He’s glaring at me, panting angrily. “You fucked half of my fuckin’ bar!”
“I’m sorry, it was a bad call on my part. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.”
“Damn right you will. You’re goin’ to go a week without pay to replace what you fuckin’ broke.”
I want to argue, but there’s no point. I’ll only lose my job, and I need this job. It’s all I have. If I lose it, I have to go home, and there ain’t no way in hell I’m going to crawl back to my parents. No way in hell.
“Of course,” I say, my voice small.
“You’re lucky you’ve still got a job. If I could find girls easier, I would have fired your ass.”
“Thank you for giving me a chance.”
I turn and walk away before he can answer. I feel awful for what I’ve done. This bar is the only one in town the locals can come to and enjoy themselves, and I had half of it smashed to pieces because of my terrible behavior. That’s on me.
I head into the backroom, and the girl that’s on with me, Jenny, is just changing. She smiles at me, a wicked little gleam in her eye. I can’t help but return the smile. Jenny is a devil at heart; she would have gotten a complete kick out of what went down the other night.
“I heard you caused a bar fight while I was away.”
“Yeah, I did that.”
“With hot bikers...” She grins, wiggling her brows.
I raise my brows at her. “How did hot bikers become involved in this?”
“You tell me.” She winks.
I grin at her then open my locker to pull out my skirt and tiny blue top that is compulsory for us ‘bar bitches’. I slip my top off, and shimmy into the tiny blue tank. I quickly tie my hair up and throw on some basic make-up, then I turn and answer Jenny’s question.
“It wasn’t hot bikers, it was Spike and his boys...”
“Oh god, Spike was the one fighting? My panties just got wet.”
Mine did at the time too, but she doesn’t need to know that.
“He was mega pissed.”
“Totally the best way for a man like him to be. So, what happened?”
I shrug. “He came in, defended me and took me home.”
“Spike took you home? I thought you two hated each other?”
“We don’t hate each other...as such.”
“He came to your defense? What have I missed here?”
I grin at her, and lean down to slip on my shoes. “Nothing. I swear.”
“What punishment did Joe give you?”
“A week without pay.”
“Ouch,” she says crinkling her pretty nose.
Jenny is an attractive girl, the kind of girl that gets most men’s attention. She’s Latin, and has these dark brown eyes, perfect olive skin and straight, thick black hair. She has a slight accent, which just makes them want her a whole lot more.
“Yeah, ouch. I guess I’m eating crackers all week.”
She frowns at me. “Is it that bad?”
“It’s not easy paying my own rent, food and college fees.”
“Sorry. I wish I was here so I could have stopped it all before it happened.”
I laugh, and wave my hand. “It’s fine, it was my own stupid fault.”
She chuckles. “Yeah, well, let’s get to it.”
We spend the first two hours of our shift bringing out some old chairs from the storage room and making it look a little more respectable for Joe. When the doors open, I get behind the counter and start serving as soon as the first group comes in. We have a hen’s night on, so one side of the bar is covered in pink streamers, balloons and pretty table decorations. I can’t help but smile when the group of girls comes in, dressed in pink fairy outfits. They are all carrying little wands, and giggling the way all girls should when out enjoying the upcoming marriage of a friend, or family member.
I feel my chest tighten. I’ll never have that kind of feeling. My sister is dead. I have no one left, because my parents continue to somehow blame me. I guess I was the one that originally brought Spike home, so that must mean I am to blame. I turn my attention back to the glass I’m drying, and focus on steadying my breathing. No point in getting upset over something that can’t be changed.
I turn, throwing the glasses in the dishwasher, and then I get back to serving. That’s when he walks in. I hate that he’s decided to come in tonight, because it’s just a shitty night for me. After I tipped beer all over him the last time he was here, I honestly didn’t think he’d show his face again.
Spike and his club members take a seat at one of the round, corner tables. I peer over at them, and Spike looks up at the same moment. Our eyes meet, but I quickly turn mine away. I watch as Joe walks over, gives them a stern lecture, and then, as if nothing ever happened, he’s laughing with them.
I feel Jenny slide up beside me as I’m watching them, and I know she’s going to say something. She’s getting a great deal of satisfaction over the fact that Spike being here is making me completely uncomfortable.
“You’re on his table tonight.”
Of course I am. I turn and give her a look. She puts her hands up innocently.
“Hey, I got given the hens, be grateful.”
“You’re awful Jenny,” I mutter.
“Oh come on, look at him.”
We both turn to stare. He’s wearing a bandana tonight, and bits of his messy blonde hair and stick out from beneath it. His shirt matches the dark blue bandana, and his black jeans are perfectly fitting for his body. His leather jacket is sitting on the table beside him, and his heavy black boots are crossed under the table. The colorful tattoos on his arms are showing, along with the thick bracelets around his wrists. God damn, he can pull off the biker look so incredibly well. I turn, and switch my gaze back to Jenny.