Kitabı oku: «A Doctor By Day…», sayfa 2

Scarlett felt herself blush again. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she keep her eyes to herself? Why did she keep seeking him out? She’d just turned down a marriage proposal and yet her head was full of lustful thoughts about a complete stranger.

She tried to focus instead on the dancer, stripper—she wasn’t sure what they called themselves—only to find that his act was finishing and his spot was being taken by another man, slightly older than the others but just as buff and tanned, who wore tight black leather pants and nothing else. He held a microphone and greeted the audience in a loud, showman’s voice, ‘Good evening, chicks, and welcome to The Coop.’

‘Good evening, Rooster!’ A chorus of women’s voices split the air as the majority of the audience called out a greeting in return.

‘Listen up, ladies, the Himbo Limbo is about to begin. Choose your competitor and send them to me,’ he said, as he spread his arms wide in an expansive, all-encompassing gesture that made the muscles on his chest and arms ripple.

‘I nominate Scarlett!’ Candice shouted, as she bounced in her chair.

Scarlett frowned. She had no idea who this Rooster character was or what he was talking about. ‘What on earth is a Himbo Limbo?’ she asked.

CHAPTER TWO

‘IT’S JUST A limbo competition,’ Candice told her, ‘with a twist.’

Scarlett felt her antennae twitch. She could sense a disaster in the making or at the very least some embarrassment. ‘What sort of twist?’

‘The “Himbo” part refers to two strippers. Instead of using poles, the Himbos hold the rope,’ Candice explained.

That didn’t sound nearly as risqué as Scarlett’s imagination had led her to envisage but she couldn’t understand why Candice was sending her up if it was all so tame. ‘Why don’t you do it?’ she asked, as Rooster called for the nominated hens or chicks to come forward.

‘You do yoga, you should be flexible,’ Candice replied, ‘and, besides, I can’t limbo in this skirt, it doesn’t leave much to the imagination when I’m standing up straight, let alone if I’m horizontal.’

Scarlett couldn’t argue with that, Candice’s skirt was incredibly short. She didn’t know if she was any more suitably attired, her little black dress was hardly limboappropriate, but regular yoga classes meant she was reasonably flexible so maybe it wouldn’t be all bad. She hadn’t expected games but it was highly likely there would be more embarrassing contests to come and this sounded like it could be one of the lesser evils.

She glanced around the room. Most of the tables seemed to be nominating a participant, although the majority seemed to be brides-to-be, not ‘chicks’. She finally clicked why the club was named The Coop—it was full of hens and chicks and one very loud and proud Rooster.

‘C’mon, Scarlett, do it for me, it’ll be fun,’ Candice pleaded.

Scarlett thought it would be about as much fun as getting her legs waxed but she wasn’t sure how she could get out of it. It was unlike her to put herself in the spotlight but as the girls continued to egg her on she found herself giving in. Maybe she’d had one too many cocktails, she thought as she said, ‘All right, I’ll do it.’

Just as she stood up the two ‘Himbos’ appeared front and centre on the floor beside the catwalk. Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief. At least it seemed as though she wouldn’t have to actually get up on the stage. The men were both very toned, no surprises there, and dressed in what could only be described as very tiny, very snug leather shorts. Scarlett thought one of the men was the stripper who had just finished his routine. He had swapped his loincloth for white shorts, which were a sharp contrast to his dark skin but left nothing to the imagination.

The other ‘Himbo’ was in a pair of slightly more respectable black leather shorts. Scarlett had never thought she’d consider men wearing tiny leather shorts ‘respectable’ but it seemed as though there was a fair bit about tonight that was going to challenge her traditional and conservative views.

Just when she thought it was safe to join in, the Himbos sprang up onto the stage and Rooster called to the girls, ‘Okay, hens and chicks, make your way up to me.’

A spotlight swept the room and came to rest on the gaggle of women gathered by the stage before it moved to illuminate a short flight of stairs leading up onto the catwalk. Scarlett was horrified to realise they were expected on the stage after all but slightly mollified by the sight of the stairs. It was a relief to know they weren’t expected to spring onto the stage in the Himbos’ footsteps—she certainly wouldn’t be springing anywhere in her borrowed platform heels.

