Текст книги "Gutter Princess"
Автор книги: Kimmie Easley
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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 12 страниц)
Chapter Four
Lucky
Shit!
That smile was trouble, and those green eyes were more than any normal man could take. Lucky didn’t know how long he would be in New Orleans, but it was obviously going to be longer than he had planned. He had to find out more about this girl. It had nothing to do with being a dancer. He had dated tons strippers in the past. Actually, it was fair to say he had fucked a lot of strippers. Lucky didn’t do the whole dating thing, but this girl was something else. She got under his skin, and he liked it. She made his cock hard simply by being in the same building.
Lucky made sure not to get tangled up with females while in New Orleans. The last thing he needed was to stick his cock into someone who was aiming to latch onto the Gauthier name. Been there, done that, and bought the fucking t-shirt.
He didn’t like the way everything about Baby caught him off guard. Those eyes, paired with that smile did things to him that he wasn’t prepared for. Shit.
It was clear to Lucky that the other girls at the club wanted his attention. Coral and Lolli were cute. If he had been anywhere else, he might have entertained the thought of hanging out with one of them or both of them. But with Baby Jade around, they didn’t stand a chance.
“Hello? Earth to Lucky.” Baby snapped her fingers in front of his face to get his attention. “You’re staring at me.” Her gorgeous green eyes beaming up at him, making his cock stir.
“Don’t try to tell me people don’t stare at you. Besides, I was trying to figure out my next question.” He didn’t want her to know that she had his head doing that spinning bullshit. He hoped he didn’t have some stupid shit-eating grin on his face.
“Damn.”
He grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Are you from New Orleans?”
“Yup. Grew up right here in the Seventh Ward. My turn. Where did you grow up?”
“All over the place.” He leaned against the wall.
Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. “Come on, that doesn’t count.”
“Sure it does. I grew up all over the place.”
Lucky wasn’t ready to tell anyone he was from New Orleans. Once that was out it wouldn’t take long before people linked him back to his family. He had finally met a girl he wanted to get to know better, someone who intrigued him, and she was from the fucking Seventh Ward. They didn’t have a shot in hell.
Damn, one head was hard, and the other was screwed up. “I’m done playing twenty questions,” Lucky snapped, causing her face to downturn. The pain in her eyes and the offended look on her face twisted his insides.
“Ok. What else do you wanna talk about?”
“Nothing. Don’t you have a set or something?”
Her face fell. “Not for a little while. Why?”
“Jewella’s gone now, I’m probably safe. I think I’ll be fine.”
Lucky felt as if he had the wind knocked out of him watching the way her doe eyes glazed over, dark and ominous.
“You can go now.” He knew she got the hint when her brow furrowed and she didn’t say a word. She lifted her shoulders and walked away, not looking back.
He felt like a bastard for treating her like shit, but he couldn’t allow himself to get wrapped up in a chick, not in New Orleans. As soon as he took care of business, he was heading straight out of town.
Chapter Five
Baby Jade
Baby Jade was sick to her stomach, feeling like she could vomit as she went through the motions of the rest of her set with Lucky in the same room. She didn’t like the way he made her feel vulnerable. He left her feeling exposed and confused. It pissed her off. When she was dancing, she tried not to look in his direction, but she was drawn to him. He didn’t attempt to divert his gaze when she caught him watching her every move.
Things were off to a good start. They were having fun, and he was attracted to her. Baby was sure of it. He had participated in the flirting as much as she had. Now, all of the sudden she didn’t exist. She didn’t have time for the Jekyll and Hyde bullshit.
After her shift, Baby Jade did a quick cleaning around the dressing room. When she was done, she grabbed her stuff and let Mickey know she was heading out for the night. Lucky was still working, but the front entrance was the only way out since she refused to take the back alley exit in the middle of the night. It was after two a.m. and the room was winding down. Lolli was finishing her last set and had her attention directed toward Lucky, who looked bored out of his mind. Bored in a strip club, this man was a fucking puzzle.
Lucky’s head shot upright as the door opened. He jumped off the stool at attention. Baby knew who it was before the person made it through the door. Slade. He was hard to miss. He soared at six feet five and was built like a MAC truck. She assumed his weightlifting addiction was due to little man syndrome. He had his long blond hair pulled back with a hair tie. His jaw was as chiseled as the rest of him. He dressed like he was a walking ad for Diesel with his shirt pulled tightly across his massive chest. Most women fawned over Slade. The girls fought over him and begged Mickey to put them on his private party circuit, but not Baby Jade. The sight of him made her shudder, and her stomach heaved with repulsion.
