Protect Me (5 page)

She had to admit, destiny had done well. She had chosen a small one bedroom open loft apartment. The rent was much higher than she would have ever paid in Georgia, almost four times what she had paid in rent for her trailer, but then again there she was waking up to the view of an AC window unit in the next trailer over. Here, her loft apartment had beautiful wood floors, an open balcony overlooking the amazing Architecture of LA and its busy streets. It also came fully furnished, which meant she didn’t have to sleep on the floor.

Slowly LA had begun to grow on her, taking over all of those God forsaken memories from back home. She really didn’t want to slink back home a failure. Not that she had anyone left to consider her one; she really wanted to succeed in her new world. She clung to the hope that in the end it would all work out. And so far it had, she had made close to $860 in tips last night at the bar and she and the girls were working the next two nights, which were typically the busiest. In one night alone, she had made more than what she would have in a week in the hell hole she worked at back home.

One last stretch and she was swinging her legs out of bed. She was excited to go shopping before work today with Judy and Ashley. When she packed her suitcase, she had thrown in a few pairs of jeans, a pair of slacks, a few t-shirts, tank tops, the other necessities of clothing. She topped the rest of it off with toiletries, and a few photo’s she had kept next to her bed. So in all honesty her closet here was pretty bare. As long as her tips stayed consistent to what she had made last night she figured a little shopping wouldn’t hurt. It had been a long time since she had splurged on herself.

She hopped out of bed and went downstairs to the bathroom. After a refreshing wake-up shower, she made her way back to her room to choose her clothes for the day trip. Plundering through her limited options she went for a comfortable pair of coral and white striped panties and a white push up bra. She was already large-chested, but a little extra stuffing never hurt. She grabbed her favorite pair of jeans with the hole in the knee and paired it with her white tank that was trimmed in lace, they both hugged in all the right places. She left her hair down letting it air dry into loose ringlet curls. Slipping on her brown sandals she checked her phone noticing a text.

Judy: Hey girl, we are on the way. I am in a black Jeep Grand Cherokee. Be there in ten.

She replied back: Great! I am on my way down now.

Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and a protein bar from the box on the counter, she found her purse and headed downstairs. Judy’s black SUV was pulling up in front of the apartment building as Abbi walked out of the door. She jumped into the passenger’s seat as Ashley exited and jumped into the back, Judy was singing along loudly to a Nicki Minaj song as she pulled out into the busy LA traffic and headed towards the fashion district.

Judy turned down the volume dial on the radio, “So what did you think of your first night?”

“You know it was better than I had expected, I really expected to fall flat on my face.” Images of Ryan’s hands on her body as he caught her last night spilled into her mind. She turned towards the window trying to conceal the blush she could feel spreading across her face.

“Hey, ya know, if you do fall on your face you wouldn’t be the first one to do it. I fell off the bar one night during my little close up routine.” Ashley smiled proudly as Abbi’s head shot backwards towards her. “Yeah, that’s what happens when you try to shake it on a narrow bar after a few too many shots!”

“Could have been worse, When I worked in the 321 Lounge with Trent a few years back I attempted to toss a half full rum bottle into the air and catch it behind my back” Judy leaned over pulling her black bangs off of her forehead “I ended up catching it with my forehead instead.” Abbi could see the mark of a two inch scar on the top of her right eyebrow. “That little trick cost me a shit load in hospital bills, stitches, and a pink slip.”

“Holy hell Judy.”

“Yeah Trent has never let me live that one down. If you do fall just make sure he doesn’t see it.”

“I didn’t realize that you two were close. Are you, dating?”

“Girl no, I have been in LA for a few years and have worked at a lot of clubs. I met Trent a few years back. He’s was bartending throughout his college years and for a little while after he graduated too. He always wanted to open his own bar. The only catch was he didn’t have the money to do it himself.”  The one thing Abbi loved about Judy was her willingness to divulge personal information without too much nudging.  “I always told him he was demanding enough to find an investor who would hop on board with his ideas.”

“Yeah Trent is good people, he has always taken care of us. Although he may come off as a horny toad he has always kept his manners with me and you know I am not picky!” Ashley chimed in.