The women made a beeline for the steps, eager to get the competition under way, as Scarlett held back. The steps had no railing and she didn’t want to get jostled and go sprawling up the stairs in front of everyone. She was going to be embarrassed soon enough just doing the limbo, she didn’t need to start by making a complete fool out of herself.

The women clustered around the Himbos as the deejay played dance music. The women and the Himbos were all dancing, with the exception of Scarlett, who tried her best to blend into the background behind the others, although that was hard to do given she was almost five feet eleven inches tall in her five-inch heels. Fortunately Rooster began to introduce the Himbos to the audience, which Scarlett took to mean that the contest would be starting soon and she wouldn’t have to be embarrassed for too much longer. The Fijian stripper in the short white shorts, Caesar, was introduced first, followed by Rico, who was introduced as the ‘Italian Stallion’. The audience cheered and clapped as the Himbos took their places.

‘And now I’d like to introduce our judge for this evening,’ Rooster crowed, somehow managing, through sheer force of personality, to keep the attention on himself. ‘A favourite among the chicks, our very own Judge Jake.’

The cheers of the audience turned into wolf whistles and the noise in the club reached maximum volume as Candice’s friend, the barman Scarlett had been talking to earlier, came up onto the stage. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who thought he was delicious.

He had changed his outfit but Scarlett was happy to see he wasn’t wearing leather pants—she’d seen enough leather pants tonight to last her a lifetime. He’d changed from regular denim jeans into a black pair, which hugged his thighs. His chest was still bare and he had a length of rope looped over one shoulder and slung across his torso. He jogged across the stage, moving lightly and waving to his adoring audience, and Scarlett’s level of embarrassment increased with every step he took towards her. It was too late to back out now but she wished the stage would open up and swallow her. She tried in vain to hide, even though she knew it was futile. He was going to see her standing there sooner or later.

Caesar and Rico had stepped in front of the women, creating some space, and Jake passed them each a black strap, which they fixed around their chests. At the front of the strap, positioned over their sternums, was a hook that looked like a mountaineering karabiner. Jake hoisted the rope from his shoulder and handed it to the Himbos. At each end of the rope was a small metal loop, which Caesar and Rico clipped into the karabiners.

Scarlett’s eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t expected the rope to be tied around their chests, she’d expected them to hold it, stretched out between them. That would have given the competitors plenty of space to move but once the rope was tied around their chests and clipped into the karabiners it was quite short and didn’t leave a lot of room to manoeuvre. Not, Scarlett thought, that most of the girls would mind, but she had no intention of brushing against half-naked strangers any more than she had to.

Jake waited until the limbo rope was in position before taking the microphone from Rooster and taking over the contest. The girls were asked to line up and after much jostling Scarlett found herself third in line behind two hens, one rather large one and one with an exceptionally long veil. Judge Jake approached each competitor in turn and asked them their name. He showed no surprise when he got to Scarlett and she knew then he’d already seen her on the stage. She just hoped he didn’t think she’d volunteered.

Even in her heels she was still an inch or two shorter than him, and she had to look up slightly when she told him her name. Up close she could see that his green eyes were ringed with brown and he winked at her as he repeated her name and Scarlett felt her cheeks redden. She hoped the tell-tale blush wouldn’t be noticeable but she suspected the spotlight would only serve to enhance the colour in her face.

With much cheering and clapping from the audience Jake got the contest under way. The plump hen went first and she could almost walk under the rope without ducking, she was so short. The next hen, the one with the long veil, wasn’t so lucky. She trod on her veil as she tipped her head backwards to duck under the rope. This pulled her up short and made her fall and she landed hard on her backside. Her faux pas was greeted with laughter from the audience, though not cruel or nasty laughter. Scarlett knew most of them would be laughing with relief that they weren’t the ones lying flat on their backs in front of a crowd.

She couldn’t work out how the hen had managed to trip herself up but as she was sprawled on the floor and Jake was reaching for her hand to help her to her feet Scarlett just prayed that she wouldn’t be as unlucky or as ungainly. She was next in line.

‘How confident are you?’ Jake asked her, as she moved a step closer.

Scarlett looked at the girls around her, including the one already disqualified. ‘I’ve done a few limbos in my time,’ she fibbed. ‘I think I can take this one.’ Her knees felt weak and she wondered how she was going to manage to limbo on wobbly legs but her voice sounded surprisingly normal and strong.

