“Fabulous,” Pepper told the ceiling.

“Maybe you should dance in a mask,” Ryn teased Pepper.

“You’re the one who likes masks,” Pepper retorted to Ryn.

Really?

What did that mean?

Interesting.

“I wonder if Boone likes masks,” Hattie remarked.

“I’m not getting together with Boone,” Ryn told Hattie.

“Well, I’m not getting together with Auggie, so it doesn’t matter if he sees me dance,” Pepper told Ryn.

“I’m totally not getting together with Axl,” Hattie declared, giving a visible little shiver that had a lot to do with her being pathologically shy around guys.

“You are, you need this,” Ryn, always a boss, said.

“You need Boone too,” Pepper cut into Ryn’s bossing. “You need to settle down. You scare me.”

What?

Why was Ryn scaring Pepper?

“I’m fine,” Ryn returned.

Pepper looked to me. “She is not.”

“What’s—?” I started, but Lottie spoke up.

“You women better slap on some makeup and pull on your G-strings or Smithie is gonna get involved and no one wants that,” she said. “He’s been threatening to pull you, worried you’ll be at risk when you’re onstage,” she told me, and that made me shiver. “We talked him out of it. But tips gotta be made. There’s furniture and plates and whatnot that need replaced. So, let’s get at it.”

She then clapped.

That was Lottie.

Queen of Smithie’s in a variety of ways.

We were just fortunate she was benevolent.

And thus, we all headed to our mirrored dressing tables. Carla and Dominique were already out there. They both had kids, so they started early and ended the same.

Pepper also had a kid, Juno, cute as a button, sweet as heck, and hilarious, but it was her dad’s week to have Juno, which meant Pepper went late, which was good for Pepper. Tips were better the more time the horny assholes had to get drunk.

“You’re totally going out with Boone, you can’t help yourself. You’re curious,” Pepper muttered to Ryn along the way.

“You’re totally going out with Auggie, and I’ll bet your tips break records tonight, you trying to impress him,” Ryn muttered back.

I sat down at my vanity and looked to Hattie, who was sitting next to me.

“Axl’s very handsome and he’s really nice,” I said.

“That’s the problem,” she replied.

“You’ve seen him?” I asked.

She nodded, leaning toward her mirror to slather on some foundation. “He worked the crowd during Lottie’s sitch.”

I hadn’t noticed.

Then again, I’d actually been able to take some classes back then so if I wasn’t working, I was in class or studying, and alternately concerned about Lottie, so I hadn’t noticed.

“I think they get why we do what we do,” I assured her.

She turned to me. “I don’t care if he gets it. I get it. And honey, just sayin’, what you’ve told us about your family, what Lottie shared about what’s going down, it’s only you who doesn’t get what we do. You aren’t them. Your family, that is. You’re doing it for your own reasons. A means to an end. And you don’t owe anyone an explanation about that.”

She was right.

Really right.

I’d just never thought of it that way.

“You’re right,” I spoke the words out loud.

She shot me a grin and, “I know,” and turned back to her mirror.

I turned to mine.

Because they were going to give me their tips tonight, it was Friday night, the biggest tip night that I danced.

My lowest Friday night take had been five hundred dollars.

My highest was over two thousand.

That meant my fellow dancers…

Strike that.

Friends were probably going to refurnish my living room that night.

So, I had to be right there with them.

After counting, I tried to shove the envelope in my little purse.

It didn’t fit.

“How much?” Auggie, at my side driving, asked.

I had to clear the frog out of my throat before I answered, “Nearly eight thousand. And that doesn’t include my tips from tonight.”

“Jesus,” he muttered.

“It was a good night and Lottie always makes a bundle, but I think Smithie chipped in.”

“Undoubtedly the man wanted it under the radar, but you should know how people feel about you, so I’ll tell you I saw him slipping Lots some cash.”

Of course.

Best boss in the world.

A man who owned a strip joint.

And that was just the way.

You just never knew.

The most stand-up-appearing guy could be an absolute slimeball.

And a strip club owner could have a heart of pure gold.

“Pepper turned it up a notch tonight, I noticed,” I remarked.

“Babe,” he said.

Then he said no more.

I turned to him, and after his chat to me and that brotherly hug, I couldn’t quite keep the earnestness out of my voice.

“She’s really sweet. And I know she has a kid and some dudes balk at that, but I’ve babysat her often, and Juno is everything.”

“Pepper’s also got a dickhead ex who fucks with her whenever he can and makes opportunities if they aren’t available, and as such, she’s not feelin’ lettin’ another guy in her life right now, but more, into her kid’s life. We haven’t set something up and it’s not about her kid. I want kids. I want lots of kids. Kids are kids. They’re in your life, you love ’em like your own. So it’s not about Juno. It’s not about Pepper. It’s not about her dancing. It’s what Pepper needs in her life at the present and that’s not me.”

“Wow, Pepper has shared a lot.”

“I got the sense she didn’t want me to think she was blowing me off,” he muttered.

“That’s Pepper. She’s thoughtful,” I told him.

He glanced at me and I saw a hint of the flash of his white smile before he looked back to the road and asked, “You’re not gonna give up, are you?”

“No,” I answered.

“Evie, darlin’, I’m not gonna be that stalkery guy who pushes shit with a woman when she’s not in that zone.”

“Auggie, something I’m learning, you can get caught up in your life and not realize what zone you need to find until life forces you to pay attention.”

He was silent a beat before he said quietly, “Point made.”

We didn’t dive deeper into that the rest of the journey back to Mag’s.

Auggie had the code to get into the underground garage, and as he drove to guest parking, I saw my Prius, its trunk looking good as new, parked next to Mag’s humongous truck.

Something about that gave me a delicious shiver.

Auggie escorted me up and used his key to let us in.

The condo was dark, except for the light of the TV, which shined on Mag, who was stretched out on his side on the couch, up on an elbow in some throw pillows.

His eyes were on us.

Auggie walked me to the living room area, stopped us and stated, “She’s safe home. Now after watching her and Lots and Pepper dance, I’m going home and washing my eyes out with soap.”