Other than that, they had mainly talked about the new direction for the restaurant. Paula had written about her hunt for an angel outfit, and Alyssa had also reported back on their costume shopping. Starshine would have to go to a Halloween store to get an eye patch and pirate gear. This act thing shouldn’t be too hard—and it would add some nice flavor to her report.
As she slid her phone into her locker, she realized that Kylie was still watching her with those dark eyes. Of course, Starshine probably looked pretty dodgy at the moment. She decided to be extra-friendly to curb Kylie’s suspicions. If she killed her with kindness, Kylie wouldn’t be able to suspect her of anything—and this thing should go off without a hitch, the way it should. Just a few more weeks here, and then she could get back to her normal life.
“How’s your bad girl routine coming?” she asked, locking her locker. “Did you get everything you need?”
Kylie looked amused. “No routine needed,” she drawled. “I’m just going to go up there and be myself.”
There was something decidedly flirtatious about the way she drew out her words and lingered on the important parts. Starshine wished Kylie was flirting. More than that, she wished she had the opportunity to flirt back. But that was off the table.
“That sounds good,” Starshine said. “I’m sure you’re going to kill it.”
There was no doubt about that. From everything Starshine had seen of Kylie, she could pull off the bad girl thing. The first impression she gave was being tough and blunt and street-smart—all of which was true. Not only did she not give a shit about anything, she took no shit from anyone. She may have been sweet and caring, but that was underneath. The sound of her drawl set Starshine’s heart racing. And she wasn’t the only one.
Men loved bad girls, after all. Starshine had spent a little too much time taking notes on Kylie’s seductive prowess. Kylie could generally get anyone that she wanted. On the rare occasion that she was rejected, she accepted it with a lazy shrug. Why would she care? There were plenty more guys—and girls—who would be interested.
Starshine wasn’t like her at all. Now that she was working at Jubblies, she had put on a confident, almost cocky mask. She pretended she didn’t care that she was walking around without many clothes on. She said things to customers that made her inner Stella blush.
“Well, see you out there,” Kylie said.
She headed out, and Starshine followed her back with her eyes.
Yes, she was wearing a mask in this space. And no one could ever find out what was under it.
Five
Kylie perched on the table and ran her fingers along the man’s arm. Another time, she might have focused on her flirting. Right now, her mind was only on the woman she had just left in the change room. What exactly was up with Starshine?
She forced her mind back to the man in front of her. “Are you enjoying your drink?” she asked, gesturing to his glass of whiskey.
“Very much,” he said, giving her what she assumed he meant as a seductive smile. “But we’d actually like a bottle of champagne.”
Kylie grinned. Big spending meant big tips. “Let me go grab a bottle, and I’ll be right back.”
She headed over to the bar. “You must sell more bottles than any other waitress,” the bartender said as he gave it to her.
“What can I say?” Kylie laughed. “Men love trying to impress me.”
She and the bartender shot the shit when they got the chance, and Kylie would have stayed to make small talk with him now if she hadn’t been in a hurry to get this money. This tip could be almost as much as her salary for the night.
With the champagne bucket in hand, Kylie returned to the table. She popped the bottle expertly, and fizz ran down the side. She poured each person a drink, then perched in a seat and prepared to flirt her butt off. She didn’t even feel bad about it. Any shame she’d once had was gone after working here for so long.
The men gulped down their champagne, drinking it all. It occurred to Kylie that some girls would have been turned on by them. They weren’t bad-looking—early thirties, full heads of hair, and no wedding rings.
Her fantasies were focused on Starshine’s tanned skin and kissable lips instead. That girl turned her on more than any man who had ever set foot in this place. And none of the other waitresses got under Kylie’s skin quite like Starshine.
When the first man finished his glass, he sat back and held it out for more. As Kylie made small talk, she wondered what was going on with Starshine. Those messages had been strange. She’d been curious every time a new one had showed up on the phone.
Starshine was definitely up to something, but it could be anything. Kylie suspected she wouldn’t get a good answer out of Starshine if she were to just ask. She was pretty sure Starshine was a good girl, but she was missing something about her.
The person texting Starshine could simply be a friend asking for updates on Starshine’s life. Maybe something was going on and the friend was dying to know what happened. The tone had been more urgent, though, and Starshine wasn’t much of a storyteller.
Kylie glanced around. The restaurant was getting busier, and there were other tables she should serve soon. “Can I get you gentlemen anything else tonight?” She stroked one man’s shoulder.
“Maybe one thing.” The man’s shallow breathing alerted Kylie that he might be thinking of something that wasn’t on the menu. When she looked at his face, the lust in his eyes confirmed it. “You wouldn’t want to, uh…” he started, fidgeting in that way men did when they were horny.
Since he was having trouble getting the words out, Kylie took pity on him. “Ah, sorry. I’d love to, but that could get me in trouble.” Hopefully that spared his feelings.
“Oh, okay,” the man said, sounding disappointed. “We’re good for now, then. But feel free to change your mind.” He slid a bill into her hand.
