Lady (Rated M)

Oppurtunities

Stevie walked in through her front door, the stench of pot instantly hitting her nostrils and she let out a heavy sigh.

She set her keys on the table they kept next to their entrance, looking over at Joe who held a bong in his hands.

"You're home early." He blew the smoke out the side of his mouth, setting the bowl back in it's place then gesturing the piece towards her.

Stevie flopped down on the couch next to him, taking the bong and lighter, setting her mouth against the ring.

She took a hit, the smoke leaving her mouth slowly. "I got fired."

Joe's eyes widened. "What?"

"And then I got hired."

He frowned, his eyebrows creasing. "What do you mean?"

Stevie took another rip, coughing a bit then setting the bong on the table, settling back into the cushions. "Mark asked me to stay later, but this man who's been showing up at the club lately asked me to be his personal assistant."

"So some sleaze offered you a job at a club and you quit just like that?"

Stevie dug into her pocket, pulling out the check and handing it to Joe. She grabbed a cigarette from the pack on the table, lighting it as she watched his eyes widened.

"Holy shit."

"Yeah holy shit, that's a lot of money Joe."

Joe shook his head. "Not the money, Steph this is Lindsey Buckingham."

She frowned. "How do you know who he is?"

"How do you not!" He exclaimed, jumping up from the couch, rushing over to their shelf of vinyls.

Stevie rolled her eyes, propping her feet up as she watched him dig through the records. "What are you doing?" She asked him annoyed.

Joe ignored her, flipping through their collection until he came upon the one he was looking for, pulling it out and returning to the couch. He thrusted the vinyl towards her, Stevie frowning.

"Why have I never seen this one before?"

"Because all you listen to is your Joni Mitchell shit, Steph this guy is huge."

Stevie looked down at the record, Lindsey's blue eyes peering back at her and she swallowed the lump in her throat. "Well I've never heard of him."

"So let me get this straight. Some stranger came into your club, offered you a job and you quit, just like that?"

"It's not that simple Joe."

"What happened?"

"He's been coming in the past couple weeks, he says he needs someone he trusts."

"That makes no sense."

"I don't understand it either Joe, but it's good money and I won't have to wear next to nothing."

"Steph do you know what this means?"

"That I'll be working for an egotistical jerk?"

Joe shook his head. "This could be our break baby! The amount of publicity this guy has, if we play our cards right we could actually make it."

"We're doing just fine on our own."

"Steph you had to resort to stripping, we are far from doing fine."

Stevie glared at him. "We are not piggybacking off some arrogant dick who picked me out of a club."

Joe sighed, flopping down next to her. "If you dislike him so much why did you take the job?"

Stevie's eyes widened, holding the check up in front of his face. "Hello! Five thousand dollars Joe, that's more than we make in three months."

Joe sighed, taking the check in his hands as he examined it. "That is a lot of money."

Stevie nodded. "I'm tired Joe, I'm tired of having my ass grabbed every five seconds, I'm tired of exposing myself in front of strangers just to put food on the table."

"What if this guy turns out to be a whack job?"

"Then I'll quit. Five thousand dollars Joe." She restated her point.

Joe shook his head. "Baby I don't know."

"Look at me honey." She gently took his jaw between her fingers, running her hands through his hair. "I am so tired. I'm tired of coming home at almost four am every morning, I'm tired of us getting frustrated because we don't have the money to pay the bills. Joe even if I just stay with him for two weeks this check is more than enough to last us until I find another job."

"It just weirds me out that he picked you out in a strip joint."

Stevie shrugged. "He's a musician, they're all weird."

"What does that make us then?"

Stevie grinned at him, planting a light kiss against the tip of his nose. "Unique."

Joe smiled back at her, kissing her lips. "When do you start?"

"Monday."

  "So we have the whole weekend to ourselves?"

  Stevie nodded in affirmation.

"Haven't had that in a while."

   She shook her head , snuggling into his arms. She lay against him, her back against his front as he wrapped his arms around her.

      He pressed a kiss against her hair. "This could be our chance Steph."

       Stevie sighed. "Joe, I told you before. I am not going to badger this guy about our music, I know we're good enough to make it on our own, we just have to be patient."

   "Patience only goes so far Steph."

  "I know baby, I know." She nodded in understanding.

      He nuzzled his face in to the back of her neck, Stevie shifting uncomfortably.

   She had never felt so disgusted in herself in her whole life. The man who's embrace she was wrapped in had nothing but love for her, and she disregard that love over poorly chosen words.

  She felt tears welling up in her eye, Joe noticing and he frowned. "What's the matter babe?"

  Stevie quickly shook her head. "Nothing, i'm just relieved."

   He held her tighter, nodding in agreement. "Only good things will come from this baby, I know it."

  Stevie just nodded her head silently, her thoughts going haywire. She didn't know how much longer she could go on with guilt eating away at every little cell in her body. She feared it was only a matter of time before she broke down.