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I glance back at her. “It’s really not that hard and I could show you a few things… if you want.”
“I’m sorry,” Tate interrupts, staring at me with raised brows. “How do you know “a few things”?”
Shit…
I didn’t really think that all the way through.
Tate has been a close ally since I got here, keeping my secrets and trying to smooth things over with my brother when it comes to Travis and me but I have no idea how she will react to my former job. Sucking in a breath, I meet her gaze as my belly does a little flip.
“If I tell you, you can’t tell my brother.”
She nods. “Deal… unless you’re like in danger or something.”
“Wouldn’t you just come rescue me then?” I ask and she laughs, nodding.
“Maybe but Lincoln would be pissed.” She nudges me. “Now, come on, tell me all about your experience doing sexy dances?”
Taking a deep breath, I nod. “Back in Alaska, I was… stripping.”
“Oh,” she whispers and my breath catches in my throat but she scoffs and swipes her hand through the air like she’s dismissing it altogether. “Is that it?”
I nod, studying her. “Um… yeah…”
“Hell, that’s not what I was expecting but I can honestly say I’ve done worse. Though, we should definitely keep that between ourselves because your brother would shit a brick.”
“Right,” I answer, laughing as I turn back to the racks as I imagine what my brother’s reaction would be if he ever found out. My stomach rolls at the thought and I don’t have to dive into my imagination too much to realize it would be a disaster. I turn back to Tate as she picks up a pair of panties. “What do you mean you’ve done worse though?”
She sighs, tossing the underwear back onto the rack before glancing over her shoulder at Piper, who is flicking through another rack as she chews on her bottom lip. Grabbing my arm, she pulls me away in the other direction. “So, this isn’t really public knowledge but before I met your brother, I did whatever it took to survive and for a while, that included escorting.”
My eyes widen in shock and she shakes her head.
“I never had sex with any of them or anything but there were some girls who did.”
I nod, trying to wrap my mind around this new information. “So, what did you do then?”
“Basically… I was arm candy,” she answers with a shrug as she begins browsing through one of the racks and I watch her, seeing her in a whole new light. At first, I thought maybe she was just being nice to me and keeping my secrets to try and build a relationship between the two of us but the more I get to know her, the more it’s clear to me that this is who she truly is - kind, funny as hell, open minded, and the least judgmental person I’ve ever met.
“Ooh, want to get this for Streak?” she asks, holding up a black lace bodysuit with baby pink frill around the edges and I fight back a smile as I shake my head.
“I already have one like that.”
She laughs as she puts it back on the rack and nods in approval. “All right, girl, get it. You are going to get something for him though, right?”
“Uh… I don’t know. I thought about it but I don’t think you’re supposed to get the guy you’re casually fucking a Christmas present.”
The sales lady’s head whips in our direction and I realize how loudly I was talking as blood rushes to my cheeks and Tate laughs again, moving closer to me to continue our conversation.
“First of all, that was amazing. Second, y’all are not casual.”
I scowl at her as I grab a sheer baby doll off of the rack. “What are you talking about? We are casual.”
“Okay,” she shoots back, clearly not buying it and I prop my hand on my hip as I narrow my eyes at her. She sighs. “You can look at me like that all you want but it still won’t change the fact that you and Streak are so far from casual that I can hear wedding bells.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
She shakes her head. “No, what’s ridiculous is y’all pretending like there is nothing there when anyone with eyes can see the connection you share.”
Before I can respond, my phone starts ringing and I sigh, putting the hanger back on the rack before pulling it out of my bag. Ash’s name stares back at me and I roll my eyes as I silence it.
