Anchor Line (58 page)

 
           He was upbeat for Nathan as Juan drove them to the club. He didn't want to ruin Nathan's birthday.  Once inside though, the music seemed too loud, the girls had too much makeup, they were too fat or too thin, and the mirrors around the stage bothered him.           

 
           Bertha’s Beauties was an upscale strip club. Decorated tastefully like a 1940s club with black, pale pinks, bright pinks and grays. Bertha was a big, beautiful woman with flawless dark skin. The girls that worked for her were classy while in the club. God help you if you disrespected them too. As the eight of them walked in, Bertha was near the door greeting people and making sure that they were having a good time. She turned around to wish Nathan, who was a regular, a Happy Birthday.

 
           “You are a whole lotta lovin woman.” Nathan said taking Bertha in a hug.

 
           “More lovin than you can handle sugar.” She smiled and winked at him. “You have a great time. My girls will take care of you.”

 
           “When you dump that lousy, good for nothing bouncer…you come look me up honey.” Nathan said kissing her cheek. “I need to be your hero.”

 
           Bertha laughed and rolled her eyes playfully at him as she walked away.

 
           It was like he was having flashbacks to when Addie had left Italy all over again.  Conrad was miserable instantly.  But now, he knew that Addie was at her apartment, much closer, and she'd said that she trusted him.  She could too, because he wanted nothing to do with the women in this club. 

 
           Right now though, some fake blonde was being paid to give Nathan a lap dance, and her hands where going to be all over him.  He was a good looking guy, why wouldn't they be?  Conrad watched as the blonde started grinding on his leg and Nathan could only touch her hips and had the biggest smile on his face. Pity, Conrad thought.  Why come here to have some girl rub all over you and you can't touch her unless you took her home. But knowing that she’d danced and rubbed on other guys, he personally wouldn’t want that. 

 
           A buxom blonde with pink tasseled pasties on her nipples brought a tray full of Coronas for the eight of them. Conrad could smell her cheap perfume as she made her way around the table. It made his nose tingle like he wanted to sneeze.  She leaned in rubbing her breasts on the guys as she put a beer in front of each of them. She eyeballed Conrad a few times noticing his lack of wedding band, but took in his expensive watch and the ribbed shirt and his dark good looks.  She sauntered over to him last.  But as she leaned in to rub her breasts on his shoulder like she had with the other guys, he moved at the last minute and avoided her touch. 

 
           “Get you something else besides beer honey?”  The waitress asked staying bent over, hoping that Conrad would straighten up so that she could rub up against him.

 
           “Yeah.”  He said, looking up at her. His eyes looked black in the dark room. “Captain Morgan and Dr. Pepper. Two. Doubles.” 

 
           The waitress smiled brightly showing clean even white teeth.  Her eyes sparkled. “You got it hun.  Name's Chastity.”  She said putting a hand on his shoulder.  “Let me know...if you want anything else.”  She winked at Conrad with her fake, glued on eyelashes.

 
          “Thanks.  Just the drinks.” Conrad replied. 

 
           Chastity stood up and her short little flimsy see-through pink skirt flared out behind her as she sauntered off. Conrad straightened up and shook his head as the music started blaring through the speakers on stage and the fog machine kicked on throwing a mist into the curtained area, as the DJ announced that Charming Chyna was talking the stage. She as a tall light skinned black woman with blonde streaks in her hair. She walked out in a police costume with the cap and baton to complete her ensemble. Other patrons moved to the stage area so that they could sit on the bar stools to be closer and watch her. Conrad groaned. He was about to go outside and phone Addie when Chastity came over and dropped his drinks off.  

 
          “Sixteen dollars hun.”  She said leaning down again.  

 
           Conrad pulled his wallet out and handed her his credit card.  “Keep em coming.”  He said as he held the card between his index and middle finger toward her.

 
           She looked at his credit card and smiled brightly at him. “You got it...Conrad.”  She put his card on her tray and she took one long red fingernail and brushed her breast with it. “Need anything else?” 

 
           He shook his head and picked up one of the rocks glasses and downed the liquid, then handed her the glass without looking at her. She took it and sauntered off again. This was going to suck, Conrad thought to himself as he looked up at the stage. In just a few moments, Charming Chyna was down to her thong and clear heeled shoes grinding on the pole. He looked over at Nathan at the opposite end of the table and saw that the same blonde that had greeted them, was still grinding on him.  Shaking his head, he looked at his watch.  He'd only been gone thirty fucking minutes? Oh shit...this was going to be bad.  Really bad. For him. He took a long swallow of his second drink and almost instantly, Chastity was there with another.  Still smiling, still putting her hand on his shoulder, still offering if he needed anything else.  Which loosely translated meant, 'take me in the back and fuck me.'  But, Conrad wasn't going to do that.  The only woman he wanted was Addie, and she was at home.  

 
           God, he'd turned into a big pussy trying to make amends with Addie.  A big barrel chested freedom fighter that could face anyone shooting at him, get mortared, and almost blown up.  He could take the enemy's life before they took his. He pulled out his phone and started flipping through the pictures of Addie.  She was in his truck with her big black sunglasses.  Then blowing a kiss at him from on the blanket when he took her to Jazz in the Park.  Another was of her in her Steelers jersey waiting for the game to start.  Yet his favorite, was of Addie asleep in his bed.  Just where she belonged.  Her hair spread across the pillow behind her, she looked so peaceful. Conrad had faced her and closed his eyes and it took him a couple of tries, but he got the picture he wanted. He’d taken a similar picture before he left for Italy. But this one meant more because it was a sense of permanence. He presented it to Addie as a 5x7, framed in a simple black frame.  The two of them looking as though they were asleep, facing each other.  She was so excited by it, she put it on her night table on her side of the bed. 

