Being Nobody (The Witness Series #1)

by D'Agostino, Heather

  ooooooooo

  “Hey!” Tori called as she leaned out the door. “You plan on going home to sleep any?”

  “It’s the middle of lunch,” I chewed my lip and gave her a confused look.

  “It’s dead,” she groaned. “Go home. Lauren can handle this shift. Come back tonight when I’m actually going to need you.”

  “Are you sure?” I pushed myself to a standing position and ran my hands down my thighs.

  “Yes, Mal. Go home and sleep. You look like death run over backwards,” she rolled her eyes at me and shoved my purse into my arms.

  I smirked as I shouldered it, “You had no intention of letting me back in there, did you?”

  “Like I said…I need you later. Go home and sleep,” Tori winked at me before disappearing back inside.

  Well, I thought, at least I can go home and shower now. I still had the stench of beer on me from the previous night, and I knew if I wanted to rake in the tips I needed to be on top of my game. Home it was.

  ooooooooo

  When I reached my small loft apartment, I unlocked the door, and dragged myself through the door. I’d been living alone since we were relocated to Chicago. My mother wasn’t happy about it, but I needed my space, and I’d convinced her that she and my father had controlled enough of my life. She’d given in, and settled for living a few miles away in a quiet suburb. The marshals actually thought it was a good idea that we separated. They said that we’d call less attention to ourselves. I’d taken this freedom as a way to reinvent myself. I’d cut my hair and dyed it, gotten rid of the glasses that I used to wear in favor of colored contacts, and began going to the gym to get in shape. I wanted to be a new me, and being on my own seemed to spur on that need.

  The minute I got inside the tiny loft, I went to work removing my bar attire. I had numerous shirts for The Rusty Nail and countless pairs of jeans. The current pair was tossed to the side as I made my way toward the shower. I knew I needed one, and as the steam began to fill the small space, I finally relaxed.

  Once I finished, I stepped out, dried myself off, and flopped on the bed completely naked. One of the perks of living alone…you didn’t have to wear clothes unless you wanted to. I didn’t. I could live in a nudist colony and be perfectly happy. Clothes were just so restricting. Within minutes, I could feel my exhaustion taking over, so I quickly set my alarm and let sleep claim me. A few hours would work wonders, and if tonight was anything like last Saturday, it was going to be brutal.

  Chapter 2

  When my alarm sounded, alerting me that I needed to get up for work, I practically leaped out of bed. I’d been sleeping like the dead, and those three hours had seemed like minutes. When I glanced across the room at the mirror that hung on the wall, I cringed. My hair was going in every direction. I hadn’t dried it before I crashed, and now it seemed like a messy up-do was all I was capable of doing for the evening.

  Grumbling, I tossed back the covers and stalked over to my closet. I wanted to make quick work of dressing so I could grab a bite to eat before leaving. After selecting a clean pair of jeans and a fresh Rusty Nail tee, I quickly dressed and rushed into the bathroom. I yanked a brush through my hair before twisting it up in a messy knot on top of my head. After applying a light coat of lip gloss and some mascara, I misted myself with some perfume and made my way out to the kitchen area. My apartment was small, but it worked. There were no rooms with the exception of the bathroom.

  As I stood in front of the fridge, trying to decide what to eat, my stomach growled. I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten, and even though leftovers were not that appealing, I decided to eat what was quick anyway. I grabbed the sandwich that I’d left wrapped in the paper and a diet coke before shuffling over to the small bistro table. When that first bite of sandwich hit my tongue, I finally realized how hungry I really was. I devoured it in minutes, and as I looked at the clock, I almost panicked when I saw the time. It was already five p.m. and the bar would be getting slammed in the next hour.

  After grabbing my keys and purse, I rushed out the door and attempted to hail a cab. The bar was only blocks away from my house, but the idea of running to work was not appealing, especially after just showering. I knew by the end of the night I’d smell like beer anyway, but I wanted to preserve the clean scent as long as possible.

  ooooooooo

  When I reached the front door, the crowd was already spilling out into the outdoor patio area we had along the street. Jon, our evening doorman, looked at me and grinned.

