Feeling pissed off and annoyed, I dial Dale’s number to see if maybe she called in. He informs me that he hasn’t heard from her, but he will call the others to save me time from being on the phone.
Ten minutes later, I receive a phone call saying Jen has Jax so she can’t come in. Luna is at her second job and neither Kade nor Saline will pick up their phones. It’s absolutely ridiculous and Saline will no longer have a job here. I’ve had enough of her petty games.
After dealing with that crap, I turn behind me to a group of three women taking a seat at the bar. Luckily, I know two of them, so they should understand my situation.
Placing her purse on the bar beside her, looking cute in her little pink cotton dress, Michelle takes a seat and smiles when she notices me. Her golden hair is hanging long and straight tonight, making her look classy. “Hey, girl. Busy night, I see.”
“You can say that.” I reach for the glasses and set them down in front of me. “How are you ladies tonight? Have you come to watch me suffer?” I tease.
Laura leans over the bar and half laughs, half snorts. “You know I can’t pass up the opportunity.” She points beside her at a younger looking girl. She has long black hair with purple streaks throughout it, pulled into a low ponytail hanging over her shoulder. She looks as if she’s been crying, but is trying to cover it up. “This is our friend Jamie. She’s had kind of a rough night.” She leans in and whispers. “Her boyfriend’s a dick.”
Jamie elbows Laura in the side causing her to almost fall off her stool. “Shut up, Laura. I’m sitting right here. I have fucking ears, you know.” Her eyes meet mine and she fakes a smile, putting on a brave face. “I’ll take a Vodka and lemonade.” She holds up two fingers. “Make that with two shots. A double please.”
I nod my head and look between Michelle and Laura. “What about you two? I don’t have time for some sissified drinks at the moment, so please order something quick and easy to make,” I plead.
Michelle throws her head back and sighs, gripping onto the bar. “Don’t do this to me, Phoenix. You know what I usually get.”
“Exactly, which is why I’m asking you nicely. I’m by myself tonight and I’m slammed. I already have customers riding my ass.”
“Hey, you. Can I get another drink over here?” Exactly my point.
I turn my head to the right, to see a guy from the rich guy’s crew, standing at the bar with an impatient look on his chubby face. He looks pissed off, as if he’s about ready to toss his drink at me or jump over the bar and make his own drink. It makes me want to go and flick his man boobs.
Holding up my finger, I say, “Give me a minute.” Then I turn my attention back to the girls. “Please, work with me.”
Michelle looks over toward the impatient douche and gives him a dirty look. “Fine. Just give me a Vodka and cranberry.”
I nod my head and look at Laura while scooping up the ice. “What will it be, sweetie?”
Shoving her phone into her purse, she looks at man boobs and scowls. “I’ll take the same, but-“
“Can you hurry the hell up? I don’t have all night,” the jerk says, slapping some money down onto the bar top. “My guys are waiting on me, sweet tits, so why don’t you bring that fine little ass over here and give me what I want,” he slurs.
I get ready to lose my cool, when out of nowhere, a hand grips the guy’s shoulder, causing his eyes to go wide in surprise. Thank goodness, because I was about to shove my boot up this moron’s ass.
He spins around to see who grabbed him, looking like he's ready to fight. My eyes leave the idiotic man, to see who has risked a fight at my expense, landing on the guy towering over him and my heart starts going wild in my chest. Kellan is standing there, with his messy hair falling over his face, as he looks down at the guy.
The guy pulls from Kellan's grasp, trying to swing, but is stopped midair by Kellan's hand. His forehead creases, with the slightest smile playing out on the edge of his mouth, as if amused. “Not a good idea bud. Since you've been drinking, I have the advantage.”
Tonight he’s wearing a charcoal gray, fitted, graphic tee, revealing the outline of his muscles. The short length of the sleeve stops just below his shoulder, showing off those sexy tattoos. My eyes trail down, catching sight of both full sleeve tattoos. It’s like staring at a work of art, each showing a magnitude of depth and beauty, like each is its own story waiting to be told.
