by Alison Mello
“Jonah, come with me!”
I give the keys to the club to Shane and tell him to lock up once the staff is gone. “I’m coming, baby!” I shout into the phone.
“What’s up?” Jonah asks when we arrive at my car. I hand him my phone and tell him to listen. We can hear someone yelling at Skyler. I fly to Dugan’s, thankful that my club isn’t that far away. We leave the phone on speaker and Jonah is cracking his knuckles.
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” he says.
“Jonah, call 911 from your phone and tell them there is an attack happening behind Dugan’s.”
He does as I requested and hangs up as we approach the scene. He runs out of the car before I have even come to a complete stop. He’s pounding the guy with such anger. I run over and get a few kicks in then I spot Skyler on the ground crying. I run to her and scoop her into my arms. We hear the siren and I look up to see Jonah is by my side. I shout to the cops that we need an ambulance and that’s when I realize it’s John. He tells me not to worry, an ambulance is on the way.
I have played this scene over in my head all night as I sit here and watch Skyler sleep. I’m sick to my stomach that some fucker put his hands on my girl and over something so stupid as her telling him to keep his hands to himself. At the same time I’m pissed she walked out of that slimy bar alone. She works in a bar. How can she not be thinking about her safety? Fuck. How is she so under my skin already?
Sadie knocks on the door lightly and I tell her to come in.
“Sky’s sound asleep. The doctor sedated her so she can rest.”
A tear runs down Sadie’s face at the sight of her best friend lying in a hospital bed.
“She’s going to be fine, Sadie. She’s bruised up, but as long as she doesn’t have a concussion from her head hitting the wall I’ll be taking her to my place to recover today.”
“How are you?” she asks, sensing my frustration.
“I was scared, and I’m pissed she would walk out of the bar at that time of night by herself. She could have been hurt much worse.”
Jonah walks in then, and I say, “Thanks for everything yesterday.”
“No problem,” he responds. “I got your back.” He takes a seat next to me. “Have you gotten any sleep?”
“No. Every time I start to nod off I hear that phone call in my head. The doctor said she should be waking up anytime now.”
Jonah nods. “I went back by the club last night to help Shane get everything squared away. He asked me what happened to Troy. I told him he was gone and you would update everyone as soon as you could but not to say anything. I explained that we ran out because Sky was being attacked. He said to tell you he hopes she’s okay and not to stress about the club.”
“That’s cool. I’m offering him Troy’s job anyway so no big deal. I need to call a staff meeting to update everyone on what is going on. Sky is supposed to be coming to replace Shane behind the bar but I have to see when she’ll be up for it. She gave her two weeks’ notice to Dugan’s last night, though I’m pretty sure she isn’t going to want to go back there now.”
“Skyler’s pretty strong, Logan. She may want to so she can get over it. See what she says when the time comes.”
We talk about the club and other stuff for a bit longer, and I notice Skyler starting to stir. She’s mumbling and thrashing, then her eyes fly open.
Right at her side, I tell her, “You’re okay, baby, relax. You’re in the hospital and no one is going to hurt you.”
She takes a few deep breaths then realizes Sadie is here, and Jonah too. “Hey what are you guys doing here?” she asks.
“Waiting for you to wake up,” Sadie replies. “How are you doing?”
“I’m a bit bruised up but I’ll be fine.” Skyler tries to sound nonchalant but she pretty much fails.
“I called Meg. She’s going to visit you later, and she feels bad that she left ahead of you. She says this is her fault and that she should have waited.”
“It’s not her fault. I told her to go ahead and that I was going to be on the phone with Logan anyway. I wasn’t expecting the asshole I chewed out earlier to be waiting for me out back.” She looks at me. “Where is he, by the way?”
“I don’t know,” I reply. “He’s here somewhere but they wouldn’t tell me for fear I’ll kill the bastard for putting his hands on you.”
