Fast Burn: Burned Duet: Book One Page 6

  “Fuck,” she whispered.

  My hand clamped around her small wrist, my tan skin darker than her pale tone, and for some reason, I liked the contrast. My gaze slowly trailed from her feet and up to her face, and it was then I realized this was the girl from the club last week. The one who had caught my attention and not let go.

  “You remember Lotus, right, Asher?” Al said, stepping toward us.

  I kept my mouth closed and my hand on her arm as I stared into her eyes. They swirled with something I recognized, but as soon as I started to see more, she locked me out and shut herself off. But she didn’t move her wrist from my grip. She stayed there, her fingers twitching from the touch.

  “Hi,” she whispered, and her hair blew over her face from the wind. My other hand jerked, wanting to move it off her face, and at the thought, I let her wrist go and backed away.

  “Break’s over,” I growled at Al, but I didn’t know why I’d spoken like that. I’d already been on edge, and now this stripper was making the air swirl around us and my skin heat up. This was her job—to make men want her.

  “You coming inside?” I heard Al ask as I made it to the front doors. I wasn’t sure what was said after that because I flung them open and went back into the main part of the club. I needed to concentrate on finishing his back piece and then getting back to the shop for my last client of the day. I’d worked every day for fifteen days straight and tomorrow was my day off. A day I needed.

  I put a new pair of gloves on and reassembled my machine along with a new needle, and then waited as Al sauntered back inside and jumped up onto the table. I didn’t need to look up to know Lotus had come in with him. The atmosphere changed, the temperature in the room soaring, and yet, goose bumps prickled my skin as she asked me, “Is it okay if I watch you tattoo him?”

  I swallowed and tensed my entire body so I didn’t turn to look at her. I didn’t want to think about her makeup-free face and the little button nose covered in a fluttering of freckles. I didn’t want to think about the glasses on her face that made her look like a hot fuckin’ secretary.

  “Yeah,” I gritted out, trying to lower my tone.

  “Thanks,” she whispered, and a second later, chair legs scraped against the floor as she dragged a chair over. But it wasn’t until a shadow cast over half of Al’s back I realized she sat opposite me, mere inches away—within touching distance.

  My gaze flicked up and met hers, and she lifted one-half of her lips into a small smile. There was a softness to it, an innocence that didn’t match why she was here and the job she did. And I knew, at that moment, she wasn’t like the other strippers who worked here. She was drawing me in, and I was hopeless to the effect her eyes had on me. Why was she making me feel like I’d known her my entire life, and yet we’d barely talked?

  Swallowing, I finally managed to look away, dipped my needle in ink, and carried on finishing Al’s back piece. The task would keep my mind off the woman sitting across from me—at least, I hoped it would. No one talked as I shaded the areas in, and the longer Lotus sat opposite, the more relaxed I became. I wasn’t usually a grunting guy, but she’d brought out a side of me I hadn’t even realized was there.

  “You.” The word came out croaky, so I cleared my throat and tried again. “You worked here long?” I asked, not looking at Lotus, but she’d know I was talking to her and not Al because somewhere along the last thirty minutes, he’d started snoring. And now I’d decided to make small talk. Great.

  “About seven months now,” Lotus said, her soft voice floating over the sound of the tattoo machine. I glanced at her as she shuffled in her seat, her gaze focused on her lap. “It’s just to make ends meet, you know?” Her stare connected with mine, and it felt like I’d been sucker-punched right in my gut. I’d heard people use the excuse of something they weren’t proud of being temporary so often, and yet, when she said it with that soulful look in her eyes, I believed her.

  I nodded as if I understood, but the reality was I didn’t. I’d never had to fight my way out of a bad place, not really. I’d been a Marine, but I’d made the decision to be that. I was always so conscious of the life my parents led before I was born, and the stories they told me were ones I’d never had to experience but could still sense the pain behind.

  “You like it?” I asked, trying to keep my emotions in check.

