Saturday Night Special (11 page)

85

Mari Carr

“The guy was screwing his girlfriend. In Johnny’s house. Hell, in Johnny’s
bed
.”

Johnny nodded, clearly delighted that Riley was defending him. “I had to flip the mattress. Couldn’t get the image of that fucker rutting away in my spot out of my mind.”

Riley gestured to Johnny as if his comments reiterated what she’d just said. Aaron started to restate his stance, but the determined looks on Riley’s and Johnny’s faces proved anything else he said would be a waste of breath. He tried not to dwell on the fact that his wife’s opinions of right and wrong aligned more closely with the Wayne Newton taxi driver’s than his. Oh yeah, the next fifty years or so were going to be very interesting.

Riley reached over and patted the man’s hand sympathetically. “You know, Johnny, I hate to bring up a sore subject, but Bella doesn’t seem to be the most faithful of girlfriends. Are you sure you might not be better off without her?”

Riley’s comforting touch and softly spoken words seemed to open the floodgates and for the second time in one day, they watched a person fall apart due to Trev and Bella’s desertion.

“It’s not Bella’s fault,” he blubbered. “It’s mine. I’ve been putting too much pressure on her. She was bound to break under the stress.”

“Pressure?” Riley asked.

“I want to get married, start a family, but Bella’s focused on her career. Claims having a baby would ruin that.”

It just dawned on Aaron that he didn’t know what Bella did, now that hooker had been crossed off the list. “Her career?”

Johnny looked at him. “She’s a stripper. Best fucking stripper in Vegas.”

“Ah.” Riley nodded with understanding. “I guess having a baby could interfere with that.”

“My Bella’s not a bad girl. It’s just she has these needs.”

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Saturday Night Special

Aaron recalled the clerk at Sal’s talking about Bella’s penchant for pony play. He took a long swig of beer, hoping to finish it quickly and move on. The last thing he needed was for Riley’s curiosity to be piqued over that particular sex kink. He had absolutely no interest in putting a bit in Riley’s mouth and riding her around the bedroom.

“Needs?” Riley prompted.

Aaron looked at his watch. “Um, Riley. It’s getting kind of late,” he murmured in her ear. She gave him a look like he was a heartless bastard for suggesting they leave Johnny while he was so upset.

Johnny didn’t seem to notice their exchange as he began pouring out all his woes.

Aaron waved the bartender over and ordered another beer. Might as well get comfortable. He knew Riley wouldn’t leave until she’d heard every sordid and twisted tale Johnny Sparks had to share. He’d spent many a night like this, sitting at a bar as Riley served as counselor to every misfit toy on the island.

Johnny explained Bella’s fascination and need to be in the spotlight. “She was born to be a star. Born to be admired. She gets up on that stage and I swear to God, it’s like magic.”

“But that doesn’t explain why she feels the need to cheat on you, Johnny. You know, you really shouldn’t put up with that shit. If Aaron ever cheated on me, I’d cut his dick off.”

Aaron looked at her with a playful grin, tapping his brow. “I’m definitely filing that useful piece of information away for future reference.”

Riley gave him an annoyed glance. “You’d never cheat on me.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t. Although it
is
my honeymoon and we
have
been in this bar a long time…”

She gave him a breathtaking grin. “I’ll make it up to you. Later.”

87

Mari Carr

He scowled as she turned back to Johnny. “If you’re really in love with Bella, you need to put your foot down. Tell her it’s you or the highway and you’re gonna have to tell her no more affairs.”

Johnny looked down miserably. “I wish I could, but what do I have to offer her? I’m lucky the woman looked my way to begin with. What do I have to hold a woman like her?”

It was clear the man worshiped the ground his unfaithful girlfriend walked on.

Aaron sort of felt sorry for the guy.

“Are you kidding me? You’re a good-looking guy. You’ve got your own business. I mean, it’s your taxi, right?”

Johnny nodded. “Yeah. I’m an independent businessman.”

Just not a successful one
, Aaron thought. He figured that explained why Johnny was able to close down Jacko’s every night rather than work.

Riley rested her cheek on her hand. “You know, Johnny. I’ve been wondering. How come you don’t do impersonation work? You’ve got this Wayne Newton look down pat.”

“I can’t sing.”

“What?” Aaron asked.

