Palm South University Season 1 Omnibus (30 page)

“Hang on,” I murmur to Bo before crossing the yard. When I make it to Kya, she stands straighter, only making me feel worse.

“Sorry to interrupt your goodbyes,” she says, casting a glance at Bo before landing her eyes back on mine.

“What do you want, Kya? There’s no practice today.”

She sighs. “You still owe me, Ashlei.”

“What?” I blanch, then shake my head. “No, I paid you. I gave you the ten thousand.” After semi-formal, I swallowed my pride and asked my parents for the cash to pay Kya and be done with the whole situation. I told them it was for a study abroad program this summer and they gave it without question. I felt awful lying to them and I’ll have to figure out what the hell to do about my actual summer situation later, but for the time being, my problems were solved.

So what the hell is Kya talking about?

“Hayden stole a kilo from me, Ashlei,” she says with a sigh. “My supplier threatened him with his life if he didn’t pay. He lied about what happened and threw your name in the mix.” I stiffen at her words, but she just continues. “He skipped town. It’s on you now.”

“What? But you told them it wasn’t true, right?”

She nods. “I did, but it doesn’t matter, Ashlei. You can’t reason with these guys. You were a part of this and the ten thousand you paid barely covers any of what was stolen.”

“Jesus,” I murmur, pressing my clammy hand to my forehead. “A fucking kilo? What did he do with it?”

Kya shrugs. “I don’t know. He probably snorted some of it himself and sold the rest or used it to party. You know Hayden.”

But that’s the thing. I thought I knew him, but clearly, I was wrong.

“Kya, we have to go talk to this guy you owe. I only did the shit three times and I’ve already paid for that plus some. We can talk him off of this.”

She shifts. “I don’t need to talk to him, Ashlei. He doesn’t blame me, not since Hayden told him what happened.”

“But Hayden lied!”

“I know,” she says, holding up her hands to calm me. “I’m sorry, Ashlei. You have to pay them the rest. Just call your parents and ask for more.”

“I can’t do that, Kya. They’re not a fucking ATM.”

She looks at me like she doubts that, but then frowns. “There’s only one other option for you to pay them and trust me, you don’t want to take plan B. Just call your parents. Make up another lie.”

“I’m not paying them. Fuck this. I didn’t do shit.”

“Ashlei, please,” she begs. “You have to listen to me. They will come after you.” Her voice grows quiet. “They’ll find ways to make you pay.” Her eyes shift to Bo and I swallow.

“How much more?”

“Thirty thousand.”

I blanch. That’s three times what I’ve already paid.

“There’s no way my parents will just hand that over.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and shake my head. “What’s my other option?”

Kya cocks her head in warning but when she sees I’m serious, she sighs. “My supplier’s name is Xavier Rojas. He owns a high-end club downtown. He said,” she pauses, considering her words carefully. “He told me if you couldn’t get the money, he would let you work to pay it off.”

“Really?” I ask excitedly. “Well, that’s no problem. I can work. What does he need? Bartenders and stuff?”

She swallows, and I take a moment to think about what else he could mean.

Then my stomach drops.

“He wants me to dance, doesn’t he?”

She nods.

“Oh my God,” I whisper, shaking my head. Pole dancing is an art to me – a sport, a release, a personal challenge. I would never dance for money. I would never
strip
for money. “I can’t. I
won’t
do that.”

“What other choice do you have?” Kya asks, her eyes soft and sad. I hate her for telling me this, but I know she doesn’t mean to hurt me. It’s Hayden who fucked me over. It’s him I should hate, and he’s not even in the state – hell, he might not even be in the country. Kya is just covering her own ass, and if what she says about Xavier is true, can I really blame her for not shifting his focus back to her, even if she doesn’t want to see me hurt?

Then again, maybe she couldn’t give two shits what happens to me. We’re not friends. We dance together, sure – but at the end of the day, the troupe isn’t a family. It’s not a sisterhood.

It’s not Kappa Kappa Beta.

There’s no way my parents will fork over that amount of cash, not unless I tell them what happened, which I definitely can’t do. I could ask the girls, but that would involve telling them about my life outside of Palm South – another option I can’t consider. I can’t lose KKB. I can’t lose my sisters.

Casting a sideways glance at Bo, I scan her face as she nonverbally asks me what’s going on. How did I end up here? How did I land myself in this shithole? And what the hell do I do now? My palms sweat as I consider my options. I rack my brain for a way out, for a way to make this nightmare disappear, but I come up short.

“Well?” Kya interrupts my thoughts and I turn to face her again. My head is spinning, my mouth is dry, my heart is thundering against my rib cage and threatening to knock me down to the cold earth. When she speaks the next words, I almost can’t hear them through the ringing in my ears.

“What are you going to do?”

Join the
Palm South University Discussion Group
to keep up to date on future seasons!

I’m going to do my best to make these acknowledgements short and sweet like the PSU episodes. We’ll see how that actually turns out.

I’d like to first thank my fan group, #KandisChasers, for this one. It’s because of you that this serial is even happening. You read
Black Number Four
and begged for more of your favorite characters. Thank you for making me see I wasn’t quite ready to leave PSU, either. I love y’all.

Oh and Shawna, I made Hayden eat a wiener for you.

You’re welcome.

As always, thank you to my husband, Ryan, for always supporting my writing endeavors. It’s not easy being married to a writer and I truly appreciate all the sacrifices you make for my dream. I love you!

Mom, thanks for continuing to love and support me, even with the miles between us. I always know I have you on my team.

To “the girls” who these characters are named after – the
real
Cassie (Graham), Jess (Vogel), Ashlei (Davison), and Erin (Spencer) – thanks for being so damn awesome that I wanted to name characters after you. Our circle of trust is so special to me and I thank God every day that I have y’all.

PS Erin – you’re not evil yet!

Shout out to the PSU beta readers – Kellee Fabre, Sasha Whittington, Jess Vogel, Ashlei Davison, and Jacquelyn Hansen. When everyone else tapped out on me, you were still there. Your feedback and critique made this series what it is and I truly appreciate your time and attention. Smooches!

Betsy Kash, thanks for getting shit done as always and finding time to edit for me even with your crazy schedule. Elaine York, thank you for the beautiful formatting and editing the last two episodes when I was in a time crunch. You both made this little penny shine.

Staci Hart. Staci Fucking Hart. Thank you for girl crushing on me just as hard as I girl crush on you. You provided invaluable insight on this serial and also helped me celebrate its little milestones along the way. I can’t thank you enough for that. BESOS, BITCH.

To you, the reader who read with me each week, discussed your favorite characters, theorized about what would happen, told your friends to join the madness, and so much more – THANK YOU. Thanks for reading indie and for trying new things. I hope you had fun, and don’t worry – I won’t make you wait too long for next season.

And as always, to God Almighty in Heaven. Thank you for the blessings you continue to shower me with. I promise to never take a single one for granted.

Kandi Steiner is a Creative Writing and Advertising/Public Relations graduate from the University of Central Florida living in Tampa with her husband, Ryan Steiner. Kandi works full time as a social media specialist, but also works part time as a Zumba fitness instructor and blackjack dealer.

When Kandi isn't working or writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys beach days, movie marathons, live music, craft beer and sweet wine - not necessarily in that order.

Connect with Kandi:

www.KandiSteiner.com

www.facebook.com/KandiSteiner

www.twitter.com/KandiSteiner

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