of Speck so I’m sure he’s crying himself to sleep over it.”
He flips her off. “Poe’s just pissed she’s still not old enough to hang out with us when she wants too. She’s the baby of the family.”
“You are exactly eighteen months older than me, Reece, don’t be a fucking asshole or I’m calling Keely and she’ll have your ass.”
He shrugs and flings himself back on the chair in the corner. “Eighteen months still means I’m free and you’re stuck doing fucking geometry.”
She throws a pen at him without looking and it still hits him directly between the eyes. “Good arm.”
She quirks a grin at me. “Thanks! Growing up with these assholes means I’m pretty fucking good at it.”
I huff out a laugh at her and side-eye Speck. “You’re only eighteen? Jesus. Mel’s old enough to be your mom and she’s chasing your ass hard.”
He grins back at me. “I do love an older woman. If she asks about me, put in a good word, would ya?”
I roll my eyes at him and try to write a little faster, conscious of how long I have left before I have to get out there.
Poe leans forward in her chair to look at my work. “How long have you been dancing here? No one’s told me about you, I’m a little pissed I didn’t know you were here.”
I shrug. “A few weeks. I... uh, I don’t really hang out with the other girls.”
She scoffs and sits back in the chair with the first page of notes. “Lemme guess, Diamond hates you and now the other girls are being bitches to you? Diamond is a cunt, for real.”
I glance around the room like this is a trap and the stripper herself is about to jump out and fire me. “She’s not happy that I only dance. She thinks I’m a frigid bitch… she thinks that I think I’m too good to be friends with them all.”
She giggles. “Angel, I’ve only had to meet you to know that you are too good for them and it’s got nothing to do with them being strippers. Fuck, if my ass looked like yours I’d be up there taking dumbass men’s money too.”
Speck groans and stares up at the ceiling. “Don’t even fucking joke like that, it’d end in a bloodbath.”
That makes no sense.
Poe huffs and then we both jump at the sound of the door snapping open and bouncing off of the wall. Tomi walks through, pausing when his eyes land on me. The corners of his mouth turn down and my heart stops in my chest.
Poe comes to my rescue. “Where the hell have you been? You promised me you’d help with this bullshit!”
I cringe a little at the way she’s talking to him, he’s built like a freaking brick shithouse, but he just huffs out a breath at her. “You didn’t have to distract the dancers to get back at me. Angel, you’re late.”
I scramble to my feet and duck my head as I walk past him, cursing under my breath at myself. I enjoyed myself for half a second and it bites me on the ass.
By the time I take the stage Tomi is in his booth, whiskey in his hand and his eyes follow my every move.
Poe is gone before I make it back out.
Chapter Eight
Tomi
I spend way too long hanging around at The Boulevard watching Angel.
I make it clear to the girls that I’m doing an audit of the business, something I do on the regular anyway because it’s our biggest legitimate money maker, and then I set up in a booth every night where I can see every fucking twirl and shimmy the girl does on stage.
It’s a special type of hell because, fuck, can that girl move.
Diamond gives me all of the books, a bottle of whiskey, and the offer of a blowjob in the back room on the first night I arrive. The shock on her face when I pass on the blowjob isn’t just clear to me, the girls all see it and start fucking gossiping but I’ve never really given a fuck about that bullshit.
By the sixth night in a row like this, I’m sure word has gotten around because I find myself joined by my cousin within the first fucking hour.
“You wanna tell me why you’re stalking this place now?” Rue orders a drink from Diamond with a jerk of his head and I pointedly don’t look at the new girl.
He notices her anyway. “Fuck.