Page 7 of Reckless Abandon
Glitter in the Air
When I woke up, I could already feel the bright morning sunshine burning my legs. Damn the Nevada summer heat had already arrived. As soon as I sat up, the entire room started spinning like I was on one of those tea cup rides at an amusement park. I gripped the edge of the bed to prevent myself from falling down. “Where the hell am I?” I whispered as I surveyed the room around me. I vaguely remembered some cute guy with tattoos for days carrying me to bed. Oh shit, did I hook up with up some random guy last night? I heard breathing behind me. I was scared to death to turn around; to see who was in bed with me. Rose wouldn’t let me do that, would she? I sat there for a minute and tried to remember the night before.
“Oh good, you’re up,” Rose said as she dug her foot into my back. “Go get us Starbucks. It’s your turn,” she groaned.
Oh, thank God it was Rose in my bed. “Um, nope it’s actually your turn,” I plopped down on the pillow next to her. “What the hell happened last night? Thanks by the way, I had an amazing time. Well what I can remember. And thanks for sending the guys home before we went to The Cave. It was so much easier to relax.”
“I got the coffee yesterday. And last night was a fricken’ blast. And I knew it would be for you. What happened, you ask? Check Instagram under the name, Vaughn Haley,” Rose said coyly.
“Yesterday was my birthday so those coffees don’t count. See, your turn. And really? Public pictures? You know how I feel about that!” I was getting slightly pissed off. “And who the hell is Vaughn Haley? Is she one of the strippers? I told you I told don’t like that crap!” I yelled.
Rose gave that—I’m not taking any more of your crap—look. “Alright, cool your shit. Go grab your phone and look her up. I’ll call room service. You need coffee and some damn chill pills.”
I rolled over and grabbed my phone off the nightstand, brought up the app and typed in Vaughn Haley. There was a couple of people with that name. Wait, why did one have my face? Obviously that’s the profile I was looking for. I clicked on her name. This chick only has two followers. What’s the point in even having an Instagram with only two followers? I started scrolling through all the pictures and they were all of me from last night. What the hell was going on? “Rose, could you come in here please? And the coffee better be here!” I yelled to her.
She came walking in, luckily with coffee in hand. “I can explain. The story is actually kind of funny,” she laughed, handing me some aspirin as well.
“Oh it better be. And who is IGotTheNuts21? And why is he the only other person besides you who likes this profile?” I asked.
Between the Instagram photos, Facebook tags, and what little was left of our memory, Rose and I pieced together most of the night. “I can’t believe that Nathan’s Instagram name is IGotTheNuts. I never pictured him as gay,” Rose scrunched her nose, looking slightly puzzled.
“Why the hell would you think he was gay? Because his screen name has the word nuts in it? Oh, you can’t be that dumb,” I replied as I picked up a pillow and tossed it at her. “You said he’s a poker player right?” She nodded. “Okay, dingbat, Nuts is a poker term meaning having the best possible hand at any given time. I really am going to miss you.”
“Well that makes more sense. Wait, what? Miss me? Where are you going? What’s going on with you? I knew there was something you weren’t telling me,” Rose barked, irritated.
I crawled back into the bed next to her like we’ve been doing since we were teenagers. “I'm moving back to California with my mom and her boyfriend at the end of the month,” my breath hitched as I finally revealed the truth. “I love my mother, but living with her and Stuart is not how I wanted to start off my thirties. But I’m broke, Rose. Like straight up, barely squeaking by paycheck to paycheck broke.”
My mother met Stuart a few years back on a senior’s single cruise to Mexico, and according to her it was love at first sight. He's been good for her, and makes her happy. When my mom’s happy and off traveling with Stuart, she stays off my back. She loved Lucas, according to her he was the best thing that had ever happened to me. Arguments between us often led to her blaming me for our divorce. Needless to say, our relationship has been rocky over the past year. So having to live with her is not something that even remotely appeals to me. And to make matters worse, Stuart is a self-proclaimed nudist. I unexpectedly figured that out when he jumped off the couch last Thanksgiving when I came to visit them for the first time. Let’s just say he was excited when his team scored a touchdown.
