The pulse of the dance music reminded Solana of Jack's heartbeat. Even here, in Las Vegas, in this dingy club off the strip, everything made her think of Jack.
Damn him.
She threw back a shot of tequila. "Thanks, Mac."
The big bartender nodded her way as he swept the used glass off the bar top. "Can't believe you're back here."
"Neither can I." Solana tugged at her borrowed shirt. The rough material scratched against her skin, and she grit her teeth.
Trixie trotted up to the bar and hip checked Solana. "Good to have my partner in crime back. This place was dull without you."
"Hey." Mac held his hands over his heart. "You wound me."
Solana faked a smile. She faked everything these days. Fit right in in this fake town. When she fled LA, she didn't know where to go. At the station, the first bus leaving was headed to Vegas. She figured fate was telling to go back to where things had gone wrong, start again. Ticket in hand, she boarded the bus and cut off all her emotions, told herself she wouldn't cry.
She lasted twenty minutes. An older woman in the seat across the aisle offered her a little package of tissues and Solana sobbed through the ten pack. Somewhere around Barstow, she ran out of tears and the dry heaves kicked in, her eyes barely able to stay open they were so puffy.
"Oh, admit it, you're happy to see our girl again." Trixie put her arm around Solana's shoulders and squeezed. More than she usually would have, she leaned into the embrace, soaking up the warmth of her friend. January had been unseasonably hot in Las Vegas, spring however, was experiencing a cold snap and no matter how hard she tried, Solana couldn't seem to stay warm.
Mac's soulful eyes found hers. "Always glad to see Solana." Something in the way he said the words left Solana with the feeling he meant he wasn't seeing her, though, like he understood that while her physical body was here, her soul was back in LA.
To avoid Mac's intense stare, she turned to her friend. "Thanks for letting me stay with you." The couch at Trixie's place was probably the most uncomfortable thing Solana had ever slept on, but the price was right. The night she'd turned up on Trixie's doorstep, her friend hadn't turned her away.
"Are you kidding? I love having a roomie." Trixie twirled her hair. "And you make awesome coffee."
"It's the beans, not me." Solana straightened her shoulders. "Best get back to the salt mines. Need the tips." She nodded in the direction of her assigned section, where a group of businessmen were slowly getting wasted.
At least at work she kept busy, had something to do. The hours between the double shifts she pulled as part of Alfonso giving her her job back at the Peppermint Stick felt like days. Or years. Nothing to do but miss what she didn't have. Here, she had a purpose. Deliver drinks with a smile. This she could do, no fuss.
The music changed beat and the club's patrons continued to enjoy their evening, drinking, dancing, laughing. Solana watched a couple on the dance floor grinding together, a hair's breadth from full on making out. A shadow of a memory of another dance floor, a tall handsome man picking her up off her feet, threatened to emerge. She slammed the reminiscence down with a hammer. Her past was the problem she wanted to avoid.
Trixie tapped her on the shoulder. "Boss wants to see you."
Mac buzzed her in, and she trudged up the staircase, failing to avoid thinking of the time she'd walked Jack up here. How he'd stood on the step before her and glared at her with those handsome blue eyes that always made her feel safe. Wanted. She hadn't known it then, but that pull in her stomach she'd experienced was the first indication this man was the one for her.
Too bad she wasn't the one for him. She shook her head. He'd warned her. Told her from the start that he didn't have relationships, they weren't for him. He'd done the marriage thing and wasn't interested in a repeat. Most of all, though, he'd hounded home over and over the importance of his reputation. That he would always choose his family's legacy over everything else.
During the long hours when work didn't occupy her, she wondered how he would have broken her heart if she'd stayed longer, let the reality play out until her past broke them apart. In her fantasies, the conversation was heartfelt. He was remorseful, wishing it could be otherwise. In her nightmares, he'd been callous and aloof. Either way, it didn't matter; the result was the same. They would never be together. Despite his methods, Wolfe was right.
Solana pushed open the door to Alfonzo's office, praying the little man wouldn't have his hands down his pants. Instead, she was greeted by a pacing club manager, whose head snapped up at her entrance.
"Ah, here she is." Alfonzo's eyes darted to the corner of his office.
Solana followed his gaze. "Here I am. What's so..." She peered into the darkened space behind the office door. In the shadows, a man leaned against the wall, head tilted toward the floor.
A tall man.
With slick-backed dark hair that she loved to mess with.
"Jack?" The man shifted on his feet, but didn't move into the light. Excitement coursed through her veins at the sight of Jack, along with an urge to close the gap between them and kiss him until she couldn't think straight. Then her brain kicked in, remembering why she'd been sleeping alone for the last week. "What are you doing here?"
