The Escape Collection: (The Escape Collection) (9 page)

“A male roommate,” William said with a scowl.
 

“But it’s innocent.” I planted both hands on the table in front of me. “I’m with you. Everyone at the school knows that.”

William leaned back in his chair, ignoring my distress. “Exactly,” he said. “Think of how it will look. Everyone knows we’re dating, and yet here you are, living with another man.”

Right on cue, Reid came around the corner into the dining room, carrying two steaming plates. “Here you go,” he said and set the delicious smelling meal in front of us. “For the happy couple.”

I mumbled a thank-you to Reid and looked across the table to William, who was staring at me with an expression on his face that made it clear we were anything but happy. Reid looked between us. His gaze landed on mine with a question in his eyes.
 

“I guess I’ll be going,” he said after a moment. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“No,” I said a little too emphatically. William dropped his fork on the plate with a clatter and glared at me. I ignored him and kept talking. “What I meant was, you don’t have to rush off, Reid. Did you want to stay for dinner, too? There should be enough.”

I don’t know what force was compelling the words to come out of my mouth, but I couldn’t seem to stop them. I didn’t need to look to know that William’s face was red from anger and if he’d been actually chewing any food, he probably would have choked on it. But I couldn’t help it. The thought of spending what was supposed to be a romantic dinner with him so angry and grouchy felt like torture. Especially when I wanted to be happy about being up for a contract position instead of worried about it. “Besides,” I added with a forced smile, “William just told me I’m being considered for the job I’ve been wanting. We should toast.”

Reid glanced between us, trying to make up his mind. When he looked at me again, I tried to will him to sit down with my eyes. Not that I was any good at the silent communication thing, but it seemed to work.
 

“I’m not really hungry,” Reid said. “But how about a quick toast before I take off?” He smiled and it was so genuine that I wanted to jump up and hug him. “Because really, a new job? That sounds like something that should be toasted. Don’t you agree, William?”

Not to be outdone, William begrudgingly agreed and poured Reid some wine in the glass I’d produced from the hutch. Reid pulled up a chair and tactfully said, “William, would you like to do the honors?”
 

I could tell he was biting his tongue, trying desperately to keep his composure but William let out a sigh, raised his glass and said, “To Whitney. May nothing stand in your way of getting the job.” He looked me right in the eyes as he spoke and I had a sudden urge to throw my wine at him instead of drinking it.

“And if I may add,” Reid jumped in and raised his glass higher. “To achieving your dreams.”

“To achieving your dreams,” I repeated and clinked glasses. I clinked a little harder than necessary with William’s and drank deep.

“Grams will be pretty excited,” I said when I’d finished “I can’t wait to tell her.”

“What about your parents?” Reid asked. “I’m sure they’ll be proud of you as well. Glenmore Academy? That’s a pretty good school, isn’t it?”

“It’s prestigious,” William said pointedly. “Besides, Whitney’s parents have passed on.”

I cringed hearing the lie repeated from William’s mouth. Reid looked at me sympathetically. “My parents are gone, too,” he said. “Well, my dad might be around somewhere, but…for all intents and purposes, he’s gone.”
 

He smiled so warmly at me that guilt flooded through my body. I never told William about my mother because I knew he wouldn’t understand. And when we’d first started dating, I told myself I’d figure out a way to break it to him once we got to know each other a little better. Of course, that was months ago and I still hadn’t told him the truth. I snuck a glimpse at William, who was chewing his steak purposefully, glaring in Reid’s direction. It didn’t seem like a good time to mention the truth. “Well,” I said, easing into the lie. “I couldn’t have asked for better than Grams. She did a great job raising me.”
 

I took another deep swallow of wine and refilled my glass.

Patty - April 1987

Patty

April 1987

Patty paused, her hand on the door to the Lusty Lady. She’d walked past it plenty of times in the six months since Bridgette—she still remembered her name—had given her the card. She didn’t know what to expect when she finally pushed the door open. Patty hadn’t been able to work up the courage to actually go inside the club before, but every few weeks, usually after a fight with her mother about money, she’d take the bus downtown and walk past the square brick building a few times before taking the bus back home.