“I thought someone else was going to take care of that last night.” She looks at Jonah. “You were a bit crazy.”
“I was pissed is what I was. When I saw him on the ground and you trying to crawl away I lost it.”
There is a knock on the door. It’s a police officer.
“Ma’am, can I ask you a few questions?” Skyler nods, and Sadie and Jonah back up to give him a little room. “Can you tell me what happened last night?”
“I was working the bar. I went to get some beer from the back when the same guy who attacked me grabbed my ass. I spun around and told him to keep his hands to himself. We had some back and forth words and I knew he was trashed so I dropped it and walked away. When we made last call he came up for another drink and I cut him off. I told him he had had enough and asked him if I could get him a cab home. He yelled at me and stumbled out the door.” She takes a deep breath and continues with her story, adding in that once he dropped to the ground from her kicking him in the nuts she continued kicking him until she stumbled away to look for her phone.
“You messed him up pretty good,” the officer said to her with a hint of pride. “He doesn’t remember anything from last night. He had no idea why he woke up handcuffed to a hospital bed. We’ll formally charge him with assault as soon as we can get him released from here. Since he can’t remember anything, hopefully he’ll plead out and that will be the end of it for you.”
Skyler thanks the officer and he leaves as the nurse is bringing in her breakfast tray with scrambled eggs, oatmeal, juice, and coffee. She tells us the doctor will be in soon to let us know when Skyler can go home.
Skyler eats, making funny faces.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” I ask.
“This stuff smells and tastes like shit. Please tell me you’ll get me something better to eat as soon as we leave here.”
I chuckle and kiss the top of her head. “You got it. Anything you want, you name it.”
She pushes the tray away. “Anything. I don’t care if you cook. I can’t eat this.”
The doctor walks in as I’m telling her I’ll make her something when we get home.
“Ah, the talk of going home. Are you in a hurry to leave us, Miss Jones?” the doctor asks and Skyler nods. He laughs. “Everyone is always in a hurry to leave. It’s a good thing for you that you only have a minor concussion, and as long as this good man promises to look after you I can release you within the hour.”
“Trust me, doc, she’s not leaving my side for a few days. We are both off from now until Wednesday.”
“Good to hear. I’ll write it up and the nurse will be in with your discharge orders, the most important of which is if you get any headaches or if you feel dizzy you must come right back in, all right?”
We both agree. “Good!” the doctor says, and he leaves the room.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Sadie gushes. “We need to get going, but please listen to Logan and get better, because I’d be really disappointed if I had to ask someone else to be my maid of honor.”
Skyler hugs her. “I’d be honored to be your maid of honor.”
“No more stupid stunts like this, Skyler. Never leave another club by yourself!” Sadie yells.
“Don’t worry, Sadie,” I say. “We’ll be having a discussion about that when we get home.”
“I promise,” Skyler says. “I got too comfortable. It’ll never happen again!”
***
Skyler
I’m at Logan’s and resting on the couch. He won’t let me up to help him with whatever he’s making in the kitchen. I’m not sure what it is but it smells heavenly.
It’s already after lunchtime so I’m starving, and I lay here hoping it’s something filling. The doctor said I have to take it easy today and tomorrow, and then Tuesday I can get up and do more things and move around before I have to go to work on Wednesday. I know Logan’s worried about me going back to Dugan’s, though he hasn’t said anything yet. To be honest, I’m not sure I want to go in. I also know he’s pissed at me for leaving alone, and I don’t know how to bring it up. He showed his dominant side in the hospital and it made me a bit nervous.
Logan comes over with a TV tray and a glass of milk, then heads back to the kitchen to make me a plate. He returns with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, grapes, and some chicken noodle soup.
“Thank you so much, Logan. I’m starving!”
He shows me his handsome smile. “It’s my pleasure, Skyler.”
He sits down beside me and I lean on him while I eat. We decide to watch a movie so he goes onto his On Demand and chooses something for us to watch. After I finish eating I can feel my eyes getting heavy, and I doze off.
