Wanna Bet? (34 page)

“
The people who care about
you do” he says softly but firmly.

“
They don’t” I shake my
head at him and smile sadly “Ask anyone, Lucy, Andrew, Mel, Jess
any of them ask them why I do the bets, how the whole thing
started, what they won’t tell you is that it started from me and
Andrew having a conversation about scars and then me suddenly
changing the subject and betting him that I can balance a jug of
beer on my head” I laugh at the memory “Ask them why my
‘boyfriends’ don’t last longer than a month, they won’t tell you
it’s because I avoid being alone with them and the men give up
trying as soon as they catch on.

Why do you think of all
the types of businesses in the world that you can I buy, I bought a
club? Because it’s always full of people” I shrug

“
No one sees past the
bullshit, they only see what they want. Some see me as the girl who
likes to have fun with her friends. Some see me as a woman that
knows how to increase business. Some see me a cock tease. Some see
me as a careless young girl with too much time and money on her
hands. Some people see me as a girl who has worked her way through
eighty percent of the men who go to the club and finally some
people see me as just a normal person, they’re the ones I like the
best” I laugh quietly

“
So no I’m not perfect. I’m
still as fucked up as I always was the only difference is that now
I’m happy with it.”

I watched confused as he
gets up from the table I walk to the kitchen doorway to watch what
he’s doing. He doesn’t say another word to me and doesn’t look back
as I watch him leave my house and walk away.

“
Well that went well” I
sigh to the empty kitchen and snort; I do not need to start talking
to myself.

I meet up with Jess and
Lucy for lunch still a bit confused by Tuckers behavior this
morning. I know everyone has noticed my mood but isn’t saying
anything.

“
So what are the plans for
tonight” Jess finally asks referring to the shirts me and Lucy had
to pick up on our way here.

“
Basically we have to go to
work wearing a top with a stupid saying on it” Lucy grumbles back
making me chuckle softly, Lucy hates the theme nights at the club.
“Who comes up with these things anyway?” she complains to
me.

“
Will does” I answer not
looking up from my drink.

“
Will he be there tonight?”
she asks cautiously. I nod at my cup, tonight is the first night I
will be seeing him since that night last week when he told me my
dad was having an affair and I have a brother that is Wills step
son.

“
Will you be okay?” Jess
asks putting a comforting hand on my arm.

“
I’ll be fine, I’m sure he
will keep his distance and probably stay in the office for most of
the night, it can’t be easy for him either, he was best friends
with my dad and he’s married to a woman who loved him and has to
look at that little boy everyday and see my dad in him” I shrug. I
think I have come to terms with it a little better now.

“
Tucker came by to see me
this morning” I tell them frowning.

“
What did he say?” Jess
asks she knows more about our relationship than Lucy does. I’m not
sure why I have held back on some of the things I have told Lucy
about Tucker but I don’t really feel comfortable talking to her
about him.

“
It was a little strange,
he came over to talk about what happened before I left and then
once all was said and done and we’d both apologized for the past he
just walked out” I frown again remembering that he just stood up
and left.

“
What do you mean?” Lucy
says with her own frown.

“
We were talking and he
just stood up and walked out, didn’t say anything to me, no goodbye
or anything… just left without a word” I shrug still not
understanding. “I’m glad we talked though, I feel a lot better
about him being here now” I admit.

“
Well as long as you’re
happy because it looks like he’s going to be sticking around for a
while” Jess puts in.

I open the bag at my feet
and look at my top for the first time since collecting it. Once I
see what is printed on it I quickly shove it back into my
bag.

“
Oh my god, what does yours
say?” I ask Lucy who looks into her bag and pulls out a neon pink
tee the same as mine just hers has ‘
Pat
me’
printed on the back with an arrow
pointing down.

“
I’m going to kill him!”
she sighs shaking her head “yours?” she asks and I hold up my top
that has two hand prints on the chest area and underneath in
capitol letter its reads ‘
Squeeze
me
’

“
Think we can get him one
hat has a target over his chest that reads ‘
shoot me
´?” I ask hopefully only
half joking.

Both girls just laugh and
we say our goodbyes to go get ready for what is obviously going to
be a terrible night.

When I walk into the club
it is already starting to fill up quickly. I spot Lucy and Will in
some sort of discussion, Lucy seems to shouting at him but Will
just looks slightly amused. I head over there to see what the
problem is.

“
If one more person touches
my ass” Lucy is shouting at him.

“
Hey, it could be worse
Luce!” I say as I join them and point to my chest, I have a shirt
on undone over it and glare at Will.

“
We were going to get you
one but with what we were thinking about having printed on it,
there would have been too much blood” I tell him but it has no
effect on him. He seems to be enjoying himself.

I look around and can’t
quite believe my eyes; he has turned the club into some sort sex
themed carnival. There’s a kissing booth that I’m sure he expects
me and Lucy to take turns in. Two big stands catch my eye there are
two big digital weighing scales on barstools with signs above them
reading ‘If this reaches one hundred Brooke will do a bar dance,
coins only’ the other one reads “If this reaches one hundred Lucy
will do a pole dance, coins only”.

“
We don’t even have a pole”
I turn to will confused and a little shocked. He points towards the
stage and I see a temporary stripper pole has been put up. “You’re
kidding me” I mutter.

“
I’m not doing it, I’ve
already told him to take the sign down” Lucy says
loudly.

“
Brooke you’re going to
have to take the shirt off” Will instructs me smiling.

