Page 9 of Dancing With Doubt

5

Roxie

Roxie woke up two days later to a couple of text messages from June. She hadn’t heard from her friend the day after her exchange with Lincoln. That made Roxie wonder if Lincoln had talked with June about what happened. Maybe the woman who’d been her childhood best friend didn’t want to talk to her now.

Maybe it had sunk in that Roxie was an exotic dancer and made her money in ways that a lot of mothers would never approve of, especially a woman like Lincoln and June’s mother, Ms. Young.

Roxie got up and went into her closet to check for a change of clothes. She’d brought all her stuff over from the hotel, so her closet and drawers weren’t as empty as they had been. She’d had to take some of her stuff down to the washer and dryer Wendy’s parents kept in the back of the shop for her to use, but that was all done and put away now too.

After her shower, Roxie finally got up the courage to read the texts and picked up her phone to open them.

“Hey, I’m going back tomorrow. I decided to stay at a hotel and thought maybe you’d want to meet up before I go home. Want to meet me here?” June had asked in one of the texts. The next text was the name of the hotel and the address.

The hotel was one of the most exclusive in Myrtle Beach so it was a sure bet Roxie wouldn’t run into anyone she knew. It wasn’t one any of her friends owned so there was hope she’d remain anonymous at this place. With a happy smile on her face, Roxie texted June back and agreed to meet her at a café at the hotel.

She went back to her bedroom, put on a little makeup, found the Chanel dress she hadn’t worn in what felt like months, and slipped into it. This one was a black viscose halter maxi dress with eyelet trim around the hem. Roxie turned in front of the mirror on her closet door, another new addition, and smiled at the effect the dress produced. She looked classy, sexy, and she liked that look. A pair of black Dior sandals finished off her ensemble and she was ready to go.

Roxie’s drive was slow due to traffic, but she was still in time for the meeting with June. She was nervous, even though she’d only just seen the woman a couple of days ago. June knew all her childhood secrets, about her crush on Liam, and all the other things she’d never admitted to anyone else. She also knew Roxie was originally born as Chloe. If she kept mixing up her name, June could make life difficult for her here, especially if they ran into someone Roxie knew.

Roxie reassured herself that she wouldn’t meet anyone at the hotel who knew her from her life in Myrtle Beach, why should she? The James and Thompson families owned different hotels. They would never come to this place. Roxie shook out her dress once she’d turned the car over to a parking attendant, stood up straight in the flat sandals, and marched into the hotel with a fake smile on her face. This might just be a mistake, but she was going to fake her way through it if she had to.

Roxie quickly spotted the café and was on her way toward it when she spotted Kai. With June. Hmm. What was that about? The pair looked cozy, but they weren’t touching. Roxie’s grin turned into a slight smirk as she walked up to them.

“Hi, I’m here.” She said loud enough for the pair to hear.

They pulled apart quickly and Kai looked up at Roxie, confused. “I thought you said you were meeting that girl you used to hang out with, Chloe?”

Roxie’s eyes turned sharply to Kai and then to June. She could have sworn he’d known who she was all along, but maybe not. And if he didn’t, June had just inadvertently told him. She was a little annoyed about that, but June didn’t know any better.

Roxie decided to save June the trouble of explaining and spoke up. “Roxie is my stage name, Kai. You don’t remember me? Really?”

“No. I mean, I only met you once or twice back then, I think. I, uh...” He paused and gave them both a sheepishly chagrined look, “I wasn’t at my most sober back then.”

Which also meant that Lincoln hadn’t clued him in to who she was either. Well, that was a point in Lincoln’s favor at least, he’d kept her secret.

“It’s okay.” Roxie brushed off his unease and sat down. “I’m used to Roxie, so please use that, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure.” June and Kai said in unison and Roxie hid another smirk as their cheeks turned a slight pink color. “So how are you both?”

“Fine.” They answered in unison again. June brushed black hair behind her left ear and looked away from Kai.

“Have you been able to get ahold of Lincoln, Roxie? I haven’t heard from him since the night I got here.” June asked innocently but it still made Roxie’s heart twinge a little.

Too many people knew her business, her past, her present, and it was all making her head whirl. Plus, Lincoln hadn’t spoken to his sister or to Kai it would seem. That wasn’t a good sign.

“No, we had a few words that same night and I haven’t spoken to him since.” Roxie picked up the menu to avoid looking at either of the people at the small table in the crowded café. It was a nice, open, light-filled space, but there were far too many people around, creating a buzz that should drown out anything she said, but meant there were more people that might notice her here.

“Oh. I’ve heard that Lincoln’s real father wants to connect with him but every time I try to talk to Lincoln about it, he just shuts me down. It would be good for him to finally connect with the man. Then at least he could decide if he was better off not knowing him at all.”

“Sorry, I have to go,” Kai said after looking up from his phone. “Duty calls. It was lovely to see you both again.”

June looked sad, but Roxie was a little relieved when the handsome man left. He was Lincoln’s friend and might report back anything she might say to June. Men surely talked to each other, didn’t they? Roxie kind of rolled her eyes at her own thoughts and the way June stared after Kai like a lost puppy that had been left without a home. Holy moly, June had it bad for Kai.

“Are you alright?” Roxie asked her friend when the seconds spanned into minutes and June didn’t speak.

“What?” June looked as if someone had goosed her before she smiled and tried to brush it all off. “Yes, just lost in thought. What would you like to have?”

A waiter came to take their order and they waited until the two coffees were brought to them before they started to speak.