Chapter 20

Azalea’s POV.

I assumed since Lucas and I had plans to meet that he would leave my workspace, but he didn’t. Lucas stuck around as I finished up my first shift. He was at least ordering club sodas, so he wasn’t just filling up a chair.

Lucas would look at every man that entered the place and he would make sure to glare at the ones that stared at me a little too long. I found that to be a bit silly, but he wasn’t disrupting the peace of anything. Callie pulled me aside and asked me who he was.

“Who is the sexy hunk with the accent? He’s back today and he’s staring at you and only you,” Callie asked and looked over my shoulder as she stood on her toes. Callie was always looking out for ‘hot’ men, but whenever they presented themselves to her she’d run away and claim she wasn’t ready for those things. But she did love to sweeten her eyes. A lot.

“He’s… He’s someone from my past,” I admitted and bit down on my lips. One thing about this place is that no one ever asks about your past. Over half of the people here have something they’re running from or had something happen to them that turned them to this place. It’s something that brought us all together, but we also learned not to ask about it unless the person talks about it.

“Oh shit, are you safe?” Callie then asked. The last time someone from the past visited, it ended in a fight between one of the strippers and her person from the past. This was many workers' safe haven and we had to protect it as such.

“Oh my god, yes, it’s not like that,” I assured her, placing my hand on her shoulder. “He’s a safe one from my past,” I continued and looked over at Lucas. He was busy glaring at the man who had his eyes glued on Callie’s ass. If it had been Damon, I would’ve never been this calm about having someone from the Belt back here.

“Ok, because I would’ve gone out there and drop-kicked his ass if he was someone terrible,” Callie scoffed effortlessly, looking at me with a fierce and bold look that made me smile to myself.

“Thank you, Callie, now let’s move on with these,” I pointed to the new casing of beer she was supposed to help me carry so we could cool them.

“Do you think anyone will like these new beers?” Callie asked, staring at the foreign brand. It was foreign for her, but to me, it was popular on the Belt. I finally got Dante to trust me on this and I ordered a bunch.

“With the new event coming up, this is the right choice,” I assured her. Events at the club are the perfect time to introduce new things. “People just need to try it first, then they’ll realize how great this beer is,” I said.

“Okido, perhaps I’ll buy one and try it at home,” Callie said casually.

“Nice try, you’re still only twenty,” I laughed.

“I'll be twenty-one in two months,” she pouted.

“Then wait those two months, but hey, thanks for the present idea,” I winked and she groaned dramatically.

“Such a mother hen,” she muttered.

I rolled my eyes playfully and went back to serving the rest of my people. You’d think a strip club wouldn’t have much traffic during the early day, but we did. We had a lot of traffic. There were people who came in with their office clothes, sneaking between lunch breaks or as their shifts ended. Others came dressed like the men from the park, and after a short conversation, you’d learn they’re dads who are supposed to look after their kids but leave their kids with the grandparents because they need their break.

I personally am all for parents taking a break; you simply cannot pour from an empty cup. But I just couldn’t imagine coming to a strip club for a recharge of energy. But, to each their own. These were our clients, and they brought in all the money we needed. I will admit, there are women from time to time too. There was this group of ladies who’d come in, and they tipped substantially well. I haven’t seen them in a while.

I served my last drink for the day, this concluded my first shift, and I went into the staff-only room to grab my things and met with Lucas outside. We headed to that cafe and ordered some food and such. I put a timer because I’d soon need to swing by and pick up Lynn from daycare.

“So, you’ve seen me working, still think I’m a stripper?” I asked, leaning back in my chair. His face turned a bit red from the embarrassment, and he shook his head.

“You’re not, and I’m sorry for insinuating such,” Lucas apologized sincerely. “It’s just that you were always smart, you could do far better, and I was worried you never reached your potential. You deserve it,” he explained, picking his words ever so carefully. “I will admit, some of these men are too creepy with their stares and smiles and how they grab their drinks,” he scoffed and I just smiled.

“Sadly it’s part of the job, but it doesn’t happen too often,” I sighed, agreeing with him on that matter. “Plus, Dante makes sure all the ladies are treated with respect. No one here does anything they’re not comfortable with,” I assured him. I’ve heard stories of managers from other clubs, and I knew we were fortunate to end up with someone like Dante.

“Dante?” he asked, a hint of jealousy in his tone.

“The owner of the club,” I explained then thanked the waiter as he came back with our food and drinks.

“Oh, ok,” he hummed, “Well, do you like your job?”

“I didn’t see myself becoming a bartender, but the pay is nice and the shifts I work pay all my bills and save me some cash. I’m running things on my end, and I’m working up to becoming manager, so yeah,” I told him the truth, then sipped my coffee.

“Oh, are you set for a promotion then?” he asked, amazed and proud.

“Kinda, I just have to finish my courses,” I grinned.

“You started college?” he gasped with excitement on his face.

“Online one since,” I said then cut myself off. I almost spoke about Lynn. He cannot know about Lynn. “Since I also run a night shift,” I added. It was partly the truth.

“You work double shifts?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah, the second shift isn’t too long, but it still pays,” I confirmed.

“I see,” he muttered then sighed and said, “You got a good-paying job and you’re putting yourself through college. That’s great.”

“I’m glad you’re safe and doing well,” Lucas smiled.

“Thank you. How have you been?” I wondered. He seemed a lot better.

“I became the operations manager on the Belt,” Lucas said proudly.

“That’s great,” I gushed. It was nice to be able to catch up with my friend again.

“Mhm, but I have to confess something,” Lucas looked down at his drink. “When you left, I confronted Damon, and it didn’t end so well. The rumors soon started stating that you left because of him. Others said that you were with the father and that Laura discovered your affair, which is why you were paid off and took off,” he revealed, and I felt my heart seize.

“Seriously?” I asked, trying to keep my anger down. It’s fine, I convinced myself it was all ok. Every rumor started about me was simply started by those who had nothing better going for themselves.

“Damon kept denying everything, but please tell me it wasn’t because of me that you left,” Lucas looked at me with guilty eyes.

“Is that what you think?”

“Yes, Azzie, I do,” Lucas admitted, and it broke my heart a little.

“I left because of Damon and his mother. I left because I wasn’t appreciated there, and I no longer had my father to stay there for,” I clarified, “I will not lie. The way you had treated me the few months before I left was terrible, but I already had my mind made up to leave, so no, it’s not because of you.”

“I just had to leave,” I swallowed the lump in my throat as I thought of everything that happened.

“Thank you,” Lucas reached to hold my hand.

We continued to talk a bit longer, and when we finished our drinks and cleared our plates, it was time to go pick up Lynn. I gave Lucas my new number and we went our separate ways.

I went and got Lynn.

“Mama,” Lynn ran up to me and hugged me tightly.

“Hey, baby girl, how was your day?” I asked, carefully running my fingers through her hair before planting a kiss to her forehead. I picked her up and began to lead the way. I’d care for her, give her all the love and attention before having to drop her back off.

“Let me tell you about the crocodile,” she decided and she sure captured my attention because what freaking crocodile was she talking about?

We spent a few hours together before I had to drop her off and was back to work to finish my three-hour shift. This was a lot more manageable with Ada in town, but I just had to push through for a few weeks. I could do it.

My night shift went by with many tips, and I couldn’t be happier. I was busy finishing up when I saw Lucas come into the club again, his eyes immediately found me and there was something in them that I couldn’t explain. A raw emotion.

“Azzie, I have to tell you something,” Lucas confessed.