She wasn’t sure why she’d chosen to announce her lies to the room; she could only assume it had something to do with the challenge in Jake’s eyes. She didn’t want to look like a complete klutz in front of him but neither did she want to appear timid and pathetic. She didn’t normally think of herself as a competitive, win-at-all-costs type of person but she didn’t like to fail at anything. She had high expectations of herself and she certainly didn’t want to be beaten by these women.

Jake laughed and announced, ‘Scarlett Take-No- Prisoners, who is standing in for her hen, Candice, let’s see what you’ve got.’

The girls on her table whooped and cheered as Scarlett easily limboed under the rope and popped up on the other side.

After Scarlett were another six competitors, four hens, one with a rather heavy, awkward-looking tiara holding her veil in place, and two chicks. Two more fell on the first attempt and Scarlett thought the success rate was probably indirectly proportionate to the amount each ‘chick’ had had to drink.

As the contest continued and the number of competitors dropped, so did the height of the rope. As the rope descended the Himbos shortened it too, bringing them even closer together and giving the chicks less margin for error. Another two stumbled and were eliminated as the rope was lowered to the bottom of the Himbos’ rib cages.

The girls were being urged on by their friends but despite the encouragement all but two were out of the competition after attempting to limbo under the rope when it was level with the Himbos’ waists. By the time the rope was moved further south to their hips Scarlett’s until-now-unknown competitive streak had well and truly emerged and she had no intention of losing tonight. It was now a two-chick race between her and a girl named Tracey and it was Scarlett’s turn.

Scarlett sized up the competition. Tracey was several inches shorter than her so Scarlett slid her platform heels from her feet to level the playing field. The rope was very low now and she didn’t need to make this any harder than it already was.

‘Watch out, Tracey.’ Jake laughed. ‘The competition is getting serious, clothing is being shed. What else is coming off, Scarlett?’

His green eyes were challenging her again and something in his expression made her want to challenge him back. ‘Nothing yet,’ she quipped, and was rewarded with a brief spark of something—maybe attraction, maybe anticipation, she wasn’t sure—but there was definitely a light in his eyes. She turned her back, wanting to leave him hanging, and shimmied under the rope. She just managed to scrape under without over-balancing.

Jake had stepped around to the other side of the Himbos and was there to take her hand as she straightened. He kept his elbow bent, which kept her close, and his hand warmed her skin where it wrapped around her fingers. He smelt clean, as if he was freshly showered but she knew that couldn’t be the case. He smelt good.

She could feel the heat coming off his half-naked body and she knew the skin on his chest would feel as warm and soft as his hand. Scarlett’s stomach trembled as Jake continued to hold her hand as they waited for Tracey to take her turn at the limbo. Her body was tingling as Jake’s touch awakened her senses and she could feel the pulse low in her belly starting to beat a little bit faster.

Scarlett knew she could pull her hand out of Jake’s grasp but she didn’t want to. This connection would be severed soon enough and she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. They watched as Tracey almost made it under the rope before falling at the last hurdle, putting her hand on the ground just before she was ready to stand and thereby disqualifying herself.

Jake let go of Scarlett to help Tracey to her feet. ‘I’m sorry, Tracey, you almost did it,’ he said as he helped her up, before turning back to Scarlett. ‘That makes you our winner tonight.’ His smile lit up his green eyes as he added, ‘Would you like to see how low you can go?’

Scarlett watched as Caesar and Rico moved the rope down another couple of inches until it was sitting across their groins. She looked back at Jake. He was now grinning mischievously and she knew he was waiting to see if she was up to the next challenge. She shook her head. She’d let him win this round. ‘I’m done.’

‘All right, here’s your prize.’ Jake reached his left hand behind him and when he brought it forward again he had a handful of fake money that he must have had stashed in his pocket. Scarlett frowned. What was she supposed to do with fake dollar bills?

He held the notes up in the air and Scarlett got another glimpse of the tattoo on the soft side of his arm. At close range she could see that the inky black marks were stars, five of them in total, their arrangement making a pattern that was familiar to every Australian. He had the Southern Cross constellation tattooed on his skin.

