She decided to go upstairs because she didn't want to be there when Alicia the traitor got back.
She went inside her apartment and sat back down in front of the computer. She was lost as to what to do until she had to go to work. She signed on to her online movie subscription and found a movie to watch. She was able to watch two before she needed to leave for work.
Her heart was beating fast as she drove the short distance from her apartment to the bar.
She then wondered why she felt the need to drive at all since she was about fifteen minutes earlier than even Gabe had asked her to be there.
She lit a cigarette, though she'd smoked one right before she left the house. She was lost in her thoughts when there was a knock on her half open window. She almost dropped her cigarette. Gabe looked amused.
"Are you hiding?"
She wanted to hide from him even more than she had the day before. He looked even better she thought. His t-shirt and jeans were both even tighter, emphasizing his many perfect physical qualities. His shirt was a light blue that brought out the color of his eyes.
She looked up at him and something passed in his eyes. There wasn't just interest in his eyes, or even admiration, the way she guessed she was looking at him. There was something else. Some feeling she couldn't and didn't think she wanted to understand.
"I'm not hiding. I got here early and felt kind of silly. I should have walked. It's only about four blocks from my apartment."
"It’s probably a better idea if you do drive to work Ami. You should be fine, especially working with Rick most nights, but sometimes drunks hang around after closing time thinking they can get a chance with a woman as beautiful as you."
She sighed. It was almost inaudible, even to her ears, but somehow he caught it. "Hey," he said. "The last thing I want to do is scare you away on your first day. I just want you to be careful okay? And I meant what I said. If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, call me."
The look in his eyes was fierce. She had to look away. Even if it wasn't true about him and his female employees, it was pretty obvious to Ami that he wanted her.
"You ready to come inside now? Rick's not here quite yet, but I can show you some things. Eric, too. It's pretty slow right now."
She nodded. He opened the car door for her after she'd rolled up the window.
He took her hand to help her when she stepped out of the car. Something passed between them again. She wanted it all to go away she thought. First she was very attracted to a man whom she had told she had a boyfriend to keep him away and now feeling an attraction to her married boss? Her raging hormones were going to drive her crazy.
She pushed the button to lock her car and followed Gabe into the bar.
Eric gave her a big grin and said "Hey, Ami."
"Hi.” At least he wasn't affecting her the way Nick and Gabe were. She found him attractive, but that was it.
The next fifteen minutes were busy. Gabe showed her where the cooler was, gave her a rundown of the prices, went over the ingredients of their most popular mixed drinks; though they were on a list under the register just in case, and showed her the basic functions of the cash register. She felt like she was in over her head and felt even more so when the giant of a man who could only be Rick walked in.
"Hey, Eric. Hey, Gabe. And this must be Ami.” His voice was deep. Ami found it to be very sexy.
"Ami," Gabe said. "This is Rick."
"Hi."
He gave her a smile. He was huge, looked even taller than the 6'7 that Eric had told her he was.
He was muscular, with a buzz cut so close he was almost left bald and a gorgeous pair of deep brown eyes.
Ami wondered if it was just her or if looking at Rick made other women instantly think of sex.
Maybe the fact that she hadn’t had sex in a long time was starting to get to her she thought.
Gabe left her with Rick and disappeared in the direction of his office. She didn't notice when he left, she was too much in awe of Rick.
Rick was so quick that he was almost graceful. He explained most of what he was doing to her. She felt comfortable enough to run two beers from the tap for a tattooed woman and her equally tattooed husband when her shift officially started.
The rest of the night went quickly. She did what she could to help Rick out, but he was so fast that she felt like she wasn't really doing much. She said as much to him when the doors had finally closed. "I'm sorry. I don't feel like I was much help to you."
He grinned. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it. It seems to always be one of two things around this place. Dead or packed to the rafters. Candy thought I was crazy when I told her she should start working here, but now she likes it. Of course, now I'm beginning to think I was wrong with her being pregnant."
Rick was restocking the smaller coolers, while she wiped down the bar and got ready to vacuum.
"Has the pregnancy been hard on her?"