“I’m tone deaf. Can’t sing a note.”

Aaron rubbed his face wearily and wondered how he got here. Two days ago he’d been hanging out in his own apartment in Baltimore, minding his own business and watching baseball on the television. One phone call from Keira later, he was all the way across the country, sitting in a Vegas dive with a tone deaf Wayne Newton look-alike, looking for Trev and a stripper and to top it all off, he was now married to Riley Collins.

Glancing over at his new wife, he grinned. Aside from the fact he was in Vegas, this night with her wasn’t all that different than a thousand other nights he’d spent in her presence. The woman had a knack for finding trouble and still landing on her feet.

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Saturday Night Special

“Wow,” he heard her say, “that sucks. But do you have to be able to sing? Can’t you just lip-synch?”

Johnny shrugged. “It’s not just the singing. I, um…” He lowered his voice and Aaron found himself leaning closer to hear his next words. “I’ve got terrible stage fright. Can’t get up in front of people without shitting in my pants.”

“Oh.” Riley turned to face Aaron and mouthed the letters
TMI
. He fought back a grin at her joke as she twisted back to Johnny. “Listen, Johnny,” she said, grabbing a fresh napkin and asking the bartender for a pen. “This is my cell phone number. If Bella should come home, would you call me? We’re really pretty anxious to find Trev.”

Johnny’s face darkened as she said Trevor’s name. “Oh, I’ll call you,” he assured her. “Right after I plow the fucker over with my cab.”

Riley sighed. “Truth be told, Johnny, I think your plans for Trev might be kinder than his wife’s when she finds out he cheated on her.”

Johnny perked up at her comment. “Really?”

She nodded.

“Then I’ll make sure not to kill him with my cab. Want to make sure he’s alive to get the wife’s treatment too.”

Riley laughed. “You’re a heartless bastard, Johnny.”

He smiled at her. “And you’re not so bad for a tourist, Riley. Even if you do know fuck-all about Wayne Newton.”

Aaron added his goodbyes to the mix and tugged Riley out of the bar. He’d never been so happy to be outside in the fresh, clean air.

“Ew,” Riley said, scrunching up her nose. “We stink.”

“Stale smoke and beer. What do you say we go back to the hotel and take a shower together? I’ll even let you suck my cock.”

She laughed. “Gee thanks, sugar. Actually that doesn’t sound like such a bad plan.

The shower part,” she clarified.

89

Mari Carr

“Hey, you’re the one who promised to make up the fact we just spent an hour longer in that dive than we needed to.”

“Johnny was distraught. We couldn’t leave him like that.”

Aaron sort of thought they could. The man had been three sheets to the wind and he wasn’t sure Johnny was even going to remember talking to them come morning.

“There you two are!” a loud voice said from behind them.

Aaron turned, surprised to find Bubbles jiggling her way across the parking lot toward them. He wondered if she realized her spandex top really wasn’t a suitable replacement for a bra.

“Hey, Bubbles. What are you doing here?” Riley asked.

“I figured you guys would come looking for Johnny. I’ve been waiting out here almost an hour. I was just about to give up. Time is money, you know. Thought maybe you’d chickened out. Were you in there that whole time?”

Riley nodded and Aaron saw the hooker was impressed. “Dayum,
chica
. You’re a crazier bitch than me.”

Aaron tried to ignore the fact Riley took Bubbles’ comment as a compliment.

“Was there a reason you were looking for us, Bubbles?” he asked, not forgetting the promise of a shower and possibly a blowjob looming in his very near future.

“Did Johnny know where Bella was?”

Riley shook her head. “Nope. And he’s not happy.”

“Didn’t figure he would be after the hit he put on that last guy. Put the poor guy in the hospital for nearly a week. Johnny may be stupid as pigeon shit, but he’s strong and mean when riled.”

Aaron had to agree with that assessment.

“Anyway, I was thinking after you left. Maybe you should go to Swingers.”

“Swingers?” Aaron asked.

“It’s the strip club where Bella works. Fucking bitch stole the job I wanted.”

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Saturday Night Special

“You wanted to be a stripper?” Riley’s voice expressed her surprise.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Who
wouldn’t
want to be a stripper? All that money, men looking but not really touching. It’s a dream job. Way better than being a fucking ho.”

