"Guess who's back bitches!" Lily screams as she walks through the double doors. Immediately, high-pitched shrieks greet her, and laughter ruffles in the air. One by one, they jump her with a massive hug while the tears glisten down their faces.
I stood behind her fiddling with my hair, uncertain of what to do.
"What are you doing back here!" an older man screams, as he stomps down the stairs. Everyone made way for him. "You told me your sister married some rich bastard, and now you're back here? I'm not giving you a job or my wife's cupcakes goddammit!"
Lily laughs. "It's nice to see you again too Mr. Polwer, and no, I did not get into trouble and am not in need of a job, but it's nice to know you always have an opening for me."
His lip twirled into a smile before the water made its way into his eyes. "Do you know how worried I was?" Everyone made an awe sound causing his face to scrunch up again. "Are you all on break?" he scowls.
They all grumble and return to their duties, or pretend to do it.
"Lily?" a woman's voice enters the room.
I turn my body towards the stairs to see a young female, perhaps a few years older than me straddle down. She's absolutely stunning with large blue eyes and flowy dark hair that compliments her pale skin. Behind her stands two young females, who clearly inherit their mother's physical appearance.
"Sandra!" Lily pitched and spread her arms for Sandra to enter.
"Lily!" the two girls scream and rush towards her. Lily releases Sandra and embraces the two young females.
"Aw, how are you? I miss you so much April -" she kisses April's cheek. "and you too May." She pecks May's cheek. April and May grin widely before responding to her kisses. I notice how April has two missing front teeth while May has freckles all over her cute little face. I had the most substantial urge to pinch their cheeks. Lily stands up straight. "Everyone this is Angelica, my younger sister."
"The one who married the old rich man?" Mr.Polwer questioned, before slamming into my body for a deep embracement. "Poor you, you must have gone through so much to feed this black hole." Lily glares at him. "If anything happens, tell me. I'll make sure to take care of the old man."
I look at Lily. "Old rich man?"
Lily shrugs, "I didn't know how he looked at the time."
I chuckle and shake my head, understanding why she wants to return to this place. It's warm and loving, filled with those who genuinely care. "Thank you Mr.Polwer, but my husband is treating me fairly."
We spend most of the day at Teasers. Lily introduced me to everyone and even showed me some moves on the pole. I laugh, almost bursting into tears when I tried the steps she did only to fall on my ass. It's hard work, and I applaud anyone who could move the way they did.
Settling myself at the bar, I smile while twirling the cup of alcohol in my hand. I'm sure I can't drink, but when you know people. I guess it's okay. Everyone surrounds Lily, telling their stories while she rekindles by describing some of her own. Of course, she cannot mention specific parts, but even the boring things somehow sound interesting coming out of her mouth. Lily had a kind of brutal honesty that tests most friendships, but everyone appreciates it. They always know where they stand with her.
Sandra crashed beside me. "You got one hell of a sister there."
I nod, placing the cup down. "I sure do."
"You know-" she takes my cup, probably noticing how I barely sip once or twice. "I was the one who recruited her here." I nudge a brow as she drinks the cup fully. "Do you dislike me for introducing her here?"
"No," I'm honestly not angry at Sandra or anyone else. At the time, I felt betrayed that she wasn't honest with me, but that was it.
She places the glass down, allowing the water to trickle towards the surface. "When I met her, it was raining-"
"Please, tell me you're not in love with her," I joke.
Sandra laughs, one that sounds excruciatingly pleasing to the ears. "I got enough of my fair share of romance, thank you very much." She quickly dismissed the idea. "She got fired from the motel not too far away from here. Dressed in torn maid's clothes."
I frown deeply at her words.
Her parted lips closed, attempting to find the right words. "She didn't tell you did she?"
I shake my head.
Sandra leans toward me and I can hear Lily's laughter. "I understand it's not my place to tell you this, but I know Lily wouldn't either. She-"
"Cares about others more than herself. So, she will never tell anyone, anything unless she has to say it," I finish for Sandra.
"Angelica, Lily almost got raped the night I found her."
I'm at a loss for words.