Slade strolled right past Lucky, throwing his jacket across Lucky’s stool, pretending not to see him standing there. There was no way he didn’t already know about the new guy. Word traveled fast around here. Let the inevitable game of “my dick’s bigger than your dick” commence.
Lucky’s body tensed up at Slade’s dismissive move. His jaw clenched and his nostrils flared. He looked like he wanted to rip the man’s head off.
“There’s my girl.” Slade looped his arm around Baby’s waist. He leaned in to plant one of his slobbery wet kisses on her neck, but she managed to duck and push him away, although she knew he let her. It was all for show. If Slade wanted something, there was no way she’d physically be able to stop him, short of using her 357 Magnum.
“Stop, Slade. I’m not your girl.” Baby Jade noticed the way Lucky’s jaw twitched. The vein in his forehead bulged underneath the skin.
“I haven’t seen you in a while. No treadmill after work anymore?” Slade ran the backside of his enormous hand along her cheek, leaving the feeling of road rash on her skin.
“You’re not discreet, are you? You want a show, come to the club.” She stepped out of his reach.
“I’m here now,” he replied in a deep growl.
“Not a chance. I’m done for the night. And I guess I won’t see you stalking my apartment later since Lolli’s keeping you in good company?” She glanced toward the stage and sympathized with the girl. Watching Slade hit on Baby Jade distracted her, causing her to stumble. She grabbed the pole to catch herself and made an ill attempt to play it off.
“Well, that depends on whether she keeps me entertained or not. Not that anyone has ever held my attention quite like you.” He placed his index finger under her chin.
She jerked away, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “Get a grip. I don’t know why you insist on putting Lolli through this. She’s always there, willing and able.”
“Oh yeah, she’s definitely able.” He leered up at the stage. It was pathetic the way Lolli soaked up the pitiful morsel of attention. As soon as he got the poor girl’s attention, he wrapped his mammoth-sized arm around Baby Jade and squeezed her ass. He was close enough that his heavy cologne assaulted her nostrils making her nauseated.
“Dammit, Slade!” She slapped his chest and marched past him. Lucky was still manning his post, eyeballing Slade, obviously ready to pounce. She had seen that look before. All Baby wanted to do was get the hell out of this damn Twilight Zone.
“Hey, you ok?” Lucky asked, stepping into the doorway.
“Get the hell out of my way.” She glared up at him, her cheeks red and flushed.
Lucky cleared his throat. “I wanted to see if you were ok, do you need a ride or something?”
“What I need is for you to go take a fucking leap off a short bridge. Get the hell out of my way,” she snapped and busted through the door. His nerve had her fuming. His back and forth macho man attitude had her head spinning.
With adrenaline pumping through her body, it didn’t take her long to walk home. She replayed the night over in her head, trying to make sense of the clusterfuck. Instead of finding answers, it only pissed her off more.
All the lights were out at Ma’Linn’s, and Baby was relieved to see she didn’t wait up for her to get home. However, she wasn’t surprised to find a bag with dinner and dessert on her doorstep. Her tummy growled as she popped the lid off the etouffee and inhaled deeply to savor the smell, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since the meager tomato sandwich. Snapping the lid back onto the bowl, Baby decided to knock out the treadmill while she was still too pumped up to go to bed. She stripped away her clothes. Wearing nothing but her sports bra and boy shorts, she clicked her iPod into the dock and set it to Sublime. Her bare feet pounded away for the next hour while the music blared through the apartment.
Baby hated the way her mind never slowed down. The thoughts bounced around in her head, trying to piece together the insanity from the club. Lucky was into her, it was obvious. If there was one thing that Baby knew well, it was men. She saw the way he watched her with his fiery eyes. The way he had to gulp for air and swallow when she walked into the room. When his hand clasped hers, the heat was enough to make her forget her own name. And that damn lopsided grin. Those dimples. The list went on.
She went from being angry to being flustered. Lucky had her all over the map. One minute they were joking around and getting to know one another, and the next icicles. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing if he didn’t get her all worked up. He was a mystery, and she fought the urge to want to figure him out.
Baby wanted no part of whatever shit Lucky was mixed up in.
If only the deep burning in her gut agreed.
