Waiting for my cue, I stood in the shadows offstage and tried to keep my focus on the job.

It was hard, had been hard all afternoon.

Here and now, with the Friday crowd all but spilling out the doors onto the streets, I didn’t need to be distracted. The success of the LA franchise depended on the next few days, and while maybe I wasn’t exactly turning over backflips at the thought of it like some of the guys, it was my job, and I didn’t exactly hate it.

I didn’t love it though.

There had been a time—

The music changed.

Shit.

There was I was, getting distracted again.

Shoving off the wall, I rushed the few first steps, but hit my mark right on time, giving the audience my best charming smile.

A voice split through the music to introduce me, and the screams coming from the darkness beyond the spotlight was deafening. Actually, I could probably half-ass my way through this and still make better tips than half of the other guys.

But I didn’t half-ass anything, no matter what Kaleb thought.

Emptying my mind of everything but the music, I moved from one side of the stage to the other, bending here to grab a hand and kiss knuckles, letting go and moving a few ladies down before going to my knees and getting close enough that they could give me the bills they were waving.

I knew the music by heart, each beat, each pulse, and by the time it segued into the next piece for the entire ensemble, I’d finally gotten my head back where it needed to be.

Game time, right?

* * *

Game time.

I had another set coming up in thirty more minutes, so I was taking the time to get some fresh air. Well, relatively fresh anyway. I stared up at the chaos of color and music that made up the LA night and wondered if this was going to be the next five, ten, fifteen years of my life.

It was possible.

There were a few guys in the group who’d already passed forty, but they didn’t look it. Besides, there were always women who preferred a bit of maturity in their men. They told me they’d keep stripping as long as their bodies could still bring in the money.

Was that me?

I didn’t know.

It wasn’t that I hated what I did.

I didn’t.

I just didn’t…love it.

Lately, I wasn’t even sure I liked it, and I was getting more and more bored with it all the time, but what was I supposed to do other than this?

I knew sports, and I knew sex. The two of them together meant I knew what I was doing as a stripper. So those were my three skill sets. Playing games, taking off my clothes, and fucking.

Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I’d spent too much time out of the game. Even if I woke up tomorrow with no lingering side effects from my accident, I’d lost the experience that would have kept me in the game at my age. I’d never be able to try out against kids nearly a decade younger than me. I’d lost that edge.

But despite that, my body was essentially the only asset I had. If I couldn’t play football, my prospects as to what I could do were severely limited.

“What’s wrong with me?” I muttered.

According to the tabloids, there were any number of things that were answers to that question. I hadn’t seen the report yet from today’s debacle but I had no doubt it would feature highly on something. It was the last thing I wanted to think about though. Maybe a Kardashian would give birth to a three-headed baby with Elvis’s sideburns, and all the gossip rags would have something else to talk about other than me and my lousy life. I had no idea why I was so fascinating to them. I wasn’t partying anymore, or doing stupid shit. I paid my bills, but didn’t have a ton of disposable income. I wasn’t even the best-looking guy on the tour circuit for Flames Down Under, even if I was a headliner.

But maybe I was more interesting, what with me constantly chasing after my ‘new flavor of the month’. I sneered, my mind shooting back to one of the rags I’d seen the other day. It was Daytin and I talking with the caption as His flavor of the month gets younger and younger!

If I’d thought it would do jack shit, I’d have sued the damn paper for printing that one, but it would only draw more attention to it.

Behind me, the door burst open and three guys came out, one after the other lighting up a cigarette. They weren’t supposed to be doing it out here, but the bouncers weren’t going to bust their asses for grabbing a quick one.

“Hey, Jace.”

At the sound of my name, I looked over to see one of the younger members of the crew studying me over the tip of his cigarette.

“Yeah?” I couldn’t, for the life of me, remember his name, which made me feel like shit, since I’d always prided myself in knowing who everyone was wherever I was working. I needed to refocus on work, and less on things that weren’t a part of my future.

No matter how much I wished things were different.

“Saw you on the TV earlier. E is really loving you right now, you know that?” He grinned. “It must be nice. The spotlight, the girls…you’re already getting recognized here thanks to all the free publicity you’re getting from the paparazzi.” He took a drag on the cigarette and shrugged. “I hear you grumble about them, but I don’t know why you hate them so much. You’re raking in some serious tips from what I can tell.”

I raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling ancient as I explained things to a kid who barely looked old enough to buy those things he was smoking. “I hate them because they don’t know when to back off, and they think it’s okay to surround your car, keep you from going where you need to go.”

“Like they did with that cute piece you had with you today?” He glanced at one of the others. “That was today, right? One of the paps was bitching, saying you almost ran over his foot.”

“He’s lucky I didn’t run over his nuts,” I said.

“Ouch…” He laughed. “Hey, does your new girl know how mean you are?”

Not bothering to reply, I went back to my study of the skyline, hoping they’d clue in to the fact that I’d come out here for some privacy.

Most of them did.

But that kid, he just didn’t know when to shut up.

“So what’s her name? I couldn’t hear when they were talking—too busy getting ready. I can’t just twitch my ass a few times and expect to make bank the way you can.”

“What the hell is your problem?” Turning back to him, I took a couple of steps in his direction.

“No problem. Just wondering about all these women and how you keep them straight.” He winked at me. “I really liked the one from this morning. The cameras got this angle of her ass as you two were going into the hotel…nice, tight…”

Everything went red.

“No, no, no…let’s not do that,” somebody said from behind.

A massive pair of hands gripped my arms even as I moved forward, stopping me in my tracks. Charon. I’d recognize that voice anywhere.

“Hey, moron, get your ass inside before I let him go.”

“Let me go anyway, Charon,” I said from between gritted teeth.

But I didn’t try to pull away. I wanted to lay into that little shit, but I knew it wasn’t the best thing to do. I didn’t need to punch a fellow dancer. I’d get in trouble with the manager, or worse, end up getting sued because I’d made the pretty boy a little less pretty.

The door barely shut behind the asshole before Charon let me go, but he still looked ready to move if I tried anything. “You’re going to behave, right?”

“Yeah. Prick ain’t worth my time,” I responded, still glaring at the door.

“True, true.” He offered me a smoke and it was almost painful to say no.

I’d started after the accident and then quit when Kaleb got me sober. It’d been easier for me to walk away from them than the booze, but right now, I was tempted to take what he offered.

I sighed. I needed to get to my changing room and get ready for the next set. The last thing I needed to be doing was standing out here, smoking, thinking about Camry and that asshole who’d been running his mouth. Talking about her like that...

“Shit,” I muttered as the knowledge hit me.

I was so, so screwed.

“What’s that?” Charon asked.

But I didn’t answer him. I went straight to the small room that had been set aside for the headliner. It wasn’t very big, but at least I was alone. Except I wasn’t sure being alone was a good idea because there was nothing to distract me from the giant, screaming, neon sign in my head.

This was the last thing I needed, the very last, and it was too late to do a damn thing about it.

I’d gone and fallen for my best friend’s little sister.