He's wearing a thick, brown, leather cuff buttoned around his left wrist. His faded jeans hang low on his hip, ending, front tucked just slightly beneath the tongue of his heavy black boots.
Without realizing it, I fan myself off, beginning to feel heat spread throughout my body. I'm ogling him like a damn love-struck teenager again. Some things never change.
“Day-um! That’s one fine specimen,” Michelle says while leaning over Jamie to get a better look. “Move it, girl.”
I stand there frozen and unable to say anything. All I can do is stare and swallow, while mentally slapping myself out of it. Get a hold of yourself, Phoenix, before he really starts to think you’re an idiot.
What the hell is he even doing here? I wasn’t expecting to see him around again. Seeing him here is working me up and making me think of the things I’m trying to forget, dammit. Not cool.
Kellan places his hand back on the guy's shoulder and squeezes, before giving him a pat on the back, slightly too hard to be considered friendly. “You see the lady is busy, so, I’ll offer you a onetime tip. Have some fucking respect when speaking to women.” His voice is deep, angry like, causing the guy to look away, toward his friends that seem to be ignoring him. Kellan smiles at this and slaps his back so hard that the guy slams against the bar and knocks over his empty glass. “I’m here to help. Now, how can I help you, sweet tits?”
The stunned guy watches as Kellan walks behind the bar, past me and over to stand in front of him. He obviously wasn’t expecting someone to hear him and stand up for me and neither was I. “Any day now. You’re not the only person in the bar, as you can see.”
What does he think he’s doing back here, now?
I stand there watching the two of them, waiting for the guy to say something, afraid of a fight breaking out.
When the guy doesn’t respond, Kellan grabs the guy’s empty glass. “Alright, then. Don’t worry bud, I’ll figure it out,” he says sarcastically. He sticks his nose into the glass and takes a whiff, before reaching for a fresh glass and pouring him a beer. Surprisingly, he is dead on with his pick.
The girls are talking amongst themselves, creaming over the new eye candy, so I quickly slip away and rush over to stand next to Kellan.
“What are you doing here?” I ask a little harsher than intended. I can’t help it, though. I’m shocked as all hell to see him and especially, here at the bar.
I stare hungrily at the sexiness of the lip ring that he now has in, imagining what it would feel like, to nibble on it, kiss it and run my tongue over it.
He takes notice and flashes me a charming smile before shoving the beer into the guy’s hand and snatching his money. “It’s nice to see you too.” He cocks an eyebrow while looking out the corner of his eye at me. “Try not to look too thrilled. This isn’t Disneyland.”
I run my hands through my hair, watching him ring up the drink and place the change down onto the bar. The guy waves his arm above the money and quickly takes off, leaving the cash there. Looks like I'm not the only one a little shook up by Kellan’s sudden appearance.
Kellan grabs the money and opens my hand, placing it into my palm and closing it. Then he walks away to help a group of people. “Go take a breather and I’ll take care of the bar for a bit.”
I glance back at the girls, which are now watching my every move. I glare at them before walking over to stand next to Kellan. “What are you doing here and how did you know how to ring that up?” I hold my hand out with the money and then look back up to watch him throw some drinks together. “Also, what it this? This is yo
ur tip money. You made that drink.”
He laughs and I can’t help but to notice the women that he’s helping blush. Those women can go suck it. Actually, no, they can’t. Shit! What does it matter?
“I came to bring you this. I thought you might need it.” He pulls my phone out of his pocket and leans over me, sliding it into the pocket of my khaki shorts. “I saw you needed a little rescuing,” he whispers against my ear before motioning around the busy bar. “It’s a good thing I spent a lot of time bartending before opening my shop.”
“How did-“
“Hey, gorgeous,” a cute little blond interrupts us. “Make that four shots of Tequila.” She raises an eyebrow, looking him up and down, with those desperate eyes that I want to poke out, slowly, one by one. Can’t she see we’re busy talking? Rude . . . take a deep breath.