  “Dancing? Yeah.” She paused. “It’s the taking-my-clothes-off part I’m not too keen on.” She chuckled, and I swore I swayed closer to her. “Though sometimes I keep my thong on, so there’s that.”

  My hand halted at her words, and although I’d known she’d taken her clothes off last week, I’d turned away. Part of me wished I hadn’t, but the other part of me was glad I did. She was a mystery to me, and I kept telling myself that was why I found her so alluring. Fuck, if my sister could hear my thoughts right now, she’d rip me for weeks.

  The conversation lulled as I finished up the last bit of shading inside one of the skulls, and once I was happy with the finished product, I turned my machine off and placed it down next to me. “Can you pass me that?” I asked Lotus, pointing to the spray bottle next to her.

  She picked it up and stood, causing my pulse to quicken. I wasn’t sure why she didn’t just hand it to me, but as she took the steps around Al and toward me, I found myself entranced with the way she moved. She wasn’t dancing, and yet she’d captured my attention as if she was. She held the spray bottle out to me, her small hand gripping it, and I reached out to take it from her.

  “Thanks,” I whispered, having no idea why I was afraid to talk at a normal level. My hand wrapped around the bottle, and my fingers grazed over hers. It was the second time I’d touched her in an hour, only this time, I drifted closer to her. I had no idea what the fuck it was about this woman, but I couldn’t stop myself from moving toward her.

  “You’re beautiful,” I let slip, and I didn’t regret saying the words because they were the truth. I’d never shied away from telling a woman how I felt, but it always felt forced and—

  “I erm…” Her cheeks reddened, but she didn’t move her gorgeous navy-blue-eyed gaze off me.

  It was on the tip of my tongue to apologize to her for making her feel awkward, but I refused to go back on my words. She was beautiful, in that raw kind of way. She wasn’t covered in makeup, and her hair was sticking up in a few different directions, but it was the way she carried herself that drew me in. Her eyes spoke of pain she was determined not to share, and it made me want to know all the more.

  “Anyone ever told you that, Lotus?”

  She shook her head, her chest heaving on a breath. “No. Never.” She stepped forward, not letting go of the bottle, and was nearly in the space between my legs. She was getting closer, and I wasn’t sure whether I’d pull her to me or wait for her to close the distance. My heart raced, and I felt her breath flowing over my skin. All it would take was one movement, and I could have her against me—

  “You finished?” a deep voice asked, and at the sound, Lotus let go of the bottle and backed away.

  “I better go get ready for tonight,” she rushed out, grabbing her bag and practically running away from us as Al lifted his head. I couldn’t help the way my lips lifted at watching her stumble into a chair and laugh at herself, and as soon as she took one final look at me, I winked, promising her what just happened wasn’t over. I felt it, and I damn well knew she did too.

  “Great, now you’re flirting with the staff.”

  “Fuck you,” I told Al, laughing and finally spraying the alcohol mixture over his back.

  “Fuck! You could have warned me it was cold.”

  I paused. “It’s cold.” I sprayed again and grinned, already thinking of the next time I could come here on the premise of something else when what I really wanted was to see Lotus again.

  Chapter Five

  ELODIE

  “I don’t know what you want from me!” Mom screamed, and normally I would have wrapped a pillow over my head
to drown out the shrill sound of her voice and pretend I was somewhere else. But it was impossible to do it now because her words were shouted at me this time. I was half-surprised she even had the energy to stand, let alone get her voice so loud.

  “Are you serious?” I asked, slamming my hands onto my hips and trying to stay calm. It wasn’t often I confronted her about all the shit she was doing, mostly because she always had someone she was getting high with, and I’d learned my lesson a long time ago to not confront her in front of her “guests.” She used them to fight her battles with me, especially if it was a man. I wasn’t afraid of what would happen, but I didn’t have the energy to fight more than just her. So right now, having her alone was a rare occasion, and I was determined not to keep letting this shit slide. This was my home too—a home I paid for.