  “Running late tonight?” He chuckled as he ran his eyes up my jean clad thighs. We had a few drunken nights together about three weeks ago, and he had been hinting at a repeat performance for a while now.

  “I have to sleep every now and then,” I huffed as I pushed past him and weaved through the crowd making my way toward the bar. Lauren was racing around with another bartender, Tiffany, and when I slid in to help they both looked up and sighed.

  “It’s about damn time you got here,” Lauren shouted over the loud voices of the patrons that were now standing three deep around the bar.

  “Sorry,” I cringed. “I over slept.”

  Tiff pushed up beside me and murmured, “She’s in a bad mood…Elliot called her while you were out…said he wanted space.”

  “Ahhh,” I nodded in understanding. “Thanks for the heads up.”

  “Stop running your mouth and help me,” Lauren growled as she shoved behind us reaching for a bottle of vodka.

  “Relax, chica,” I rolled my eyes. “They’ll wait,” I motioned to the numerous people waving their cash.

  When Lauren went back to the opposite end of the bar, I leaned over and stuffed my purse underneath, grabbed a bottle opener to shove in my back pocket, and a towel that I tucked in my waist band.

  “What can I getcha?” I turned to face the next customer in front of me.

  “Bud and a?” a tall blond in front of me turned toward his date and eyed her, waiting.

  “Rum and Coke?” She cocked her head at me like she was asking me if we had it.

  “You got it,” I spun around, and reached in the cooler. After grabbing the beer and removing the top, I slid it towards the guy while I flipped the bottle of rum up in the air. After completing the order, I moved on the next customer. This continued for the next six hours as I worked along-side my two colleagues. It took us a matter of thirty minutes to get out of “the weeds” and keep up with demand. We’d never had a problem in the past, and I knew that Lauren had been overreacting when she went off on me.

  When business finally began to slow for the night, I leaned back and took a deep breath. We had several customers still sitting on stools, but, for the most part, the others were listening to the small local band that was occupying the stage.

  “Tired?” Tiff nudged me.

  “I don’t know what rested feels like,” I chuckled. “I practically live here.”

  “That’s because you’re good at what you do, and the guys love you,” Tiff giggled as she looked past me to a spot behind where I was standing. “Speaking of guys…” her head bobbed as her lips lifted on one side, “You’ve had an admirer for a while.”

  I slowly turned around to see who she was looking at. I’d hoped it wasn’t someone that I’d gone home with before that was back for a repeat. Sometimes I felt like a total guy. My lifestyle didn’t allow me to get attached, so I’d learned early on that it was better to not ever repeat a night. I’d tried…years ago…and I was hurt so badly I vowed never to let it happen again.

  When my eyes landed on the solid body that was leaning against bar, I felt my mouth go dry. He looked so familiar, yet not really at the same time. His muscular frame was relaxed as he spun an empty Sam Adams bottle between his hands. His long fingers gripped it easily, and as I shamelessly ogled him, I wonder what those fingers could really do.

  “Go talk to him,” Tiff whispered beside my ear. “He’s hot.”

  I swallowed as I continued to stare.
I couldn’t figure it out, but I felt like I knew him. His hair was slightly darker than I had remembered. His shoulders broader, and his physique more muscular, but he looked just like someone I used to know…someone I used to love.

  His head stayed bent toward the bar as I made my way in his direction. I was moving slowly so I could convince myself that he wasn’t who I thought he was. I turned my back to him to reach into the cooler and grab him another beer. Just as I turned to place it on the bar in front of him, our eyes connected. The deep brown pools stared back at me and a shot of awareness raced through every part of my being. This guy wasn’t just hot, he was gorgeous. Take every fantasy you’ve ever had and roll them together and you’ll see what I’m looking at right now.

