Rumor Has It: A Bad Boy Romantic Comedy (22 page)

Genevieve

I stretched out across my bed and stared at the ceiling. Guilt twisted in my stomach like a knife. I shouldn’t have been so hard on my mother. Without question, she was a mess, but I didn’t need to be so mean to her. I’m not a mean-spirited by nature. I just lost my temper.

I’ve tolerated a lot from my mother and I’ve held my tongue through most of it. Her behavior last night was a step too far though. The question was, why? This didn’t rank in the top ten worst things my mother has done and yet it felt horrible. Still, I knew I should apologize to her. I just couldn’t swallow my pride and do it. It made it hard knowing she would never extend me the same courtesy and apologize for putting me in that position with Luke last night.

I just had to let it go. You have to learn to accept the things you cannot change.

My cell phone made a trilling sound. I had a new email. Maybe it was from Michael. I opened my phone and saw that the email was just spam. I started to turn off my phone when I noticed someone had sent me a Direct Message on Instagram. It was from Luke.

I sat up in bed. My heart raced. Why was he messaging me? I’d made a fool of myself in front of him. I read the message once, then again, slowly.

Wat up? Hit me up 2nite & bring ur moms ring. Seeya @ Blu Lounge. 9 PM. PS Ur loking hot in ur pics.

The end of the message included an emoji with a mischievous smile wearing devil horns.

What the hell? I read the message a third time. This was not what I expected from Luke. This message looked like it had been written by a twelve year old. Had I seriously misjudged him? Sometimes a guy can be so hot that you’re blinded to their awful personalities. Still, Luke didn’t seem immature, or douche-y. He had to be a bit naïve to fall for my mother’s lies, though. She was not subtle. He had to have on serious blinders when it came to her.

My fingers hovered over my phone’s screen. I had no idea how to respond. He wanted to meet to get my mother’s ring back. That was understandable. He probably thought it was easier to use a go-between. If he met my mother in person, she’d probably refuse to give the ring back and cause a scene.

I didn’t want to get into the middle of this mess, but I wanted to see Luke again. The strange message had made me even more curious about him.

‘OK,’ I texted back. ‘9PM Blue Lounge.’

I had no idea where that was. I’d have to look it up. More importantly, I’d have to steal my mother’s ring.

I looked at the time. It was eleven AM but I was sure my mother was still asleep. She was used to keeping late hours and she liked to mix prescription pills with champagne to help her sleep. The combo usually knocked her out. It was incredibly dangerous, but that never stopped her.

I walked into her bedroom, not even bothering to be quiet. I knew she’d be in her champagne-benzo coma. She snored loudly beneath her pink canopy bed. Gauzy blush-colored curtains surrounded her like Malaria nets. She slept in a matching pink nightie and a full face of makeup. She always said that you should never let a man see you without makeup on.

I rolled my eyes at the sight of her. I rarely wear makeup and if that’s a problem for anyone too bad.

I lifted her arm. The ring was still on her finger. I managed to pull it off but it took some effort. She never stirred as I manhandled her.

I dropped her arm onto the bed with a thud. She sighed in her sleep then continued snoring.

The diamond was intimidatingly huge. It had to cost a small fortune. What if I lost it? I debated what to do with it and ultimately decided to wear it. I slid it on my ring finger; it fit perfectly. The huge rock made my hand look childishly small.

If a man proposed to me, I’d want something more tasteful; maybe a diamond band or a small stone. I twisted the ring around my finger. What would it be like to be engaged? I tried to imagine Michael proposing to me. We haven’t known each other long, but I would say yes if he asked. He would make it perfect: romantic, but not cheesy; touching, but not overly sentimental.

That was never going to happen, of course. He’d moved on with that fake-looking, overly bronzed Oompa Loompa girl.

The sudden mad urge to chuck the ring out the window rose up inside me. As much as I wanted to, that wasn’t an option. The ring belonged to Luke and I’d promised to return it.

I twisted it around my finger where it rested securely. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about losing it. Now, to get out of the apartment before my mother woke to discover her ring was gone.

I went to my bedroom and turned my closet inside out and trying to decide what to wear tonight. We weren’t going to meet until nine, but I needed to sneak out of the house before then.

I looked at the dress my mother made me wear last night. It was wadded up on the floor in the corner of my closet. I flushed at the memory of all those people in the restaurant staring at me. I’d looked like a hooker.

Did Luke like the way I looked in the dress? I’d caught him checking me out once, but that didn’t necessarily mean he thought I looked hot. The dress left nothing to the imagination; it was natural that he’d stare.

I was going to show Luke the real me. I wasn’t the kind of girl who dressed like a high-priced escort or acted as an accomplice in my mother’s schemes. For the most part, I’m a normal girl- I think.