Chapter Six
Lucky
From the moment Lucky walked into Bottoms Up he had hit a roadblock. A huge fucking roadblock with green eyes. Her voice and the feel of her skin had wiped out any brain cells he had left.
“You can go ahead and wrap up for the night,” Mickey said.
Lucky never noticed him walk up, and forgot what he was supposed to be doing, still wanting to kick his own ass for the way he let Baby walk out of the club without making things right. “Cool, thanks.”
“Not too bad for a first night, maybe it’ll work out after all. It’s only for a few weeks anyway, right?” Mickey folded his arms across his chest.
“Yeah, shouldn’t be too long.” Lucky didn’t like the way his new boss was sizing him up. “Hey, sorry about that whole thing with those assholes earlier. When he grabbed Baby I saw red, ya know?”
Mickey shrugged. “No big deal. Of course, I’d like to think you would have done the same thing for any of the girls, not only Baby.”
“Fuck yeah, I would. The douchebag deserved to have his cock knocked in the dirt.” He tried to size up Mickey. He didn’t want to cause any problems, and risk losing the job. “Look, I know you’re making a position for me because of Rodney. I don’t know why and I don’t give a shit, but I plan to do the best job I can while I’m here.”
Mickey shifted his weight; the look on his face was blank. Lucky didn’t like that he couldn’t get a read on the man. He already knew he didn’t like him. The way he ran his business spoke volumes. If his girlfriend was any indication of how he treated the girls, the son of a bitch was scum. Mickey didn’t give anything away when he said, “You do your job, and we’ll be fine.”
Lucky gave a curt nod. “Yes, sir.” He extended a hand. Mickey took it and gave it a quick shake with the same blank expression on his face before walking away.
He couldn’t wait to get the hell out of the club. Without Baby Jade, he had no reason to be there.
Chapter Seven
Baby Jade
Baby shuddered as the cool air whipped across her bare body. A tall figure tossed the sheet to the floor as he climbed onto the bed. Using his knee, the man nudged her legs apart, leaving her exposed for his pleasure. He nestled himself in between her trembling legs and used one hand to pin her wrists above her head. The bulge throbbing against the inside of her thigh confirmed the man was naked as well. Baby searched the man, attempting to make out his face, but only saw a dark silhouette. The warmth of his breath on her skin made Baby writhe under his weight. The fingertips of the man’s free hand caressed her breast, and down her side, slowly making their way closer to her groin.
“Baby …” the man whispered. The familiar way he said her name sent her hips up to meet him, pleading. “Baby … say my name.”
A throaty moan escaped her lips.
“Say it. I want to hear my name roll off those luscious lips. Say it.” He pressed his body into hers.
Baby’s moans grew carnal as she wrapped one leg around his, begging him to take her.
“Let me hear it, Baby.” The man gripped her wrists tighter. “Say Lucky.”
***
Baby Jade’s eyes flew open and she shot up in the bed, trying to catch her breath. A dream? I’m dreaming about Lucky? Sweat soaked the bed sheet, and worse, her body was buzzing. Almost aching, close to an orgasm.
A pounding at the front door shook Baby from dwelling on the dream. She hopped out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. The pounding continued, causing her to rush across the room, sending her stumbling into the wooden bookshelf.
“Shit!” she screamed as her foot met the corner edge. The pain was intense, her stomach knotted and she went weak in the knees.
“Hold on!” A voice came from the other side of the door right before it caved and a figure came barreling through.
“Lucky?”
“Baby, are you ok? What happened?”
Her eyes were wide and her mouth gaping. “What the hell are you talking about? And look at my front door? SHIT!” She looked past him.
Lucky twisted his body to look at the damage. The door now hung from one hinge, barely attached to the frame, which had now splintered. The chain lock was still hooked, and dangling from the wall.
“Are you ok?”
“I’m fine! What are doing here?” she asked, too startled to move.
“I thought I’d come by to check on you since I was such a dick before.”
“You couldn’t leave a damn note?”
Lucky ran his hand through his windblown hair. The pensive look on his face gave her the impression he realized how badly he screwed up.
“Well, I knocked and didn’t hear anything. I was gonna leave, but then I thought about that ogre-sized jackass last night. I needed to make sure you were ok. I knocked forever. When I finally heard something, it sounded like a struggle and you screamed. I thought you were in trouble.”
“I was sleeping. And if I was in trouble, you aren’t my fucking bodyguard! Shit, look at this mess.” Baby Jade stood, surveying the room, trying to make sense of what had happened.