Jake kept his arm held high as he turned through one hundred and eighty degrees, showing the fake money to the crowd, who cheered as he called out, ‘Tipping dollars!’

‘Tipping dollars?’ Scarlett repeated. She had no idea what he was talking about.

Jake lowered the microphone and leant in close as he pressed the fake banknotes into her hand. ‘It’s to tip the dancers,’ he explained. ‘Tuck some into the guys’ shorts before you leave the stage and share the rest with your group for them to use later.’

The crowd applauded and cheered again as she tipped the Himbos while Jake escorted Tracey from the stage, but before she could follow the crowd began to chant, ‘Jake, Jake, Jake!’ and she knew she was expected to tip him too. She wasn’t certain but she thought Candice might have been leading the call.

Jake was back by her side again. He didn’t seem surprised or reticent and she suspected he loved the attention. She’d bet his star sign was Leo. They loved the limelight. She tucked a few notes into his waistband and as her fingers brushed against his hipbone she found herself searching his skin for more tattoos. But the skin of his torso and waist was smooth, tanned and ink-free. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she could feel a blush stealing across her cheeks. Somehow touching Jake felt a lot more personal than when she’d been tipping Caesar and Rico.

With shaky hands she picked up her shoes and fled the stage, retreating to the relative safety of her table.

‘That was a side of you I hadn’t seen before,’ Mel said as she sat down.

‘And don’t expect to see it again any time soon,’ Scarlett replied. Her heart was still racing, making her sound breathless. She hoped everyone would think it was from the exertion of the limbo, although she knew it was a reaction to Jake.

Performing in front of a crowd was completely out of character for her but part of her had enjoyed the chance to pretend to be someone else, someone less worried about behaving appropriately and less concerned about being who people expected her to be. Perhaps it was a case of ‘anything goes’ tonight or maybe normal inappropriate behaviour was considered appropriate within the four walls of The Coop, but she didn’t have time to consider it any further as Mel interrupted her musings.

‘I thought it was rather entertaining. But, tell me, who is Judge Jake and how does he know Candice?’ Mel asked, as Scarlett handed the remaining tipping dollars to Candice.

‘We’re old family friends,’ Candice interrupted. ‘He’s coming over now, I’ll introduce you.’

Scarlett turned her head. Sure enough, Jake was approaching their table. He was no longer bare-chested, he’d put on a black T-shirt and a black leather jacket but, if anything, he looked even better. No, not better, she thought, but just as good.

Candice made quick introductions before Jake grabbed an empty chair from the table beside theirs. He flipped it around with a practised move and wedged it in between Scarlett and Mel before straddling it backwards. His long legs stuck out sideways and brushed against Scarlett’s thigh.

‘So you do own a shirt,’ Scarlett said, as her eyes raked his torso.

‘And a jacket,’ he teased.

He was leaning forward over the back of the chair, his arms crossed. The teasing note in his voice and the gleam in his eye made her feel bold. She reached out and ran her hand down his sleeve. ‘There’s a definite leather theme going on in this place.’

‘Hey,’ he said, as he sat up straight in the chair, held the jacket on each side of the zip and lifted it slightly, adjusting it on his shoulders, ‘this is mine.’

‘It’s nice.’ It was. She could smell the leathery fragrance. She hadn’t noticed a leather smell on the Himbos, not that she’d got that close to their shorts.

‘Yeah?’

She grinned, feeling more at ease. It was much less stressful now she was out of the spotlight and off the stage. ‘Much better than leather pants.’

‘Have you ever worn leather pants?’

Scarlett shook her head.

‘Well, you should give them a go, you might be surprised at how comfortable they are.’

‘You have leather pants too?’

He raised one hand. ‘Guilty as charged. Call it part of our uniform. But you might be pleased to know I don’t own leather shorts.’

‘That’s a relief,’ she said, but, as much as she thought leather was being worn a little too often around the club, she suspected he would look rather good in leather pants. She suspected he’d look good in anything.

He shifted in his seat and his thigh brushed against hers for the second time. Her nerve endings sparked and it felt as if all the cells in her thigh muscles were straining to get closer to him, as though they were trying to leap out of her skin. She moved her leg away from his before she could be tempted to lean into him instead.