  I placed the beer down and smiled at him as I waited to see if he would speak first. When he didn’t, I motioned toward the beer, “Looked like you were ready for another.”

  “Thanks,” he murmured as he lifted it and took a sip. I stared as I watched his Adam’s apple bob when he swallowed. The more I stared, the more I knew it was him…Devlin. My mind told me I was crazy, Dev lived in New York and had no reason to be in Chicago. I hadn’t seen him since I was seventeen, and there was no way this was him, but my heart…it was adamant that my brain was wrong.

  “Long day?” I tried to start a conversation as he placed the bottle back on the bar.

  “You could say that,” he muttered.

  “Wanna talk about it?” I pressed. I could already sense something about him, and I desperately wanted to know more.

  “Not really,” he grumbled. He shifted so he was facing the bar more directly and slid onto a stool. “I’d rather talk about you,” he smirked and I could see his whole demeanor change.

  “Not much to tell,” I lifted a shoulder as I tugged my bar towel from my jeans and began wiping the space in front of him.

  “There has to be something…a beautiful girl like you? Working in a place like this?” He leaned closer to me and dropped his voice to a low hum, “I’m good at keeping secrets.”

  My entire body went stiff when he uttered those words. I knew I probably shouldn’t think anything of them. I mean…whoever he was, he didn’t know me, not the real me, anyway. “How do you know I have a secret?” I smiled a flirty smile as I tried to hide my nervousness.

  “You’re a woman,” he shrugged. “You all have secrets.”

  As I watched his smile turn into a full-on grin, I relaxed. He was flirting. He didn’t know anything about me.

  “We’re not that hard to understand,” I gave him an annoyed look. “You just have to listen to us when we talk.”

  “Oh, I listen,” he chuckled. “I listen to all sorts of things,” he took another sip before continuing. “Does this make me look fat? I don’t know where I want to go to dinner. I don’t like that. Why can’t you stay home today? Do you really have to hang out with your friends? Are you mad at me? The list goes on and on,” he rolled his eyes. “You’re type is the hardest to figure out.”

  Taken aback by his forwardness, I shook my head to try and reign in my temper, “My type? What kinda type do you think I am?”

  “Relax, sweetheart, I’m not insulting you,” he tipped his head back one last time to finish the beer before sliding in back to me and nodding at me to request another.

  “You know you seem to have an awful lot of answers for someone who’s here alone tonight,” I placed my hand on my hip and popped it to the side.

  “Who says I’m here alone?” He shrugged as he lifted the fresh beer.

  “You’ve been talking to me and not once has anybody come up to you,” I shrugged before placing my elbows on the bar and leaning forward. I pressed my arms together just enough to cause my breasts to be on full display and watched as he slowly became tongue-tied.

  “Maybe I was hoping to hang out with you,” he winked before sitting back and glancing at something behind me. When I turned around, Tiff was grinning at me with a knowing smile. She’d seen me flirt many times in the past, and by the look on her face, she definitely approved of this guy.

  “You gotta try a line better than that if you want to hang out with me,” I sighed as I began wiping the bar again.

  “How long you gotta be here tonight?” He shifted on his seat and I could only imagine he was adjusting himself.

  “’Til two and nice try, by the way,” I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest.

  “Nice try?” His forehead wrinkled as he looked at me with confusion written all over his face.

  “I’m not leaving with you…you haven’t earned the right…yet,” I pulled my lower lip into my mouth and nibbled on it lightly.

  “Damn,” he muttered and shifted again. “What’s your name?” He leaned forward as his eyes scanned me again. “Do you live around here?” He sat back and waited for me to answer.

  “What’s with all the questions?” I narrowed my gaze. “I don’t think I know enough about you to be opening up like that?”

  “Fair enough,” he nodded. “What do you want to know?”