 
           Throughout the night, a few women came up to him and being the straight forward guy that he was, just short of saying fuck off, he turned them down flat and said to go see Nathan the birthday boy or any of the other guys that were there with them.  He had turned into one surly bastard. Nathan was however, working a sweet deal with the blonde that had started the night giving him lap dances.  Her name was Amanda, and she wanted him to wait until the club closed to go home with him. 

 
           She naturally gave him the whole line that she normally didn't date the guys that visited the club, but for Nathan, she'd make an exception.  Right, Conrad thought.  He was in the Army.  Translation...steady paycheck, travel, and free healthcare. And if a sneaky girl played her cards right, she could have a baby and get money for years. Not complex as some people thought and happened often.

 
           At three in the morning, when it was closing time, Conrad was at least three sheets to the wind, if not four, pissed off, tired, smelled like smoke and cheap perfume.  Juan, their designated driver, lived in the same complex, just a building away.  Most of the other guys that went with them had already left.  But each time Conrad tried to leave with one of the other guys, Nathan would ask him to stay, being that they were roommates and all. So, feeling obligated, he stayed.

 
           Nathan told Amanda that he was going to wait in the parking lot until she was ready to follow them to his apartment.  Conrad sat in the backseat of the truck sulking, flipping clumsily through the pictures in his phone of Addie over and over again. His eyes not focusing properly.  About a half hour later, Amanda walked out with another girl, both dressed in miniskirts and see through tops with heels that were as high as sky scrapers.  She drove over to Juan's truck and said she was ready and followed them out of the parking lot.

 
           Juan pulled in front of their building and Nathan ran up to Amanda's car.  Conrad stumbled out of the backseat of Juan's truck saying good night.  He started off across the parking lot to Addie's apartment when Nathan called him to help with Amanda's friend. Conrad turned around and took in the girl weaving against her friend's car, clearly as drunk as he was. He waved his friend off and turned back around not giving a shit about the drunk girl. They were Nathan’s guests.  He wanted to get to Addie. But Nathan started pleading again to help with Amanda's friend. 

 
           “Nathan man, you've asked me to stay with you all night. And I did.  Now, all I want to do is go to bed with my girlfriend.  You are out of favors. For fucking real.” Conrad started to walk away again when Amanda's friend fell over the curb of the sidewalk as she tried to follow Nathan.

 
            “Mother fucker.”  He mumbled crossing back over to the girl and picked her up roughly by the arm. 

 
           Conrad didn't fare well on the stairs due to his inebriated state, but helping the girl didn't make matters any better. He half dragged her up them, scrapping her shins a few times.  But he didn't care. It was penance for making him help her like a gentleman would. Good thing it was only one flight. As they made it to the second floor he let go of her and left her to her own methods to go into the apartment, Conrad looked back down the stairs and thought it was decisively better to not go back down them in his state. Especially since the stairs started weaving side to side. Or was that him?  He looked over at Addie's apartment and his mood instantly went nuclear. 

 
            “Holy shit, Amy!”  Amanda screeched pushing into Conrad to see her friend just behind him fall again on the concrete hallway with a thump. 

 
           Nathan turned around the same time Conrad did to see Amy on the floor.  Conrad shook his head and looked straight at Nathan with a look that would incinerate him as he took a step and pulled Amy up by the flimsy shirt she wore. 

 
            “Oh!”  She exclaimed as Conrad yanked her up roughly. “Hey now.”

 
           With the door open, Conrad pushed past Nathan and almost pushed Amanda aside as he pulled Amy inside and walked her over to the sofa and sat her down roughly. Then he turned and stumbled  his way toward his room, throwing the door closed behind him with a slam. 

 
           Sitting on the side of his bed in the dark, he pulled his phone out to dial Addie and have her come over, but his eyes wouldn't focus on the keypad and his fingers seemed bigger than normal as he tried to sift through the contacts on the phone.  Damn it, he thought, almost launching the phone across the room.  It was like being in a prison.  So he got up and opened his door and walked over to Nick's door with the intention to make Nick help him navigate the stairs, but once he heard the sounds of sex coming from the other side, he turned around and went back to his room. Stripping himself naked, he threw his clothes in the corner and slid under the covers, pissed off and passed out.

Chapter Forty-One

            Addie woke up before eight the next morning reaching on the opposite side of the bed for Conrad, surprised that he hadn't come to her apartment.  But then, he was probably taking care of Nathan. She reached over and grabbed her phone and dialed Conrad as she got up and walked to the kitchen to start some coffee.  No answer.  The coffee now percolating in the maker, she went back to the bathroom and took a quick shower, toweled off and slipped on a pair of jeans and a bra and heather gray t-shirt.

 
           Coming back into the kitchen after twisting her hair up in a clip, she grabbed their two metal travel mugs from the cabinet that they used all the time and set them on the counter. Looking out the window she didn't see any movement in Conrad’s apartment. The coffee maker huffed out its last drops as she walked back over, poured the coffee, put in some sugar and creamer, and tasted it.  Satisfied, she put the lids on, picked up the mugs, grabbed her keys from the hallway table slipping on her flip-flops and headed over to Conrad's.

 
           She walked up the steps to his apartment and knocked on the door.  Deciding against using her key that Conrad gave her in case Nathan was walking around naked, which wasn’t too surprising, she waited a minute and knocked again.  With no answer again, she then tried the door.  It was unlocked, so she pushed it open. She walked in and closed the door quietly behind her and heard voices coming from one of the bedrooms. Curious, she moved slowly through the living room to the hallway when Nathan walked out of his room with just some sweatpants on smelling like cheap perfume and sex as he headed for his bathroom across the hall.  Seeing Addie, he smiled, kissing her cheek.