The alcohol she’d drunk tonight had most certainly reduced her inhibitions. Not only had she voluntarily got up on stage, she was now having lustful thoughts about a complete stranger. She was planning on having fun but she wasn’t sure if her courage stretched far enough to include Jake. She should go home before she did something even more out of character. Before she could be tempted by a cute young barman who might, or might not, be flirting with her. There was no way she was going to make a move on him, well, not the first move anyway. She needed to get out of here. If he wanted to come with her that was his choice. If he chose to stay behind then she’d assume she’d read the signals wrong. There was a good possibility of that, she thought. She was hardly the most experienced woman at the table.

She’d done her duty to Candice. Surely she could leave now without appearing rude. She leant across the table to speak to Candice, ready to make her excuses. ‘I think I might head off, if you don’t mind. I had a really busy night on call before working today.’

‘How are you getting home?’

‘I’ll take a cab.’

‘Do you want me to come with you?’ Mel asked. ‘You shouldn’t go on your own.’ Hindley Street was not the street you wanted to walk down alone.

‘I’ll wait with you, if you like,’ Jake said to her. ‘I’ve finished my shift and was about to go anyway.’

‘Perfect! Thanks, Jake.’ Candice agreed on Scarlett’s behalf without any hesitation. ‘That way, Mel can stay and enjoy the rest of the evening. You don’t mind, do you?’ Candice asked, as she looked at her.

Scarlett didn’t want to be accused of breaking up the party so she did what came naturally to her and agreed. ‘Sure,’ she replied. She’d had a lifetime of experience at being the one to keep the peace, being the one to do what everyone expected of her while her sisters did as they pleased, so of course she agreed, but it didn’t hurt that she was more than happy for Jake to keep her company. She knew then that his touch had been deliberate and the thought sent a frisson of excitement through her body.

‘Jake is one of the good guys, you can trust him,’ Candice added, before she turned to Mel and whispered with a chuckle, ‘I’m not denying he could charm a nun out of her habit but that’s Scarlett’s good fortune.’

As Scarlett ducked her head under the table to put her shoes back on and search for her handbag she heard Candice say something about charm but she couldn’t catch the whole sentence. She thought about asking her to repeat her comment but when she found her handbag and looked up she saw that Jake was standing, ready to pull out her chair for her. Not wanting to keep him waiting, she decided that if what Candice had said was important she’d find out some other time.

She followed Jake from the club, aware of several women checking him out as he passed their tables, but their attention was short-lived as another dancer was on the stage and now that Jake was fully clothed there were obviously more interesting things to look at elsewhere. Scarlett didn’t mind, she was happy to have him all to herself.

There was a taxi rank opposite the club but the queue was horrendously long, stretching for half a block. Knowing it could take for ever for her turn to come, she released Jake from his obligation. ‘It’s going to take ages, you don’t need to wait,’ she said, as they joined the end of the queue.

‘I promised Candice I’d look after you.’

‘That’s okay, I won’t tell her.’ She smiled. ‘Thank you for offering but it’s busy enough. I’ll be all right,’ she said, as she slipped her shoes off. Her feet had had enough and she couldn’t stand the thought of another minute standing in uncomfortable high heels. The concrete pavement was rough but cool under her skin and was soothing in an unexpected way. She glanced down the line and saw she wasn’t the only one who’d divested herself of her footwear.

‘Come on, I’ll give you a lift,’ he said, looking at her bare feet.

‘It’s fine, really,’ Scarlett insisted. ‘I’m just not used to wearing high heels.’

‘I’m not going to leave you here and I think we’ve both got better things to do than stand on the street for an hour.’

His tone wasn’t impatient. Maybe she was reading things into his words but the depth of his voice and the low volume made it sound as though the better things he had in mind involved them both and she was tempted to dive in, recklessly, heedlessly, and accept his offer. But her natural inclination not to cause trouble made her ask, ‘What if I live miles away?’

‘Then that’s my problem. I’m not going to retract my offer. I’d look like a jerk.’

She looked up at him. Barefoot, she was now several inches shorter than he was. ‘I’d hate to have that hanging over my head.’

‘So, can I drop you home?’ He grinned and all her objections, few though they were, vanished. She nodded and slipped her sandals back on before following him as he retraced their footsteps.