I pulled out a pair of skinny jeans, ballet flats and a black cardigan. Then I ran a comb through my dark, thick hair. I needed a haircut. No time today. Besides, I didn’t want to risk disaster. What if I ended up with a bad hairstyle? I didn’t want to follow up a bad first impression with a worse second impression.

I decided not to put on makeup. I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard. I wanted Luke to see the natural girl underneath the spackled on makeup my mother made me wear last night.

I considered myself in the mirror. I wasn’t going to win any beauty contests any time soon, but I looked decent. It suddenly occurred to me how pathetic I was being. Why did I care so much? Even if Luke did find me attractive, nothing could come of it. I was not going to date my mother’s ex. The thought made my skin crawl.

I had a hard time believing the kind of man who found my mother’s personality appealing would want to date me. We were polar opposites. I am not the party girl type. Nor will I tell a man whatever he wants to hear just to stroke his ego.

I stood up straighter in the mirror. I would be myself, deliver the ring and leave. Simple.

Genevieve

I stood outside the Blu Lounge and debated whether or not to walk away and return home. I checked my cell phone’s map directions for the hundredth time. There was only one Blu Lounge in the city and this was it.

Neon blue light bathed the sidewalk as a line full of men waited to get inside. The fact that there were only men in line along with a handful of women should have been a huge warning flag. What kind of club catered primarily to men? If I’d stopped to think about that question for half a second, the answer was obvious. But the reality of the situation didn’t dawn on me until it was too late.

I walked to the front of the line. A muscular man with a tablet stood guard at the entrance. He was checking to see if names were on a list. The people at the front of the line were arguing loudly with him after he’d turned them away.

“Excuse me,” I said, trying to speak over the man who was screaming at the bouncer.

The bouncer looked relieved to have someone else to deal with. His eyes drifted over my body. He looked amused. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Should I be insulted, or relieved?

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Is this the Blu Lounge?”

He looked at me like I was a moron. He was standing directly in front of a neon sign that said ‘Blu Lounge.’ The bouncer motioned over his shoulder to it.

I smiled weakly. “I think I’m supposed to meet someone here.”

“Name?”

“My name is Genevieve. His is Luke…”

It suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t know Luke’s last name.

“Genevieve. You’re on the list.”

He stepped aside. The man at the front of the line protested.

“Are you kidding me? This girl gets in, but I don’t? She doesn’t even look legal.”

The bouncer gave me an appraising stare. “ID?” he asked.

The man in line gave me a smug look. If he couldn’t get in then he wanted to make sure no one else did either. The situation made me nervous. What if I was turned away? Most clubs don’t let anyone under twenty-one in. I’d only just turned eighteen.

I pulled out my driver’s license and showed him. He looked at closely, bending it and shining his flashlight on it to make sure it wasn’t a fake.

“Okay,” he said, handing my ID back. “You’re good.”

The man in line groaned and swore. “Seriously? This chick gets in and I don’t? She probably won’t even spend any money on the girls. Meanwhile, I’ve got a wallet full of hundreds burning a hole in my pocket and you won’t let me in.”

Spending money on ‘the girls?’ What was he talking about?

“You going in?” the bouncer said.

“Yeah. Um, could you tell me if Luke is here?”

The bouncer consulted his tablet. “I’ve got a Luke on the list, but as far as I know he isn’t inside yet.”

Great. I was early.

“Thanks.”

I slid past him quickly into the dark interior of the club. Immediately, I was greeted by pounding bass. When I stepped into the main room, my mouth dropped open. Naked girls grinded on poles while men threw money at them. A stripper to my right was rubbing her tits into a Frat boy’s face while his friends cheered on.

The Blu Lounge was a strip club.

What was Luke thinking in asking me to meet him here of all places? We barely knew each other. This was supposed to be a simple drop off. We meet; I hand over the ring- the end.

“Excuse me, sweetheart.”

A half-naked girl carrying a tray of drinks slipped past me.

“Sorry,” I said, feeling like I was in the way.

I should have left then, but a group of guys came into the room behind me, pushing me further into the club. Awkwardly, I shuffled through the crowd and ended up at the bar.

My eyes were glued on the stage where a tall, tanned girl in six-inch Lucite heels was peeling off her clothes in time with the music. She looked beautiful beneath the stage lights as she danced. She didn’t look like she was dancing for the men, but for herself. She had a sly smile on her face and a mischievous look in her eyes as if she was enjoying this more than the men were.

I envied her in that moment. You have to be brave to go up on stage like that. I wished I was that confident and free of self-doubt. It’s easy to dismiss women who strip as trash, but these girls were totally self-possessed and somewhat elegant in their movements. They were in their element and they were taking these pathetic, drooling men for all they were worth.

“Can I get you a drink?” the bartender asked.

“A ginger ale.”

“That’s all?”

“I’m not twenty-one yet,” I said.

