Page 20 of The Price of Forever

“You know you have two older brothers who are very eager to give you literally anything you could want or need,” Seven said, as though hearing my internal dilemma.

I frowned at him. He had no fucking idea. “You can save the Fairchild sympathy. I have to work, and that’s that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get dressed so we can get some rice noodles before we go in.”

For an afternoon on a work night, I touched an extensive number of trinkets in Chinatown and took Seven to my favorite rice noodle joint, Yun Shin. Not because I cared about what he thought or wanted to share it with him to see what he said about my favorite restaurant. I just wanted the rice noodles. And a nice bouquet of dahlias, which were my favorite flower—especially in any shade of red.

And maybe I secretly wanted him to be sad that it was his last day trailing someone as fascinating and sparkling as me.

But the man was a brick wall. Anytime I caught a glimmer of personality, he followed it with iciness and focus on the job. When I asked him what he thought about the rice noodles, he’d just grunted and said “good” like a Neanderthal. Zero appreciation for broth. Outrageous.

I made him tag along to a few PokéStops on the way back from lunch. I caught him watching my phone curiously a time or two, but he didn’t ask a damn question, and I didn’t offer a damn thing. I did catch a Dragonite, though, which I shouted excitedly about. The brick wall didn’t even ask what the big deal was.

Back at my apartment, I went through my usual pre-work routine while Seven lingered in the living room. Having him so close put me on edge in a strange way. I wanted to know what he really thought, and it burned me up that I wouldn’t get it out of him before he was gone forever.

Once my hair was done and the base of my work makeup applied, I packed my bag and dressed in my street clothes. Seven stood as soon as he saw me approach. The way he filled my living room and seemed to tower above me made my pussy clench.

I couldn’t lie—having a protector was sort of nice.

Especially one as sexy as Seven.

I refused his offer to take the private car to work, so we hoofed it through Chinatown and over to SoHo like the rest of Manhattan did on the daily. I knew this route like the back of my hand. I could probably get there sleepwalking if I had to. Once we got to the club, we parted without much fanfare, but my nerves buzzed waiting to see if I’d catch any glimpse of a reaction to my show like I had yesterday.

Seven had been transfixed, though I was sure he’d never admit it. And seeing the desire flash in his eyes felt like a small victory, even though the truth was you could truly conquer any man under purple lights with a slap-able ass and bare skin.

I tried to make the shift feel like a regular workday, but from the start, even my regulars were commenting on how nice it was to see me on a Monday. It felt odd being here—or maybe the feeling came from knowing that in a few hours, Seven would be gone forever.

Tonight’s shift had me doing one main show again. I chose a black thong and fake-sapphire-encrusted bikini as my costume for the night. I pulled out all the stops, making sure to shake my ass cheeks extra hard in Seven’s direction. The whole club roared and hooted as I wrapped up. And as planned, I got booked up immediately. Per the moneymaking plan.

Seven stayed along the back wall, surveying the room methodically as I pranced off to give some lap dances and make the rounds between champagne rooms and VIP lounges. I spotted someone familiar in the crowd toward the bar—a mess of red hair and wide shoulders. I squinted across the bar before heading into the champagne room.

Dustin.

What the fuck was he doing here?

There was no time to think about it. I was a busy lady, and I had lots of dances to give. Dustin didn’t appear on my schedule, but seeing him here set off my alarms. In theory, there was no way he’d know to find me here.

But he saw the shoes….

I worked through the conundrum in the back of my mind as I entertained, popped bottles, and teased my tits for cash. Had Dustin been methodically checking out every strip club since the morning he spotted my shoes? Seemed unlikely. But there was no way he’d know how to find me. Unless he’d gotten lucky or followed me…

I tried to keep track of him, but I couldn’t. By the time I came up for air after two back-to-back VIP lounges, Dustin was gone—or maybe booked with another dancer. I vowed to let it go.

Sometimes, real life people showed up in the club. That shit happened.

So why couldn’t I shake it?

The end of my shift came quickly. I’d barely had time to keep tabs on Seven, either. Once I was changed into street clothes again, we stepped outside together, inhaling the humid, smog-laced night air.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Born ready. Car’s on stand-by,” he told me.

I tutted, shaking my head. “I knew you’d offer. But no. Besides, we need more time. It’s our last day. I want to get to know you before you leave forever.”

He kept pace alongside me as I started down the sidewalk, his jaw flexing. “There’s nothing worth knowing.”

“I beg to differ!” I laughed haughtily. “You know far too much about me. Besides, that’s usually my line: there’s nothing worth knowing. So I know it’s a load of bullshit.”

He said nothing as we scuffed our way down the mostly empty sidewalk.

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