“I’m sorry. I thought I was helping.” Lucky waved his hand back at the scene, clearly irritated.
“Do us both a favor, and don’t think!” She now stood toe to toe with Lucky, looking up into his face. Her hands placed on both hips.
“There’s no reason to act like a bitch.”
“Uh, excuse me?” Hands on hips, glaring up at him as she points to the door. “The last I checked, you don’t have to fucking deal with Mickey, and if you call me a bitch again, I will wear your balls for earrings.”
Lucky walked over to the door and started picking up wood and debris. “What’s that asshole got to do with anything?”
“He’s my landlord. How am I supposed to explain this?” Baby knew Mickey would charge her three times the damage, or try to make her work it off some other way.
“Look, I’m the one who broke it. I’ll get it fixed before he finds out.”
Baby attempted to soften her tone, realizing Lucky felt bad enough. It wouldn’t help anyone for her to make the situation worse. “That would be a good plan if Mickey didn’t have eyes everywhere.”
“Seriously, it’s not a problem. I’ll have it fixed before he finds out.”
It threw her for a second to think about the fact that Lucky was standing in her living room. He was bending and moving to clean up the mess on the floor, trying to piece it back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Reaching to lean the broken door against the wall, Lucky’s black t-shirt rode up enough for Baby to catch a peek at his lower abdomen. Muscles molded together to form the perfect trail to his loose fitting waistband. The way the jeans hung low on his hips made her blood soar, making her cheeks hot.
“Baby?”
The way he said her name. That one word sent the flush from her cheeks straight to all the important parts of her body as she remembered the dream, the way she became wet by the sound of his voice.
Lucky stopped working. “Baby? Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was thinking.”
“With that look on your face, I’d give my right arm to know what you were thinking about.”
Baby stepped closer to Lucky, close enough to smell the intoxicating soap that lingered off his skin. She involuntarily placed her palm square on his chest and settled one leg in between his. As Lucky’s eyes grew wide, he fumbled trying to form words.
“Sorry, you’ll have to come up with something better than that.” Baby let her fingertips graze the bare skin where Lucky’s t-shirt met his jeans, leaving him speechless. “Now get to work,” she said and walked away.
Chapter Eight
Lucky
The clanking around in the kitchen was a constant reminder that Baby was close. She had plugged in her ear buds and was dancing in and out of each room, trying to go about her daily business. Imagining what else she could do with that body was driving Lucky insane. He had become a walking hard-on since laying eyes on her.
He attempted to put all his efforts into fixing the door. Ducking out for an hour, he had managed to find everything he needed at Tubby’s Hardware. The rest, he borrowed from Rodney’s Garage. He aimed to finish before Mickey found out. That douchebag was sure to take advantage of the situation if he found about it, not to mention he couldn’t leave Baby’s apartment wide open at night.
He felt like a jackass for breaking down her door, and he was trying not to regret the decision to track her down and apologize for being such a dick at the club. Last night was crazy. This woman had him at a loss. He couldn’t think straight. He spent the entire night waiting until an appropriate time to knock on her front door.
Lucky came back to town with a plan. In and out. Cut and dry. Falling hard was not on his agenda. It wasn’t until the giant troll with a ponytail stepped into the picture that Lucky’s plan fell apart.
After seeing the guy manhandle Baby, he knew there was more to the story. He wanted to bury his desire to protect her. To bury his need to keep her safe. Actually, what he wanted was to bury himself right inside her.
Chapter Nine
Baby Jade
Alabama Shakes filled Baby Jade’s eardrums as she cleaned the kitchen. She loved mood music, and it helped tune out the sound of Lucky working in the other room. She hummed to the lyrics, but it was impossible to forget he was nearby.
Lucky busied himself fixing the door that he had gallantly knocked down coming to her rescue as a corner bookshelf viciously attacked her big toe.
She decided the least she could do was offer him lunch. Looking in the refrigerator, she mentally kicked herself for not being more normal. A half bottle of wine and an old bowl of gumbo wouldn’t go far. She was able to pull together a plate of cheese and crackers. To her surprise, she had a couple of Shiners in the door. She couldn’t remember the last time she bought beer, hoping they were still drinkable.
“Hey, wanna take a break?” Baby asked, holding a beer in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.
The way Lucky’s eyebrows shot up told her she had caught him off guard, and she liked it.