"Many people see stripping as a degrading job, but we-" she looks around. "Don't." She licks her lip. "We're family here" She places a hand on top of mine. "So, please come to us if something does happen."
I turn my hand around and tangle our fingers together. "Thank you for telling me."
She releases a deep breath, before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I didn't understand why my heart decided to skip a beat at that action. My cheeks were burning the longer I looked at Sandra "Something wrong sweetheart?" her endearment struck me harder than I anticipated.
I remove my head from her touches and twist the chair towards the crowd. I look down at the ground. "N-Nothing."
During the ride back, Lily happily chats about how great it is, and I can tell she wants to come back to visit them. Lily giggles again, her muscles are shaking and tears stream from her half-closed eyes. I hold my breath behind pursed lips to steel myself against the gales of laughter to come. They always do.
"Why are you crying?" she would ask me.
I sat there and forced out a smile. "I'm happy that you're happy."
Lily snickers, "Weirdo," she said before she hugged me. "Did Sandra tell you?"
"I asked her."
"You don't need to cover up for her."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
I can feel my shoulder getting wet. "I'm fine now, so can we not talk about the past?"
I hold onto her tighter, promising to myself to protect the courageous girl in front of me no matter what happens.
"Ah, I hope this doesn't sound weird but I kind of miss Italy," she grumbles, as her blonde locks tickle my thighs. After our embracement, we decide to stroll around Detroit until our faces become beautiful again - which means we will never go back.
I ran my fingers through her hair and sighed. I miss Italy too.
My thoughts were disturbed when I witnessed a familiar man across the street. "Isn't that...Antonio?" I ask, remembering how he was supposedly in the countryside with his wife and kids.
Immediately, Lily popped up. "Isn't that Antonio? What is he doing here?"
Surprisingly Antonio is wearing a regular outfit, consisting of sweatpants and a black shirt. There's a cap hanging over his head and a leather jacket covering his broad shoulders. He gave off that bad boy kind of vibe which is oddly...not that much of a turn-on.
I guess I'm more into suits and ties.
"He looks suspicious. Let's follow him," Lily suggests.
"You want to follow a suspicious-looking man in one of the shadiest-looking areas in Detroit?"
She shrugs, "Driver here would be with us. There's also the guards."
"You want to follow a suspicious-looking man in one of the shadiest-looking areas in Detroit with seven buffy-looking men behind us?"
Lily's lip thinned. "That wouldn't be subtle, would it?"
"We might as well command them to kidnap Antonio and personally interrogate him through whips and chains," I said sarcastically.
"Oh! Can we?" Her voice is filled with excitement. "If we are, let's go buy sexy torture outfits!"
"No!"
"No to the torture outfits or no to torturing?"
"Both!"
She sighs, and we look back out the window. "Aw, man! We lost him!" She grunts falling back onto my lap. "We may be the worst stalkers ever," she grumbles.
"Umm Miss Chisai?" the driver said.
"Yes?"
"Please don't mind my intrusion, but Mr.Moretti walks into that building over there," he said. I turn my head to see a small cafe. "If you like, we can settle ourselves at the small library across the street. The guards will be within the other buildings and watch over you."
I look down at Lily who waits for me to make the decision. "Sure," I said.
Lily clapped.
Once we reached the library, the driver gave us hats and earplugs to wear. The caps were to conceal our identity, and the earplugs were so we could call for aid if anything happened. "Please-" the driver pulled out the chair for me to sit down. "Do not wander without informing one of us."
I sat down and nodded, smiling at him. "I won't," I reassure him. I sat there, before looking at him again. I realize that this man has been driving us around ever since we entered the states but I never really interact with him. "What's your name?"
He smiles, causing his eyes to narrow ever so slightly "Mariano, Mrs.Winston."
"Mariano," I rest my chin against my palm before glancing out the window. "That's a nice name. Where are you from?"
Mariano settles behind me, pretending to read a book or perhaps he is reading it. "Birth or raise?"
Lily narrows her eyes behind the book as she continues to stare at the building openly. Maybe she is right; we are horrible stalkers. I'm not surprised if Antonio already knows about us. "Birth."
"Roselake, California."
I stand up and head towards the piles of books with Mariano behind me, still holding the book. "That town sounds familiar."
