by Sammi Cee
While I waited some more, I found myself scrolling my phone through my very miniscule contact list and hovering my finger over Russell’s name. Sarge’s voice telling me to contact him ran through my mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. What would I say to him? And he could’ve easily reached out to me. Why should I take that step when he disappeared on me?
It’d be nice to have another friend, or at least, have an older one return to my life. Billy was great, and having the guys at the bar was awesome. But the more I thought about Russell, I couldn’t help but miss him. I just wasn’t ready to take that initial step. Not right now when I was getting back on track. The last time I saw him, he was being whisked away by his Daddy, and I was still mowing lawns. To tell him I’d hit rock bottom and hadn’t even had a job for a while wasn’t something I wanted to do. “Maybe another time,” I said to myself as I pocketed my phone.
I tried not to think about Sarge and the Daddy conversation any more, or how it was followed by that kiss, while I waited for my laundry. I thought of anything else: bills, buying a car, dropping a case of beer on my foot—anything that was painful enough to keep my lips from tingling and my pants from getting more snug. And thankfully, it worked.
I carried my freshly laundered clothes back across the complex and carefully folded and put them away, before I sat down on my couch to watch a movie. Cable was another luxury I couldn’t afford, so I watched a lot of movies I’d bought at the thrift shop.
Since I had all the movies pretty much memorized, I put on one I knew would hold my attention, and eagerly watched it before I had to start getting ready for work. As I put on another pair of jeans gifted to me from Billy, and a Full Throttle T-shirt, my anxiety started to make an appearance.
On the one hand, I hoped Sarge acted as if nothing had happened so that work would go as smoothly as possible. But on the other hand, I didn’t want to be blown off. Even for a damn kiss. Should I say something to him? Bring up what happened? Or just see how he acted and go by his lead? I wasn’t sure what to do, and I loathed uncertainty—something I’d been forced to feel longer than I cared to admit.
“Stop it,” I berated myself. “It was a kiss. You’re making a bigger deal out of it than it needs to be. It was a kiss. Less than a kiss. A few pecks. Leave it alone, and just go work so you can make money.”
I was right. I needed to let it go. Walk in there with confidence I didn’t possess at all and make as many tips as I could. What did it matter if I knew how soft, yet firm Sarge’s lips were, or how strong his hands were? Or how his beard felt as it brushed against my skin. It was no big deal at all.
Thank goodness work was busy. Even having Billy back didn’t put a break in the rush, and I barely slowed down to take a breath before a table needed more food or another drink. But since I was running my ass off, my mind was focused on my customers rather than the mountain of a man behind the bar.
Thankfully, when I walked in, all he did was glance in my direction and give his signature nod before pulling a beer from the tap. I breathed out a sigh of relief that he was reverting back to boss mode, and I had no problems resuming the employee status. Though, I wished our tongues could’ve tangled and our hands could’ve wandered a bit first.
“How’s it going, kid?” Lawson asked when I stepped up to the bar to request a round of Fireball.
“Busy,” I said softly. Lawson was a great guy, and he always asked how I was doing any time he saw me.
“I can see that,” he mused as he glanced over his shoulder at the crowded area.
Every booth and table was filled. A group of rowdy guys was playing pool under Bull’s watchful eye. And some were tossing darts at the board hanging on the wall. But it was organized chaos I could actually handle, and my pockets were feeling full from it.
“Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water,” Sarge spoke up as he set another drink in front of Lawson. “You don’t need to dehydrate.”
Even though it was on the tip of my tongue to say yes, sir since he seemed to like that last night, considering we were at work, and Lawson was sitting right there blatantly listening to our conversation, I went with, “I will.”
Sarge just arched a brow at me, and I wanted to squirm under his intense gaze. Before I could say anything else, he reached into the mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. “Drink up.”
Wordlessly, I uncapped the bottle and brought it to my lips while Sarge watched, and I took a few swallows. “All hydrated.” I tried to sound aloof, but instead, my voice came out a little breathless.
