Santa Baby~Chapter 5
I'm dreaming of a White Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow
Belle hummed happily along with Bing Crosby as she and Maddy added the final touches to the "prettiest Christmas tree in the world" as Maddy had so eloquently dubbed it. Belle had to admit, it was an extremely beautiful tree. One of the most beautiful trees that she'd ever seen. It'd taken all of the fifty dollars that Alex had given her, but no matter, she planned on paying every cent of it back.
I'm dreaming of a White Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
She stood back in order to properly judge the tree. They'd used the decorations of Christmases past. Some of them had been made by Maddy herself at kindergarten, with extreme love and care. Some had been Belle's as a child and brought back stirring memories of childhood and love. All in all, it was a tree that represented love: old and new. And Belle was pleased. And happy. "Well, Madison Renee, what do you think?"
Maddy glanced up from her decorating, then jumped up to go and stand beside her mother. "It's great!" She exclaimed, jumping around the room until she caught the look in her Mommy's eyes. Instantly the childhood joy melted away into very grownup concern. "What's wrong? Has our pretty tree made you sad?"
Belle silently cursed herself for being so foolish. She wiped impatiently at the tears that were streaming down her face, then put on her brightest smile. "No, baby, I'm crying because I'm happy. I'm so wonderfully happy." She pulled Madison into her arms. "You make me happy, you know that?"
"You make me happy too." Wiggling out of the embrace, Madison darted back into her bedroom then return with her hands behind her back. "I have a surprise for you." She announced proudly.
Her mother grinned down at her. "A surprise?"
"Yep, somethin' I made in art class just for you."
Belle struggled to fight back the tears. Dammit, why was she so friggin' emotional lately? And what on earth had she done to deserve such a blessed little girl? "Oh, Madison."
Before her Mommy could start that silly blubbering again, Madison presented the ornament proudly. It caught the single light of the sparsely furnished living room and shone brightly in her tiny hands. Mrs. Thompson, her art teacher, said that she went a little overboard with the glitter, but Madison thought that it was just right. To an outsider, it would've seemed tacky, maybe even a bit ugly, but to a mother, the tiny cardboard star covered in glitter was perfect. Just perfect.
Belle sighed and snatched it greedily away from her little girl. "Oh, baby, this is so beautiful. Did I ever tell you what a wonderful artist you are? If not, then you're a wonderful artist." She pressed the star to her heart, then wrapped her free arm around Madison. "I love you, baby."
"I love you too."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 hours later, across town in Julianne Green's apartment
Jules Green was worried out of her friggin' mind. It wasn't that late. Not really. Only one o'clock in the morning. Hell, most bachelor parties lasted all night. Yet, most bachelor parties didn't have Jason Hyatt as its host.
It wasn't that she didn't like Jason. It was hard not to like the horny goofball, but she just didn't trust him. Not at an adult bar with her husband. Nope, she just didn't trust him.
She let out a sigh of relief when she heard the sound of tires squealing across the parking lot of Mossy Bottom Apartments. "Dammit, Blake, I'm going to strangle you, but not before I kiss you." She murmured, marching to the door and waiting for the buzz of the intercom. "Yeah?"
Where were they again? Who were they again? Why were they at Jules' apartment? Oh yeah. Shawn shifted a very drunk Blake so that he was propped against the wall, then pressed the intercom button. "It's Shawn. I'm drunk. So is Blake. So is Jase. Don't worry, we had a designated driver. I just don't remember his name. Oh wait, it's Ray. Ray didn't drink a single drop. I cross my heart." His forehead fell forward and banged against the wall. "Shit, Jules, will you let us up?"
Julianne merely shook her head, unlocked the outside door, and waited. She couldn't wait to get her claws into Blake and then Shawn and then Jase and Ray. When there was a bang at the door, she figured that was as close as they could get to a knock and reluctantly pulled it open, then stepped wisely out of the way. Two polluted idiots stumbled through, grinning like fools.
"Umm, I think you lost two of your buddies." Jules replied, offering a supporting arm to her future husband.
Blake was much too drunk to comprehend, so Shawn spoke for him. "Jase and what's-his-name had to get home. They just dumped us out here and sped away." He made a gesture with his hand and 'whooshed' through his teeth. "I'll just call a cab."
Jules watched Shawn stumble out of the room, then turned on her fiancee. "You know, I was going to be mad at you. I was going to punish you for a few days, pout a little, but dammit, I think the hangover you'll have in the morning is payback enough. 'Night, honey."
Santa Baby~Chapter 6
For whatever reason, Tuesdays were the busiest night at The Pink Flamingo. Each of Alex's girls worked their asses off. Flirting with drunken fools, hauling trays of beer back and forth between the bar and the tables that were scattered across the club, and taking breaks in between to dance to nice, chipper holiday songs.
It'd been almost a week since he'd broken everyones' hearts about the Christmas bonuses, and he felt pretty sure that all was forgiven and forgotten. With a little smirk on his face, he took a drag of his cigarette and leaned against the bar, his eyes intent on Belle Black's ass. Meredith Danner, who was filling an order, noticed where her boss's gaze was fixed and let out a snort. "Nice view, Al?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow and stifling a giggle when he started at her voice.
"Damn, Meredith, shut up. Don't you have somethin' better to do than ragging on me all the time? Whose ass I watch is my own damn business, don't you think?" He crushed out his cigarette and turned that cool gaze to her.