There wasn’t much to it, and the first time Patty had seen the Lusty Lady, she was disappointed. Bridgette looked so glamorous with her long blond hair, dark make-up and bright clothes. In Patty’s mind, such a dazzling woman could only be dancing in an equally dazzling club. Not the graffitied brick building with blacked out windows that she saw. The only reason Patty hadn’t double-checked the address on the card was because there was a large marquee declaring, “Girls! Girls! Girls!” and a neon sign of a woman coquettishly lifting her skirt to expose her shin. There was no doubt she was in the right place.
 

Patty shivered in the spring air, but she couldn’t be sure if it was the cool night, or the realization of what she was about to do. She’d had enough of the scrimping and saving just to put every dime she earned towards the baby. Whitney never went without, her mother made sure of that, but when it came to buying herself something, even if it was just an occasional lunch out with friends, Patty was sick of begging her mother for a few extra dollars. It hadn’t taken long for her to realize she didn’t have a lot of choices. Doing nails wasn’t bringing in enough money as it was and the older Whitney got, the more expensive she would get. And then the idea of having even a little bit of fun for herself would be totally out of the question. She was barely twenty years old, and she might as well be dead for all the fun she was never going to have again.

Patty’s shoulders tensed, remembering the conversation she’d had with her mother only a few hours earlier. She just didn’t understand. Why shouldn’t she be able to go out with her friends once in awhile and act her age?

“No,” Patty’s mother had said. She didn’t yell. She didn’t have to. Her tone said it all. “I will not give you twenty dollars to go to the movies, not when—”

“It’s just twenty, Mom.”

“How many diapers does twenty dollars buy, Patricia? And what about food for Whitney? Despite what you might think, she’s not my responsibility. She’s my granddaughter.”

Patty rolled her eyes. “I know that. I’m not asking for a lot. Just—”

“No.”
 

“Mom.”

“No,” she hissed. “You’re going to wake Whitney.” She glanced toward the stairs where Whitney was sleeping, still in the corner of Patty’s room. She’d need a toddler bed soon. “If you want more spending money,” her mother said, “you’ll need to get another job.”
 

Patty had thought of that. Plenty. “But who will watch Whitney? You can barely help when I’m at the salon. If I start working more, I’ll go broke just paying a sitter.”

“Maybe you should find something in the evening so I can watch her?” her mother suggested. “A waitressing job, perhaps. You can make tips and meet people.”

An evening job. The idea resonated and her mother didn’t even realize it, but the seed of an idea that had been growing in Patty’s mind for the last few months, bloomed with new life. An evening job might be perfect after all.
 

Before she could chicken out again, she asked her mom to watch Whitney, and she’d gone to caught the bus, which is how she’d found herself standing outside of the Lusty Lady on that slushy spring night. April in Alberta might as well be considered winter. Patty shivered in her thin coat. She’d left her parka at home since she didn’t think the puffy navy coat was suitable for what she was about to do.

What was she about to do? She pushed all the reasons she shouldn’t walk through the door out of her mind for at least the dozenth time. Before she could overthink it again, Patty took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy wooden door.
 

In sharp contrast to the cold night air outside, dank smoke-filled air greeted her and smothered her senses the instant she stepped inside. But the relative warmth of the room drew her in and Patty found herself putting one foot in front of the other, slowly moving towards the low bass emanating from the room that lay just beyond the entrance.
 

“You here to work?” The voice, accompanied by a large hand that clamped down on Patty’s arm, came out of the darkness.
 

“Yes.” The tremble in her voice betrayed her. “Are you hiring?”

“Depends.” The voice stepped out of the shadow and Patty could make out his slicked-back hair and diamond stud earring that somehow, despite the dim light, managed to sparkle. His shirt was unbuttoned a little, like maybe he’d forgotten a few buttons when he was getting dressed. The style didn’t seem to fit him, like he was trying too hard. “What ya got?” he asked and slid closer to Patty in the dim corridor. “You prepared to show me your stuff?”