Without another word, I left the bottle sitting on the counter and scurried off to check on my tables. The rest of the night went pretty much the same way, with Bull only having to break up one fight over an argument that spiraled out of control during a pool game. I watched in awe as Bull tossed each man out as if they weighed nothing at all, and then glared at the rest of the men, daring them to make him kick them out, too. No wonder Sarge kept him around. He was a silent force to be reckoned with, and I was glad to be on his good side.
When it was finally time to close up, I helped Billy do a quick sweep and mop of the floors—I still believed they needed a good scrubbing—and then put the chairs up on the table. Ralph hauled out the trash with Bull’s help, and Lawson finally saw himself out. He really should’ve just become an employee since he was always around, but I was sure there was a reason behind it. But it was his story to tell, and I wasn’t going to pry by asking Bull, Billy, or Sarge.
But, now that everything was quiet, I did have one question to ask Sarge, and it had nothing to do with that kiss. It was something else that was weighing on my mind.
“Hey, Sarge?” I asked when no one else was paying attention.
“Yeah, kid?” Sure, he called me ‘kid’ but I knew in my gut he wanted to use the word boy instead.
Just hearing his voice brought back my insecurities, and I was losing my nerve I’d built up to ask him the question. “Uh, nevermind.”
“No.”
“No?” I repeated.
“Don’t do that. If you have something you want to ask me, then ask me. I’ll always do my best to answer you as truthfully as possible.”
I bit down on the inside of my cheek as I pondered his words. He’d never lied to me before—that I was aware of—so why would he start now? Besides, my question wasn’t anything… bad. It was more out of curiosity.
“How did you know Billy gave me rides home?”
“I asked him,” he said bluntly, not even blinking an eye.
“But why?”
“I knew he was giving you rides here, so I asked if he was taking you home, too. I told you, we look out for each other here. And that includes you. If I hadn’t had a delivery when you called yesterday, I would have brought you to work, too. As long as you’re employed here, you will no longer be walking home at three in the morning. One of us will always see to it that you get home safely, is that clear?”
I couldn’t help myself. From the commanding tone of his words to that steely look in his eyes, there was only one way I could answer him. “Yes, sir.”
Chapter Eight
Sarge
Ignoring all of the protective instincts Davis stirred up in me was proving to be harder every day. I’d thought it had been bad when he was scared and hesitant, barely meeting anyone’s eye, yet it was getting worse as I watched him gain confidence. Between his newfound friendship with the impetuous Billy, and familiarity with our regulars, the shell he wore around himself was cracking and glimpses of his personality were peeking through. What I saw made me long to see more. When I didn’t watch myself, my brain conjured ideas on how to help him relax more, laugh a little harder, and walk a little taller.
I sighed as I forced myself out of bed. Lying here dwelling on the boy was going to have the opposite effect of thinking of him as an employee. I hadn’t even let myself whack off in a freaking week because visions of him slipped in. I’d even tried watching porn so that I’d have
someone else’s body to concentrate on, and invariably the man getting pounded transformed into Davis. It was almost noon, but Rex was opening the bar today, so I didn’t have to hurry out. Instead of heading home after we closed last night, I’d gotten the paperwork done I’d planned to do today in the hopes I’d be tired enough to be able to come home and fall asleep quickly without thinking about Davis. Fretting about whether he was taking care of himself, from his eating habits to his sleeping habits to why he seemed to be so alone, had turned me into an insomniac.
A quick glance outside confirmed that the storm they’d been calling for the last couple of days was here. Outside was as gray and drab as my mood, and I considered crawling back into bed for a couple of hours instead of fixing something to eat and straightening up my already relatively clean house. The ringing of my cell phone jarred me from my melancholy thoughts. “This is Sarge,” I barked into the phone.
“Okay, I know you check before you answer the phone, and obviously I know it’s you since I’m the one who called you, so why do you insist on telling me who it is?”
