Page 83 of Tainted

“I’m fine. Now, how are you really doing?”

“I’m fine, Kenyon.”

“It didn’t sound like it earlier.”

“I spent more than half my life with the man. I’m allowed to have a moment.”

“It’s not the moments I’m worried about,” I confessed. “If the house is too much to main-.”

But Mom didn’t let me finish my sentence. She never did when the topic of moving came up. “I’m not leaving my house, so let’s eat.”

We sat at the table and enjoyed each other’s company until Megan called and asked if I was nearby. I wasn’t, but I could tell by her tone that I needed to get to the club, so Mom packed up the rest of my plate, and I promised to call tomorrow.

“Thank you, Kenyon.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that. I love you, Ma.”

“I love you too. Everything Ericwasn’tis planted in you, and that made him so proud. Even though at times you didn’t think so.”

“Night, Mama.”

“Goodnight, Kenyon. Be safe.”

Backing out of the driveway, I headed to the club, replaying my conversation with my mom. Her words had cut through the noise, leaving me with a raw, uncomfortable truth. Pulling into the parking lot, the line was wrapped around the damn parking lot. Everybody was dressed like they were headed to a rodeo or the derby, not a night out at Utopia.

“What the fuck is going on tonight?” I asked, approaching Daris at the door. When he finished patting down the man before him, he tossed his thumb over his shoulder.

“Nova’s Rodeo. She’s headlining tonight,” Daris replied, motioning the next customer up to the line. “She has a signature drink for the night and everything.”

“Kross went for that?” I asked out of curiosity.

His brows shrugged as he patted down the next patron. I couldn’t wait to hear the backstory of how this happened, but I slithered through the entryway in the meantime. Weaving through the crowd, I stopped at the bar first because my mind was still with my mother.

“Hey, Keyes,” Tambra smiled, gripping the counter's edge. “What can I get for you?”

“What’s the special tonight?”

“Buckle Bunny Mule or Rodeo Rebel,” Tambra recited from memory.

“Rodeo Rebel, and don’t give me that bottom shelf shit either!” I yelled because she had already squandered to the end of the bar.

Tambra handed me my drink, and DJ Beats’ voice boomed through the speakers.

"Alright, folks, saddle up and hold onto your hats, but let go of that money! Comin' to the stage is the one and only Nova!”

There she was in full cowgirl regalia. Her crop top with a tie-front closure and silver metallic fringe trim fit her well. Blonde was her wig of choice tonight, parted down the middle into two pigtails like a true country girl.

The opening notes of Tanner Adell's "Buckle Bunny" blared through the club as she spun around, arching her back while groping her body. Every man in attendance was caught in Zara’s maze or so mesmerized that they tossed all their money on the stage.

I couldn’t blame them because I was caught in her light too. It was so blinding that I couldn’t see or think straight. Zara was a star in the making, and she knew exactly how to hold the audience in her hand. As the music pulsed, she hopped off the stage, landing gracefully and moving through the crowd making every nigga in attendance feel like this show was curated with them in mind.

My heart pounded when Zara stopped in front of me, spinning around and pressing her ass against me. She gave me a slow, seductive smile, making me feel like a little ass boy getting his first dance.

“Spin me like a spur. Make my snakeskin rattle!”

As quickly as Zara appeared, she was back on stage, twirling and climbing the height of the pole at the same time. Her frame curled around it before flipping upside down with her legs in a split.

I don’t know how she was able to hold herself upside down on the pole by her ankles, but it made my dick hard thinking about all the other things she could do. The final notes played as she slid down the pole into a split. The applause was deafening,but all I could think about was the moment Zara danced just for me.

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