Trashy Read Free

me taunted.
    I might have a negative stance on getting involved with men these days, but it seemed he was the exception to that rule. However, just because I might have a small crush on him didn’t mean I had to act on it.
    Adam was the owner of the Mad Hatter, and that made him my boss. And him being my boss wasn’t the only reason he was off-limits. I had several reasons for that.
    But it wasn’t those reasons that were clouding my mind right now. No, what was clouding my thoughts was the image of his wide shoulders filling out a dress shirt. The way he spoke gruffly to everyone, trying to hide the soft spot I knew he had just beneath his ribs.
    I dragged the loofah down over my hip and across my thigh, imagining what it would be like for him to touch me there. For one long moment, I let myself wonder if his fingers would glide over my skin as readily as this soap.
    I wasn’t a virgin. And yeah, I took my clothes off for money, but locked away in my most private depths was a little piece of the girl I was in high school. The innocent girl who wanted to feel treasured. Who wanted to feel like she was someone’s entire world.
    Yeah, I knew it was just a schoolgirl’s dream.
    But it didn’t stop me from occasionally letting that part of me out and imagining what it would be like in the arms of a man who loved me more than anything.
    That man never used to have a face. He was more of a feeling, more of a dream than anything. But slowly that started to change. Slowly, the man I sometimes longed for became a little clearer in my head.
    Sometimes he looked just like Adam.
    My eyes shot open and I pulled the loofah away from my body. My skin tingled, and I abruptly turned the water to a shockingly cold temp. I was not going to think about Adam while I washed.
    Totally disgusted with myself, I shut off the water and grabbed a towel. My long, deep-brown (the richness in the color courtesy of a box) hair was stick straight no matter how I blow-dried it, so after combing it out, I blasted it with the heat until it hung down my back with the sleekness most women had to pay for with products and blow-outs.
    I ran a small flat iron over the straight cut of bangs that were just shy of falling into my eyes and pulled on my panties and a light colored cotton dress. Usually, I wore yoga pants and a T-shirt to work, but it was just too hot today.
    I put on the bare minimum of makeup (I would just add more for the stage at work), popped in my violet-colored contacts, and left the bathroom.
    Harlow was in the kitchen when I came out, tossing my duffle bag on the end of the sofa. “Hey,” I said. “How was work?”
    Harlow worked harder than most people I knew. She was determined to achieve her goals no matter how much she had to try. I really admired that about her, and she inspired me to go after what I really wanted in life too.
    Harlow shrugged. “It’s a job.” She made a face, and I laughed.
    “The snow cone cart is going to be closing up for the season soon, isn’t it?” I asked. She was a snow cone vendor at Broadway at the Beach in addition to waiting tables at the Mad Hatter. She started out stripping, but she hated it, and Adam went against his usual policy that all the girls strip and wait tables and let her stay on as a waitress.
    She nodded. “Yeah, in just a couple weeks, at the end of October.”
    October might seem late for the season, but here in Myrtle Beach, it was still warm and tourists were still vacationing.
    “Are you going to look for something else?” I asked.
    “I don’t know yet. With my class schedule, I don’t know if I will have time.”
    Yet another reason I was sticking with stripping. I made a lot of money and the hours were at night, so when I did go to college, I could do both and not have to worry about juggling. I would be sleep-deprived, but it was a small price to pay for bettering my life.
    My cell began to ring on the counter. I glanced at it dubiously, making no move to answer