After what seemed like hours in LA traffic the girls pulled up in front of a small boutique.

“Who’s ready to get their shopping on?” Ashley said jumping out of the backseat.

“Ok, so if we are going to be getting you out on the town, we need to find you a few club worthy outfits. Try and steer clear of camouflage and blaze orange. We are talking about night club not hunting club.” Judy gave her a sideways smile.

“I can’t make any promises, what’s that saying? You can take the girl out of the country but you can’t wash the dirt off her feet.”

“That is probably the nastiest thing I have heard today and I work at a bar.” The two girls laughed as they entered the store.

It was a small shop with clothes lining each wall, along with small racks placed around the floor. Abbi browsed the different items. Not only did everything look more expensive but it felt that way too. She flipped through dress after dress and skirt after skirt. Before she knew it she had her arms full of different selections. Judy, who had also taken the liberty to pick out her own selections, met Abbi in the entrance to the dressing room.

“Ok, I want to see everything on! No exceptions, if it doesn’t fit we will find another size. We will be waiting for you right here.” Judy plopped down next to Ashley in a giant overstuffed couch sitting just outside the dressing area.

Taking the clothes from Judy, Abbi made her way into a room and began changing. The first selection was a lime green dress covered in sequins that Judy had picked and it was awful, but she figured this was too bold of a choice for Judy to forget about, so she would model it anyways. As soon as she stepped out Judy and Ashley both made grimaces.

“Next!” Ashley said waving her back to the dressing room.

Her next choice was the black one shoulder dress she had picked. It was made of a stretchy satin and had just enough shimmer to it without being gaudy. It looked fun, but elegant at the same time. She slipped it on and immediately felt sexy. It would look great with those black Manolos she had won off Ashley in their bargain last night. She stepped out of the room and spun in front of the two girls who both had their mouths hanging open.

“Girl, you clean up good!” Ashley gushed.

“I love it! You look so hot.” Judy got up and circled her. “Add some heels and you will be on fire girl!”

“Thank you.” she curtsied before walking back towards her fitting room.

This one was going in the keep pile. She tried on countless other items, choosing ones that she could wear both casually and out to get a drink. Though she liked dressing up from time to time, Abbi always felt that her clothes needed to have more than one purpose. As she hauled her lot to the counter she was relieved to see that she had only ended up spending two hundred and fifteen dollars on five separate outfits. She figured that she would have spent that much on a pair of sunglasses in this town.

Over the next three hours the girls made their way through the shops and stores throughout the fashion district of LA. Judy was right she definitely knew how to drive a bargain and find the deals. The girls walked from shop to shop with arms full of bags.  After their shopping trip Judy drove around and the girls showed Abbi LA. Driving by the Macy’s Plaza, the Civic center, and the Staples center, which brought on stories from a few concerts Judy and Ashley had been to.  As the day wore on Abbi began to open up more too.  Sharing a few stories of bar fights back home, even a few of her and her mom, and how they used to make the trip down to the Suwannee River in Florida and camp out. As they turned out of the main traffic, Abbi smiled as she stared out of the car window, knowing that these two girls would be the kind of friends that she could always confide in. Damn it took long enough for her to have that feeling, towards anyone.

After their sightseeing tour Judy pulled up to the front of a small bakery, quaint and out of the way of the busy LA traffic. Abbi looked toward the shop front and saw the name “Bun Ladies” scrolled across the front glass door. Judy parked the jeep just outside of the front and turned to Abbi before she got out.

“Ok so I know you come from the land of pies and cakes, but you have never lived if you haven’t had a cinnamon roll from the bun ladies.” She said clapping her hands together in excitement “I know they have to be horrible for you, but I wouldn’t think twice about murking someone for the last one.”

“I am always down for a sugar rush, and besides I am starving.” Abbi said jumping out of the car; the last thing she was going to do was pass up freshly made baked goods.

Judy filled the meter as the girls made their way towards the bakery. Just as Abbi grabbed the door to open it she stepped smack into what felt like a brick wall.