Billy’s bitchy tone lightened my mood. He was right, of course. I knew it was him, but once I’d answered without checking who it was, and I’d discovered his overly-dramatic hatred of people identifying themselves instead of saying hello. “Can I help you with something, Billy? I believe I have at least a few more hours before I’m forced to deal with your sass.”
“Whatever, Sarge. You love me, and you know it,” he said. It was the answer I’d expected from him, but his tone was off.
“What’s going on, Billy? You don’t sound right.”
“I don’t know what to do, Sarge. Remember I took tonight off?”
“Oh yeah, you’re covered,” I said.
“Right, but Davis said he’d take the bus, which I know he does, but I hate to think of him trudging through this storm.”
Shit! I’d forgotten Billy wasn’t coming in today. At first, I’d scheduled Billy and Davis together every shift because I knew Billy would show him the ropes. He’d taken a shine to Davis immediately and had shown the same desire to hover over him that I had. As soon as I’d realized Davis took the bus or walked if Billy didn’t get him, I’d scheduled the two of them together to guarantee he had a ride. “Don’t worry. I’ll go get him.”
Billy huffed. “He barely lets me pick him up. I can’t imagine he’d allow you to. If I tell him you’re coming, he’ll just say he already left.”
There was no question Billy was right. “Do you know which apartment is his? I’ll swing by earlier than he’d have to leave for the bus. I know it’s the Pine Valley Apartments, but he wouldn’t let me pull into the lot.”
Silence greeted me, so I checked the phone to make sure we were still connected. Once I verified we were, I said, “Billy, what’s wrong?”
“Uh, he doesn’t live in Pine Valley, Sarge.”
“What are you talking about? That’s where he had me drop him off the night you were sick.”
“Yeah, so I guess he’s embarrassed about his place because he won’t let me come in. He’s at that ratty complex on the other side of the fence, the Kentwood Apartments. Not that you can see the name since the sign is broken in half.”
My temple pulsed as my blood pressure spiked. The complex Billy was talking about should’ve been condemned years ago. All of the buildings in there looked as if they’d survived the apocalypse, barely. It had also been known for drugs and other illegal activity for years. “Okay, do you have any idea what his apartment number is?”
“Nope. All I know is he’s in building C. He has to walk through the outer door to reach the actual apartment.”
“Okay, Billy. Don’t worry. I’ll go by the bar and find his application and see if he wrote it on there. I’ll make sure he gets to work tonight safely, though. You just enjoy your night off.”
Billy’s voice sounded lighter, less stressed now that Davis was taken care of, as he said, “Thank you so much, Sarge. I don’t think I could have had a good time feeling like I abandoned my BFF.”
I chuckled into the phone. “Does he know that you’ve claimed him as your BFF?”
“Yep. I told him. He doesn’t believe me yet, but you know me,” he sing-songed.
“I do.” Billy was a handful, but he was a devoted and loyal employee; there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he’d be the same to Davis as a friend. “You be safe tonight. If anything happens and you need us, call. Bull and I will come get you.”
Billy sighed dreamily. “I’m such a lucky ducky having so many big, badass men on speed dial.”
“Goodbye, Billy.” I hung up the phone to the sounds of his giggling and went to get dressed. It appeared I had a boy to find.
After a quick shower, I’d driven to the bar and pulled Davis's application up on the computer to find he had indeed given his actual address, including apartment number. He didn’t have to be at work until six, but I worked the bar tonight with Deo and didn’t want to leave him short-handed right off the bat. I decided to get there at two o’clock, and I’d wait while he got ready to go.
The complex was in worse disrepair than what was visible from the street. Half of the balconies on the upper levels were slanted at a dangerous angle, or parts had already fallen away. Hopefully, no one made a habit of standing too closely to the buildings. Graffiti covered the brown brick buildings, and judging by a quick count of the windows, there were six floors. Surely no one lived on those upper levels.