The bartender smiled as if he found my honesty cute. I smiled back. He wasn’t bad looking. His right arm was covered in strange tattoos. I wondered what they meant. Maybe I would ask him when he came back. I didn’t have a chance. Luke sat down on the stool beside me.

“This is where you wanted to meet?” he asked. “I never would have guessed you were into this.”

Luke looked as if he’d just left work. He wore a suit minus the tie. The top button of his shirt was undone. Dark hair peeked out from beneath. I wondered what he looked like with his shirt off.

“What?” I asked, not fully hearing him.

He smiled brightly. “I never pictured a girl like you in a place like this.”

“‘A girl like me?’”

I wasn’t sure if I should be offended or not. Did he think I was boring? That I didn’t have a wild side to me?

“I don’t mean that I find you boring,” he said, as if reading my mind. “I just thought you’d want to meet somewhere like a coffee shop or a bookstore.”

“Wait- you were the one that suggested this place, not me.”

“I… what?”

“Yeah, look.”

I pulled out my cell phone and showed him the message he’d sent me. He grimaced as he silently read the DM.

“It appears I did request a meeting here.”

“You don’t remember?”

“No… it’s complicated.”

There was nothing complicated about the message. It was embarrassingly juvenile. I decided to let it go.

“Can I get you a drink?” Luke asked.

As if on cue, the bartender set my ginger ale down before us.

“I see you’ve gotten a head start.”

“There’s no alcohol in it,” I said, for some reason.

Luke gave me the same smile the bartender had. That look that said, ‘You’re adorable.’ I didn’t want to be adorable I wanted to be hot, like the girls on stage.

Luke ordered a beer and a whiskey. He was wasting no time getting drunk. He must have been a heavy drinker.

We sat in awkward silence for a time. Luke stared at me, taking in my conservative clothes. Last night, my dress was so revealing that it made me stand out like a sore thumb. Now, my conservative attire had the same effect.

For once in my life, I wished I’d dressed sexier. I looked like a schoolmarm compared to the girls in the club. I was surprised Luke bothered to look at me at all. I was nothing compared to the strippers. Their bodies were amazing, and yet he was staring at me. It was then I remembered the ring.

“Oh!” I said. “I almost forgot.”

I tried to pull the ring off my finger, but it was stuck. I smiled nervously and pulled. It didn’t move. It slid on easily this morning. Now it was wedged on my finger.

“Let me try,” Luke said.

He took my hand and twisted the ring back and forth, then gently pulled. It was firmly wedged on my finger. He pulled out a piece of ice from his drink and rubbed it around my finger, then tried again. The ring still didn’t move. He held my hand gently, turning it over in his. His touch kindled warmth deep inside me. A small shiver shot through my body as his long fingers passed over my palm. I tried to suppress it, but failed.

“Are you cold?” he asked, oblivious to the effect his touch had on me.

I shrugged. “I’m sorry about the ring,” I said, changing the subject. “I was afraid I’d lose it, that’s why I decided to wear it. It went on easily this morning. I don’t know why it won’t come off now. I hope we won’t have to cut it off.”

“If it slid on, then it can slide off. We’ll figure out a way to get it off. Did you have trouble with your mother?”

“No, no trouble at all.”

I thought of her comatose form in bed beneath her pink Pepto Bismo colored curtains.

“That’s good. I was worried she’d be difficult. I hate putting you in the middle of this.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind. I’m used to my mother’s antics.”

‘Antics,’ was putting it mildly. She was a mess.

He smiled and turned his attention to the stage. The music surged as a dark-skinned girl walked down the long catwalk to the stripper pole. Her legs were long and muscular. Her gait matched the beat of the song perfectly.

The men went wild. They cheered and threw money at her. She paid them no mind. She was focused on taking center stage.

I turned to find Luke watching me closely. I was surprised his eyes weren’t glued to the stage like the other men.

His gaze made me self-conscious. I regretted the decision to dress modestly. I wished I looked sexier. There was no way Luke would find a girl like me hot, not surrounded by women like the ones in the strip club.

I reached up to pull at my cardigan and stopped. Luke was still holding my hand. Our eyes met; he released my hand quickly. He looked startled to discover he’d been touching me. Did he regret it? I couldn’t read his face.

He turned towards the bar and ordered another drink.

Of course he regretted it. Why would a rich, hot guy like Luke want anything to do with me? He could have his pick of any girl. I wanted to flee before I could embarrass myself further.

“Maybe we should call it a night,” I said.

I stood and started to leave.

“Wait,” he called after me.

I stopped. My heart raced. Maybe he did find me attractive? Was he willing to overlook my crazy mother and get to know me? Was that something I wanted? It was hard to look past the fact that he’d had a relationship with my mother. It turns out it didn’t matter.

“The ring,” he said. “I need it back.”