Stay by Kelly Mooney Read Free Book Online

be an actor and eventually move to Los
Angeles. Don’t they all sweetheart?
    I floated away as my meds kicked in and delivered me
into a peaceful oblivion where Maggie was still a part of my
everyday.

Chapter 4
    Luke
    It was our second night in New York, and
Jeremy was stuck in the hotel with food poisoning. Phoebe was now
Dean’s sidekick, squatting with us in the hotel room, which pissed
me off, but Dean couldn’t keep that damn grin off his face. So we
let her stay. She wasn’t with us tonight-she was out patrolling for
a job, applying to every restaurant in the city so she could
audition in the daytime.
    We told Jeremy not to eat that damn sushi but he did
anyway, and he was paying for it. Dean wanted to go to some techno
club downtown, but I wasn’t much into it. I wanted to get drunk and
forget everything, but I wanted to do it somewhere quieter than a
club. We walked for over three hours, slipping in and out of random
bars as we came upon them. Dean wiggled his eyes when we came up to
the next place.
    “C’mon, man? We’re in fucking New York. Let me buy
you a lap dance.”
    I was too drunk to argue with him, so I let him lead
me through the dark doorway. A huge-ass bouncer stood guard, his
bulky arms crossed over his chest. He reminded me of Hulk Hogan
minus hair. “Twenty-dollar cover, and keep your hands off the
fucking merchandise.”
    Dean slipped him forty bucks and pushed me inside.
The lights were bright on stage, but the rest of the place was
muted. Dim. There were three poles on the stage and two girls
wrapped around them. Both ladies sported tassels on their nipples
and G-strings. Both equally fake, but decent looking. Dean was
already drooling. We found a small table as close to the stage as
we could get-the stools surrounding the stage was occupied. A
pretty little blond stepped over to take our drink order.
    “Two Heinekens,” I told her.
    Dean was staring up at the chick on stage like he’d
never seen a naked woman before. She spun a few times on the pole,
and then spread her ass right in front of us. The blond came back
with our drinks, bending over, practically shoving her tits in my
face. She smelled like vanilla. It was funny-every strip club I’d
ever been in, the girls all seemed to smell the same. I handed her
a twenty and told her to keep the change. She smiled as she ran her
fingers slowly from one shoulder to the next.
    After two more beers, Dean either hit a wall with
the alcohol or he’d seen a ghost. His mouth hung open, staring to
the back of the club. I looked back there, but didn’t see anything
other than a few bartenders and customers.
    “Dude, we gotta go.”
    “What? Why?” I checked my watch. “It’s only
midnight.”
    “We have to get Jeremy.” He stood running his hands
through his hair. Completely freaked the fuck out.
    “Jer’s sick, man. Leave him alone.”
    He stared at me for a long second. “Luke, it’s Mags.
I just saw fucking Maggie.”
    “What?” I stood up so quickly I knocked the small
table over and sent the beers flying. I was scouring the place for
any signs of Maggie, but I didn’t see her. “Are you sure, Dean?
Maggie wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this.”
    He stayed quiet, but nodded.
    “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” I walked around the
stage, glancing up to the girls to make sure Maggie wasn’t one of
them. My heart was ready to fly out of my chest at the idea of
seeing her. I made my way over to the bar, nervously. I knew I was
sweating. I was frantic searching every angle of this fucking dump
for any sign of her when someone asked, “Can I get you
something?”
    I turned to the guy tending bar. “I’m actually
looking for someone. An old friend.” I pulled out a picture of her
from my wallet and showed him. “I thought I just saw her, but ...
does someone named Maggie work here?” I swallowed hard, waiting for
his answer. He took a quick glance at her picture, and then stared
me down for a beat too long.