  I knew this was my chance. It was my chance to find out how Dev had gotten from New York to Chicago, and why he didn’t recognize me. We’d been so wrapped up in each other back then that I thought he’d at least pretend to know me. I mean, I’ve changed the way I look slightly, but it’s still me…my mannerisms are the same, at least I think they are. Other than ditching the glasses and cutting my hair, the rest is still the old me…well, the “me” he knew. I was Emily back then. That identity lasted the longest. Maybe that was why I’d become so attached to him. I’d had enough time to almost forget what my life was like, and be normal. I was Emily for almost a year, and Dev was the one thing over all those years that I would have given up my safety for. I loved him, and seeing this man in front me was bringing it all back. “What’s your name? Let’s start there,” I shrugged.

  I watched as the cocky expression slipped for a moment, but it was back in place so fast that I’d almost missed the subtle change. “Does it matter?” He smirked as he asked.

  “You want me to go home with you, and you don’t think I should know your name? YES! It matters,” I gasped.

  “Brian,” he cocked his head to the side and stared at me.

  “Brian,” I repeated, as I shook my head slowly. He wasn’t who I thought he was after all. He was someone totally different.

  “Not what you were expecting?” He reached out and nudged my arm bringing me out of my thoughts.

  “It’s nothing,” I sighed. “I just thought you were someone else.”

  “Really,” his smiled slipped again but he forced it back in place as he barreled on, “Someone you liked maybe?”

  “You could say that,” I lifted a shoulder and turned to the side to grab another beer. His was low again, and after finding out he wasn’t Dev, I was even more intrigued. Who was this guy, and why did he look so much like the boy I used to love? Were they brothers? Cousins? Was it just an odd coincidence that they looked alike?

  “I’m good,” he broke into my thoughts once again as he pointed to the full bottle in my hand. “I need to get out here. I think you guys are going to be closing soon.”

  I glanced around the bar, and quickly realized that it was indeed close to closing time. Most of the customers had left and Tiff and Lauren were already working on their closing tasks. “I guess you’re right,” I laughed. “You’re distracting.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he chuckled before standing and putting on a black leather jacket. With the tight fitting t-shirt and ripped jeans he looked the part of a bad ass. Too bad that seemed to be the type I wanted lately. There was something about him though, even with the cocky attitude and the sexy clothes, he still seemed like a nice guy who was trying to be different. “If you’re not going to come home with me, can I at least get a name?” his voice lowered as he leaned over and placed his elbows on the bar. “I want to be able to ask for you the next time I’m in here.”

  I tho
ught about it for a second before deciding what the hell? Who knows how long I’ll be here, and the name I’m using at the moment doesn’t connect me to anything. “Mallory,” I leaned over the bar and mirrored his stance.

  “Well, Mallory, it was nice talking with you,” he licked his lower lip and stared at my mouth before his shook his head. “I’ll be back, and I’ll change your mind about being my friend.”

  “Maybe you’re just not my type,” I shrugged as I backed up.

  “Nah…that can’t be it,” he bent down to grab something, and when he stood back up, he had a black helmet in his hands. “I’m everyone’s type,” he held his hands out to his sides before spinning around and striding for the door. “See you later, Mallory,” he lifted the hand that held the helmet before disappearing through the door and out onto the street.

  “Who the hell was that?” Tiff gasped from behind me.

  “I have no idea, but I’m sure I’ll find out,” I turned to look at her. “He wanted me to leave with him.”

  “And why didn’t you? He’s hot!” She shook her head as she tsked me.

  “I don’t know. He seemed different,” I mumbled.

  “Different how?” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at me.

  “Like he could mean something; I don’t know if I’m ready for that,” I sighed as I removed the towel from my waist, tossed my bottle opener on the bar, and grabbed my purse. “I like my life right now. I don’t know if I’m ready for that kinda change,” I pointed to the door where Brian had left before turning one last time to look at Tiff. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I sighed before turning to leave. I needed to get away from the bar, and away from thoughts of Brian. They were dragging up all the old memories of Dev, and I wasn’t sure I could go through any of that again.