed it. She
wanted one free hand and wasn’t about to let go of Elijah’s. “No
one noticed me and Julie until that jerk fell over.”

Simon
came up behind them. “Sorry, guys, but Julie isn’t feeling so hot.
She’s headed outside. I gotta go after her.”

Charity
stood on her toes to get a better view of the exit. Julie stood
leaning against the wall, her hand over her eyes, trying to find
Simon.

“
We’re coming, too,” Elijah said. “She should get some fresh
air.”

They
moved through the crowd and found Julie drinking a bottle of water.
“The bouncer gave it to me.” She wiped her mouth with a shaky hand.
“Kind of embarrassing. The guy knows I’m a doctor because I treated
his niece. Can we go?”

Simon
put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. “Let’s get you
home.”

Charity
and Elijah followed without saying anything. Charity suddenly felt
awkward beside him. The tenderness between Julie and Simon reminded
her of what she wished she had. Drinks and flirting couldn’t come
close to even pretending that sweet connection was
there.

Outside
Elijah hailed a taxi. Charity crawled in the back with Julie and
Simon. Elijah got into the front of the cab. He gave the driver
Simon and Julie’s address.

Julie,
her head lying on Simon’s shoulder, spoke without opening her eyes.
“Charity’s hotel is on the way… drop her off first.”

Charity
told the taxi driver the hotel name and sat back to stare out the
window. Elijah chatted politely with the driver about the weather
and sports. Charity paid no attention to the conversation; she just
listened to Elijah’s accent roll up and down as he
spoke.

“
Do you stay at this hotel every time?” Elijah glanced back to
look at her.

“
I do.”

“
Why not at your father’s house?”

Julie
harrumphed. “That’s a long story. Dr. Thompson’s a great doctor,
lousy dad.”

“
Juls!” Simon shook his head and mouthed “Sorry” to
Charity.

“
Don’t worry. It’s kinda hard not to notice that we aren’t
going to win father-daughter of the year award.”

Thank
goodness they pulled into the hotel. She handed Simon money for the
taxi. He rolled his eyes and pushed it back at her. “I don’t want
that.”

Elijah
stepped out and opened the door for her. “I’ll be right back, just
let me walk her inside.”

“
Bye, Juls, Simon. It was fun.”

“
We’ll do it again, but I’m not mixing drinks next time!” Julie
said as Elijah closed the cab door.