I'm a Stripper At An All Boys Boarding School? How Do I Keep This A Secret?

"Are you the young lady that this gentleman is waiting for?"

I took a deep breath, enjoying the air. The sky was extremely blue today with no clouds as far as I could see, and the sun shone like summer. The people in town were enjoying the rare occurrence in March, wearing tank-tops, capris and sunglasses. The woman speaking to my had her curly blond hair tied up at the top of her head, and the blush on her cheeks was pink, bringing out her smile.

I looked to where she was pointing. Ahead of her, a young man sat at a table, his back to us. His black hair was spiked off at the top, his back adorned in a simple light blue, opaque T-shirt with dark jeans. He sat reclining with his arm around an empty chair next to him. A mug sat on the table in front of him. I grinned and inhaled deeply.

"That's him." The waitress nodded and excused herself, while I took a minute to observe my appearance. I had taken much too long this morning, selecting outfit after outfit as if he had never seen me before. My hair, first down, then up, finally settled in a loose braid at the side of my face. I wore a floral skirt with a denim tank top, a brown leather belt and flats. A leather cross body bag slung across my figure.

I walked up to the table, focusing on the rhythm of my footsteps and breathing. When I reached the table, Rayden didn't seem to notice. He looked out the window and watched the denizens of the small town enjoying their warm day.

"Hi." At the sound of my voice, he turned his head around, leaving his body to recline on the seat next to him. From the front, I could see he had cut off most of his long hair, leaving an average cut with a small flip in the front. His face seemed lighter, less worried, his eyes held a certain shine that only seemed vaguely familiar. He smiled at me, taking in my appearance, and I shifted my weight onto each foot, rethinking my outfit.

"Darcy." He breathed my name into his smile. "You look amazing. Come, sit." I pulled out the chair across from him, putting my bag on the chair and folding my hands on the table. "I've ordered coffee, but we can get a waitress if you want something. . . "

I shook my head. "I'm still not much of a breakfast person." I answered, twiddling my thumbs.

"That's right." He answered. "I forgot. You look great Darce, how've you been?"

"I've been okay. It seems like it's been much longer then it has, I feel like I haven't spoken to you in forever. Are you still speaking to your dad?" Rayden smiled.

"We talk almost every day, actually. I. . . I told him about you." I smiled at that, trying to picture Rayden's father but nothing came to mind.

"That's great Rayden, I'm really happy for you." Rayden took a sip of his coffee as the waitress came over, pouring me a cup.

"Yeah, I'm really happy. How's your Dad?" The waitress smiled as she handed me my cup of coffee and went to help another table. I turned the cup around in my hands a few times.

"My dad's good." I finally answered. "I've been working a lot, so I hadn't really spoken to him much, but we had a really good talk the other day and. . .we're gonna check out some rehab facilities in town tomorrow."

"Wow Darce, that's a really big step. I'm sure your really proud." I nodded.

"I am. It's gonna be really different, I think, having him out of the house." Rayden nodded and I took a sip of my coffee. "Other then that, nothing really. I've been spending a lot of time with Kristina. I miss all the boys though, how have they been?"

"They're all pretty good. Aaron's been talking to that girl he met on break a lot, and they'll probably be a thing soon. Taylor and Griffin like to tease him about it. Other then that, it's been pretty slow without you. Taylor asks about you a lot. They all miss you." I smiled, remembering Taylor's childlike attention span, and almost got teary remembering Griffin's older-brother like qualities. I hadn't known how much I missed them until now.

The waitress came to us and handed us the bill, which Rayden took and paid before I could open my mouth. He asked if I'd like to walk with him, and I agreed.

Outside we walked on a boardwalk. Around us children scurried, mothers chatted as they pushed strollers and joggers overlapped the crowd. The world seemed fast paced, making Rayden and I seem detached and alone, as if we were in our own little world, watching the others through a one way glass.

"I said some horrible things to you that night." Rayden said finally. "I'm so, so sorry for everything I said Darce. I wish I could take it back . . ."

"It's okay, Rayden." His eyes looked pained. "We both said some bad things-"

"Darcy, I pushed you onto the floor. I hurt you. You shouldn't even be talking to me. . . "

"You were mad, and you had every right to be." He was silent for a little while, and I assumed that we both shared the same thoughts of not wanting to fight about it any longer.

"You know we nearly killed him." For a minute I was shocked, completely clueless. He must have noticed. "Jesse, I mean. You left, and we all sat around and waited pretty aimlessly, and after a while it all hit us that he was still a douche. He hasn't told anyone at school anything. We're the only ones who know about your job." I thought for a minute about the correct response, but could only come up with one thing.

"Thank you."

"Are you still working?" Rayden asked after a few moments, and I knew this was the part of the day I had been dreading. The next few moments would determine my future; my education, my friends, my relationship. My occupation. I decided I'd approach as simply as possible.

"Yes." I glanced at Rayden, who kept his eyes on the floor. "It's the best option for me right now. With Dad checking into rehab, I'll need the money."