“So why are you a hooker if you hate it? You’re a smart woman, pretty face. I’m sure you could find lots of jobs.”

Bubbles shrugged. “Not as easy as you think. Sort of fell into the hooking after high school, got into some money troubles and sex was a quick way to make a buck. Now people know me around here. I got a reputation. Ain’t nobody gonna hire a hooker for any respectable job.”

“So move somewhere else,” Riley suggested.

“With what? Monopoly money? Besides, where would I go? I was born in Vegas.

Only place I’ve ever been. I got friends here.”

Riley fell silent and Aaron tried to beat back his sixth sense that said her sudden quietness couldn’t be good. Anxious to distract her from whatever plot she was cooking up, he latched onto the first thing that popped into his mind.

“So where is this Swingers?” he asked.

Riley glanced at him, a smile crossing her face. “You wanna go to the strip club?”

“Why not? For all we know, she’s taking a spin on the pole as we speak. Johnny mentioned her love of the spotlight. And if not, maybe Bella called in and quit. Maybe she told her boss where she was going. It’s worth a shot, I suppose.”

Bubbles hitched her oversized tote bag on her shoulder and fluffed up her already voluminous pink hair. “You two mind if I tag along? Figure if Bella cut and run, the boss might finally give me a shot at her spot.”

“Sure. The more, the merrier,” Riley said. “You can tell us how to get there.”

91

Mari Carr

Riley and Bubbles headed off toward the corner in search of a cab, chatting away as if they’d been friends forever. He fell into step behind them and listened as Riley espoused about the wonders of Baltimore.

Fuck. It sounded like his wife was trying to talk Bubbles into considering a move to the east coast if the stripping job didn’t pan out.

The images of her pop’s face and those of Riley’s four brothers crossed his mind.

Riley was infamous for bringing home strays—injured pigeons, dogs, once she even found and rescued a blind rat. Hell, just a couple weeks ago, she’d started putting milk out on the back stoop of the restaurant for a small kitten she’d found.

Bubbles laughed loudly at something Riley said and Aaron sighed. Yep. He could see it now. Bubbles was the ultimate stray.

92

Saturday Night Special

Riley laughed as they entered Swingers. While Aaron was a pretty worldly guy—

his job as a cop ensured that he’d seen plenty—she couldn’t miss the slight blush that stained his cheeks when they were led to a table by the almost naked, bald hostess.

Totally bald. There wasn’t a hair anywhere on the woman—a truth driven home by the fact she was basically wearing two strings, one around her waist and one between her legs. Riley assumed this was her version of a thong. Her husband’s eyebrows rose to his hairline when he first spotted her, but in typical Aaron fashion, he recovered quickly.

“That was interesting,” he said after she took their drink orders and left. It was nearly two a.m. and the place was in full swing. There were two women performing.

One was dressed in a skimpy police outfit—her badge attached to her naked breast through a nipple piercing. She was swinging a billy club as a blonde woman she’d handcuffed to the pole gyrated and pretended to resist arrest. As she moved, her clothing began to fall away, piece by piece, until she was left in just a thong.

The crowd—equal parts male and female—was urging the policewoman to use her billy club on her captive. She began rubbing it between the other woman’s legs to great applause.

“Damn. This is a strip club?” Riley asked.

Bubbles shrugged. “Swingers sort of blurs the line. It’s connected to Swingers Too through those doors over there. That’s a full-fledged sex club. This is just sort of the warm-up. The girls get the customers so hot and bothered they’ll drop the hundred-buck cover charge for Swingers Too without blinking an eye.”

Riley watched a couple hand over a wad of bills and pass through the door to the other club. Good business sense, she decided.

93

Mari Carr

As that show ended, two more women came onstage to act out the roles of teacher and naughty schoolgirl. Riley squeezed her legs together and tried to ignore Aaron’s smug glances when the teacher used a ruler on the student’s ass as punishment.

“Looks like fun,” he murmured to her. “List worthy?”

She wanted to smack him for his cockiness, but instead her traitorous body forced her to merely nod. His genuinely pleased grin prompted her to respond with one of her own. “I had no idea you were such a dirty boy.”

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “You have no idea
how
dirty.” He dragged his hand down her arm, moving inward very discreetly to pinch one of her turgid nipples. She gasped as his quick squeeze sent a jolt of arousal straight to her aching clit.