Page 21 of After Midnight

Yeah. See you soon.

NO MATTER WHAT DAY OF the week it is, the gym is packed. But the AC is blasting, and there are two treadmills open—perfect warm-up.

Riley and I drop our bags in the locker room, then head out to the main floor. I start my treadmill at a quick walk, reaching up to tie my hair into a ponytail as the machine starts to move. Next to me, Riley punches the button on her treadmill, cranking up the speed.

I arch a brow at her. “You’re going to regret that in about two minutes.”

She glances over at me. “No I’m not. I’m building endurance.” She jogs beside me for about a minute before she starts breathing harder.

“One minute down,” I say, then smile when she flips me off.

The treadmills hum beneath us, and I distract myself from the uncomfortable heat in my chest by running through the exercises I want to do today. It’s Monday, which means upper body. Tuesdays are lower body, and then I’m back at work on Wednesday.

I crank up the speed on my treadmill, just a bit, to a slow jog. The tightness in my chest starts to loosen as I find my pace. Next to me, Riley has already covertly slowed hers down, and I pretend not to notice.

“How was work last night?” she asks.

Since I started stripping, she’s been curious about my job, and I’ve always tried to keep her away from it as much as possible. A lot of girls are drawn to stripping for the money, but I don’t want that for Riley. I want her to go to school and use her amazing brain; then she’ll at least have tried that path before opting to use her body instead. And if she does eventually choose to strip, I’ll support her in that as well.

“Good,” I say. It’s what I typically say, unless it was a really shitty night.

But last night wasn’t a shitty night. Last night, I gave a rock star my number.

And he’s still waiting on me to text back. But I left my phone in the locker room specifically so I wouldn’t keep looking at it.

“Would you ever let me come watch you dance?” she asks.

I let out a sudden laugh and almost stumble on the treadmill. “Wouldn’t that be awkward?” I ask.

But Riley shakes her head, her short dark hair flopping in its braid. “No. I think it’s cool. Being a stripper is badass.”

There she goes, getting that look in her eye again, like maybe she should throw her books out the window and go buy nipple tassels instead. And I get it, but if she’s going to strip, it’s going to be because she chooses to, not because she needs to.

“Not as badass as getting into Caltech,” I say. Then I slow my treadmill down and hop off. My muscles feel nice and warm now, and my heart rate is up. “Come on, the bench press is open.”

Riley groans as she slows her treadmill to a stop. “I hate the bench press.”

Smiling, I say, “That’s another great reason not to become a stripper.” I reach out and squeeze her upper arm. “These scrawny muscles won’t hold you on that pole for five seconds.”

Rolling her eyes, she pulls her arm out of my grip. “Whatever. Let’s just go.”

After our workout, I buy us each a protein shake from the vending machine near the door, and we drink them as we step out into the sun. It’s scorching today, the type of heat that makes me want to pack up all my shit and move to Alaska or something. Pine trees and snow would be amazing right about now.

In my car, I crank up the AC immediately, and then Riley and I hold our faces up to the cold air until we’ve finally cooled down.

“Oh, before I forget,” I tell her, reaching into my purse. “Here. For a new car battery.”

I hold out the stack of tens and twenties, and Riley narrows her eyes.

“It’s okay, Rem. I can just take the bus until—”

“No.” I shove the money at her. “I told you, I don’t want you taking the bus after work at night.”

“Well, maybe Dad could just—”

I shake my head. “Mom and Dad have enough on their plates with Gran; they don’t need to be driving your ass around too.” Reaching over, I take her hand in mine and shove the cash into her palm. “Don’t be a pain about this, please? Just get your car fixed. This week.”

Slowly, she curls her fingers around the cash, and just for a second, I see the little girl she still carries around inside, the one who hasn’t quite grown up yet but desperately wants to. And I want to nurture that little girl and keep her young and innocent for as long as I can.