“I want you,” I whispered, and he kissed me. I meant it; I wanted to be with him in every way possible.
Intense pressure mixed with anticipation as he pressed into me. I gasped; I thought sex was supposed to feel good, but it didn’t. It hurt. Tears leaked and streamed down the side of my face. Cody kissed them away as he moved his hips.
“I love you so much, Kennedy.” After a couple minutes, he sped up the rhythm, panted, then groaned in my ear. He filled me completely; I cried out.
“Now you’re mine.” His tongue tangled with mine. “And I’m yours. Look at me.”
Under his weight, I focused on breathing and stared into his eyes.
“Tell me you love me.”
“Cody. I love you more than anything in the world.” I meant it.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you. I just couldn’t help myself. You felt so good.” Kisses trailed down my chin to my neck. He rolled off me, still panting. “Don’t worry, the first time isn’t ever any good for the girl.”
I didn’t ask him how he knew that; I didn’t want to know. We held each other the whole night and promised our love would last through the vast distance. In time, he would come back for me, and we would live happily ever after. I had to believe it. If I didn’t, the last frontier would swallow me whole.
DARKNESSconcealed booths at the far back of the Next-door bar. Chairs sat upside down on tables, as they waited for the bartender to prepare for a packed Friday night, even though it was only Wednesday. In one corner a large black bear stood on his hind legs with arms stretched out as if he would grab someone as they passed. I shuddered at the thought of those claws piercing my skin.
Fifty years ago, when the bar was new, it may have been an upscale establishment. All these years later, though, with little upkeep, it would be considered a dive. Scented with stale beer and cigarettes, the purpose ofthis watering hole was clear—to drink. Most of the customers did just that; a lot.
Brittany had told her older sister about my life at home and how we never had any money. If it wasn’t for Emily and Nathan, I wouldn’t have accepted Hannah’s offer to help me make some cash. The twenty-year-old shared her knowledge about other jobs in town. They didn’t pay well enough for her to afford rent in the neighboring apartment complex, but since working at Next-door, she had built her savings account enough to buy a new car.
After school, Brittany pulled me into the bathroom, made sure my makeup was on point, and handed me a too-tight shirt from her backpack. “Oh, man. If Cody could see you now. He’d be so proud.” An evil grin touched her lips. “And hard.”
In thirty minutes, we had put together the perfect outfit, accentuating my thin waist and all my curves in the right places. I walked out of the school looking like a professional businesswoman. Or so I thought.
We hurried to the bar for my interview. Hannah had lied to the owner so he would hire me even though I wasn’t old enough to work there. I could easily pass for eighteen but didn’t have a fake ID to prove it. No matter: the next thing I knew, I had a job.
Two days later, I arrived early, as Hannah suggested, to loosen up a bit before my shift. I didn’tknow what that meant until she pointed to the stool beside her at the bar. Two shots of something amber colored sat beside her, she slid one to me and nodded. I’d never tasted diesel fuel, but imagined the flavor was probably close to whatever it was I had swallowed in one gulp. The second shot tasted just as bad, but I forgot all about the flavor when the giggles took over.
“This is Yasmine.” Hannah introduced me to a heavy-set lady in her early thirties. She looked like my mom, in a way. “She’s another waitress. Between the two of us, we serve a hundred customers a night.”
“It’s exhausting.” Yasmine’s pretty smile eased my nerves. “We’re so glad you’re here to help.” She floated into the sea of chairs to deliver drinks to a table of four.
“Come on, I’ll show you around.”
I followed Hannah to a large private area beyond the restrooms. There, a rack of skimpy clothes and bikinis lined one wall and a sectional couch sat in the other corner with a curtain secured to the ceiling. Dressed in a crop top, short jean shorts, and strappy heels, Hannah slid hangers to the left until she found the perfect outfit for me. “You’re covering entirely too much skin.”
Only then did I compute how her clothes didn’t coincide with the cold day. I tilted my head and squinted. “To serve drinks?”
“Yeah, something like that,” she chuckled andpushed the small pieces of cloth into my hands. “Here. Change.”
I surveyed the room then settled my gaze on Hannah. “What, in front of you?”
“Listen, it’s not like I haven’t seen a naked girl before. You’re my sister’s best friend. You’re fine. Change.”
“Naked?”
“No bra. And you can NOT wear granny panties—thongs only, my love.”
I held the teeny-tiny clothes at eye level and cringed. I needed the money, so what would it matter if I didn’t wear a bra? With a sigh, I undressed. The skimpy outfit made me nervous; I’ve never really shown any skin in my everyday wardrobe. But they were paying me to dress a certain way, so I had to give it a shot.
Hannah handed me another drink—this time, a fruity concoction—and I downed it in seconds. For the next thirty minutes, we practiced my new sexy walk and toothy smile. Heels were a new addition to my wardrobe, but I only tripped a couple times. Once I mastered my new style, she gave me pointers on how to make the guys want to give a ten or even twenty-dollar tip instead of a single.
“Use your curves, stand too close, smile too wide. If you think you’re being too forward, be even more forward. But, whatever you do, don’t directly ask foranything. These guys can read women like a book. If you want something from them, hint.”
I raised my eyebrows.