Relieved, Kylie went to the next table. She wouldn’t have wanted a rushed workplace hook-up even if the man had been her type. Whether her partner was male or female, she liked to take her time and enjoy their body.
She didn’t have much of a preference in terms of gender. When she was around fourteen, it had occurred to her that girls could get her hot just as easily as boys.
Luckily her family was pretty open-minded, if conservative. There was no drama when she came home one day and said she had a girlfriend. Even though the teenage romance hadn’t lasted, she was heartened by her family’s support. Even her grandparents didn’t mind. They probably would have preferred to see her with a man, but they never openly said it.
As she walked to the kitchen with one table’s order, she noted the restaurant was half-full, as usual. She wondered if more people would start showing up now that Tony was making changes. She hoped there would be enough customers to keep the place open, but not much more than that. She had no desire to be kept busier than she already was.
She caught sight of Starshine sitting at one table, talking to a group of customers. She had a big smile on her face, a genuine one, which made Kylie wonder. Starshine tried to look tough, but somehow it never felt quite real. She wasn’t quite the same as the other waitresses. There was something fake about her—as if she wasn’t the person she claimed to be.
Maybe she’d had a sheltered upbringing, or maybe she was wealthier than the others. Something had made her less rough around the edges. Kylie was still attracted to her, but the more she saw Starshine interact with the customers, the more sure she was that Starshine wasn’t like the rest of them.
Kylie rubbed her eyes. The act thing would be interesting. At the front of the room, Chloe spoke to some customers at the hostess station. Kylie squinted at her, recalling that she was going to do a cop act. There was something there, some connection she was failing to make. She pursed her lips and walked on.
Later on in the evening, Kylie went toward the back hall, intending to fix up her mascara and eyeliner. As soon as she pulled the change room door open, the sound of a v
oice made her consider turning back. It sounded like a private conversation.
Still, she had to go inside. She eased into the room, trying not to disturb whoever was talking. When she saw it was Starshine, her heart beat a little harder and her ears perked up.
“...the interplay between the waitresses’ work personas and…”
Starshine trailed off, staring at Kylie. Her eyes were wide and panicked, as if Kylie wasn’t supposed to have heard what she’d just heard.
“Sorry, don’t stop your conversation. I’m just here for a minute,” Kylie said, spinning her lock as fast as she could.
Starshine put down her phone without even finishing her sentence. Now she was staring at Kylie with something dangerously close to guilt marring her perfect features.
As Kylie closed her locker, she decided her feelings about Starshine definitely weren’t just her imagination. She was up to something, no doubt about that.
She thought of Chloe’s act again, and something clicked in her mind.
Starshine had to be a cop.
Six
Starshine threw her phone into her locker, hoping Kylie hadn’t heard too much of what she’d said. She should’ve known she was taking too much of a risk by using her recorder. Her notes could have waited for later, but she’d worried she’d forget her idea. She’d been taking too many risks lately.
Losing her phone was sloppy in the first place. Her whole mission could have been ruined by that one stupid mistake. She needed to yell at Krista for sending such obvious text messages, too. They should’ve planned for the possibility of her phone being compromised.
She’d been getting so much great material, and she didn’t want to miss anything. It was all going to be amazing once she came out with her article. The exposé on Jubblies was going to shine a light on all the darkness in this place. Starshine planned to pull out all the dirt and tell the world about it.
People were fascinated by “breastaurants.” Even women were quietly curious. She had gold on her hands if she could just keep quiet and fly under everyone’s radar long enough to get it out there. She was close. She just had to be careful.
“So, having a good night?” Starshine asked, trying again to be friendly to Kylie. Her smile was weak, though, and her mouth twitched a little as she tried to smile. She wasn’t sure exactly what and how much Kylie had heard. She had to be more careful.
“Great,” Kylie said, reapplying her makeup at the mirror. “Just made an easy hundred in tips.”
Watching with a shiver, Starshine imagined coming up behind Kylie and kissing her neck. “You got a hundred? I think my biggest tip was fifty.”
Kylie shrugged, the reflection of her collarbone piercings gleaming at Starshine. “Sure. It’s not typical, but it happens. Men like to feel like big spenders, even if they don’t actually make a lot of money. They may hand over half their paycheck just for the feeling they get in that moment.”
“I never would’ve thought about that,” Starshine said, wishing she could scribble it down in her notebook. “How much is the most one of the waitresses has been tipped?”
“I don’t know.” The funny look Kylie gave Starshine told her she’d pushed too far. “You’d have to ask all the waitresses.”
“Okay, well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your night.” Starshine scratched her head under the bandana. Be extra-friendly. “Are you going to Paula’s place tonight?”
“Naw. Are you?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Although Kylie had been looking wary up to now, she gave Starshine a wide smile. “Do you want to hang out?”
Starshine licked her lips. If she wasn’t undercover, she would have taken the opportunity in a heartbeat. Kylie was so fucking sexy. Spending time with her would lead to crushing on her, and Starshine couldn’t have that.