“Sure thing,” Kellan replies, reaching for a fourth shot glass.
My eyes wander down his back until they land on his tight ass, accented perfectly by those fitted jeans. It’s hypnotizing. Just like everything else on that body of his.
“Damn, Phoenix. Can we get those drinks, sometime before closing preferably,” Laura complains while tapping her fingers in front of her. “You can drool over the hunk later.”
I see Kellan smile from the corner of my eye and it makes my stomach do somersaults. “Shut up,” I mouth before looking beside me at Kellan. “Thanks for coming to the rescue then, I guess. I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”
His eyes land on my lips for a moment, until finally, I spin on the heel of my boots and head back over to my pain in the ass friends.
Aggravated, I dump the melted ice into the sink and refill all of the glasses before pouring them their drinks. “See, told you I was busy tonight. Give me a damn break.”
“Mmm-hmm, sure.” Michelle grabs for her drink and sticks the straw in her mouth. “Busy staring at that boy’s fine backside.” She smiles and playfully bites the straw. “Grr. I’d like to bite that. I bet everything on that boy’s body tastes just as good as it looks, delicious.”
“Is he single?” Jamie asks while eye raping him. “If he’s not yours, then I’ll have that for dessert, please.”
No, you won’t, hussy. “It’s not like that, okay,” I mutter. “He’s an old friend.”
Laura and Michelle both look at me at the same time. I have known both of them since preschool and they pretty much know everyone I know. Might as well tell them the shocking news.
“You remember Kellan Haze, ladies?”
Michelle spits her drink over the bar and nearly drops her glass. “Kade’s hot older brother? You’re shitting me, right? There’s no way.”
I shake my head and run my fingers through my hair. “I’m not, trust me.” I look up from the bar to see Laura’s eyes wide with shock. “Surprised, girl?”
“Umm, hell to the yeah,” Laura squeaks. “What the heck? This is crazy.” She looks over in Kellan’s direction and a huge smile spreads across her face. “You guys are going to finally end up together,” she says a little too loud. “He’s gorgeous now. You have to take that for a ride.”
“Laura, shut it.” I shake my head and place my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. She tries biting me so I let go. “We are not ending up together.”
“Who is this we that you ladies are talking about?” Kellan’s voice comes from right behind me, startling me.
Crap! He needs to stop creeping up on people.
All three of the girls stare at him in awe and I can’t blame them. Even I know, he’s the sexiest thing to step foot in this bar and possibly in all of Texas.
“You ladies care to answer my question since Phoenix seems to be at a loss for words tonight.” He leans against the bar sexily while crossing his feet in front of him, his eyes searching mine. “I overheard you wanting to take something for a . . . ride,” he says while pulling his lip ring between his teeth.
Oh damn, please stop that. I grab for my escape towel and anxiously start wiping down the bar top. “No, they don’t.” I give them a hard look to keep them quiet while scrubbing an already clean spot on the bar. “We weren’t talking about anything or anyone important, trust me.”
He shrugs his shoulders before slowly licking his finger and running it under my eye, the coolness of his saliva giving me chills. “I see that someone still refuses to buy waterproof mascara. You should be a little more careful when wiping at the sweat.” He pulls his hand away and wipes it on the front of his shirt. “Well ladies, enjoy ‘not’ talking about anything important.” He looks me in the eye and exhales, while taking a step back. “Or anyone important.”
My heart aches as he walks away and I feel sick to my stomach. Maybe he knows we were talking about him. He couldn’t possibly believe he’s no one important to me. Could he? The thought makes my stomach turn.
“Wow, Phoenix. Way to go.” Michelle brushes her hair out of her face while clicking her tongue. “Now you scared the hottie away. How do you expect to get a date-“
“You’re pushing it, Michelle,” I say defensively. “That was in the past. We are both different people now. I don’t even know him anymore. Just drop it, okay.”
Laura sips on her drink and her eyes wander over to Kellan, who is now helping Martin. I can see the lust in her big brown eyes and it sucks to think that other women want him.
