“No, just same old me,” he says shrugging. That is so not true. He looks subtly different, but you can tell he’s trying to impress someone.
“My bad. You just look really handsome, that’s all,” I say being honest, trying not to sound flirty.
“Well, thanks Em. Just trying to keep up with you, because you always look amazing,” he says beaming at me. Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck! I hope he’s just being his usual flirty self.
“Ha, good one,” I say trying to sweep that comment under the rug. “Are you taking over at the bar so I can replace Leslie?” I ask him. He looks over at me, noticing the abrupt change in conversation.
“Yeah. She looks like she’s about to fall down actually. Just make sure you don’t work yourself too hard,” he says smiling.
“I’m tough. I think I got it. Thanks bro,” I say, jokingly elbowing him in the arm. He starts laughing. Yes! Awkwardness averted.
I start to walk over to Leslie, to tell her that I’m ready to take over for her.
“Thanks girl. You just saved my ass. Those guys at the pool table are being even bigger dicks than usual. Are you sure you can handle them. You know, after the other night?” she asks concerned. Shit, she must have been one of the few people who saw what happened between Todd and me.
“Yeah, I’m cool. This place is pretty packed tonight, so I doubt they’ll start shit. Worse comes to worse, I’ll just tell Lucas, and he can take care of them,” I say smiling. She looks irritated now. Fuck, I think she really likes him and probably thinks I’m the bitch intruding on her territory.
“Yeah, Lucas,” she says irritated before she walks away. Yeah, she definitely likes him.
I start to serve more beers to her tables, and I hear, “Leslie!” coming from the pool tables. Shit, now I have to go over there. I had hoped they forgot about drinking anymore tonight. Just my luck!
“She’s on break right now, but I’ll be there soon!” I yell back.
Ok, Emma. Keep your cool. Try to be friendly and accommodating to them, even if they are drunken pigs. I casually walk over to them to see what they’re choice of alcohol is. Shit, please don’t recognize me!
“What can I get you guys?” I ask looking around, trying to not make full eye contact with Todd. I notice his three other d-bag friends and another guy I’ve never laid eyes on before. He has caramel skin and dark buzzed hair. He looks like he’s in his mid-twenties, like me, with tattooed sleeves on his arms and a few on his neck. I also notice that his hands have black marks on them; like grease or something.
I see him eying me and not in an approachable way. His eyes are obscure and unfriendly, almost like he’s picking me apart, inch by inch. I feel a chill rush up my spine, a dark sensation radiating from him. Wow, I haven’t felt that before; from anyone. Not even Todd.
“You’re not Leslie.” I hear Todd say, snapping me out of my stupor with scary dude.
“Yeah, she’s on break right now.” Duh, I told you that earlier dumb-fuck. “What can I get you?” I ask repeating myself. I see Todd and his friends looking me up and down. God, I love being viewed like a slab of meat!
“You’re really cute. I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before,” he says sounding slightly drunk already. Oh wow, what a great line; never heard that one before. God, this asshole is just full of clichés.
“Yeah, I just started recently. Should I just get you some more Coronas?” I ask looking at their empty bottles. Please just stop the chit chat, and let me do my fucking job.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he says looking at me intently. I walk away and notice that he’s talking to his friends now. I can’t hear their conversation, but I’m inwardly cringing. Fuck, this isn’t a good sign.
I come back to their table and place their cold beers on it. I notice that they’ve stopped playing pool and are checking me out even more than before. I’ll be surprised if I can even walk by the end of the night; I’ve been eye-fucked way too many times to count.
I start to walk away, not wanting to interact with these guys any longer, but I feel someone grab my wrist. “Hey, don’t leave yet,” Todd slurs. “You look really familiar you know. Reminds me of this bitch we met here a few nights ago. But your hair is different than hers was,” he says smirking. Fucking bastard!
I snatch my hand away from his grip, to his evident surprise. I guess his reflexes have slowed due to his excessive alcohol consumption.
“Don’t you ever touch me. Next time you do, I’ll kick you right in your fucking cojones and give a whole new meaning to the term blue balls. Got me?” I say fuming. I’m really getting sick of this shit. He looks slightly irritated, but then I start to see a flicker of recognition come across his face.