He led her to an alleyway behind The Coop and Scarlett followed blindly. She knew she would feel unsafe if he wasn’t beside her but even though he was virtually a stranger she trusted him. It was an odd situation to be in, she wasn’t normally a trusting person, particularly not when it came to men, but she only got good vibes from Jake and he wasn’t really a stranger, was he? He knew Candice.

He stopped beside a dark green convertible that had been parked behind a dumpster, which kept it partially shielded from view. The roof was down and there was a cumbersome, heavy steering lock clamped to the wheel.

Jake opened the passenger door and shrugged out of his leather jacket. ‘Here,’ he said, as he held it out to her. ‘It might be a bit cool with the top down but it’s a bit temperamental and it’ll be quicker and warmer if you wear this.’

Scarlett slipped her arms into the sleeves as Jake held it for her. His fingers brushed her neck as he turned up the collar. The jacket was much too large for her but it was warm and smelt divine, a heady combination of leather and clean male. She didn’t bother to zip it, just pulled it close, wrapping it around her like a cocoon.

She sank into the low seat as Jake stowed the steering lock behind them and started the engine. The sound was low and throaty and reminded her of his voice. Scarlett relaxed. She closed her eyes and let the warmth and scent of the leather of the seats and Jake’s jacket seduce her. It was nice to have someone else make a decision for her. Not being required to think was a novelty. All her life she had been the one people turned to for advice. She had been the one who everyone relied on to be sensible, responsible, to make the hard decisions, and Scarlett’s natural tendency was to carefully consider all angles before making an informed and logical choice.

Letting a stranger give her a lift home was not the sort of thing she did. She wasn’t a spontaneous sort of person. Every decision she made was carefully measured, considered and weighed before she acted on it. She was used to being in control. Of her life and of her actions.

Going home with someone she’d just met was the sort of thing her sister Ruby would do. Ruby would have set her sights on a guy the minute she walked into The Coop and wouldn’t have thought twice about letting them give her a lift home. Even their younger sister, Rose, was more outgoing than she herself was. She would have walked into The Coop, tossed her blond hair, batted her long eyelashes and her big blue eyes and within minutes she would have had men falling at her feet. She would have flirted expertly and at the end of the night she would have been spoilt for choice if she wanted a lift home.

Scarlett didn’t know if she could ever be as confident or as fearless as her sisters but it was kind of nice to step out of her comfort zone for a change. But she knew the only reason she felt safe to do that was because there was a connection with Jake. She wasn’t thinking about the physical or chemical connection she felt but rather the safer, more reliable one that was their common friend, Candice. Scarlett knew that no matter how gorgeous and charming a man was, she would never let a complete stranger give her a lift home. She just didn’t do things like that.

‘Scarlett?’

She jumped as she felt Jake’s hand on her knee. She opened her eyes to find they had left Hindley Street behind. The little green car was on the bridge over the River Torrens as Jake headed up Montefiore Hill.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, and she realised he must have been speaking to her while she was daydreaming.

‘Yes. I’m fine.’

Jake flicked the indicator on to turn at the lookout at the top of the hill. She tried not to notice the cars parked there, certain that the occupants were up to no good as they looked across the city lights. She had never fooled around in the backseat of a car but sitting here with Jake’s hand still resting on her knee she could almost imagine what it would be like. But he removed his hand to negotiate the corner, leaving a cold circle the size of his palm on her skin. He drove past the old cathedral and up towards O’Connell Street.

‘Are you hungry?’ he asked, as the car idled at the next set of traffic lights.

‘I am,’ she said, as she rubbed at the cold spot on her knee. She was a little surprised to find she was hungry but dinner seemed like hours ago.

‘My favourite late-night take-away is just up here. We can grab something to eat there, if you like?’

‘Sure.’ She thought it was probably a good idea to eat something else and soak up the rest of the alcohol she’d consumed but where they ate was another decision she was happy to let Jake make.

Jake slowed his sports car as they approached the café strip and he searched for a parking space. A car was pulling out from the kerb and he waited, taking the spot in front of a café with distinctive blue-and-white signage. She recognised the café; she’d walked past it plenty of times but had never been inside, but it seemed that Jake knew it well.