The right side of her mouth curves into a smile as she looks over at me. “Oh please, Phoenix. A man like that can’t be anything but good. Don’t think I don’t remember the way he treated you in the past. He was your guardian angel, always there to protect you. Somehow, I don’t think things will be much different now. You saw him handle man boobs.”
I turn my attention away from her to get a peek at Kellan. He’s still standing there talking to Martin, but his eyes are on me, watching me closely. Even when he notices me looking, his eyes don’t shy away. He has no shame at being caught staring at me. I can’t seem to turn away either. I’ve only had him back for a few days and already, I’m addicted.
* * *
By the end of my shift, I am exhausted and just ready to get home and crash. The girls hung around for a couple of hours, talking about Jamie’s fight with her boyfriend and ever so slyly, bringing up Kellan every chance they got. To be honest, I was happy to see them leave. I couldn’t take any more worrying if Kellan was going to creep up and hear our conversation anymore. It was exhausting.
I was glad to see Kellan ended up being a great bartender, after all. He seemed to be very experienced with making drinks and he even showed me a few new ones. I could get used to having someone that actually wants to work help out around here. Too bad, it would never work out. He’ll probably never step foot into this bar again.
While in the office counting down the cash, I notice that the drawer is over by almost a hundred dollars. I count it for a second time just to come up with the same exact amount.
Standing up, I push my way through the door to see Kellan standing in front of the jukebox. He has one hand out in front of him, against the jukebox, while the other is scanning through the music selection.
I want to say something, but there’s just something about the way he’s standing there, with his hair hanging over his scruffy face and his shoulder blades protruding against the thin fabric of his shirt, that is too beautiful to interrupt. Watching him has my heart hammering in my chest.
Finally, he picks a song and Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd starts playing over the speaker. He takes a step back, closes his eyes, and bites his bottom lip, looking lost in the moment.
My heart aches as I watch him. He takes a deep breath before bending forward, placing both of his hands on the jukebox and squeezing, head hanging low, clenching his jaw.
This was one of Adric’s favorite songs. I used to sit there in the attic next to him, while he played this song and sang it aloud. He would always tell me to be sure to find a simple man and I never really understood what he meant by that. I’m still not so sure I und
erstand now, but it still eats at my heart every time I hear this song.
“Fuck! This damn song.” He pounds his fist against the jukebox before taking a step back and slowly rubbing his hands over his face. That’s always been his way of covering his emotions and hiding. It always broke my heart to see him that way. Apparently, from the way my heart is faltering and my stomach is knotting up, it still does.
I swallow the lump in my throat and walk over to stand next to him. Holding out the money, I ask, “Is this your tip money?”
He swallows and takes a step closer to me, as if just now noticing me in the room. “It’s yours. I don’t want it.” He places his hands to my shoulders and rubs his thumbs over them, while breathing heavily. “I helped out tonight because I wanted to, not because I need the money.”
Pulling away from him, I shake my head and shove the money into his chest. “I can’t keep this money, Kellan. You worked your ass off tonight.” He pushes my hand back, but I don’t budge. I won’t. “Take the money. You deserve it.”
He finally holds his hand out and allows me to place it in his hand. “You’re still just as stubborn as ever. Do you know that?” He shoves the money into his pocket and smiles, as if he knows something I don’t. Then he walks away and into the office.
“Wait a minute. What was that smile for?” I follow behind him and watch as he wraps the money up and writes down the numbers for the night. “Are you seriously going to do everything for me?”
He looks up giving me a serious look. “I would if I could, Phoenix.” His eyes darken before he finally looks away. “I’m taking you to your car. I’ll be ready in a few.”
“My mother is supposed to pick me up when I call her.” I walk around and help as he starts turning off the lights and games. “I just need my keys and my purse.”
He brushes past me and heads for the door. “Don’t call your mom. I’m taking you for a ride.” He smiles, holds the door open and waits for me to follow him outside. “Do you usually do this alone at night?”
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