“You are the same bitch; Emma, isn’t it?” he sneers. “You look a little different with your hair, but you’re still the same slut from the other night,” he says loud enough for his friends to hear but no one else. This guy is fucking dumb if he thinks he can intimidate me in a room full of people.
“Get the fuck out of here. And take your friends with you,” I say, glaring at him. I then see the dark guy staring at me with abhorrence in his eyes. Wow, women-hater much? I know for a fact that Leo wouldn’t tolerate this treatment of any of his employees, so I feel confident in my decision to kick them out.
“I don’t take orders from bar skanks,” he says laughing. His friends laugh too, but none of them have said anything to me or given me trouble. The only one that worries me, besides Todd, is woman hater. He gives me the creeps.
I realize that he won’t listen to me, so I start to walk away and tell Leo what went down. I want this situation to be rectified a.s.a.p. before I lose my fucking mind.
I look over at the bar and see Lucas regarding me with wide-eyes. What? I feel a hand grab my shoulder, and I’m spun around roughly. I see Todd leering down at me. He starts to say, “Where do you think…” but, I knee him in the groin before he can finish. I keep kicking him there, and he falls to the ground, groaning in pain.
“I said don’t you ever touch me!” I scream at him. Probably not the most professional thing to do, but I’m well past being employee of the month. Vigilante of the month is more my style.
I look over at his friends, and they look like they just shit their pants. All except for male chauvinist though; he looks amused, but in a sick, twisted way. Almost like he enjoyed watching everything go down. For some unknown reason, I get the feeling if I did that to him, I’d be sorry. I hear Lucas’s voice close behind me.
“Fuck, Em. What happened? Are you okay?” he asks with concern. I look over at him and notice that everyone in the bar has looked over at the commotion as well. I see Leo rush over and ask me the same question. I snap out of my daze, my adrenaline still pumping through my veins.
“Todd, this guy on the ground, grabbed me several times and made crude comments. I told him to leave, and he freaked out on me. His friends just watched the entire time. They didn’t say anything to me, but they didn’t stop him either,” I say with satisfaction. I still hear Todd on the ground trying to catch his breath. Ha, I probably kicked his junk back up inside his body!.
“I want you guys to leave, and never come back to my bar again. Pick your friend up off the floor, and take his sorry ass with you,” Leo says with the most irate and firm tone I’ve ever heard. Way to go Leo! You’re a total badass for an old-timer.
I see Todd’s three friends help him up, but woman hater just walks ahead of them, not acknowledging his presence. When they get to the door, he smirks back at me. I never knew that a smile could be so malevolent and carry so much intent. Like he was smiling at me, guaranteeing that there would be retribution for my actions. What the fuck did I do to this guy?!
I feel a hand on my shoulder and see Leo next to me. “Are you okay, Emma? You can leave early if you want,” he says to me. I see Lucas standing next to him, his fists compressed on both sides of him.
“No, I’m ok. Thanks for looking out for me and making them leave. That
was pretty awesome,” I say in awe.
“Yeah, well no one treats you that way around me. Aiden would kick my old ass if I even let anyone give you a hard time,” he says seriously. Shit! Did Aiden talk to him about me? How embarrassing. He sees my reaction and smiles.
“Hey, we just talked a little about it the other day. He was worried about you, and I made him a promise to look out for you,” he says pausing. “I can tell he really cares about you, Emma. I’ve never seen a guy do that for his woman. Don’t let that one go; he’s a keeper,” he says reassuring me. I guess it was a really sweet thing to do. It shows how much Aiden cares about my safety.
“Yeah, he is a good guy, huh?” I say laughing lightly.
“Well, I guess we better get back to work then,” he says, “Sorry everybody. Everything’s good now,” he yells to crowd. They immediately go back to their drinks and meals, as if nothing happened.
Leo walks away, but Lucas is still next to me, livid. Shit, he’s still looks wound up after all of that. I grab his hand and drag him into the kitchen to cool off. He looks down at his hand in mine, and I swiftly release my hold.
“Hey, Lucas. They’re gone now, and I’m fine, so no worries ok?” I say to him.