"And then?" His eyes remained on the floor. I thought.

"I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to stop." I said. "Maybe not soon. It might determine on my Dad's progress, on how soon he is able to get clean. If I can keep paying for school, I might be able to find a better job. Intern nearby, maybe. I can't say now, I might not be able to say for a long time. . . " I went on, but Rayden seemed caught on something I'd said. He turned to me now, something in his eyes I couldn't identify. Was he mad? Part of me wanted to turn and leave to avoid a conflict.

"School?" He asked, smiling a little. "You're coming back?" He watched me, waiting to say the words he wanted to hear.

"I. . .I think thats the best option for me. I don't want to do this my entire life."

Before the words had left my lips, Rayden abruptly stopped his walk. He turned and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled, wondering if we would go back to the way things were.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I got the last one." I said, shutting the dented door of the old red pick up truck. Above me the sun reached out from behind the clouds so much I wondered if I should have worn sun screen. With the back of my hand I wiped my forehead, tucking away a curl that had escaped from my loose ponytail. I rolled up the sleeves of my over sized plaid shirt before bending my knees to pick up a large cardboard box with a smaller box on top. The large stack of boxes almost blocked my vision, but I was able to find my way in between the cars in the parking lot and onto the pathway of the campus. I looked down, focusing on the three steps in front of me. One step, two . . .

Umpfh.

I had crashed into something, and the cardboard box in my hands began slipping forward. I lifted my knee to support it, loosing my balance on the step and beginning to fall back. The smaller box began to slip forward, falling forward. In a few seconds it would have hit the ground, if a set of larger hands hadn't scooped it up casually.

"Watch where your going, butterfingers." Without the second box I could see Rayden, grinning as he held my other box under his arm. He reached an arm behind me to steady me. "Here, you take this. . . ." Rayden plopped the box on top of mine, a weight which might have knocked me over if he hadn't taken the weight of both boxes, leaving me with nothing. ". . .and I'll take these."

"I could have carried those." I retorted, crossing my arms. Rayden smiled and we began walking towards the rooms.

"Course you could have. But now you can lead me back to the room." I laughed and we walked to the room together. Entering the building, the hallway was totally empty.

"Keys in my pocket." Rayden said, smiling, and I reached into his back pocket to get it. Opening the door, I was immediately bombarded by a pair of arms giving me a massive hug. It's a good thing I wasn't carrying the boxes, or all my things would be on the floor.

Three voices greeted me with a chorus of "Darcy!" and "We've missed you!". I was hugged for a good two minutes while Rayden put down the boxes before I was pried from their arms.

Taking back and getting a good look at them, I noticed first that Griffin's hair had gotten much longer. His brown locks were so long they were beginning to curl on the edges, and when he laughed or moved considerably his whole head shook and they bounced up and down. His skin was a little tanner and his cheeks a little redder from the spring weather. The sun had also changed the appearance of Aaron, who's previously black hair seemed lighter and fluffier. He seemed bulkier too, like he had been working out since I'd seen him. Taylor, on the other hand, remained the strong, blond haired teddy bear I had met on my first day at school.

"Come on guys." Rayden chimed in once we had all finished our greetings. "We have dinner reservations in an hour."

"Oohh fancy." Aaron said, swinging open the fridge. "Just like the old days."

"Yeah, except we forgot to buy Darcy a really expensive dress." Taylor added.

"Hmm I think she'll be okay though." Rayden said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. "She looks good in anything."

"Eww gross guys. Get a room."

"Oh wait, you have one. It's right over there." Aaron reached over and grabbed a pillow, hitting Rayden and I on the back. I laughed and Rayden scooped me up, moving to the bedroom while avoiding the couch pillows being tossed at us. He plopped me onto my bed and leaned in to kiss me, but Griffin popped into the doorway and threw one last pillow, which hit Rayden square in the face. He turned, glaring at Griffin, who promptly ran away. Turning back to me, he kissed my forehead, before getting up and running into the living room after him. I laughed, and I Taylor entered my bedroom suddenly, hauling a box in and dropping it on the floor.

"Now to find something for you to wear to dinner!"

~~~~~

Dinner was at a fancy french restaurant in town. Taylor had chosen my dress, something I had already owned that didn't cost much, but was prefect for the occasion. The boys were all dressed up, wearing slacks and button down shirts that I insisted on taking pictures before hand.

"Two more months of school. . ." Aaron said, taking a sip of him water.

"Then summer break!" Chimed in Griffin. "Back to the coast."

"Maybe not this year." Taylor pondered as he traced the shape of the silverware.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we could hang around, rent an apartment. I'm in no rush to go home." The plans for summer were interrupted by the waiter delivering our drinks. The boys held up their glasses for a toast.

"To Darcy," Taylor started.

"We're happy your back, no matter what your job is." Aaron laughed and I smiled. Rayden reached over from next to me and held my hand.

"To coming home."