“Sorry,” I whispered.
She flung the blankets off her head. “You should be sorry! What the hell happened last night, Kaylie? You let me know you were taking Jackson to his parents’ house, that you got there safely, and then nothing else all night long. You’re damn lucky I didn’t call the cops out on your ass.”
“I am so sorry, Char. I don’t know what had happened. I think all the craziness from school, the show, and work just caught up with me. I was waiting for his dad to come back and fell sound asleep on the couch. I don’t even really remember going upstairs to crash in Aubrey’s room. If I had been more than half awake, you totally know that I would have let you know that I was just going to stay,” I apologized.
“You’re lucky I had Aubrey’s phone number handy. I sent her a text asking if she’d heard from you, so she checked with her mom for me,” she told me. “If not, I seriously would be pissed at you this morning. As it is, I barely got any sleep last night.”
I tossed a pillow at her. “So you knew all along where I was last night? What was up with the text messages then?”
“Oh, I sent those before I thought to check in with Aubrey. I wasn’t even sure I had her phone number, but you did a group text when we all went to that dance thing. Now shush. I want to try to catch a few more z’s before I have to be up. You know I need my beauty sleep.”
“Well I was trying to be quiet before you lit into me,” I reminded her.
“Whatever,” she muttered back at me, rolling away.
I pulled off my jeans and climbed under the sheets. It was a good thing Char was so tired and didn’t think to ask me more questions. I was pretty sure she’d have plenty of them for me when I told her that I was going to dinner with Jackson tomorrow night. I just didn’t know what my answers would be.
The rest of the day flew by, so I didn’t really have the chance to talk to Char about it. Or maybe I was just better able to avoid bringing it up to her. After my nap, I had finished up a term paper due Monday and then headed to the dance studio to get some extra practice time in. We had our senior showcase coming up pretty soon, and if I wanted any chance of getting work, then I needed to nail my performance. My aunt had disagreed with my decision to follow in my parents’ footsteps by coming to Blythe. She’d warned me that I was ruining my chances of dancing professionally.
As much as I hated to admit it, I thought she might be right. But I didn’t regret my decision at all. I’d been able to spend the last four years feeling closer to ever than my parents. Walking the same sidewalks they had back in the day, dancing in the same studio my mom had used, sitting in classrooms wondering how much they’d changed over the years… These were priceless moments for me. She might not have understood because she was still pissed that my mom had followed my dad here for school instead of going to New York. She would never understand my decision to do the same, but I couldn’t help but want to rub it in her face if I got an offer.
My desire to prove my aunt wrong spurred me on almost as much as my love for dance. She could have made my college years easier for me by offering her support, but she’d chosen not to and left me on my own for living expenses. She’d had no choice about covering my tuition, books, and room because of the terms of my dad’s trust. Their life insurance money had been set aside to make sure I could go to college if anything happened to them. My dad had been a planner like that, and school was really important to him. Which was why I hadn’t just majored in dance. I’d done a double with business administration too.
Pulling a double major with two completely unrelated subjects and working to support myself didn’t leave a whole lot of time for fun. Or boys. Char always told me that I used my schedule as an excuse to keep guys at arm’s length. It was easier to pick nice guys who let me keep my walls in place and didn’t ask for more than I was willing to give. Guys who were the complete opposite of Jackson Silver.
So why couldn’t I get him out of my head as I got ready for work? Thoughts of him had popped into my head all day, even while I’d been dancing. Now was the absolute worst time possible to find myself distracted by a guy, no matter how sexy he was.
That didn’t stop me from putting on extra makeup, wearing my tightest work shirt, and straightening my hair before pulling it back as I got ready for my shift though. I was checking my makeup in the mirror when Char came back into the room after her shower.
“Well don’t you just look pretty as a picture,” she teased.
I spun around in a circle like I was showing off a dress. “Why this old thing? I do believe you have one to match. Why don’t you throw it on and we can pretend to be twins!”
Since she was a fair-skinned redhead with green eyes and I was perpetually tan with dark brown hair and eyes to match, Char just rolled her eyes at me before throwing on her outfit, which pretty much matched mine except she went for a less naughty shirt tonight. Mine said “Want A Piece of Ass?” on the front and had the recipe for the drink on the back. I usually didn’t wear this one since it inevitably resulted in lots of cheesy pickup lines, but I was in the mood to stir up a little trouble tonight. I was sure I’d be serving a lot of shots made with amaretto, Southern Comfort, and sour. At least our boss would appreciate the bump in sales.
“What’s up with the sassy shirt, hair, and makeup?” Char finally asked while we were driving to the bar. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t love it, but it seems a bit out of the ordinary for you.”
“I just felt like doing something different,” I answered.
“And?”
“And nothing. It’s just a change of pace. That’s all,” I argued
“Kaylie, you hate change. I mean, I totally get why with what happened after your parents passed away, but you are the poster child for structure and organization. You never wear that shirt, let alone on the busiest day of the weekend when you know there will be a ton of drunk guys at the bar. I know you too well. Something’s going on.”