“I shouldn’t,” she said. “My… my girlfriend is sick, and I have to take care of her.”
“Take care of her?” Kylie seemed to be finished with her makeup. She leaned against the locker, gorgeous in her shorts and crop top, and crossed her arms. “Making her some chicken soup and putting a hot towel on her head?”
Starshine’s cheeks heated up. The tough, cool attitude that she’d been putting on since she came here melted away when it was just her and Kylie. Even when she was with one of the other waitresses alone, she could keep up the act. Kylie just threw her off.
“That’s about right,” she said.
“It’s a shame that she’s sick,” Kylie said, her tone meaningful. “We should really hang out. I feel like I hardly know anything about you.”
“Maybe another time.”
“Like tomorrow?”
Starshine froze where she stood, not wanting to be pinned down to a specific date and time. She shouldn’t hang out with Kylie at all. It was just not going to go well.
“We’ll see about tomorrow,” she said. “Lindsay will probably still be sick.”
“I’ll text you and find out.”
The rest of the night passed without incident, which was a great relief to Starshine. As she woke up alone the next day, made lunch, and went to the gym, her phone stayed quiet.
The message arrived in the group chat around two, just as Starshine was sweeping the kitchen. Her heart skipped as soon as she heard the vibration, and she pushed the broom against the wall.
Kylie: Afternoon, girls.
Paula: Hey Kylie.
Chloe: Hey hey.
Kylie: S, you up yet?
Lying on her bed in the little apartment, Starshine scrolled through the messages. Since she was only in town for six months, she’d chosen the cheapest place available. Everything in the building was breaking down, but the bed kept her off the ground and the kitchen worked well enough for her to feed herself.
As she looked at the conversation, she considered simply not answering. Kylie was a little too curious, and it made her worry. Even if she was just being friendly, it could lead to nothing good.
But at this point, Kylie would be able to see that she had read everything. These damn smartphones made avoiding people impossible. She quickly typed out, Yo, what’s up?
Kylie: Just wondering what’s up with you and if Lindsay is feeling better.
Paula: Oh, Starshine, your girlfriend is sick?
Alyssa: Hey, when are we going to meet this girl?
With a grimace, Starshine rolled onto her front and propped herself on her elbows. What could she say to take the heat off?
Don’t know, she typed. She works all the time. I doubt you’ll get to meet her.
Alyssa: How about a picture?
Fuck, these girls didn’t give up. I don’t have one on my phone, Starshine wrote.
Kylie: So is she still sick?
Starshine: She’s not too bad. It was just a little food poisoning.
Paula: That’s good to hear.
The conversation seemed to stop there, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Kylie was getting seriously nosy, and the other girls were just following her lead. This was seriously worrying. Starshine had to nip it in the bud.
Maybe she had been wrong to make up a fake girlfriend. It had just seemed like a good way to keep people away from her. She had turned down a number of customers by saying she was taken. She’d also assumed it would help her fit in with the others. Who would have thought so many waitresses at a place like Jubblies would be gay or bisexual?
And the girls just got more curious over time. She should find a picture of some girl online. Surely that would shut them up. If they kept pushing, that was what she’d do… except that spinning a web of lies would only get her in deeper.
A better option might be faking a break-up. The only problem with that was Starshine’s coworkers might be overly sympathetic. They were such a great group of girls. She hated to mislead them like this.
With a sigh, she flipped onto her back again. A pile of old Snap That issues lay on the side table, and she reached for the top one. She needed to remind herself why she
was doing this.
Her words were going to be in this magazine. Not just sidebars that didn’t have her name on them. Not even just a fluff piece. She’d been so excited that one time Krista said she was going to have a byline… until she told her it was an article about a celebrity’s botched boob job.
This time she would have the feature article. It was slated to take up a large portion of the April issue. Thousands of people would read her words. It would be the biggest moment in her career so far. Possibly ever.
Starshine exhaled, thinking about the monumental task before her. Even just halfway through the undercover assignment, she already had no idea how she was going to condense all of this into a magazine format. She could’ve written hundreds of pages about what she’d already experienced.
She flipped through the old issue. She’d studied all of these so much that the pages were wrinkling. The magazine was full of clever social commentary and incisive wit. Well… it got downright mean at times, but that was why readers liked it.
Just being a lackey at Snap That was a dream come true. Starshine had been a fan for years before being hired. Writing the feature article was a whole other level. Starshine wondered if she could really write something that readers would enjoy.
Closing her eyes, she went over the potential opener she’d thought of. Jubblies is at the end of a nondescript side street in a midsize city. Looking at it from outside, one could be forgiven for thinking it was a warehouse or perhaps a small factory. Only the neon sign with half the letters burnt out gives the slightest indication of what’s actually inside.
That paragraph was pretty decent. Now she just needed to write about a hundred more like it.
The phone buzzed again with another notification, and Starshine reached out to grab it. A message from Kylie popped up—one for just the two of them.
Kylie: So, if you’re not taking care of her, you want to grab some pizza after work?
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