Page 58 of Drunk on You (Hope Town 4)

One thing's for sure: I'll make sure there will never be doubt to her or anyone that what we share is as real as it gets.

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1 love of my life

A YEAR LATER

"IT'S ALMOST MIDNIGHT," I YELL at Ember, my drink sloshing over the edge and covering my wrist when I start bouncing up and down. She lets out a little squeal of her own. I'm sure we look like two ridiculous girls, jumping in our heels and making these noises, but I couldn't care less.

"I can't believe this is my first Filthy night!"

"I can, little mama." I laugh. "You've been incubating a human. It's your own fault for making such perfect little girls that demand you sit there and stare at them at all hours of the day."

I'm only half joking too. Ember and Nate make the most beautiful girls. I secretly hope he gets his wish, and she's preggers again soon because she takes care of the baby fever any woman creeping closer to thirty feels just by giving me more goddaughters to spoil. Brookie--or Brooklynn Nicole--had me wrapped around her little finger the day she was born. Which, really, is no different than her older sister. I'm a sucker for th

e little Reid girls.

"Perfect or not, I'm done having babies for a long time."

I snicker, tapping the side of my glass against hers. "Yeah, right. I give it another six months, tops, before Nate has his way again. Especially if you keep coming to Filthy nights."

"Don't put ideas in his head, Nicole!"

I throw my head back and laugh. "I don't need to. Trust me, Em, you might just end up pregnant watching the show tonight."

I can tell she doesn't believe me, but if you've never witnessed the hot factor of these guys getting Filthy for one night, well ... you've never seen hot. Over the past year, I've been to every single one when Shane danced. He and Nate decided that, being the biggest draw dancer-wise, the best thing to do was to dance once a month. This was the only time our guys got up there now. They no longer participated in the regular night spotlight dances on the main bars either. With Dirty bigger than it's ever been, they've been able to hire even more staff, and in turn, dedicated managers who took over all of the grunt work both of them had gotten tired of doing. They're still here but in a much more relaxed capacity.

Lewis, though, who I now get bi-weekly mani-pedis with, got his very own office and promotion to full-time lead in that department. Shane, after learning from his issues with Lacey, wasn't taking any chances and amped the security here up to levels that rival the Secret Service on nights like tonight when I want to watch my man dance. He does the same for anyone else he considers his personal VIP, though, so it doesn't bother me in the least. It's just the type of man he is. He's let up a lot in the ways that he executes his control, but this is one that I can't fault him on. He wants those he loves safe, and I will always admire and respect that about him. Thankfully, Lacey hasn't even been a thought since that night. When I got back in town from our stay in the mountains, I followed his lead and filed for my own restraining order. Once those were filed, her father yanked her back home to Athens faster than you could say cheap hoe. In the end, we both got our exes out of our lives and won the greatest gift of all.

Each other.

"It's almost time, ladies. You'd better go get to the stage and beat the rush so Lewis doesn't have a heart attack trying to get y'all there," Dent yells over the bar, winking at us both.

I turn, my long hair fanning around me, and smile at Ember. "Are you ready?"

Her own grin is huge. "How close to Nate's Lollipop dance is this?"

"Another universe, Em. Doesn't even come close," I answer, thinking back to the very dance that Nate created as a spotlight regular meant to make his wife melt.

"Oh, my."

"You have no idea!" I start moving, patting Lewis on his big beefy shoulder when we get to his side. "Let's go, you big giant!"

He shakes his head but starts walking. The path clears for him with no effort on his part. He just moves, and people get the heck out of dodge. I'm laughing like a loon the whole time. I'm not sure why it's so funny to me, but I'm not complaining since the big guy gets me to the two main stage's with no trouble and ensures I have a front row spot. He moves to the side after we reach the stages edge and I take his spot, pushing Ember a little toward the other one so that we're both in the middle of the two of them, ready and waiting. I look over my shoulder to see Lewis standing with his back to us, arms crossed, just daring someone to get close. On nights when I'm here to watch Shane, there is never a woman who can get close to me--of course, they can still get close to him from other parts of the round stage, but it's not like he's ever got eyes for anyone but me. And I get drunk off the high of watching him.

Now--a year plus of being together--not even a sliver of doubt exists in his mind when it comes to how I feel about his dancing. I've shown him over and over how hot it gets me after each Filthy night I watch from this very spot, and tonight will be no different.

They've made a few upgrades to Filthy night, so when I see the tiny green light at the stage's floor turn on, I know Shane's under there, ready to come up when the lights go black and the stage floor opens to allow him and all the other dancers to avoid walking through the club floor to take their spots. Huge upgrade that took closing the club for a month to build into the basement but so worth it.

"Brace yourself, girlfriend!" I yell at Ember, the current song coming to an end but still loud. She looks just as excited as I feel, but she has no idea.

Things are about to get Filthy at Dirty Dog.

Placing my hands on the edge of the stage, I widen my legs and brace myself, knowing that in about thirty seconds, my man is going to make my knees weak.

Women start pushing in around the stages. They must have realized how close to midnight we are. I bite my lip and wait, already feeling like I'm about to come out of my skin.

Then the lights go black, and the room goes electric. My ears ring with the level of screaming around me. Then my palms vibrate as the stage floor starts to open, and I feel a whoosh of air come from the basement as the lift starts moving up, filling in the opening and giving Shane an enforced base to move on. I feel his eyes on me before the music changes and the spotlight illuminates him. The hypnotizing beat of Bando Jonez "Sex You" starts and a tingle lights a fire down my spine, heat shooting straight between my legs when I get my first look at Shane.

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