to the bar, adding a swing to my hips and some strut to my stride in my chunky lace-up boots. Garrett gives me another look of concern so I just flash him a fake smile and keep moving, loading up my tray with waters and going to bus some empty tables in back.
You’ve got this, Brit. You’ll be just fine.
I see a new group enter the bar: an older couple, and their daughter, a pretty blonde about my age. I grab a stack of menus, about to go over to welcome them, when the door swings open again.
Trey.
Despite myself, I smile. I guess he couldn’t wait until I finished my shift. He’s dressed up, I notice: a button-down shirt, good jeans, cleanly shaven. The last few times we met, it was a late-night thing: sweaty and disheveled after a long day at work. We both know I’m a sure thing either way, but it’s nice he made the effort for me. Guys never do.
“Hey you,” I call out, but he doesn’t hear me. He doesn’t even look in my direction. Instead, he walks straight over to the far table, and the family who just walked in. He slides in next to the blonde girl and drapes an arm around her shoulder.
I freeze.
The girl smiles up at Trey, and he leans to drop a kiss on her lips. She reaches up to touch his cheek, and that’s when I see it: the ring on her engagement finger, bright and sparkling, and full of betrayal.
My blood runs cold.
Trey still hasn’t seen me. He’s smiling, easy, joking with the girl’s parents. They’re all having a ball of a time, as if ten hours ago he wasn’t grunting in my ear, cursing under his breath as he groped at every inch of flesh on my body.
Funny, he forgot to mention his fiancée.
Rage comes, hot in my veins. I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, how this goes. How it always goes. But after that letter from the design company, this is like a ton of salt dumped on the wound. All my rejection comes boiling up again, sharp and bitter with regret.
I guess I’m only good enough to fuck.
I stalk over there before I have a chance to reconsider. “Hi y’all, welcome to Jimmy’s.” I say flatly. I look to Trey for some kind of reaction: shock maybe, or fear. But instead, he has the nerve to smile at me and wink, like we’re in this together.
“We’ve got some specials here tonight,” I continue, my voice sharp and metallic.
“Sure,” Trey grins, lounging back in the booth. “Let’s hear ‘em.”
I narrow my eyes. Without the tequila blurring my vision – and good judgment – I can see he’s just a beefed up jock with a bad goatee. Jesus, why did I even waste my time on him?
Because there was nothing better to do. The voice in my head answers for me. Because he helped you forget, just for a little while, what a dead-end your life has become.
I push the voice back, and glare at Trey, like I could strip the skin off his bones with just one look.
“Well, first up we’ve got the cheating asshole,” I announce. “It comes with a side of whiskey dick.”
That wipes the smile off his face. Trey scowls at me while the rest of the table blinks in confusion. “Brit—” he warns in a menacing voice, but I’m not done yet.
“Or how about some lying piece of scum?” I continue, “You won’t have to wait long for that. Trust me, it comes real quick.”
“That’s enough!” Trey leaps to his feet, but I step back, quicker.
“Damn right it is.” I spit. “Already hard for you?” I quote his text, fury pumping in my bloodstream. “Funny how you didn’t mention your fiancée.”
I grab a plate of nachos from the next table and upend it all over his head. The mess of cheese and guacamole and beans smears down his face and drips, slowly to the floor.
There’s silence. The rest of the table gasps at me in shock.
“What the fuck?!” Trey finally finds his voice, wiping at the mess on his shirt. “You crazy bitch!”
“What’s she talking about?” The blonde blinks, all innocent confusion.
“It’s nothing, babe,” Trey says quickly. I
You’ve got this, Brit. You’ll be just fine.
I see a new group enter the bar: an older couple, and their daughter, a pretty blonde about my age. I grab a stack of menus, about to go over to welcome them, when the door swings open again.
Trey.
Despite myself, I smile. I guess he couldn’t wait until I finished my shift. He’s dressed up, I notice: a button-down shirt, good jeans, cleanly shaven. The last few times we met, it was a late-night thing: sweaty and disheveled after a long day at work. We both know I’m a sure thing either way, but it’s nice he made the effort for me. Guys never do.
“Hey you,” I call out, but he doesn’t hear me. He doesn’t even look in my direction. Instead, he walks straight over to the far table, and the family who just walked in. He slides in next to the blonde girl and drapes an arm around her shoulder.
I freeze.
The girl smiles up at Trey, and he leans to drop a kiss on her lips. She reaches up to touch his cheek, and that’s when I see it: the ring on her engagement finger, bright and sparkling, and full of betrayal.
My blood runs cold.
Trey still hasn’t seen me. He’s smiling, easy, joking with the girl’s parents. They’re all having a ball of a time, as if ten hours ago he wasn’t grunting in my ear, cursing under his breath as he groped at every inch of flesh on my body.
Funny, he forgot to mention his fiancée.
Rage comes, hot in my veins. I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, how this goes. How it always goes. But after that letter from the design company, this is like a ton of salt dumped on the wound. All my rejection comes boiling up again, sharp and bitter with regret.
I guess I’m only good enough to fuck.
I stalk over there before I have a chance to reconsider. “Hi y’all, welcome to Jimmy’s.” I say flatly. I look to Trey for some kind of reaction: shock maybe, or fear. But instead, he has the nerve to smile at me and wink, like we’re in this together.
“We’ve got some specials here tonight,” I continue, my voice sharp and metallic.
“Sure,” Trey grins, lounging back in the booth. “Let’s hear ‘em.”
I narrow my eyes. Without the tequila blurring my vision – and good judgment – I can see he’s just a beefed up jock with a bad goatee. Jesus, why did I even waste my time on him?
Because there was nothing better to do. The voice in my head answers for me. Because he helped you forget, just for a little while, what a dead-end your life has become.
I push the voice back, and glare at Trey, like I could strip the skin off his bones with just one look.
“Well, first up we’ve got the cheating asshole,” I announce. “It comes with a side of whiskey dick.”
That wipes the smile off his face. Trey scowls at me while the rest of the table blinks in confusion. “Brit—” he warns in a menacing voice, but I’m not done yet.
“Or how about some lying piece of scum?” I continue, “You won’t have to wait long for that. Trust me, it comes real quick.”
“That’s enough!” Trey leaps to his feet, but I step back, quicker.
“Damn right it is.” I spit. “Already hard for you?” I quote his text, fury pumping in my bloodstream. “Funny how you didn’t mention your fiancée.”
I grab a plate of nachos from the next table and upend it all over his head. The mess of cheese and guacamole and beans smears down his face and drips, slowly to the floor.
There’s silence. The rest of the table gasps at me in shock.
“What the fuck?!” Trey finally finds his voice, wiping at the mess on his shirt. “You crazy bitch!”
“What’s she talking about?” The blonde blinks, all innocent confusion.
“It’s nothing, babe,” Trey says quickly. I
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