I Love Her Anyway

Jonathan leaned against the driver's side door of his truck, his thick arms crossed over his chest while he eyed the neon lights that illuminated the entire street in front of him. A thin layer of morning dew laid spread across the windshield as the crescent moon hid behind a grey cloud. It was getting late, too late for Jonathan to be anywhere that wasn't his bed when he had an early practice in just a few short hours. Yet he always found himself driving past his house and out of his way, arriving to the same club in the outskirts of the city.

He couldn't pull himself away. It was like he was a moth, unable to fly away from the same bright lights that shone before him. He checked the watch on his wrist just as a group of drunken men spilled out of the door, laughing loudly as they all stumbled to their expensive sports cars, ready to drive home with the overwhelming scent of alcohol seeping from their breath. Jonathan wondered if the men would even make it home to their faithful wives or wind up in a ditch somewhere instead.

It was nearing three in the morning and the club would be closing soon. Though Jonathan was fully aware that the regulars would stay until they pleased, he pulled the brim of his baseball cap down to cover his face, and with his head hung low, he made his way to the door.

This wasn't Jonathan's scene and he couldn't take the chance to be spotted in this establishment. He could just see it now, covering the front page of the newspapers in the early Sunday morning paper. As he passed under the sign that read 'Live! Girls!' he finally picked up his head. His dark brown eyes scanned the room quickly, but he didn't spot who he was searching for.

Jonathan took a seat at an unattended table that still was littered with empty bottles of beer. His face was void of any emotion as his eyes once again darted around the dark room. That was when he felt a hand on the shoulder and hot breath blanket his right ear.

"You must have missed me," her voice was as smooth as velvet, resulting in a chill that swiftly snuck up Jonathan's spine. He recovered quickly, glancing at her over his shoulder as she stood behind him.

"I came to take you home," he told her stiffly, straightening up while his eyes followed her every move as she took a few strides away.

"Your place or mine, stud?" She asked, throwing him a smirk over her shoulder. Jonathan couldn't help but to drink in her mile long legs. The tapping of her heels clicking against the tile floor seemed to hypnotize him for a short moment.

"To your house, Calista," he said just loud enough for her to hear over the chatter of the remaining patrons. The authority that was strong in his usually calm voice sent a wave goosebumps across her bare skin.

She stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of the name her mother had given her. She turned her body to face him completely now. His eyes connected with hers as she hesitantly took another step towards him. His dark eyes smothered her with persistence and she knew there wasn't a chance that she would deny him and send him away. So she nodded and kept her gaze locked with his intense orbs.

"Give me ten minutes," she finally replied, her voice so quiet it was nearly inaudible. The man only nodded in reply and watched her as she once again regained her confidence and strutted past a few men, sending them a wink as she passed.

Once in the back room that was lined with red and black lockers along the walls, Calista ran a finger through her hair that the curls had long fallen into loose waves. She let out a sigh, eager to arrive home where she could finally scrub the glitter and feeling of grime from her smooth skin. Her fingers quickly counted through the loose dollar bills that she had earned throughout the evening. Satisfied, she carefully slid the organized bills into the inside pocket of her bag.

She pulled out her jeans and simple black v-neck from her tote bag and then skillfully loosened the tie that held her corset tight around her and slid it off. As she kicked off her heels, her feet ached when they returned to their flat, natural position.

Once dressed, she stared at her reflection in the dirty mirror. Calista couldn't remember the last time the mirror had been cleaned, let alone the entire club as a whole. Her makeup was in the first stages smearing, but her fake eyelashes were still in perfect placement. She pulled her hair into a high ponytail before grabbing her bag and made her way back to Jonathan.

He sat in the same chair with his head down, staring at the table. Maybe he was ashamed to be here, Calista thought. But soon after, she wondered why he even came to begin with. She motioned she was ready when he looked up. He quickly stood, a protective hand finding it's way to the small of her back as he led her out of the club, but not before she waved to her boss.

Wordlessly, she climbed into the passenger's seat, holding her bag on her lap. She knew Jonathan wouldn't try to take it; he didn't need to steal her hard earned money. But it becomes habit after riding the city bus home so early in the morning. Sometimes on the long bus ride across town, Calista even drifted to sleep clutching her bag.

Jonathan pulled out of the parking lot and let a sigh escape from his lips.

"Why do you do this, Calista?"

His question didn't take her off guard at all. This wasn't the first time he had asked and she was aware that it probably wouldn't be the last either. Her eyes followed the city lights as they zoomed by before she answered; the same explanation she had given him the previous times he had questioned her motives.

"College is expensive," she said simply, her fingers playing with the strap on her bag. He shook his head in frustration but didn't take his eyes off of the road ahead of him.

"I can help with money," he offered. Calista was, however, surprised by his words this time around. Jonathan had never offered to give her money, whether it was for free or in her line of work. She was almost angry that he would even consider such a thing.

"You hardly even know me, Jon," she reminded him shortly. He bit down on his lip and stopped at a red light. Jonathan turned his head to look at her, but she continued to look straight out the windshield. He sighed again, which was something he seemed to do a lot when he was around Calista. Jonathan was disappointed in someone he barely even knew. He didn't say anything until the vehicle was moving again.

"You're worth more than getting paid to take off your clothes," Jonathan told her genuinely, and he had the thought to reach over and grab her hand. Deciding against it, he just tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

Calista pursed her lips as the words left his mouth. That was the one sentence she was waiting for him to say since she met him. It was obvious that Jonathan looked down upon strippers, as did most of the more successful population. But Jonathan never experienced the struggle to finance his own life and he would just simply never understand doing whatever it takes in order to make ends meet. If Calista wanted to finish her education and move towards getting a better, less degrading job, she was willing to do whatever she needed to.

"I'm just a girl who was paid to give you a lap dance," Calista sneered, noticing that the truck was turning onto her street. "You don't actually know me."

It wasn't her intention to offend Jonathan or hurt his feelings in any way. She could tell he was a caring man with good intentions; she learned that from the first time they met. But Calista didn't quite understand why he was so concerned with her lifestyle. She had gone twenty one long years without him playing the role of the knight in shining armor. She didn't need him now.

They came to a stop and Jonathan's eyes flickered over to Calista.

"Thank you for the ride, Jonathan, it was nice to see you, really," she spoke softly before opening the door.

"Cali, hold on," his deep voice begged her, but she ignored him and closed the door without a second glance at the man. His face fell as he saw her hoist the heavy bag over her shoulder and walk to her run down apartment complex.

Jonathan kept a watchful eye to make sure she entered safely before he took his truck out of park. That's when he made a promise to himself and indirectly, Calista. He was going to get her out of this dangerous part of town and he was going to get her life where it needed to be. Even if he didn't know her as well as he wanted to, Jonathan knew Calista was worth so much more than all of this. Even if she didn't realize that herself just yet.