"It's where Harrison High School is located."
I clasp my hands together. "Oh yes, the private high school for young geniuses."
He nodded but didn't respond.
"So, why did you leave Roselake? I heard it's one of the best towns in the states to live in."
He smiles dimly. "New opportunities arise elsewhere." It's quite a vague response which got me interested, but I feel like I would be snoppy if I asked any more questions.
"Ann!" Lily whisper-yell and I walk towards the table. I sat down "Look! Antonio is out!" She points rigorously at him. Way to be subtle Lils.
Antonio takes a step out of the building and soon, a young girl walks out with him. She held her hand over the small bump of her stomach with a large hat covering her face so I couldn't tell whom he was talking to.
"Didn't Antonio's wife give birth recently?" Lily asks, and I nod "Then, who is she?"
I turned back towards the two who were still exchanging conversations. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a peal of laughter that could be heard throughout the quiet street. Our eyes widened. Antonio can actually laugh and smile.
"Oh my God," Lily whispers. "He isn't a robot."
While we continued watching them, Antonio took a step closer to her, and she did the same. They would embrace each other, much more familiar than friends.
"Do you think," Lily leaned in closer to me, "Antonio is cheating on his wife?"
My left eye twitches slightly at the question. Unable to handle the brewing irritation, I slam my hands against the table causing Lily to tremble. I'm quite sure I'm expressing a very unpleasant face. Before my mind can catch up with my body, I'm already out of the door.
"Wait! This is not a good stalking!" Lily screams.
The girl got into a car, with Antonio resting against the door. Antonio looks up, eyes meeting with mine. His smile drops while his lip continues motioning, probably bidding goodbye to his little homewrecker!
Antonio closes the door, and the car drives away at a steady speed. I match towards him with folding arms. Lily rushed behind me, stuffing a fist inside her mouth to prevent herself from speaking. "Mrs.Winston," Antonio said, with a slight bow, erasing all traces of happiness from earlier.
I ground my molars. "How can you do that Antonio? You got a wife who just went into labor!"
Antonio tilts his head as his lip twitches upward, eyes shining in almost a humorous way. He looks behind me. "I will pull the car around," Mariano said, before leaving.
"And I shall warm up the car seats! Yeah." Lily babbles and rushes behind Mariano.
"Do what?"
"Meeting another woman when you have a wife!"
His brows furrow before a snort-like sound exits. "Mrs.Winston, let me see if I got this right. You're accusing me of cheating simply because I'm meeting with another woman who is not my wife?"
I stood there, while my left foot began shaking. Now, that I think about it, it does sound quite foolish.
"What about you Mrs.Winston?" he tilts his head tauntingly. "You enter a building with another man."
"Lily was there," I quickly defend myself, before recognizing the fact that Antonio knew that we were stalking him.
"Yes, and I enter a building with other people," he said before a few people walked out of the building chit-chatting about their days. "If I'm unfaithful for meeting a woman on public grounds then it must mean Mrs.Winston is also unfaithful."
I puff my cheeks. "I'm not and will never be unfaithful to my husband!"
Before I knew it, Antonio burst out laughing. His arm covers his stomach with his head thrown back, the other hand covering his face. "Relax Mrs.Winston," he sighs before turning towards what seems to be a shady alley. "Did you hear that Anthony?"
My eyes widen, and I twist my body around to see Anthony with a few men behind him. My legs refuse to move, too shocked, too embarrassed at his emotionless reaction.
"Mr.Winston, how fortunate of you to gain such a loyal wife." Antonio's sarcastic voice pitches in before he walks away.
I want to dig myself into the cement ground. Taking a step back, I cover my tomato face with my hands. Quickly, I exit towards the car without looking back. I pat the driver's seat. "Drive! Drive! Dr-" he turns around, and I realize it wasn't Mariano.
The door opens and the man I did not want to see slipped in. Lifting my hand to grab the doorknob, Anthony grasps it. I refused to look at him, but that didn't stop him from holding my chin. Without uttering a single word, he slams his lip against mine.
I gasped for air after the little session in the alley.
He presses his forehead against mine. "Ready to go back to Italy?"
"I'm ready to go home."