"I'll let you two have a moment." Alfonzo scurried out the door, the latch clicking behind him. Without the door blocking the bulbs of the ceiling fan, Jack's figure came into the light. As usual, he wore a finely tailored black suit, but there was no colourful tie to make the outfit pop. There was no tie at all. Hands in his pants pockets, he didn't move or speak.
Solana crossed her arms. This was another one of his endless games. Was he here to play with her feelings, dig the knife in deeper? She wasn't about to give him any satisfaction. "Slumming it in Vegas again?"
In the corner's murkiness, she couldn't make out Jack's face but still recognized the movement of his head back and forth. Was he wearing sunglasses? Indoors? Her spine creaked. The arrogance of this man.
"Nice to see you, too." There was something off with his voice. The tone was flat and gravelly, like Luc when he had a cold. Again, she had to resist closing the distance between them, place her hand on his forehead and take his temperature. Taking care of Jack wasn't part of her resume anymore.
"Why are you here?" Whatever the reason, she wanted to get this over with, get out of this overheating room, get back to a life without him. She dug her nails into both her palms to distract from the ache in her chest.
"Don't worry, sweetheart." The word was slung at her like a drink, the opposite of the last time he'd whispered the endearment as he'd held her in his arms. The insult slashed across her skin, stinging like acid, and she had to bite her tongue from gasping. "I'm not here because I want to be. Your grandmother asked me to come."
An icy dread crawled down her spine. Only yesterday she'd spoken with Ximena, her abuela, begging her to come home, if only for a few days. Luc didn't understand why Solana had left without saying goodbye, he felt abandoned. She'd longed to tell her abuela she'd return, but the pain of being in the same city with Jack, only miles away and not being able to see him, touch him, she knew she wouldn't last.
This was why she always ran. Everyone thought she was strong, independent, had the strength to leave people behind. It was the exact opposite. She was weak. So weak. If she'd stayed in LA for a moment more, she'd have run to Jack, begged him to not leave her. With over a thousand miles between them and no money to get home, she couldn't give in to her whims. Even so, she'd stood in line at the bus station this morning trying to purchase a ticket to LA. Her credit card had bounced, and she figured fate was trying to take care of her.
"Is something wrong?" Solana stepped toward Jack. "Is she sick?"
"In a way. She needs to see you, Solana."
Her name on his lips caused her insides to clench. She dug the nails in deeper, to no avail. The agony of being so close to him, not being able to touch him, overwhelmed her. To hide her face, she turned and leaned both palms on the desk, using the sturdy metal furniture to hold her upright. "I told her, I can't."
"Why not?" He growled behind her.
She could feel the heat of his body near hers and she had to grip the edge of the desk not to face him, wrap her arms around him. "This is where I belong."
"A skin club in sin city?"
"It's not a strip club." She focused on Alfonzo's coffee mug. The faded logo. The stains. "No one gets naked here."
"Not on stage, but that dance floor is another thing."
Solana stared at the array of screens on the wall. Pairs of bodies ground against each other, mimicking the dance she and Jack had performed in his bed night after night. Her skin flamed and parts of her begged to give in. To turn and kiss Jack. Her body assured her the pleasure would be worth any long-term discomfort.
Eyes closed, she summoned all the reserves she had to resist facing Jack. If she did, she'd end up on her knees, pleading with him to spend one last night with her. "You didn't seem to mind when you were here last."
"My tastes have changed."
His words hit her like shards of glass. He really wasn't here for her. After only a week without her, he'd moved on. The thought of him with another woman made the tequila roll in her stomach.
He cleared his throat, the sound closer. She held her breath to not inhale his cologne. "My jet is leaving at 6am tomorrow. You're on the passenger list. Come or don't come, it's up to you."
"Why can't you leave me alone?" Despite her best efforts to avoid him, she found herself shifting to catch sight of Jack in the glass of the office window. It wasn't enough. Desperate for one final glance in those haunting blue eyes, she spun around. Her gaze found pure black. Sunglasses denied her what she craved.
He backed away, like she might bite him. "Message received. I'll find another way home. The plane is all yours, Sweetheart." Jack's voice cracked on the word he'd once used as an endearment, and he disappeared down the hall.
Hey all. D. L. here. Seems Jack left his apartment after all. But was it worth the effort?
Fair is fair, so I have to ask:
A: Is Solana overreacting?
B: Does she have a right to be hurt?
C: All of the above.
Only a few more chapters left. I might miss these two...Or maybe there will be a sequel... Although not sure what you'd like to see if the story continues. Other than a happy ending.