“Ugh” she said gasping. It had nearly knocked the breath out of her.

“Oh man I’m sorry. I didn’t hurt you did I? Blame it on the…” His sentence trailed off

Abbi looked up and met the same dark eyes from the club last night. She had just run smack into Ryan Dixon. Talk about a small world in a big city.

“No, that’s ok. I’m fine, just a slight concussion.” She said smiling as she rubbed her forehead.

Forgetting where she was at first, Abbi remembered that Judy and Ashley were standing right behind her. Turning around she met a shit eating grin on Judy’s face. At first she considered that Judy might have planned this all along. But the open mouth stare that Ashley was giving the two of them pretty much summed it up to coincidence. However, Abbi believed that everything happens for a reason.

“I am just gonna go grab us some cinnamon rolls and coffee. You like coffee right?” Judy couldn’t get the smile off her face.

“Yes, heavy creamer and three sugars please.” Abbi said as Judy grabbed Ashley’s arm and pulled her along as they walked around Abbi, both smiling up at Ryan. Just inside the door Judy turned back towards her friend giving her a wink and two cheesy thumbs up.

“So, fancy seeing you here today. Day time clothes suit you well.” Though his eyes wandering down to her legs made her think maybe he didn’t mind the short shorts of her uniform.

“Yeah, well I was trying to keep from getting an indecent exposure ticket so soon after moving here, by running around in my hot pants.” Abbi tugged at the bottom hem of her tank top as she smiled.

“So you’re new to town?”

“Yeah. I moved here a few weeks back, I have a nice little apartment on Spring Street.”

Having been awkwardly standing half in the doorway and half on the side walk Ryan motioned to a small table just outside the door in the small courtyard. Before she could sit, Ryan pulled the chair out motioning her to sit down. He waited for her to sit before taking the chair across from her.
I guess chivalry isn’t dead after all
, she thought as she watched him walk around to the other side of the table.

“So where are you from?”

“Georgia, you wouldn’t believe the name of the town if I told you. But just imagine big mud trucks, gnats, and one stop light.”

“Yeah, I actually grew up in South Carolina so I know what you mean by the gnats. Those things are crucial and don’t knock the mud trucks.” Leaning in like he was keeping a secret from the world, “I used to drive a jacked up Dodge.” He said smiling

“Oh no.” She said mockingly “I promise I won’t tell the tree huggers, but, I’m actually starting to enjoy carpooling, though in this traffic I think I would need a monster truck to get people to move out of my way.” As if on time a car honked on a side street and they could hear the faint sounds of two people getting into a heated argument. “So, how long have you lived here?” Abbi always found herself as quite nosey, so she had to remind herself to keep the questioning light.

“A few years now, I moved here when I retired from the military and started my company; a personal protection company, also known as a bodyguard service. I am proud to say it has done well over the years.” He said taking a sip of his coffee. “I even bought myself a plaque to hang my first dollar in.”

“Ha! Let me guess it’s hanging right next to the picture of you and your first assignment? I remember something about Ronald McDonald needing a body guard for the annual cheeseburger dinner.” Her voice was dripping in sarcasm.

“Yes actually, just to the left of it. And don’t laugh. I almost had to take out the Hamburglar at that dinner. He was acting a little sketchy.” He grinned, as he took another sip.

“Well thank goodness you didn’t have to shoot anyone.”

Abbi could see the light in his eyes diminish a bit. Oh no, had she said something wrong? Leave it up to her and her big mouth to ruin a perfectly good conversation.

“Yeah, these days I try to stick to the nine to five schedule behind the desk. But as you saw last night, I do have to get my hands dirty sometimes.”

The last part of that statement made images flash through her mind of Ryan’s hands on her body. Remembering the way his hands felt as he caught her last night. She clinched her legs together in an attempt to calm the burning desire that was running from her stomach downward.
Where the hell are those girls, China?
As if on cue, the door to the bakery opened and the smell of freshly baked breads and sugary treats floated out with the cool air conditioning. Judy made her way over to the table holding two coffees and two small plastic containers. Ashley followed trying to blow on the top of her coffee as if it would cool it down.