I was just about to walk out when Haleigh asked, “Where you headed?”
“Oh, um, I have some errands to run.”
“At this time of night?”
“I just need to pick up a few things,” I lied. “It shouldn’t take long.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“That’s okay.” Praying she wouldn’t push, I told her, “I know you’re tired. Get some rest, and I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Okay, then. Be careful.”
“You know I will.”
I quickly waved, then rushed out the door and into my car. As I drove towards Stilettos, the doubts started rolling in, and I began to worry that I was making a mistake. But then I reminded myself that I was only going there to thank Lynch.
That was it.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
By the time I pulled into the parking lot, it was after nine. Since it was a Thursday night, I expected the place to be packed. It wasn’t. Instead, there was barely a soul in sight—just a couple of construction vehicles parked in the rear of the building.
When I saw the Closed sign posted out front, I wondered if that had something to do with the other night when the cops and fire trucks invaded their parking lot. Regardless, the club wasn’t open, so I started to pull back out of the lot but stopped when I noticed several bikers talking by the back entrance.
I watched them for a moment and, once I gathered my courage, got out of my car and started towards them. As soon as I walked up, one of the bigger men stepped forward and announced, “Sorry, miss, we’re closed.”
“Yeah, I see that.” The man was older with dark hair and a thick beard, and I felt a little uneasy as I cleared my throat and said, “I’m actually here for Lynch. Is he around?”
“Lynch?” His eyes narrowed. “Is he expecting you?”
“I doubt it. I didn’t even know I was coming here myself until I pulled into the lot.” I gave him a slight shrug, then asked, “So, is he here or not?”
“Yeah, he’s here.” The man turned and headed towards the door. “Come on. I’ll take you to him.”
I did as he said and followed him inside the bar. For a strip club, it seemed pretty upscale. There were several stages along the sidewall, an oversized bar in the back, and tables and booths positioned where everyone could get a good glimpse of the show.
I was trying to imagine what a busy night would be like when the biker led me over to a construction area sealed off with plastic sheeting. I could hear several men talking in the distance, then the man next to me stuck his head through the plastic and shouted, “Yo, Lynch. There’s someone here to see ya.”
“Oh, yeah?” I couldn’t see him, but I heard him ask, “Who is it?”
“Come see for yourself.”
Seconds later, Lynch stepped through the clear plastic tarp and was a sight to behold. He wore a black Harley-Davidson t-shirt that clung perfectly to his muscular chest, and his dark hair was tousled in a way that made me want to run my fingers through it. Lynch looked like every one of my deepest, darkest sexual fantasies wrapped in one divine package, and my overactive hormones had taken notice.
His eyes widened in surprise the second he spotted me. “Raelyn? What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.” I was still trying to come to terms with how wickedly sexy the man was, which made it difficult to think, much less speak. I eventually managed to clear my throat and say, “I uh ... I wanted to come by and thank you again for helping Haleigh and me out the other night.”
“Oh?”
“Mm-hmm.” My eyes skirted over his broad, muscular chest. “And to see if I could buy you a drink or something. You know, as a way of thanking you for going to all the trouble, but I didn’t realize you had all this construction going on here.”
“Yeah, things are a bit of a wreck, but we can figure something out.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“We could always go over to DJ’s and grab a beer if you’re up for it.” He motioned his head towards the front door. “It’s just across the street.”
“Yeah, I’d be up for that.”
“Good.” He smiled, then turned towards his friend. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Take your time, brother.”
Without saying anything more, I followed Lynch outside. As we crossed the street, I glanced over to him and asked, “So, what’s going on with your, uh, club? Did something happen, or are you guys just renovating?”
“I guess you could say it’s a combination of the two.” His tone sounded mildly agitated. “We had an issue with a gas leak, and it took out a couple of our bathrooms. We’re working to get them rebuilt, so we can open the place back up.”