I awake a short time later to Logan sitting across from me with his laptop on his lap and he looks deep in thought.
“What are you working on, honey?” I ask him.
“You’re awake. Are you hungry?” he asks.
“No. I’m still a bit tired. I’m going to rest.” He continues typing for a minute then says, “I offered Shane the assistant manager position and he accepted. Now I need to bring you in and get you on the schedule, so I’m working some stuff out as far as who will work when. He covered a lot of shifts as head bartender, but I’m not going to promote a new head bartender right away. I’m going to have Shane manage it.”
“That sounds like a good idea. What nights do you want me to work?”
“Friday and Saturday for sure. I’ll have you behind the main bar on Friday and the second bar on Saturday. I’m thinking I may make one of the other bartenders a runner on one night and put you on Thursdays as well.”
“Okay,” is all I manage this time, and I drift off again.
***
Logan
It’s so hard to sit here and work while I watch Skyler sleep. I’ve done more analyzing of how I feel for her than getting work done, but I don’t want her to know that because I don’t want to scare her. I’m not sure how but this woman has managed to get under my skin and quickly. I’ve never felt so strongly about a woman in such a short period of time, and it’s a bit scary. The anger and rage I felt when I realized she was being attacked is like nothing I have ever felt before. I’ve never been a huge romantic or believed in love at first sight crap. I’ve only been seeing her a short time and I know I’m falling for her. Though I’m not convinced she’s falling for me. I know she’s happy, and I’m confident she cares about me, but is she falling for me the way I am her?
I shake my thoughts off and get back to work because I need to work out the new schedule and email everyone to call a meeting announcing the changes at the club. I email everyone and tell them to meet me at the club Tuesday night at 6:30 for a quick meeting, letting them all know that they will be paid for their time. I’ll announce that Skyler will be working the bar and singing on the opening night of the singles night. Jonah is now my head bouncer and will be in charge of scheduling, hiring and firing the bouncing staff, and if they have any issues they need to go to him. What I still need to figure out is what I want Shane’s responsibilities to be. Troy was only assistant manager because I kept him on from the old club. Now I know why the club was going down the tubes when I took it over.
I work on my laptop for about another hour working out Shane’s responsibilities and adding the new singles night to the website of upcoming events. I’ve ordered the posters for outside and contacted the radio stations I want to promote on. Now I need to put this aside and start making us some dinner.
I head into the kitchen to start getting dinner in the oven. I want to make Skyler something healthy so she can heal quickly and that means protein. I have a pork loin marinating in the fridge, which I pull out and place into a pan. I cut up some potatoes and add them to the pan then head to the fridge for some fresh carrots and snap peas. I peel the carrots and toss them in with the rest of the roast and get it into the oven. It’s going to take about an hour for this to cook and while it does, I want to get Skyler to take a bath so we can relax after dinner. I laugh at my desire to take such care of her.
God, I hope I don’t end up with a broken heart again.
I head over to the couch to wake Skyler, and she jumps. “Skyler, it’s me. You're okay.”
She takes a deep breath. “Sorry, you startled me.”
“It’s okay, I have dinner in the oven. Let’s go take a bath so we can relax after dinner.”
She stretches and gives me a dirty grin. “That sounds good to me.”
“Nice try, but I think we need to refrain from that type of activity for today. I do, however, want to sit with you and wash you.”
“And you want me to behave? Do you have any idea how much I love your hands on my body?”
“No, but I’m glad to hear that because after the stunt you pulled leaving the club yesterday I want to put my hands across your ass.” I help her off the couch. “Come on, let’s go take a bath.”
We head upstairs to my huge oval soaking tub. I walk into the bathroom and start running the water. When I come back out I find her lying on the bed.
“Oh no you don’t. No more sleeping for a little while. I want you to have a good night’s sleep tonight.”