She'd been putting up with his shit for almost eight years. Their on-again, off-again relationship had brought her hours of emotional turmoil, and dammit, if she wasn't still jealous of all that drooling he did over Belle. "She's got a kid, Al. You're not the type of guy who wants to get involve with a woman that has a kid."
He was almost offended, but not quite, and with a shrug made a grab for Meredith and pulled her against him. "You're jealous." He whispered, brushing her wild hair out of her eyes.
"What?" God, she couldn't think. How could anyone think when they were this close to six feet of gorgeous male?
"I said, you're jealous. Green looks good on you, baby." Because he liked her, and because he knew it would infuriate her, he nipped at her ear. "Why don't you slip by my office after your shift ends tonight?"
Shivers shot down her spin as she wiggled out of his embrace. "Nope, not this time, Al. I'm not playing the replacement anymore." With that said, she gathered up her refilled tray and strutted off, feeling satisfied that she'd wounded his ego properly.
And it had. He watched her leave with a little regret. Good ol' Meredith had always been there for him. Hell, she'd been about the only 'real' friend that he'd ever had. He didn't want the type of thing that she wanted. He wanted to keep everything simple. But with her, it'd never been simple. On their first night together, she'd claimed that she was in love with him. Christ, he didn't have time for love, and because he was afraid that he too might've been in love, he ended the relationship there, and though there had been a few wild nights since then, he was sure that she understood his intentions.
His gaze fell back to Belle. Maybe he should just give that up. After all, Meredith did have a point. He didn't need strings attached to any girl he slept with or dated...and Belle Black had plenty of strings. Taking a last sip of his beer, he sauntered off to patrol the empty tables. Yep, Tuesday's were always the busiest night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With his forehead rested on the steering wheel of his BMW, Shawn Brady considered whether or not to go in to The Pink Flamingo. Christ, all he wanted was a drink. A drink and another glimpse at that waitress. That beautiful woman and her beautiful little girl. Dammit, if he was smart, he'd pull out of that parking lot and never look back. Yet...
It'd been a week since Blake's bachelor party. A week of extremely restless nights. It, quite frankly, blew his mind that he'd have dreams about that sad-eyed waitress and her bright-eyed little girl. After all, he hadn't really noticed either of them that night. And had hardly thought anything about seeing them at the time. But afterwards--well, simply put, he couldn't get either of them out of his head.
And he was here tonight to see just what the hell that was all about. With a reluctant shrug, he jerked open his car door and unfolded himself from it's room less bounds. Christ knows why he'd bought a car that didn't accommodate his tall body and long legs in the first place. He figured it was because he was just a stubborn ass and a snob. Nothing but the best for Shawn Brady.
BMWs, intelligent women, fancy restaurants, Harvard Law School. Yep, he was a snob all right. A snob that had developed an uncomfortable obsession with a girl from the wrong side's of the tracks. A stripper for God's sake.
Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he stepped through the doors of the club and immediately wished he hadn't. He didn't believe it was possible, but the music was even louder, the smoke even thicker, and the drunks even more obnoxious. He was already heading out when he spotted the girl.
She was standing just behind the stage curtain, one hand brought up to her mouth so that she could suck on its thumb and the other holding on tight to a teddy bear. Her bottom lip was poked out into a pout and tears were streaming down her fat little face. Shawn's heart broke.
"Christ." He mumbled, pushing through the crowds and heading towards the stage. Out of all the fuckin' places that child could be, this was the worst possible one. He plastered a smile on his face and prayed that she'd recognize him as he approached the stage.
She did. "Shawn Douglas Brady!" She squealed, any sign of tears immediately disappearing. She leapt into his waiting arms and let him swing her for a moment. "You came back!"
What the hell? He thought, kissing her pudgy cheeks. Might as well stay now, especially since the kid was there to keep him company. With her still in his arms, he slipped behind the stage curtains. "Of course I came back. I couldn't stay away from you another moment. I think I may be in love."
She giggled at that and preened, then squirmed out of his arms. "Let's play!"
"All right, what would you like to play?"
Before she could answer, they both glanced up at the sound of Belle storming in. "Listen, asshole--" Her words froze on the tip of her tongue when she saw Shawn's beaming face. Well, shit.
He stuck his hands back into his pockets and raised an eyebrow. "Problem?"
Ignoring him, she folded her arms around Madison. Now was as good a time as any for a never-speak-to-strangers-lecture. "You know you're not supposed to go off with strange people you don't know, don't you, baby?"
"Yes, ma'am, but I know Shawn Douglas Brady."
Belle couldn't keep the smile from spreading across her lips. She glanced up and met Shawn's amused expression with one of her own. "Are you trying to charm your way into my daughter's heart?"
"Oh no, I've already done that. In fact, she was just about to accept my marriage proposal when you barged in on us."
"Well then, I hate to do anything to spoil the evening further, but Maddy, it's past your bedtime."
Madison stuck out her bottom lip and gave them her best pout. "But Mommy, I'm not sleepy yet." But she yawned even as she said it. Belle gathered her up into her arms and sent a smile to Shawn. "Thanks for looking after her. She usually doesn't wander down to the stage area. We're going to have a talk about that, aren't we, girl?"
Maddy nodded and looked hopefully at Shawn. "Will you come back and play with me again, Shawn? During the day, maybe?"
"Sure, I'd love to. 'Night, ladies." His eyes stayed on Belle until she disappeared into the backstage area. He would come back. In fact, he didn't think that he could possibly stay away.