  “Yes!” She threw her hands in the air, then gripped her lank, greasy hair. She still had blond on the tips from when she’d been clean for a short while a few years ago and decided she’d wanted a change. The change hadn’t lasted long—her hair or her being clean. “I put a fuckin’ roof over your head and keep food in your belly—”

  “Nope.” I shook my head and took a step toward her. In our small trailer, it meant we were nearly toe-to-toe. “You don’t keep a roof over my head.” I pointed at my chest. “I paid last month's rent, and it’s due again tomorrow.” I raised a brow. “You got that rent money, Mom?” Her silence was enough of an answer. I didn’t even know why I bothered asking because I already knew she didn’t have it.

  “And the last time you bought food for this trailer, I was eleven years old.” My breaths sawed in and out of my body, but I had to keep myself under control. I couldn’t let myself lose the issue at hand. “You do not provide for me in any way, shape, or form, so all I ask is that you don’t have a goddamn party in the trailer while I’m at school!”

  “You don’t like it, leave!” It wasn’t the first time she’d said it, so I let it go right over my head. There was no way I’d leave, not until I knew I was graduating.

  I wasn’t staying for her. I was staying for me. At least, that was what I kept telling myself. Maybe I did stay to make sure she was still alive and not overdosing. Maybe I was putting her first and myself last?

  I blew out a breath and took several steps away from her. We’d get nowhere shouting, not when she was coming down from her latest high. “I just want to be able to come home and sleep, Mom.” I was tired, and not only physically, but mentally too. There was only so much I could take, and I was afraid I’d break soon and not be able to come back. Mom used drugs to ebb her pain, and I was conscious of her addictive behavior and how quickly and easily I could become her, which was why I had to stick to my plan. And arguing with her right now wasn’t part of my plan.

  “And I want to have my friends over whenever I fuckin’ want!” She dropped herself down onto the sofa and grabbed her small tin she kept her supplies in, and the single move had me needing to escape as soon as I could. I refused to stay here while she got high.

  The first time she’d done it in front of me, I’d been ten and hadn’t understood what was happening. That soon changed, and I knew whenever the tin came out to hide away in my bedroom, or as far away from her as I could. The memories of her not being high were almost completely faded now, and all I could remember was her eyes bloodshot and her skin covered in track marks and scabs. I hated it. I hated her for doing it to us. I hated the situation. I hated this goddamn place.

  I spun around and marched to my room, grabbed my bag and a change of clothes, and left the trailer, banging the door on my way out. It wasn’t the first time we’d argued, and I had to find somewhere else to stay for the night. Usually, I’d rock up at Knox’s place, knowing the house would be warm and the bed would have sheets on it, but it was Friday—party night—and I didn’t think I had the patience to give Knox the attention I knew I’d have to tonight.

  So, his place was out of the question.

  My car stuttered to a start, and the red gas light warning me I was seriously close to only running on fumes lit up. I had all my savings in my bag, but they were dwindling faster than they ever had. Rent was due tomorrow, and I couldn’t afford it on my own, not after I paid for the first competition next weekend. I’d sunk so much money into it, and I was starting to wonder if investing in a future so far away when I had so little money was a good idea or not. Either way, I had to get gas and something to eat, so I dug into my backpack, pulled a crumpled twenty out, and drove away from the trailer and out of the trailer park.

  I wasn’t really sure where I was heading once I’d put gas in, but after driving for about fifteen minutes, lights from a diner flashed ahead. I’d been through this part of town to get to school a thousand times, and yet I’d never once stepped foot inside the diner.

  A board showcasing a two-course special including a drink for 4.99 was the deciding factor, and I swerved into the lot and parked. I shouldered my bag as I pushed out of the car, my stomach rumbling as I walked toward the main doors. The diner was half full of people, and as I opened the front door, a woman shouted, “Find yourself a seat, hon!”

  My gaze tracked around the room, and I tried to decide between a booth and a table. In the end, I settled for a table because there was only one of me. The red leather chair squeaked as I sat down, and I grabbed the menu to check out what else they served. The smell of food in the air made my mouth water, and the sound of sizzling coming from the kitchen was inviting.