“Sounds good. Is that for me?” He pointed to the Shiner. Baby Jade handed him the bottle and took a sip from her own drink. She hoped the alcohol would settle her nerves. He made her weak in the knees, leaving her feeling like a schoolgirl on her first date.
“I have a snack too.” Her voice shook. She picked up the plate of cheese and crackers from the kitchen and placed it on the coffee table. “Sorry, I’m not big on furniture.” The living room consisted of an old couch in great need of repair, an end table from the ’70s, a thrift store coffee table, her treadmill, and four overpacked bookshelves.
“Not a problem. I’ll sit here on the couch beside you if that’s ok?” When she didn’t protest, he must have taken it as an invite, sitting down next to her. “This is good, thanks.” He took another swig from the bottle.
“I thought you might get done faster if you didn’t have to leave for lunch.”
He laughed. “Oh is that it?”
Damn that grin.
“Mmhmm. You think you’ll be done before work tonight?” Baby looked away before he caught her staring at his yummy dimples.
“Yeah, shouldn’t be a problem. I didn’t know Mickey was your landlord.” He glanced around the room. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”
“I know. It’s a real shithole, but it’s not forever.” She lowered her head, trying to hide her embarrassment.
“Seriously? You got plans?”
“Doesn’t every girl?” She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.
Lucky’s gaze hardened. She wished more than anything she knew what he was thinking.
“I suppose they do, but I can also tell you’re not like other girls. You’re different.”
Baby cocked her head to one side, letting a strip of hair escape from the messy bun. “How’s that?”
He reached up and tucked the hair behind her ear, sending goose bumps across her flesh. “I can’t put my finger on it, but you’re definitely different. You’re real. None of that fake shit girls are putting on these days, playing games and always out for themselves.”
“I don’t have time for games. My childhood ended a long time ago. People either accept the real me or they can keep moving.”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. I’m supposed to be moving on, for some reason I can’t bring myself to get up off my ass and go.” He locked his gaze on her.
She stared back into his brown eyes. “And for some reason, I don’t want you to.”
***
Thursday night at Bottoms Up was definitely better than the midweek day shift. Of course, better tips always meant putting up with more shit. Baby Jade laced up the front of her deep green leather corset, pairing it with matching booty shorts. The leather would be a nice change from the lace she’d been wearing lately.
She tried to shake the day off, but the burning kiss still had her mind reeling. Her body was still on fire. Lucky managed to get the front door fixed, and she was thrilled she wouldn’t have to deal with Mickey’s bullshit. Although she hated that Lucky had finished up in one day and didn’t have an excuse to come back.
That damn dream about him in all his glory had started the morning off with a bang. And it only spiraled out of control when she heard him knocking on the door one second and barreling through to her living room floor the next.
They spent the majority of the day making a pitiful attempt to ignore one another. Baby Jade cleaned, mopped, and rearranged her closet, leading her to think she might actually make it through the day, but the incessant flirting over lunch was too much to bear. It was different from anything she had ever experienced before. Who knew flirting could be absolutely raw and honest?
They ate lunch and enjoyed a couple of drinks. Baby Jade had too much wine for the middle of the day, leaving her more loose-lipped than usual. When Lucky told her he couldn’t make himself get up and leave although he knew he should, Baby couldn’t stop the words from pouring out. As soon as she said that she didn’t want him to, the floodgates opened. She went on to tell him things she had never shared with anyone before. Ma’Linn was the only person who knew such intimate details of her life. She replayed the events of the afternoon over in her head.
***
“Yeah, after the major meltdown, Momma spent the next decade in and out of institutions. By the time we finally got her into Pecan Grove, she’d been all over the state,” Baby explained.
Lucky leaned into her, hanging on her every word. “Damn, that must have been hard. Especially being young. No dad around or family to help out?”
Baby snatched a piece of her hair and twirled it around her index finger, the questions making her anxious. However, for some reason she couldn’t stop. He was damn easy to talk to, and it made her uncomfortable.
“No, I never knew my dad and Momma was never willing to talk about him. I learned early on not to ask. I guess it was one of her triggers.”
“That sucks. Sorry.”
“It’s all good. I lived with Ma’Linn on and off. She’s my neighbor, a feisty old black woman with a heart of gold. Never underestimate her. She’s crazy.” Baby laughed, thinking about her nosey friend and wondering why she had not popped in yet. “When I wasn’t living with her, I was on my own.”
“That’s how you started dancing?”
“After a while, yes. It’s not ideal and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But at the time, it got me off the streets.”
