Page 2 of Done with You

He hit the fob for his truck and the auto-start button so the engine roared to life before he was even at the door.

Normally, an event like this would make a person turn to booze. Hit up a bar and grab a drink—or several—to numb their feelings. But Aiden didn’t drink.

He didn’t use any kind of substance, illegal or legal.

His only vice was coffee. The stronger and darker, the better. He drank at least four cups a day. But he was also strict about that consumption and never took a drop after three o’clock, since it would just keep him up. And as a cop who worked two day-shifts, then two night-shifts, then had four days off, his sleep cycle was already fucked up enough.

He climbed into his truck, which was already getting toasty warm, since he made sure to leave the heaters on full-blast before he left, and the seat-warmers were at max, too.

He might not drink alcohol, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t just go sit at a bar, watch the hockey game on the screen, indulge in some nachos and just exist among the carefree.

Besides, it never hurts to have a cop in the bar in case things get rowdy. More than once, he’d had to jump in and help a bartender throw out some degenerates who were getting obnoxious after one-too-many beers, and their team lost the game.

He did a quick Google search for a nearby bar with televisions and nachos and lo and behold, there was a hotel only two and a half kilometers away with just what he was looking for.

With his face still full of flames from that outburst in the rec center, he put the truck into gear and pulled out of the parking lot, careful to keep his eyes peeled for black ice. They hadn’t had a big dump of snow yet, but it was coming, and soon. He could smell snow in the air, and the clouds above were a dense, dark and gray blanket. The thermostat on his dash said it was minus eleven Celsius.

Fuck, he hated the cold.

He drove to the hotel, parked his truck further away than right in front of the front door, so that hopefully nobody would park right beside him and scrape his shiny black Dodge Ram, then hoofed it across the slick parking lot to the entrance.

The hotel wasn’t huge, but the parking lot was absolutely packed.

As he opened the front door to the lobby, a roar of a crowd, followed by applause, made him pause.

The bar was to the left, but the cheering was coming from the right.

“What’s going on in there?” he asked the red-vested hotel staff behind the front desk.

“Monthly pole and burlesque show,” the guy with the name tag that read Rakesh, replied, his smile big and showing perfectly straight white teeth. “Always pulls in a huge crowd.”

“A what?”

“Pole and burlesque. You know, pole dancers.”

“Like strippers?”

“Well … it’s more than that. In fact, I don’t think they take their clothes off at all.” He scrunched his nose. “I mean, they’re not wearing a lot to begin with, but it’s not a strip show. We’re not licensed for that.” He tipped his chin toward the door to the show, just as another cheer made the pictures on the walls tremble. “You should go check it out. These women are crazy strong and fit. It’s an art form. I couldn’t do it.”

Aiden grunted and was about to scoff at the idea when he was interrupted by a loud announcement from inside. “And please welcome the beautiful, the talented, the brilliant … Luna Love.”

The crowd went bananas.

“They do know it’s Monday, right?”

Rakesh shrugged. “Doesn’t seem to matter what night of the week it is; the house is always packed when these ladies perform.”

Another cheer shook the walls.

“How much?” Aiden asked.

“Fifteen, or twenty, and that gets you two drink tickets. Otherwise, drinks are five bucks each.”

“Don’t drink,” he said, reaching into his wallet and pulling out a ten and a five. He took a step toward the room filled with music and more cheering, but then paused. “Can I order food from the bar and have it sent in there?”

“Afraid not, sir, but the show in there will be over in a little over an hour, then you can move to the bar.”

Aiden grunted again, nodded, said a quick thanks, then headed toward the music and cheers.

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