“But I’m tired,” she whines. Normally that would piss me off, but she’s so cute it makes me laugh.
“I know you are, but come on, we have to get you up and moving.” I help her sit up and pull her shirt over her head, then pull her off the bed. I pull her panties down her amazing legs, letting my thumbs skim them the whole way down. She grips my shoulders and steps out of them.
“What, you’re not going to rip them off?”
“Not tonight, sweetie,” I laugh.
The tub is filled so I shut off the water and help her in before I remove my clothes and climb in with her.
I sit behind her with a washcloth, rubbing the warm water all over her body. I want to talk about how she’s feeling about the attack, but I’m not sure if she’s ready. I think about it for a minute more, then ask, “How are you feeling?”
She lays her head back on my shoulder. “Tired and a little sore, but nothing too serious.”
I kiss the side of her head. “I mean emotionally. How are you doing?”
It’s a long time before she responds, and I find myself wishing I had sat across from her so I could see her face.
“I’m okay, I guess,” she says after a long moment. “I was really scared because he was trying to get his pants down when I shoved my knee into his balls. I’m pretty sure he was planning to rape me and that scares the shit out of me.”
I shift in the tub to look at her. “Skyler, why didn’t you tell the cop that? He can up the charges to attempted rape.” Her eyes widen from either fear or realization that that was exactly what was happening; he was attempting to rape her.
“I don’t know. I was groggy and didn’t think about it that way.”
“The cop who interviewed you gave me his card before he left. We’ll call him later and let him know that you realized there was more to the story.”
She nods and closes her eyes, burying her head in my neck.
“What if he comes after me again? Sadie is moving out and I’ll be living by myself. I’m scared.”
“I’m not going to let that happen and neither will the police. Honestly, I think he was trashed and wouldn’t have done it if he were sober.”
I’m not sure I believe that, but I know it will calm her down. Being bartenders, we know people do stupid shit when they are drunk.
I squirt some body wash on a washcloth and gently start sliding it over her body, washing her and relaxing her.
“You're goin
g to be okay, Skyler. Please tell me you know I care about you and will not allow anyone to get to you.”
She kisses my neck. “I know. I care about you too, Logan, so much it scares me. I have never let anyone become a part of my life the way I am with you. I have never clicked enough with anyone to even try and have a relationship like I want with you.”
“I know what you mean. I had one serious relationship not too long before I opened the club and she broke my heart. I think that’s why I bought the club. I needed to busy myself. It took me a while to find a place I liked and I spent a good amount of time looking for the perfect spot. I was either coming across buildings that were too beat up and needed a lot of work or clubs that were so far in the red it would take me forever to get them out. It’s amazing how many clubs in LA are struggling because of lack of leadership.”
“What did you do before you bought the club?”
“I managed another club. Once I realized I was doing all the work and the owner was making all the money, I took the money my mother left me and bought the club.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you lost your mom.”
“Yeah, quite a few years ago. She was big in LA. She starred in a few movies but got wrapped up in drugs and overdosed at a party one night. I’m big on my employees not drinking or using drugs. Anyway, she left me quite a bit of money and I had invested it all and was living off my income from my job. When I bought the club I paid for it in cash so it would be easy equity and I could hopefully be able to get a second one going within two to three years.”
“That’s pretty cool.” Skyler’s tone is flat, and I feel like she’s thinking about Dugan’s and I want to get her mind off it.
“When I saw you walk into the club that first night with Sadie my whole mentality changed. I was in such a bad mood that night. I was pissed Kelly had called out and I was stuck behind the bar even though I knew it was a good place for me to be. I knew it was my chance to earn the respect of my bartenders and show them I can work it too, but I didn’t want to be there.” I rub her back some more, trickling warm water down it. “When I saw your beautiful face sit down in front of me I couldn’t help but smile and I had to fight not to stare at you.” I can feel her smile against my chest. “Stop blushing.”