Luckily, we were already close to work so she couldn’t grill me too much. “Well, I kind of have a date with Jackson tomorrow night for dinner. Not like a date date. Just a thank-you dinner for helping him out.”
Char looked at me doubtfully. “And your casual thank-you dinner that isn’t a date made you decide to go for broke tonight and drive all the guys crazy? Clue me in because I don’t see the connection.”
“I don’t know. Maybe a part of me, a very small part, kind of hopes that he stops by tonight. And after sitting across from him at breakfast in my clothes from the night before without any makeup, I wouldn’t mind looking really nice if he does. That’s all.”
“Whoa, breakfast?” she asked. “You didn’t mention having breakfast with Jackson. Or that he’s taking you to dinner. And there’s only one reason I can think of that you wouldn’t have spilled the beans right away. You like him! I knew it. Winning!”
“Geesh, what are you, twelve?” I huffed.
“Sometimes, yes. But in this case, I am your super-intuitive roommate slash best friend slash co-worker who knows you better than you know yourself sometimes. And I’m super excited that y’all are going to dinner tomorrow night. Even if you refuse to call it a date.”
“That’s because it’s not a date, Char! It’s not like he asked me out because he’s interested,” I pointed out as I parked the car.
“Is he taking you somewhere to eat and paying for your meal after picking you up?” she asked.
“Grrr, you are so frustrating!” I grumbled as I got out of the car and slammed the door.
“Which is just another way of saying that I’m right and you know it,” Char said, flicking my ponytail. “It’s a date. With Jackson Silver, who has probably never had to take a girl to dinner to get in her panties. Oooh, boy! I’d love to be a fly on that wall. I can’t wait to hear how it all goes.”
I held the door open for her as we walked in, arguing along the way. “I’m sure there won’t be much to tell. He asked me to dinner because it’s what his mom e
xpected him to do.”
“Yeah, right. That boy could have found another way to say thanks that didn’t involve spending the evening with you. Besides, you said he flirted you up a bit before. That means he is interested. Just promise me that you won’t have sex with him right away. Let him savor the thrill of the hunt. I made Shane chase me a bit and look how well that’s turned out.”
“Jesus, Char,” I hissed. “Keep your voice down.”
“So uptight. You better pull B.O.B. out tonight to work off some of that frustration before your big date,” she stage-whispered.
“Big date, huh?” I heard Jason, one of the servers, say from behind me as he tapped me on the shoulder. “If you needed to let off some steam, you know you could have just called me, Kaylie. I’d be more than happy to let you use me any way you want.”
Jason was a huge player, possibly even more so than Jackson. We all swore that he only worked at the bar because it gave him the chance to pick up drunk girls every night. Not that he was ugly or anything and needed the beer goggles to work in his favor. But a guy who I had overheard telling his buddies that last call was like shooting fish in a barrel? I don’t think so.
I pulled away from him and walked around the bar. I needed to run through my set-up checklist and make sure we were all stocked for the night.
“Gee, thanks for that oh-so-tempting offer, Jason. But I think I’ll have to pass.”
Char just laughed as she followed me behind the bar. “Whoopsie. I didn’t realize he could hear me. Sorry about that.”
“I should make you do breakdown again tonight as punishment.”
“Ooh, punish me baby,” she cooed back.
I pointed to her side of the bar. “Get to work, you brat!”
The first couple hours of our shift passed by without too much craziness as the bar started to fill up. I found myself watching the door each time it opened, wondering if Jackson would stop by. I didn’t know why I thought he would since he wasn’t a regular or anything. It was just this weird feeling I had after the look he’d given me when I said I couldn’t do dinner tonight because of work. Like the wheels had been turning in his head.
After a while, it got busy and I stopped watching the door. There was a group of guys that were getting particularly rowdy, none of whom I recognized so they were probably in town for a game or something. They had that jock look about them, and they were definitely in the running for the most irritating customers of the night. One of them came up to buy their next round of drinks and headed straight towards me. I’d been lucky enough to avoid them so far, as Char had gotten them the last two times, but I guessed they’d taken her at her word when she assured them that she was already taken and not interested.
A huge grin spread across his face when his eyes dropped to take in my boobs and he realized what my shirt said. “Hell yeah! I want a piece of ass if that’s what you’re offering. You certainly look like a hot one, darlin’,” he drawled.
I played along. “Well who am I to turn a paying customer down?”
“Hot damn!” he crowed, leaning towards me over the bar.
“Ah, ah, ah. Down, boy. Just give me a second,” I said as I gathered the ingredients for his drink. I batted my eyelashes at him as I chilled the shot in the ice shaker. I gave him a flirty grin as I poured into the shot glass and nudged it towards him. “Here you go.”
“A drink before we head out?” he asked.
“Head out where?” I played dumb, as though I had no idea he thought he was going to get lucky with me.
“You know,” he said as he gestured at my shirt.
“But that’s what that is,” I said.
“That’s what what is?” he asked, not getting the point.
“What you asked for a piece of ass. And it’ll be five bucks please.”