“Why haven’t you said anything?” she asked. I knew she wanted to help, there was nothing she could do.
“There’s nothing you could have done to help. Since the divorce, it’s been a struggle to make ends meet. I need a place that allows me to have Roxy, so I had to stay at the condo. New teachers don’t make the best money, so I'm just surviving. I want to live not just survive,” I explained as I blankly stared out the window. The last thing I wanted to do to is live with my mother in Northern California. I love this town. Las Vegas became my home when Rose and I moved away from the small town we were raised in. When I got accepted to the University of Las Vegas, she came to Nevada with me and went to Bartending School. It's the reason I didn’t leave after my divorce. But I've run out of options.
We sat there in silence together for a few minutes. I knew Rose was trying to figure out ways for me stay. “I’ve already gone through every scenario. Going back home for a while is my only option,” I explained.
“Come work at The Cave!” Rose blurted out.
“And do what?” I asked with my typical smart ass tone. “You know they don’t need another bartender. I’m an awful server. Remember Denny’s 2006? Four broken plates, a sprained ankle, and some guy ended up with marinara burns. The only other thing at The Cave is dancing.”
“Well…” she gave me a contemplative look. “Those girls make damn good money. I’d do it if it wasn’t for Ali. And Jeremy, I guess.”
“Are you serious? Last night I had an issue with wearing a dress that was too short or showed too much cleavage in front of my friends. And now you suggest I shake my naked lady bits in front of strangers. Obviously you're still drunk!” I huffed and stormed out of the room, slamming the bathroom door. Rose knew me well enough to not to say shit to me in that moment. I poked my head out the door. “AND WHAT IF ONE OF MY STUDENTS SAW ME?” I screamed at her.
Rose literally spit her coffee out all over the bed. “You teach fucking kindergarten!” she screamed right back at me.
I loved my best friend, but at the moment, I absolutely hated her. She knew I couldn’t dance at The Cave. I couldn't, could I? No, there’s no way in hell I could ever strip. I'm a kindergarten teacher for goodness sake.
I lived for the oversized tubs in hotel suite bathrooms. It’s just what I needed before I had to go back to reality. One day, when I bought a house of my own, I was going to make sure it had the most magnificent tub. I let the hottest water I could handle fill the tub and added in a few drops of coconut scented bubble bath. I lit the candle that was on the counter, and powered on my Ipod to my escape playlist. Pink’s Glitter in the Air played through the speakers. I carefully stepped in and let my body sink down until I was almost neck deep in the water. The lyrics completely filled my mind as tears slowly started falling down my face.
“Hey Ryann,” Rose softly knocked on the door. “Can I come in, honey? Can we talk?”
“Yeah, it’s open.” I wiped my eyes. I really didn’t need Rose to see me crying. “What’s up?”
“Look the last thing in the world I want to do is make you upset, but the thought of losing you is the worst thing that could happen to me. We've never lived more than fifteen minutes apart from each other since middle school. The thought of you being over ten hours away kills me. Maybe I’m being selfish. I know teaching is your passion, but maybe you could make dancing your job for a while? At least until you can get a handle on your finances. The girls at The Cave make anywhere from five to seven hundred a night. You could dance through summer vacation and make plenty of money to get caught up and put some away for the school year.” Rose looked at me like she had the answers to all my problems wrapped up in one little ball.
“Don’t you think I've thought about all of this?” The hurt I was feeling inside at the thought of leaving my best friend caused my tone to come out sharper than I intended. “Do you realize the consequences if I get caught? I’d lose my teaching credential. Everything I’ve worked so hard for. Not to mention I'm not one for the spotlight. You know how shy I am. There’s no way I could parade around naked in the club.”
“First of all, it’s topless, not nude,” Rose retorted. “Second, you know Vanessa could completely change your appearance so no one will recognize you. And last, I’d bet you’d be shocked to find out what most of these women do during the day, so stop looking down your damn nose on us. We have an hour until check out.” With that, Rose stood up and walked out, leaving me alone with just my tears.