"She's so small and she's had a couple of miscarriages so the doctor wanted her to be really careful. She ended up pregnant only a few weeks after she started working here. I wanted her to quit right away but she wouldn't do it. Says we need the money too much. I'll be making good money after I finish school. But there's going to be loans to pay back, house payments. Then there's the wedding and the baby."
"You're going to school to be a nurse I think Eric said?"
"Yeah. My parents told me I was crazy when I started school. They told me all the little kids would be scared of me because I'm so big. But kids really like me. Grown men on the other hand, can still be easily intimidated."
She laughed. "I'm guessing that can be pretty useful working here."
There hadn't been any big incidents that night. But she figured that like any bar, there were bound to be problems now and then. That's what you got when you mixed people with alcohol.
"You handled it very well when that guy was hitting on you. I was about to come over there when he finally gave up. I can't work with Candy because she comes off as flirtatious without meaning to. I start to get a little crazy when guys take it too much to heart."
He sounded like a man very much in love Ami thought. He was already wearing what looked like a wedding ring on his finger and when they'd hit a lull in customers, Candy and their unborn child had been all he'd talked about.
"How long have you two been together?"
"A year and a half. It's been the best time of my life. She's easily the best thing that's ever happened to me. People thought she was crazy when she asked me out because I'm three times her size. But nobody ever said my girl didn't have guts." He laughed.
"I'm looking forward to meeting her."
"You'll like her. She can come off as hard sometimes, but she’s a sweetheart underneath."
Ami hoped so. He showed her where the vacuum was. She started the floors while he finished washing the dishes and swept and mopped behind the bar and in front of the bar by the stools where the floor was still tile.
Together they finished quickly. Rick counted out the tips and handed her half, though she felt like she didn't deserve it.
They locked up and said goodbye in the parking lot. Rick waited until she was behind the wheel of her car before he got in his.
She lit a cigarette and drove towards home, hoping she wouldn't run into anyone at her apartment building, Nick especially. Or would he stay away Ami wondered? She wasn't sure which would be better, if he stayed away or if she had to deal with him hanging around with Carson and Alicia.
She breathed a sigh of relief when there was no one outside when she got home. Nick's car was nowhere in sight and the lights were off in Carson's apartment. Then again what did she expect at almost one o'clock in the morning Ami thought?
She got out of her car, locked it and went up the stairs. She was tired but somehow didn't think she was going to be able to sleep.
She went inside, turned the lights on, relocked the door and turned on her laptop.
While she was w
aiting for it to boot up, she went to the kitchen and set about making herself a cup of hot chocolate, which she had been addicted to since she was a child.
Chapter 6
She had her cocoa and had just opened her e-mail when there was a soft knock at the door.
She opened it to find Alicia standing there wrapped in a blanket, looking like she was wearing Carson's clothes again.
"Hi. I saw your light on and was hoping you'd be up."
"Hi." She was still a little mad at Alicia for leaving her alone with Nick, but she was still glad to see her.
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sorry." Ami stepped back and let Alicia in.
"You want some cocoa? It's caffeine free."
"No thanks. I couldn't sleep. Carson is snoring and I didn't want to bug him by turning on the TV."
"Is the baby keeping you up?"
"Yes and no. She's got her nights and days crossed sometimes. There have been a few nights where she's kicked the crap out of me half the night and I have to pee all the time, but it's not that. I wanted to talk to you."
"Okay.”
"I guess this isn't my business really, but Carson's phone only works on speaker phone. I happened to catch a conversation between him and Nick earlier tonight."
"Um, okay."
"I was trying not to eavesdrop at first, but I couldn't help it. I really like Nick. He's one of the first people that I met after we moved here. He's always been so sweet to me, especially since Brian left me. I really like you Ami. I hope we can be good friends. And I'm rambling. Sorry. Well, you know how sometimes guys are as bad as girls when it comes to telling their friends everything? I'm guessing that Nick told Carson everything."
"Did he?"