He just looked down at the drink and back up at me again. Either the alcohol was slowing his brain down or he wasn’t the brightest guy in the world. To make sure he got it, I turned around so he could read the back of my shirt. And finally the light bulb went off.
“Well, shit. That hardly seems fair to name a drink like that and get a guy’s hopes up and all,” he complained.
“But just think, you could buy a round for your friends and brag about getting them all a piece of ass tonight. How often can you do that?”
Luckily, he took it in stride and bought a round for his friends. He tried his hand at chatting me up while I was busy preparing his order. I had everything finished up and was grabbing a tray when he got quiet all of the sudden.
When I turned back around, Jackson was sitting next to him. He looked amazing in a bright blue t-shirt and dark jeans, but the look on his face and the tattoo peeking out of his sleeve made him look dangerous. And he was shooting daggers at country boy. Daggers that were then aimed at me as soon as he realized what my shirt said.
“Here’s your round,” I said. “That will be twenty-five dollars in all. The first one’s on the house for being such a good sport.”
He glanced at Jackson before handing me some cash. “Keep the change. It’s just a damn shame that all the hot bartenders around here are taken,” he said as he walked away.
“Jackson,” I greeted him. “What can I get you?”
“Do you sell shirts?” he growled.
I wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but we sold the shit out of the novelty shirts the staff wore. “We do,” I said cautiously as I pointed to the display that was pinned to the ceiling above the bar.
His gaze skimmed over the selection and landed on one that just said The Roost with a picture of a rooster on it. “How about that one in a size small?” he asked.
“Sure. We don’t sell many of those. It’ll be twenty bucks.”
He slammed a twenty onto the bar and just stared at me. I grabbed a shirt for him from the stash in the storage room, but he just shook his head at me when I tried to give it to him. “I asked for a small. That would be a little tight on me, don’t you think?”
“I figured it was for your sister or something.”
His gaze dropped back down to my shirt for a moment. “It’s for you, Kaylie. I’d hate to have to start a brawl over what you’re wearing right now.”
“Wait, what?” I asked, stunned that he’d seriously just bought me a different shirt because he wanted me to change.
“You heard me. I want you to change out of the shirt you have on into one that won’t make every guy here think that he might have a chance to take you home tonight. Unless you really are into picking guys up in bars even though you said you weren’t just this morning.”
“And I would do this because why exactly?”
“Because you don’t want me to get into a fight where you work. Or you feel sorry for these schmucks who seriously think you’d offer them a piece of your ass after your shift,” he murmured. “Or how about because you want to make me happy? Do any of those reasons work for you, Kaylie? If not, I am sure I can come up with more.”
Char walked up, looked at the shirt between us on the bar, and took in the expression on Jackson’s face. She gave him a quick nod before turning to me. “I can cover for you down here if you need to take a quick break,” she offered.
She didn’t say anything more than that, but I knew what the real message was. If I was interested in Jackson, I should take the shirt and change. Shane would have pulled the exact same stunt if he’d come up and found her wearing the shirt I was in now. She and I both knew that, and she was subtly letting me know what she would do if she were in my shoes.
But Shane was her boyfriend and had been for years. Jackson was just a guy who owed me a favor and was taking me out to dinner to repay it. Did I really want to let him get away with bossing me around like this? Then again, I was getting awfully tired of the comments from the male customers tonight. And this was why I never wore this shirt anyway. It was just too much trouble in the first place.
“Thanks, Char. I think I’ll take you up on that offer. I could us
e a moment to myself if you don’t mind too much,” I answered before grabbing the shirt off the bar and stomping into the back office.
I nudged the door with my foot to close it and whipped off my shirt to change into the new one before I realized that Jackson had followed me.
“Shit, Jackson!” I swore while glaring at him over my bare shoulder. “You can’t be back here like this. You’re going to get into trouble.”
“The owner won’t get mad at me for coming into the office. He’s friends with my parents and our bank carries the loan on this place,” he replied as he turned the lock on the doorknob. “So I guess the only person I can get into trouble with would be you, Kaylie. And I’m not really worried about that right now because I think you should be the one concerned about getting into trouble with me instead.”
I pulled the new shirt on and turned to face him. “See, here’s the thing, Jackson. You’re not the boss of me. You don’t have a say in what I choose to wear. That guy at the bar might have thought you were my boyfriend, but that doesn’t make it so.”
“What if I wanted to be the boss of you?” he asked. He must have seen the confused look on my face, because he went on. “I’m not here for the drinks or the ambiance, Kaylie. I’m here because I couldn’t get you out of my head today. I knew I was going to see you tomorrow and I didn’t want to wait that long. I came to see you, and it turned out to be a damn good thing that I did because there you were with that shirt showing off your tits, offering up piece of ass shots, and putting ideas into other guys’ heads”
“But I thought you didn’t date?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t used to date,” he disagreed. “But I think that’s one rule that’s about to change. You said yes to dinner tomorrow night, so I guess I should say it’s a rule that’s already changed because of you.”
“You’re just taking me out to dinner tomorrow night because you wanted to thank me for helping you out and you’re mom expects it of you,” I argued.
The Blythe College Complete Series Box Set Page 24