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“Alrighty, then. Well…” I slammed my palms onto the bartop. “I’m quitting my job! Cheers!” I raised my glass, but theirs didn’t meet mine.

“Like, quitting, quitting?” Avery crinkled her brow.

“Yeah, what do you mean you’re quitting? We have rent to pay. Did you line up something else?” Peyton piggy backed off Avery, sounding just as confused.

“Oh girl, this is going to be good.” Colton threw his rag over his shoulder and leaned against the bar with his arms crossed, waiting patiently for me to fill in the gaps.

“Okay, so this is going to sound crazy. I know everything with me and Hunter is kind of new … but he offered me an opportunity I couldn’t say no to.”

“Let’s be real, no one in their right mind should say no to that man,” Colton added, just as Peyton jumped in with her own conclusion before I could even finish.

“Oh my God, are you moving out? I know that you’re basically never home anymore, but I don’t think I’m ready for you to officially pack your bags and see your way out yet.”

“I mean, if that were the case, we’d be very happy for you.” Avery elbowed Peyton in the ribs.

“Let me finish.” I placed my palms flat on the bartop. “First of all, I’m not moving out. Not yet, at least. This whole relationship thing is still so new, and I’m not ready to give up my half of the lease yet. But Hunter did pull some strings at work, and he offered me a position as the director of their dance team,” I squealed, burying my face in my hands.

“Oh my gosh, it’s happening!” Colton interjected, and all of our eyes flew to him.

“What’s happening?” I cocked my head.

“First, it was Avery. Now, you. One by one, you ladies are taking a step back from the sex working industry and finding a rich daddy to come home to.” Colton wore a smug grin as if he’d known this was going to happen all along.

“He’s got a point there,” Avery chimed in.

“Does he, though? I’ve never been more single in my life,” Peyton groaned.

“Oh, honey.” Colton leaned on the bartop. “If these two ever get too comfortable in their relationships, I’d be happy to be your honorary wing woman.” He winked before walking off to help a few new customers sitting across the bar.

“So, when are you putting in your notice?” Avery asked, bringing the conversation back to me.

I couldn’t help the smile that crept up the corners of my mouth.

“Well, I actually quit after my shift.” I looked at the time on my phone screen. “Like, forty-five minutes ago.”

The hardest part of quitting was seeing the sad look on the girl’s faces that I’d worked alongside for years now. For so long, I was the bright light in that place, and now, it was up to them to be able to get through their days without me there.

It pained me that they always considered me the glue that kept the club together. But it was time for me to follow my true passion, to throw out the name Scarlett Jade, and move forward as Andi, and only Andi.

“Well then … that’s definitely cause for celebration if I’ve ever seen it!” Avery perked up.

Holding her glass in the air, Peyton had a smile on her face, but it didn’t quite match the one Avery sported. “Even though I’m feeling just a little left out being the last single girl standing, working my job as a cam girl, I’m still really freaking thrilled for you, Andi.” Her smile grew when our glasses met in the middle. “Here’s to chasing our dreams even if we don’t have it all figured out yet. It’s never too late to change your path in life, and you two are not only the best friends a girl could ask for, but you’re what I strive to be.”

It was almost impossible not to tear up. Peyton was a sap and had a knack for delivering messages that packed a punch and ran deep whether she realized it or not.

All these years that I lived in Vegas after escaping the small town I’d been raised in, I lived a life of desperation. Desperate to make something of myself, desperate to bring in the kind money that I never had growing up. To dance in any way possible, hoping that there would still be that spark of joy ignited within me as the music turned on and my body started to move. Desperate to enjoy this version of dance in my life as much as I could without actually admitting to myself how wildly different it was from what my actual dreams had been since I was a teenager.

I never allowed myself to think I had any other option. Eventually, the days had gotten away from me, and being at the club with a heavy set of rules to never set myself up for disappointment was the life I was used to living.

Hunter came along and wrecked my life plan that was never meant to be a plan in the first place. He opened my eyes to the beauty in life and showed me that it was possible to climb your way out of the crippling doubt, even if it seemed like a wild thought and far-fetched dream.

After I pushed my overwhelming feelings to the side, I soaked in every minute with my girls. I filled them in on everything I knew about my new job, how me and Hunter had become official without actually having to entertain the awkward conversation of it all. I spilled every detail to them about visiting my brother and rekindling a relationship with him, and how I couldn’t have done it without Hunter by my side.

Needless to say, Avery and Peyton were shocked I’d lived this secret life with my own agenda the last couple of months, but they didn’t hold it against me. My best friends knew me better than anyone, and they knew I’d eventually spill my guts when the time was right.

I was happier than I’d ever been, with a new job, and a man I was so down bad for that I had these insanely lovesick teenager feelings that it made me nauseous. It was all perfect. The kind of perfect that I wanted to absorb every ounce of because I’d never felt any type of joy close to this level.

Maybe it was too perfect.