Lucky offered a weak smile. Baby had seen that smile before. It reeked of pity. She decided it was time to turn the tables.
“You said you lived in the city before. What brought you back?” she asked.
“Well,” he started as he readjusted himself on the couch, visibly uneasy. “I have some business stuff to take care.” Baby remained silent, pausing for him to continue. “Some family stuff.”
That was the opening she had been waiting for, “Family? Your family is in the city?”
Lucky rubbed his hands up and down the front of his jeans. She had succeeded in putting him on the hot seat. “Yes.”
“You’re from Orleans?”
He gave one slow nod.
The way he was acting made her anxious for him. The wine had gone to her head. She knew she should stop, but kept barreling forward. “Why did you leave in the first place?”
Lucky exhaled, letting out the deep breath he appeared to have been holding as he leaned back into the couch. “Damn, you don’t let up, do you?” Offering an ill attempt at a grin. “Ok, I’m gonna throw it out there. Yeah, my family is from New Orleans. I was born and raised in the Garden District. Please, try to hold back the eye rolling.”
Baby playfully tapped his arm. “I’m not rolling my eyes. I wouldn’t have guessed it is all.”
“I’m actually happy to hear that. It means all of my hard work of going incognito is paying off. I try to keep that bit of information to myself.”
“I can’t help but feel like there’s more to the story.”
“Yeah, a lot more.” Lucky closed his eyes, pulling in air through his nose before letting out a deep sigh. “My last name is Gauthier. As in Gauthier Offshore Services.”
The name caused Baby Jade to furrow her brow. Her mouth fell and she wrinkled her nose. She knew the name all too well. There wasn’t a person alive or dead who had lived in New Orleans within the last two hundred years who had not at some point come across a Gauthier, or at least heard the name. Unfortunately for Baby, the encounters she remembered involved grab happy millionaires who didn’t like to take no for an answer. Her stomach knotted as he continued.
“My family’s been working in marine transportation for years. They’ve done quite well for themselves. After high school, I went to college to get my Master’s in Business Finance. I was on the right track to make the old man proud.
While I was at LSU, I met a girl. Her name was Carrie and we got pretty serious. We dated for two years. Turns out, we had the same goals and dreams. She came from a well-off family, not as well-off as mine, but they weren’t left wanting for anything. My parents didn’t care for her, but that was no surprise since they always thought everyone was beneath them.”
Lucky took a quick swig from the Shiner bottle. “In our last year, we were starting to look forward to our future and make plans for after college, but Carrie found out she was pregnant. It was a huge blow. We were always careful. But after the initial shock wore off, I was kind of excited, more than Carrie was anyway. It messed with her timeline, her five-year plan. After some careful consideration, and against my parents’ wishes, I proposed. I figured it was the right thing to do and, with some hard work on both our parts, we could still make something of our lives. I saw a light at the end of the tunnel when she said yes.”
The way Lucky’s shoulders sagged and he ran his hands over his jeans, Baby knew whatever he had to say was going to be difficult.
“I’m guessing she didn’t agree?” Baby asked in a whisper.
He lowered his head and shook it from side to side.
“I’m sorry, Lucky. You don’t have to say anything more.” She didn’t want to drag out his obvious pain.
“No. I haven’t ever gotten this far. No one knows this part of my life.” He finished the second, and last, bottle of Shiner. “May I?” he asked, gesturing to Baby’s half glass of wine. She scooted the glass in his direction. He picked it up and took it down in one gulp. “No, Carrie didn’t agree. I’d come home from a weeklong stay at my parents, trying to smooth over the engagement. Carrie and I shared a small apartment near campus. When I got home, she and a friend of hers were in the middle of packing her bags. I had no idea what was going on. She wouldn’t tell me anything. They kept filling bags and boxes. Carrie looked like hell. She was in an old pair of my football sweats, no makeup, and messy hair, which was unlike her. She looked as if she rolled right out of bed. I tried to find out what was going on, but she refused to talk to me. After everything was loaded in the car, Carrie grabbed her purse and got ready to walk out the door for the last time. I couldn’t let her go. I grabbed her by the arm. I wanted her to talk to me, to tell me what happened. Everything was fine a week earlier. I was confused.”
Lucky ran his hands through his hair, and then he blindly stroked his beard. Baby Jade remained silent because she didn’t want to interrupt his train of thought. His eyes were dark and distant; she knew this was hard enough for him without her jumping in.
