Hit the Wall

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 expected 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 on her word when she assured them that she was already taken and not interested.