He was young. Only a little bit older than her and normally, Patty might even think he was cute, if he wasn’t being a complete jackass. She’d thought she’d prepared herself for the reality of a strip club, but nevertheless, she couldn’t control the shiver that went through her. Maybe she wasn’t up for it after all. Maybe a waitressing job would be better. But Patty couldn’t stop thinking of the woman in her nail salon, her wallet full of bills. The promise of extra money, or any money at all, was strong.

“Is Bridgette here?” Patty did her best to sound confident and in control. “She told me I could find her here.”

“Bridgette?”
 

As if his voice had conjured her, a towering woman in a neon pink, skintight dress that rode up dangerously high on her thighs came around the corner. Her blond hair was teased out in a hairspray lacquered cloud around her heavily made up face and she exuded confidence and sexiness as she sauntered towards them. She barely flicked a glance in her direction and a wave of disappointment washed through Patty. Bridgette probably didn’t recognize her. It had been months since she’d offered her the business card, and even then, it’s not like they really knew each other.
 

“Are you giving this pretty young thing a hard time, Stan?” Bridgette purred and stroked one long red fingernail down the man’s cheek. “Your daddy wouldn’t like it if he found out you were harassing the new girl now, would he?”

Before she could react, Bridgette turned on her black patent leather stiletto and reached out for Patty’s hand. “Don’t worry, Stan’s harmless. And he doesn’t usually act like such a sleaze,” she said with a wink. “Come on. I’ll show you around.”
 

Patty did as she was told and trailed after the other woman. Before she disappeared into the dark room, she turned and saw the man, Stan, looking at her. He smiled and it was so genuine, so totally unlike the guy who was trying too hard moments before that she gave him a wink before turning to follow Bridgette.
 

***

Everything happened pretty quickly after that. It turned out that not only did Bridgette remember her, it was excellent timing that Patty had shown up at the Lusty Lady on that particular night. With the exception of a few “lifers” as they were referred to, there was a fairly high turnover rate at the club among the dancers, and as a result, they were always looking for new entertainers and a spot was open for Patty.

“Let me introduce you to Ivy,” Bridgette said as she led them to a back hallway and tiny staircase. “She’s the den mother at the Lady. Don’t be scared. She’s a bit harsh at first, but she’s real soft when you she warms up to you.”

“Den mother?” Patty scurried double time to keep up to Bridgette’s impossibly long stride. Even without the three-inch heels, Patty couldn’t match her confident gait. She felt clumsy and out of place tripping along after Bridgette.
 

“She’s kind of in charge of the girls around here. Mostly because she’s been around the longest,” Bridgette said without looking back. “Ivy doesn’t dance much anymore. Just once in a while. Mostly, she breaks up any fights and makes sure that no one’s using.”
 

“Using? Like drugs?”

Bridgette turned around, her thickly painted red lips in a wide smile. “How old are you?” she asked with a tilt of the head. “You’re legal, right?”

Patty straightened up and pulled her shoulders back. “Of course,” she said quickly. “It’s not like I’ve never seen drugs or anything, I just—”

She was interrupted by Bridgette’s sharp laughter. “Well, seen them or not, don’t do them, not around here at least. It’ll get you kicked out of here faster than you can spin around on the pole. Rick—he’s the owner—runs a tight ship, and he’s pretty straight. No funny business, follow the rules, make your payout and you’ll be fine.”

Patty wanted to ask what making a payout involved, but Bridgette had already turned and was leading her into a small room. Instantly, Patty looked down at her tight jeans and thin coat. She’d felt trendy when she’d left the house but looking around at the women in front of her, she felt shabby and very overdressed. The room would have reminded Patty of her high school locker room if it hadn’t been for the bras and g-strings draped around the room. And of course, all of the half-naked women who walked around, totally unaware of their nakedness. Or, if they were aware of it, they weren’t concerned about it. But given their line of work, embarrassment wouldn’t be an option. Instead of being intimidated by all the women, Patty found herself inexplicably drawn to them and their confidence. Could she do it? Could she strut around naked and be okay with it?