“Those fucking drunken assholes! I just wanted to kick all of their asses for treating you that way,” he says heatedly. Damn, he’s mad.
I go over to him and hug him while patting his back, trying to calm him down. “I’m sure you could’ve taken all of them. That would have been an unfair fight, though,” I say trying to lighten the mood. I pull away from him, but he just pulls me back, squeezing me gently. I feel his breath against my ear.
“Em, I was so worried that you were going to get hurt.” Um, I think this is a little too close and personal for my liking. If Aiden saw me like this he would freak out, and I wouldn’t blame him. I was only trying to comfort Lucas, not invite him to practically spoon me. Shit, I have to stop this now.
Before I can, he pulls his mouth away from my ear and kisses my forehead. He looks down into my eyes, and I think he might kiss my lips next. Fuck!
“Hey girl. Are you ok?” I hear Leslie ask from behind us. Thank you Leslie! I owe you big time. We pull apart and look at her. She seems so wounded, probably from what it looked like we were doing.
“Yeah, I’m fine now. Just trying to stop Lucas from going after those guys and ripping off their heads,” I say laughing. Of course no one laughs at my attempt at humor; typical. Lucas looks like a grizzly bear, probably from being interrupted, and Leslie looks like a kicked puppy.
“Ok, well I’m glad,” she says and quickly walks away. Ugh, I feel so bad for her. It must suck seeing the guy you like with someone else. I can’t even imagine what that feels like!
I look over at Lucas and try to fix whatever almost happened between us. “Ok, back to work! We have some to tips to make!” I say energetically. Damn, this is so weird between us now. I hope he takes the hint and backs off of me. I see him rub his jaw, looking frustrated but finally smirking.
“Yeah, you’re right. Race you there?” he says. What? I see him jog to the bar, and I run off after him laughing. Oh, thank God! Hopefully we can be just friends again. I mentally cross my fingers, hoping for the best.
Chapter 10
About fifteen minutes before the end of my shift, I start cleaning up and saying goodbye to customers. I run to the back room and start replenishing empty alcohol at the bar. I notice someone sit down in my section and cringe. Please don’t be here long, because I really want to go home and to be with Aiden!
I walk over to him, plastering a phony smile on my face to see what I can get him. From behind I can see broad shoulders and short hair, almost black.
“What can I get…” my jaw drops before I can finish my question. I notice that he looks suspiciously familiar. His piercing green eyes hold mine, and I glance down his face. A strong nose, full lips with dimples on each side catch my attention, followed by a smooth, sharp jawline. Aiden? What the fuck?! It looks like him, but a way less hairy version. Like a freshly shaved Grizzly Adams.
“Hey, baby. I’m guessing you like what you see,” he says smirking. Uh, yeah this is unquestionably my Aiden, and I really fucking like what I see.
“Um,” is all that I can seem to say. I found the old Aiden sexy, but this one is gorgeous. Now I get why he was a rock star. There’s no way a guy that looks like this could have a normal nine to five job. Not going to happen.
“I didn’t know ‘um’ was a word. Fuck, Emma. I’m glad I shaved and cut my hair. It will be much easier to seduce you now,” he says chuckling. That sneaky bastard! How dare he look hot and tempt me. He fights dirty all right. Snap out of it, Emma!
“Yeah, fine. You look good I guess. But I’m telling you right now; still sticking to my ‘no fucking’ policy,” I say, but with less conviction. I know for a fact that he notices my wavering.
“We’ll see, brat. Can I get a drink, or should I let you continue you’re salivating?” he says. God, he’s really having a good time at my expense. So conceited!
“A coke, right?” I ask, remembering what Lucas told me about his favorite drink. He looks up at me, wondering how I knew that’s what he orders. I think he realizes that Lucas probably told me, his smile dissolving. Shit!
“Yeah” he says severely, and I walk away, mentally kicking myself. You never learn bitch.
I grab his drink and set it down on the table in front of him. He takes it without regarding me. I frown and go over to clock out, because my shift has finally ended.
While I’m walking out from the back, I see Lucas. “Bye, Lucas. I’m off tomorrow, so I guess I’ll see you the day after,” I say smiling, trying to be friendly but not overly so.
