Unfold

Chapter Twenty-One (21)

"Best boss ever!" Matt said. "I need to get a job here."

The enthusiasm must have caught the attention of Donavan because he sauntered over. He leaned up against the bar next to Jean and looked at everyone. Jean inched away from him on her seat.

"Slow night," he said, and Jean threw back the shot. Her throat burned and her eyes instantly filled with tears. She grabbed Donny's water and drank from it while everyone laughed.

"What was that?" she said when she could finally speak again.

"Hey, I didn't know we were doing shots!" Donavan said.

"Not you, we actually need you," Brooke said. Jean made a face at her, truly a bit annoyed she wasn't called off before she made the drive out here.

She could feel it. Whatever Brooke gave her, it was intentional. It only took a few minutes for her to start feeling the effects of it. She twisted back and forth on her seat to the best of the music.

"Jean, you never told us what's getting you down," Matt said, seeing Jean was loosening up. He looked at her like she was the most comical thing. Jean laughed at his question.

"That right there," Jean said, pointing at him. "Everyone is trying to get me to talk about my problems. I don't like to talk about my problems!"

Donny had a huge smile on his face, showing his teeth that were yellowed from years of smoking. "Well I knew you were a dreamboat already, but dang, you really are the perfect woman."

Matt nodded. "I have to come here just to avoid my wife's problems." Jean noticed the wedding ring on his finger. She knew lots of married men came here, but it wasn't until this moment that she realized Matt was one of them.

"So Jean," Brooke said, changing the subject and glancing up past her head. "Now might be a good night to make your debut as a dancer."

Everyone started to cheer and Jean put her hands over her face. "No, no, no! I told you a million times I am not a stripper."

"Come on, Jean. Just for fun. There's like three people over there." Donavan said, nudging Jean with his elbow. She pulled her arm away and shook her head furiously.

Matt shrugged. "If I could dance and make money for it, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"Yeah but nobody wants to see that," Donny said, sipping his beer.

Jean gripped her seat, as if they were going to drag her into the stage. "Right, and nobody wants to see this train wreck either."

Everyone protested, and if Jean was being honest with herself, she enjoyed the attention and everyone determine to see her do something. There was only a handful of times in her life that she could remember being surrounded by a group of people where the attention was on her.

She wondered what Shawn would do if he walked through the doors right now. The fear crossed her mind at least once every shift, but then she would calm herself down when she realized Shawn would never step foot in a place like this. She pulled out her phone under the bar and saw that he still hadn't tried reaching out to her. Maybe things really were over between them. He had finally saw her for what she really was. Although this was what she wanted, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Do you guys think I'm worth fighting for?" Jean said. Did she just say that out loud? The alcohol was stronger than she anticipated. She muted the screen on her phone and put it back in her dress pocket.

"Are you changing the subject because you're trying to avoid the stage?" Brooke asked.

"No," Jean said, smiling. "In church today, they said everybody has a lie inside of them that they believe is true. And this morning, I thought my lie was that I'm not worth fighting for. But now I'm thinking that it's not a lie anymore. It's just the truth."