“Will do!”
“Oh wait!” exclaimed Aimee. “I forgot to give Elizabeth her cookies!” She waited for Kiki to unlock her door and grabbed the plate off the seat, running over to Elizabeth’s car to deliver them.
Kiki started the engine and put on her seatbelt, trying to act very busy with adjusting the mirror and radio to keep Aimee from asking her questions. She should have known it would be useless.
The first thing Aimee said when she got back to the car and climbed in was, “So who’s the guy?”
“What guy?” It’s worth a shot.
“Don’t play games with me. I am the master of no fun. There will be no games today. I’m talking about the level-ten hot guy in the free-weights section. The one who was coming over to talk to you before you ran away.”
“I didn’t run.”
“You ran. And frankly, I’m pretty disappointed. I thought you were fearless.”
“I am. Except with that guy for some reason.”
Aimee got a concerned look on her face. “Oh, no! Is he like … one of those pimps you told me about? Oh, shoot, I was thinking about setting you up with that jerk. Now I feel like a total idiot. I’m so sorry … ”
“No, no, Aimee, you’re getting the wrong idea. He’s not a pimp. Not at all.” She sighed. She was in too deep now to not say anything about him. “He’s a member of the board for Lola’s … the place I used to work. I think he’s a lawyer.”
Aimee frowned. “Might as well just call him a pimp, then.”
Kiki laughed. “Not all lawyers are assholes.”
“Yes, they are.”
Kiki couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She couldn’t remember now why she was so reticent about telling Aimee the secret. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. “Well, maybe a lot of them are. But I don’t even really know this guy. He was there on the night of my last performance, sitting in the front row.”
“Oh, wow. That’s kind of sexy, actually. Did he ask you out after?”
“No. He didn’t tip me, so I refused to speak to him.”
“He stiffed you? What a bum! See? I told you. They’re all pimps at heart … think the world owes ‘em.”
“He wasn’t the type to go to that kind of club. I could see it all over his face.”
“Well, why was he there, then? Trying to get a free look?”
“The manager told me this board, which is made up of mostly attorneys, had gotten involved to class up the place. Try to get it more profitable. I don’t know … maybe the DeLuccas are going to sell it to someone or something. Franchise it. I have no idea.”
“Huh. So this guy was at the club, a place he doesn’t normally go, watching you shake your tooshie, and then you blew him off?”
“Yeah. That’s about right.”
“So now he’s going to want you bad.”
“Not necessarily. Life is not like Pretty Woman, Aimee. Most guys don’t want an exotic dancer for a girlfriend.”
“You’re not an exotic dancer anymore, first of all, and second, any guy who doesn’t bother to get to know you first before he rejects you is a butthead anyway and not worth your time.”
Kiki smiled. “I like the way your mind works, Aimee.”
“It’s just common sense. You have a lot to offer the right guy, so you have to be selective.”
“You could be talking about yourself, you know. Seems like that Joe guy might be a good candidate.”
“Pffft. Right. I’m damaged goods, Kiki. I can’t afford to be picky like you. But that doesn’t mean I’ll go with just any guy. I’ve already been tied to one prick for long enough.”
“What are you talking about? You’re not damaged goods, that’s ridiculous.” Kiki was angry that Aimee felt this way about herself. That guy Jack had really done a number on her self-confidence.
Aimee’s voice lost its cheer and energy. “I didn’t really tell you this before; I thought you might have guessed it …” She sighed sadly before continuing, “I can’t have kids. I’m barren.”
Kiki barked out a laugh. “Barren? Have you been reading too many historical romances, or what? Who says that anymore?”
“I thought it sounded more dramatic.” A small smile began to show at the corner of her lips.
“Oh, it does.” Kiki was still chuckling. “How do you know it’s you that’s the problem? Maybe it’s him.”