I shrug and remove my
shirt so I’m just in my tee. I hear someone laugh behind me and
turn my head to see Andrew and Tucker shaking their heads at
me.

“
What?” Will asks. I turn
around for him and show him the back of my top. “You’ve ruined it!”
He complains making Lucy laugh.

“
I have to make people work
for it” I tell him sweetly referring to the message on the back of
my top that I added earlier, it reads ‘
Only if you punch the manager first’

“
Sometimes I really dislike
you” he grumbles and walks back into the office defeated. I shrug
and get out my pen to write the same on Lucy’s back.

“
I love you” she sighs
laughing and we both get to work serving the customers.

Andrew and Tucker spend
the night teasing us about how quick our scales are filling up and
asking when we will be going into the kissing booth we get through
it by ignoring them.

“
I really don’t want to do
the pole dance” Lucy says to me worrying her bottom lip as she
watches a group of men add money to her scales.

“
I’ll swap with you if you
want?” I offer, obviously we are going to need to do something
because people are paying to see us do these things. She nods at me
and I pull her up onto the bar with me I grab a mic and address the
crowd.

“
Firstly we would like to
thank you for the money you have all put into tonight. I’m not sure
what great cause the money will be going to as I’m not talking to
the man who arranged it all at the moment. I also have two
announcements to make. Lucy and I will be switching our dances, she
will dance on the bar and I will dance on the pole” The crowd cheer
and I hear someone shout kissing booth I look down and see Andrew
and Tucker still laughing. “The second announcement is that Lucy
and I won’t be going into the kissing booth” The mean all boo and
groan. “Instead ladies these two very handsome men will be” I watch
as the two men stop laughing and look p at me the women in the club
all cheer “That’s right, the lead singer of our in house band
Tucker will be in there along with the man you are all used to
seeing on the bar with me, Andrew. Now pucker up ladies because
they are very good at what they do” I wink at the crowd as the
women’s cheers turn into screams.

Laughing Lucy and I jump
down from the bar.

“
You’re going to pay for
this” Andrew glares at me.

“
Wanna bet?” I smirk at
him, knowing I have won this round.

They both quickly accept
their challenge and start pointing out to each other which girls
they want in their line. Shaking my head at them I head back to
help Lucy at the bar.

At the club I can’t stop
smiling to myself. My happiness is infectious and everyone
notices.

“
Are you going to tell me
why you look so pleased with yourself?” Lucy asks
smiling.

“
I’m just happy that’s all”
I answer grinning.

“
Any why are you so happy
today?”

“
Promise to keep it to
yourself?” I ask looking around. She nods and leans in so I whisper
to her or at least talk quieter than shouting over the
band.

“
I just come back from my
date” not able to keep the excitement out of my voice.

“
With who?” she asks just
as excitedly.

“
Morgan, I met him last
week, he sold me my new car”

“
What’s he like?” she
giggles in my ear. Honestly we are like a pair of school
girls.

“
Gorgeous” I sigh
dreamily.

“
What are you two
whispering about?” Andrew comes up behind us making us both jump
back and swap guilty looks. He raises an eyebrow at us both. “Okay
now you
have
to
tell me”

“
Uhh ….” I trail off and he
turns to Lucy expectantly.

“
Umm … we were talking
about lingerie?” she says but it comes out like a
question.

He narrows his eyes at us
and walks off. We turn back to the bar and get to work every so
often giggling at each other as she asks me a question about Morgan
and I answer her grinning. We get a few questioning looks but they
just make us smile wider.

The next week flies by I
see Morgan everyday and work at the club every night.

No one apart from Lucy
knows I’m dating someone. It is a little strange dating while
Tuckers in town but I have managed to keep it from him so far. I’m
not sure how he would react to the news but I have to watch him
flirt and leave the club with a different girl every few days so he
can’t complain if I do the same.

Once again I find myself
thrown over Andrews shoulder as we enter the bar. Everyone cheers
and laughs as he carries me through the bar and deposits me on the
bar. I snatch the mic he hands me and cross my arms. Full on
tantrum mode much to everyone’s amusement.

Everyone in the club
starts chanting “What’s the bet?” even my friends have joined
in.

“
Brooke’s pulling out of a
bet” Andrew calls shaking his head at the crowd.

“
I said no bet Andrew” I
snap in my mic more forcefully that I have ever said anything
before.

“
Then you shouldn’t have
accepted it” he shrugs at me laughing.

“
I only accepted it because
I thought there was no way I could loose” I sulk.

“
Well you did so now you
have to face the consequences” He sighs as if it troubles him to
make me do these things.

“
I’m not doing it. I mean
it. No bet” I stubbornly hold my place, not changing my mind there
is no way I will do it. I know Morgan’s in the club but I refuse to
look at him until I have solved this argument.

“
Give my one good reason
why I should let you out of it” Andrew says to me making me glower
at him.

I lean down on the bar and
try to get Lucy’s help.

“
You have to help me out
here. He wants me to do a strip tease” I stop so she can finish
laughing. “I wouldn’t do it anyway but normally I would go along
with it and play it up without actually taking any clothes
off”

“
Why can’t you just do
that?” She asks still laughing just no so loud now.

“
Because Morgan’s here and
I don’t want him to think he’s dating a stripper” I whisper quickly
and relax she gets serious.

“
You can’t ask her to do
that” Lucy shouts up at Andrew as I stand and take my place next to
him again.