committing. To not let months of experience go to waste by switching to a new career on the turn of a dime.
“What about all this training you’ve been doing with Joe? You’re really ready to just walk away from it? Start all over again?”
Trina gave in to the impulse to roll her eyes. If she knew the answer, or if the choice was easy, she wouldn’t be asking Darcy’s opinion. “I don’t know.”
“Can I say something that may sound kind of harsh? I’ll spit it out and then drop it entirely. This is just something for you to mull. But I don’t want to upset you.”
“Darcy, you can say anything to me. I won’t be upset. And if you’re worried it’ll upset me, you can buy lunch to even the score.”
“You know, you’ve spent years looking for a man who believes in you one hundred percent. Who doesn’t judge you by what you do. Someone who supports who you are inside, no matter what you do. Maybe what you need is to start by believing in yourself enough to stick with something long-term.”
Yikes. That certainly fit the description of harsh. It had never occurred to Trina that she didn’t believe in herself. That maybe she didn’t leave jobs because she’d found something better, but because she wasn’t sure she had what it took to stay with them. Double yikes. And she’d definitely need time to think about it. Trina didn’t want to stare at Darcy’s solemn green eyes while she pondered. She squinted to look down the row of shops for any distraction. Boy, did she ever hit the jackpot when her eyes fell on a stripper from Club Eden.
“Leilani,” she cried out with a wave. Then she let go of one of Darcy’s hands and took off at a run, pulling her friend along. “Come on.”
Their sandals slapped against the cement. A trio of gulls flapped into the air, squawking their displeasure. The woman with jet black hair almost to the frayed edge of her denim cutoffs just gaped at them.
“Leilani, hi,” Trina gasped. Whew. The karate training was a workout, but clearly not enough of an aerobic workout. Running toward a clue—or away from danger—was as important as being able to defend yourself when running wasn’t an option.
“Hey.” The quick twitch of Leilani’s head brought the curtain of hair down to shield one side of her face. Not fast enough, however, to prevent them from seeing the black eye that showed even through heavy makeup.
The black eye—and the bruises in the shape of a hand print on her upper arm—hadn’t been there when Trina last worked with her two nights ago. The very night she’d seen Leilani stuffing something into Shorty’s pockets at the end of her shift. Was Leilani who he’d planned to meet at the arcade? And who had Leilani met that had roughed her up? The thought of it knotted her stomach. Whatever was going on, she’d find a way to help the dancer, who’d been nice enough to show her the ropes on Trina’s first night.
“This is my best friend, Darcy. She’s visiting, um, another friend of ours.” How to describe Brad? Calling him the sad guy on his non-honeymoon painted the wrong picture. Saying he was the guy who Trina really liked and wanted to lick all over, while true, made it hard to explain Darcy’s presence. “It’s kind of complicated.”
“So’s life,” muttered the Hawaiian girl, shifting her gaze back and forth between the two friends.
Darcy shot out a hand to give Leilani’s a vigorous shake. “Nice to meet you.”
With every minute that ticked by, more shoppers filled the waterfront. Trina edged them over to a wooden piling, out of the flow of traffic.
“Are you okay?” She looked pointedly at the purplish circle around Leilani’s bloodshot left eye. “I can’t offer you an icepack or a raw steak to put on it. Not that I would, out here. Seagulls would dive bomb you if you put a slab of beef on your face. But I’ll bet Darcy’s got some ibuprofen in her purse. Even though she looks all young and hip, she totally packs
“What about all this training you’ve been doing with Joe? You’re really ready to just walk away from it? Start all over again?”
Trina gave in to the impulse to roll her eyes. If she knew the answer, or if the choice was easy, she wouldn’t be asking Darcy’s opinion. “I don’t know.”
“Can I say something that may sound kind of harsh? I’ll spit it out and then drop it entirely. This is just something for you to mull. But I don’t want to upset you.”
“Darcy, you can say anything to me. I won’t be upset. And if you’re worried it’ll upset me, you can buy lunch to even the score.”
“You know, you’ve spent years looking for a man who believes in you one hundred percent. Who doesn’t judge you by what you do. Someone who supports who you are inside, no matter what you do. Maybe what you need is to start by believing in yourself enough to stick with something long-term.”
Yikes. That certainly fit the description of harsh. It had never occurred to Trina that she didn’t believe in herself. That maybe she didn’t leave jobs because she’d found something better, but because she wasn’t sure she had what it took to stay with them. Double yikes. And she’d definitely need time to think about it. Trina didn’t want to stare at Darcy’s solemn green eyes while she pondered. She squinted to look down the row of shops for any distraction. Boy, did she ever hit the jackpot when her eyes fell on a stripper from Club Eden.
“Leilani,” she cried out with a wave. Then she let go of one of Darcy’s hands and took off at a run, pulling her friend along. “Come on.”
Their sandals slapped against the cement. A trio of gulls flapped into the air, squawking their displeasure. The woman with jet black hair almost to the frayed edge of her denim cutoffs just gaped at them.
“Leilani, hi,” Trina gasped. Whew. The karate training was a workout, but clearly not enough of an aerobic workout. Running toward a clue—or away from danger—was as important as being able to defend yourself when running wasn’t an option.
“Hey.” The quick twitch of Leilani’s head brought the curtain of hair down to shield one side of her face. Not fast enough, however, to prevent them from seeing the black eye that showed even through heavy makeup.
The black eye—and the bruises in the shape of a hand print on her upper arm—hadn’t been there when Trina last worked with her two nights ago. The very night she’d seen Leilani stuffing something into Shorty’s pockets at the end of her shift. Was Leilani who he’d planned to meet at the arcade? And who had Leilani met that had roughed her up? The thought of it knotted her stomach. Whatever was going on, she’d find a way to help the dancer, who’d been nice enough to show her the ropes on Trina’s first night.
“This is my best friend, Darcy. She’s visiting, um, another friend of ours.” How to describe Brad? Calling him the sad guy on his non-honeymoon painted the wrong picture. Saying he was the guy who Trina really liked and wanted to lick all over, while true, made it hard to explain Darcy’s presence. “It’s kind of complicated.”
“So’s life,” muttered the Hawaiian girl, shifting her gaze back and forth between the two friends.
Darcy shot out a hand to give Leilani’s a vigorous shake. “Nice to meet you.”
With every minute that ticked by, more shoppers filled the waterfront. Trina edged them over to a wooden piling, out of the flow of traffic.
“Are you okay?” She looked pointedly at the purplish circle around Leilani’s bloodshot left eye. “I can’t offer you an icepack or a raw steak to put on it. Not that I would, out here. Seagulls would dive bomb you if you put a slab of beef on your face. But I’ll bet Darcy’s got some ibuprofen in her purse. Even though she looks all young and hip, she totally packs
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