I stand. I’m not sure if he’s annoyed or happy about it, because he looks so angry. Paisley was right.
And it’s my fault.
“Yes, it’s true,” I tell him, coming to the decision just then. I hadn’t decided, and if I’m honest, I was leaning more toward no. Now, I’m saying yes. Because I don’t want my friends and family to continue to worry about me. Self-defence classes might not fix anything, but it will show them I’m doing okay. “Your friend at the gym popped by to return my purse and he—”
“Wait, Drew was there?”
My brows bunch together. “If Drew didn’t tell you, how did you know?”
“Jaxon said he heard you talking about it. He didn’t mention Drew,” he explains. “If you give me a few days to move some stuff around, I can start teaching you.”
“Stop,” I blurt out. “I love you. You’re my best friend, but I’m okay. You don’t need to worry about me anymore.”
“Of course I’m going to worry about you. You’re family.”
“So is she,” I whisper, pointing to Paisley. “And you’re pushing her away.”
His forehead creases. “What?”
Paisley stands. “I’m gonna head back.”
I grip her wrist, stopping her. “No. He needs to hear this. He needs to stop feeling guilty and worrying about me.”
“What is she talking about?” he asks, staring directly at Paisley.
Paisley’s lip trembles moments before she bursts into tears. “You blame me.”
“Blame you?” he asks, pulling her into his arms. “Babe.”
“She thinks you blame her for you not being here for me.”
“What? No. Fuck no. I’m mad at myself.”
“And you don’t need to be. I’m okay.”
“Charlotte, you are far from okay. You are still in denial about it all.”
I glance away at his pitiful look. “You can’t put your life on hold for me, Landon. It’s not fair on those who depend on you.”
His jaw clenches. “I just hate that there’s nothing I can do. I can’t even find the fucker.”
I step closer and lean up and kiss his cheek. “And I don’t need you to. The police will do that, so please, Landon, just be my friend, be my family.”
He closes his eyes as he pulls Paisley closer. “I’m not giving up,” he tells me.
He’s a stubborn arse. “Then at least stop pushing everyone around you away.”
“All right,” he tells me, then pulls back, glancing down at Paisley. “I’ve been a dickhead, haven’t I?”
She shakes her head. “No. You’ve just been worried and I get that. But I worry about you. I love you.”
“I love you too,” he assures her. “And I don’t blame you.”
I clasp my hands together. “Good. Now, can I get back to work?”
Paisley chuckles, resting her cheek against his chest. “Thank you for listening to me.”
“You’re more than welcome,” I tell her. “I’ll give you two a moment.”
“I’ll speak to you later,” Landon tells me, before turning to Paisley.
I smile and head back to where I left my trolley, but as I reach the corner, I bump into Rose. She jumps, glancing up from the book. “Charlotte, you scared me.”
“Sorry,” I grimace, then realise what aisle we are in. “Are you looking for something specific?”
She glances up and pulls out a book on anatomy. “My sister asked me to pick this up.”
“Ah, well, I’ll leave you to it.”
“Oi, Charlotte, where are ya, babe?”
My eyes widen at the sound of Harriet yelling. I rush back to the front, finding Harriet, Olivia, Emily and Gabby waiting at the reception desk. They are all my friends from Tease. My gaze finds Olivia first, her sleek black hair shining and standing out against the others. She looks different out of her work attire. They all do. None of them dress provocatively unless you count Gabby’s cleavage. Gabby is stunning. She wears a light amount of makeup, and her brown hair with highlights is thrown up in a bun. Emily is the only blonde of the group. Harriet’s more of a cool brown with highlights. And she preferred her leggings and flowy tops rather than the skimpy outfits she wears at work.
“Guys, what are you doing here?”
Gabby squeals and races over to see me. “You’re alive.”
I freeze, taking a step back, but she dives on me, knocking me back a step. Had someone leaked the information? Do they know? “W-what?”
“What the fuck is going on?” Olivia asks, rushing over when Gabby pulls back from the hug. “Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
“And why haven’t you been to the strip club in a month?” Harriet demands.
Marlene begins to choke from the desk. “Strip club?”
Oh no.
“Yeah, we had police there searching for video footage,” Emily comments. “And Trixie, she said she heard your name being mentioned.”
“Tell us what is going on. When you messaged us you said you were sick.”
I wring my fingers together just as I feel a presence behind me. I know it’s Landon right away because Emily sighs, hearts in her eyes as she stares up at him.
“Handsome,” she breathes out.
My lips tug into a smile when he clears his throat. “Um, ladies.”
“Haven’t seen you in the strip club for a while either,” Harriet murmurs.
Oh no.
I watch as Paisley stiffens, slowly tilting her head up to face Landon.
This isn’t going to be good.
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHARLOTTE
Landon pales at the predicament, holding his hands up. “It’s not what you think.”
“A strip club?” Paisley grits out. “Really?”
“When I was helping her out with her notes,” he rushes out to explain. “You know that.”
“A strip club?” she repeats, eyes wide. She turns to the women, her lips parting. “Why did no one ever ask me to go?”
I chuckle when Landon begins to choke.
“I’ll invite you next time,” I tell her.
“No, you will not,” Landon painfully grits out. “No way.”
“Um, why not?” Paisley argues.
He arches an eyebrow. “Babe.”
She rolls her eyes and turns to me. “I’d love to.”
“Good, because this one hasn’t been there for a while and we miss her,” Harriet blabs.
“Bet it was her boyfriend,” Gabby mutters.
“Don’t,” Landon warns, taking us all by surprise with his harshness.
“What’s going on?” Olivia asks, once again noticing more than the others.
“She’s been going through shit; back off,” Landon warns. “Don’t even bring him up.”
The girls tense and I sigh, closing my eyes. “Something happened with Scott.”
“I told you he was a waster,” Gabby comments.
“You think all men are,” Olivia argues.