Even with the pouring rain, I passed a guy holding a green trash bag over his head while he leaned into someone’s car. The black Audi didn’t belong in this neighborhood any more than the person who drove it, so I hated to imagine the exchange taking place. I parked outside of Davis's building, making sure to lock up and standing to my full height, shoulders back, and chest puffed out. The ballcap I had on was my only protection from the rain, but it was worth it to square off right away. As I’d pulled into the spot, I’d seen the rustle of curtains and the movement of cracked, dirty blinds in different windows up the building. I wanted it to be clear that fucking with my truck wasn’t in anyone’s best interest, nor was it conducive to a person’s good health to fuck with me.
The bricks of the building crumbled out around the edges of the door frame, and the gray steel door leading in stood open several inches. It made the hole where a doorbell had once been a bad joke, as did the ancient speaker that was missing its cover above it. Wires stuck out leaving no illusions as to whether it worked or not. I wedged the door—which didn’t want to open much more than it wanted to close—open and assessed the darkness before me. Only three of the hall lights, out of the eight, cast any kind of glow, but even that was dim. The thought of sweet, hesitant Davis walking into this creepy as fuck building in the middle of the night set my nerves on edge. Grinding my teeth in irritation was a bad habit I’d conquered years ago, but just the thought of Davis living here undid years of work breaking the bad habit.
I resisted the urge to brush the rain from my arms as a door opened halfway down the hall and an older man with stringy gray hair peered out at me. I arched my brow, and he scuttled back, slamming his door behind him. After passing another door that was opened enough to see an eyeball, I strolled at a leisurely pace like I had not a care in the world. But, I was on alert. This place was the definition of sketchy. It smelled of mold, cigarettes, and alcohol, with walls so thin that the blare of TVs, radios, and even conversations met my ears as I passed each unit. Amazingly enough, this piece of shit building still had a “Stairs” sign with an arrow pointing to the right down on the wall at the end of the hall. That was a relief because taking the elevator I passed couldn’t possibly be a safe option.
There was a middle-aged woman in torn, dirty rags loitering in the stairwell, offering to make me feel good, but I brushed by her without a second glance and ran up the stairs to Davis's floor. At this point, I was pissed, obviously not at him because he had to live somewhere and this had to be better than be
ing homeless—maybe—but I was mad as hell at whatever life events led him to this being his home. I rapped loudly on his door and waited.
When I heard his shaky, “Who is it?” I realized the doors didn’t even have peepholes for him to be able to check before opening the door. This kept getting worse.
“Davis, it’s Sarge. Open the door, boy.”
The sounds of locks turning and a chain rattling reassured me that he was mildly safer once behind his own door. Well, as long as the floor didn’t cave in or the floor above him collapsed and squash him into an early death. “W-w-what are you doing here, Sarge?”
His pupils were wide as his eyes flicked around, doing everything but meeting my gaze. The unnatural pallor of his skin choked back the words I wanted to fling. The desire to rant and rave about him living here and demand that he move out subsided as he crossed and uncrossed his arms over his chest self-consciously. Throwing a Daddy-sized temper tantrum would only embarrass him further and alienate him, at least until he understood how far he’d wormed his way under my skin. With a soft voice, I said, “I didn’t mean to spook you, but the weather’s horrible, so I’ve come to take you to work.”
His eyes dropped to the floor. “How did you know where I live?”
Lifting my hand, I tipped his chin up with my fingertips, ducking down and moving my head even with his when he shifted his gaze to avoid me, until we were eye to eye. “It was on your application.”
“Oh.” Then tears filled his eyes. My heart broke a little for this sweet boy.
When he squeezed his eyelids closed trying to stop the floodgates, I said, “Davis.” He shook his head. “Boy.” I kept my voice low, but stern and his lids popped back open immediately. “Good boy. I want you to go inside and get ready for work. You’ll be early, but it’s better than half-swim-walking to the bus stop, and then to work. Maybe Ralph will have something you can do to get some extra hours instead of just sitting around.”