  “Sorry, hon, crazy night tonight.” I stared up at the woman and her flowing red hair. “What can I getcha?”

  “I…the special?” I asked, hoping I’d read the sign outside right.

  “Awesome.” She smiled brightly at me. “What drink do you want with that?”

  “Orange soda?” I asked.

  Her eyes twinkled. “You sure about that, hon?”

  “I think?”

  She laughed. “I’ll get you an orange soda, but if you don’t like it, I’ll swap it out.” She bent down and whispered, “I’m good friends with the owner, Sal. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

  My gaze settled on her name tag and the word “Jan.” “Thanks,” I whispered, and she was gone before I knew it, flitting around the diner like a woman on a mission. She stopped to talk to a few people, and her gaze moved back to me several times. I wasn’t sure if she was talking about me or just checking on me, but either way, I didn’t like it.

  “Elodie?” someone called, and my head whipped around at the familiar voice.

  “Leo?” I frowned and turned in my seat. “What are you doing here?”

  Leo pushed his shoulders back, his kind face moving his small smile into a grin. “Aunt Jan told me to come make small talk with the girl who wasn’t sure if she liked orange soda or not.” He held his hands in the air as he stopped at the edge of the table. “Her words, not mine.”

  I snorted. “I wasn’t sure what the special was,” I said as way of an explanation. “I only have enough for the special.” I didn’t want to tell him that I’d had to spend fifteen of my twenty dollars on gas to last me the rest of the week. I definitely didn’t want to tell him that I didn’t have rich parents like Knox to fall back on, even though everyone thought I took handouts from him. I never had, and never would.

  “Don’t worry about it. Jan sees a loner and likes to make me come over because, apparently, I’m less threatening than she is.” It was then I really looked at him and realized he was wearing a name tag too.

  “Wait.” I pushed forward on my seat. “You work here?”

  “Yep.” Leo laughed and pushed his hand through his hair, and I was starting to realize he did that when he was nervous. Did I make him nervous? “Two nights a week and Saturday all day.”

  “Wow. I thought you’d—”

  “Be one of the kids at school who worked for nothing?” he finished for me, and I nodded in agreement. I’d never met another kid at our high school who worked, so Leo went way up in my estimations
. “Nah. My parents made me get a job when I was thirteen because I kept asking for computer games.” He leaned down and glanced around as if to check no one could hear him. “Now, I can buy my own, which means they have no say over what I’m buying.” He paused, and I had no idea what he was trying to say. My face must have said as much because he huffed and rolled his eyes. “Over-eighteen games. I’m only fourteen.”

  “Oh!” My eyes widened. “I get it.” I slapped the palm of my hand to my forehead. “Sorry. I’m miles away.” I didn’t know why I’d told Leo that. We were partners in French class, but we weren’t friends. A girl like me didn’t get to have real friends, not ones who wouldn’t judge her anyway.

  “You okay?” Leo asked, and I nodded as Jan placed a glass of orange soda down on the table in front of me. She smiled at me and then Leo, patting him on the shoulder as she walked away.

  “Yeah, I’m good.” I smiled. The same smile I’d perfected when I was a little girl, which outwardly said I’m okay while inside I was anything but. I knew I wasn’t okay. It wasn’t like I was trying to fool myself. Everything was falling apart around me. My job was draining me, my dancing was stressful with the competition coming up in a few days, and my home wasn’t a home. I’d come back from work last night to a trailer full of people, and two of them had crashed in my bedroom—a place which was meant to be only mine.

  I felt like I was a lone leaf drifting on the wind, not knowing which tree was my true home. But it wasn’t until that exact moment I wondered whether I could even find a home. Was there something waiting for me out there? Or did I have to create it myself? Was I fooling myself into thinking things would get better with my mom? I was eighteen, I could leave at any moment, but something always kept me there. I was tethered, not knowing how to untie myself.