“Your man looks different,” he says pointing over to Aiden. Obviously he caught a glimpse of the new ‘makeover’.
“Yeah, he just shaved and cut his hair. No biggie,” I say getting the feeling that Aiden’s new look doesn’t go over well with everyone; weird. Why should Lucas care what he looks like? I wave goodbye to him, not wanting Aiden to see us chatting too long. To my horror, Lucas stops me, his smile returning
“Goodbye hug?” he asks sweetly. Ugh, this is just a repeat of yesterday. I go over to him and give a quick side hug. At the last second, he kisses my check. Shit! I pull away and see Aiden looking over at us, pissed. Just fucking great!
“What the hell, Lucas?!” I groan, annoyed. He looks a little uncomfortable now by my outburst, and I feel a little remorse for him; not much though.
“Ugh, I’ll see later, ok? Friends?” I ask, hoping to disperse the unpleasant mood in the air. He smiles, but I notice hurt in his eyes.
“Yeah, friends. Later, Em,” he says walking away. Damn, why are men so complicated?! They’re more emotional than women!
I walk over to Aiden and try to explain what he saw, but he cuts me off. “Why didn’t you tell me about those guys who were in here earlier? Leo just filled me in on tonight’s little spectacle,” he says fuming. Shit! Leo, you traitor! I was going to tell him about it later on tonight. I didn’t want him getting mad and coming over to bar while I was working.
“I was going to when we got home. Telling you at work and you making a scene, wasn’t something I wanted to deal with,” I say snapping at him. I understand that he was worried about me, but his tone just put me on the defense.
“Fine. We’ll go home, and you can share with me all of what fucking happened,” he says. We start walking out the door, and Aiden looks over at the bar. “Thanks, Leo,” he says gruffly.
“Uh, no problem. Bye, Emma. Enjoy your day off,” he says looking guilty. When Aiden looks away, he mouths to me, “Sorry.” Yeah, thanks for getting me in trouble! I still wave goodbye to him, though. I know he meant well.
We walk over to Aiden’s bike and put on our helmets in silence. He starts the engine, and we go off into the night. On the way home, I just think that every time we go one step forward, we move two steps back. I can�
�t decide if Aiden has an anger problem in general or if it’s just me that brings it out in him. Uh, not a good thing either way.
We get home, and I grudgingly drag myself into the house. He goes over to the couch and takes off his jacket and gloves, throwing them on the back of it. He sits down and motions for me to park myself down next to him.
“Ok, tell me what happened,” he says sighing. Shit, he means business.
“Well, I was serving that guy Todd from the other night and his friends. He had been drinking, but he finally remembered me. He gave me a hard time, and I kneed him in his crown jewels. Leo saw this happen and kicked them out of the bar,” I say, obviously leaving out important details. In all fairness though, I told the gist of the story.
“What did he do to make you kick him in the balls?” he asks rigidly.
“Um, well, he called me some bad names and grabbed my wrist. When I told him to leave, he grabbed my shoulder, and that’s when I struck him. It was pretty awesome actually,” I say trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah, some guy manhandling you and disrespecting you is fucking awesome!” he spits out.
“I can’t believe I let you work there! Around a bunch of young punks that have no respect for women and like to get wasted.” What the fuck? I’m not his child. I’m his fucking girlfriend.
“You let me work there?!” I say fuming. “Last time I checked, I’m a grown fucking woman who can take care of herself. It’s not like this happened in a dark back alley or something. This happened in a bar, with a bunch of people there. Nothing else would’ve happened, Aiden,” I say exasperated.
“What am I supposed to do? Never have a job, because I have boobs and a vagina? Some men will never fully respect women, but that’s just something that I have to deal with. I’m not going to stop doing something over any man. Not even you!” I say incredulously.
“Fuck, Emma! That’s not what I meant,” he says, running a hand through his non-existent hair. “I just don’t want anybody hurting you, ok? Your mine, and I and will do everything and anything in my power to see you safe. This shit has happened twice in the last few days, and I don’t want you working there anymore. Lucas being all over you is just icing on the cake. Every time I look over at you guys, he’s practically fucking you with clothes on!” he yells. Wow, he’s totally irrational and out of line.
We Fight, We Fall Page 11