"Or I'm guessing it was everything. You had already told me that you guys kissed last night." She smiled. "Nick told Carson that it was more like a ten minute make out session, but what's the difference right? Then they get to talking like the perverts that they are so I quit listening for a while. You ever heard a guy mention blue balls Ami?" Ami made a face because oh yes, Corin had mentioned them a time or two. "Never mind. So then they start talking about this morning when I kind of threw you and Nick together. I'm sorry Ami. I'm nosy, and I'm always messing shit up."
"What did Nick tell Carson about this morning?"
"That it took all of his will power to walk away from you. That he thought you were going to cry when he left you and he has no idea how he's going to stand being around you because he wants you so much. That he kissed you again, and held you and that it was a huge mistake because it made things worse for both of you."
"I'm an idiot Alicia."
"Why? Because you have a thing for a really good looking guy who happens to be smart and sweet and wonderful? Who happens to want you just as much as you want him?"
"No, because I still managed not to tell him that I don’t really have a boyfriend. Last night I started it, I don't know who stopped it really. I was a little too worked up to notice. But today Nick was the one that stopped it. I said some really stupid things to him. He initiated it, but he stopped it too. I have to tell him, but I’m afraid he’ll hate me. It’s also a little more complicated than all that, too.”
Alicia laughed softly. "He won’t hate you. If you can’t tell him, break up with your fake boyfriend. He’ll never know. But what do you mean more complicated?”
Ami sighed. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell Alicia about what had happened with Corin, and that she had a seven year old son. But since she had been the one that had opened her mouth, she said “I left my boyfriend when I was seventeen because he beat the crap out of me when I told him I was pregnant. I have a seven year old son that lives with my Aunt. Charlie had lived with my Dad since he was born. I was too scared of his Dad to take care of him myself. I just found out that Corin, that’s the father of my child- is dead. I haven’t had a real relationship in a long time. It’s been easier to stay away from guys.”
“I’m sorry Ami. But you’ve got to realize that not all men are assholes. There could be something between you and Nick. You can’t let him get away.”
“Alicia, I’ve had sex with two guys in my life. The one that I lost my virginity to when I was fifteen and Corin. I haven’t had sex in seven years.”
"So? Everyone has a story. Take Carson. Did you know that he was married before?"
"No."
"It's not something he likes to talk about. He has a three year old son that he never sees because his mother took off with him. He can't find them. What's worse is his ex-wife made up some bull shit story about him abusing her and their son before she left. So that makes things easily twice as hard for him."
"I'm sorry. I never would have guessed."
"Most people wouldn't. We all come with our own problems. Nobody's perfect, nobody came from the perfect family or had the perfect life. My parents were married for thirty years. All of the sudden last year, my dad walks out on my mom, and tells her that he’s moving to Nova Scotia with the girlfriend he’s had for fifteen years.”
"Wow."
"Yeah. So are you going to go for it with Nick?"
"I want to, but I’m scared. Then there’s the guys I work with. I am so lost Alicia."
"You're not lost. What about the guys you work with?"
"There's Eric, who's hot but I'm not really attracted to. Then there's Rick who I am a little attracted to but feel really bad about because he's engaged and he's having a baby. He's so in love with Candy that every dirty thought that crossed my mind when I was working with him made me want to smack myself in the head. Then there's the really complicated part, which is Gabe. He hasn't come on to me yet, not directly anyway. But have you ever met someone who is not only screwing you with their eyes but who wants to see inside your brain, wants to know what makes you tick?"
Alicia raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, that's a way to put it. Eric is straight up a womanizer. He's hot, and he knows he's hot. I'm sure he's given plenty of free drinks to whatever girl catches his eye when the boss isn't around. Rick, I've seen him and Candy around town. He is hot. You have to wonder what it's like to do a guy who's that big, and there's something that's just plain sexy about him. But I get what you're saying about feeling bad about thinking sexy thoughts about him. When you see the way he looks at her, you know that there's a man who would go to the ends of the earth and back for his woman. And Gabe, I have to meet this guy even more now. I can say that I've been eye fucked before. It's pretty disturbing with the wrong guy and can be just yeah, with the right one. But he's looks like he wants to pick apart your brain too, huh? I think you might be in trouble there. The ones that care just as much about getting into your head as they do getting into your pants are even more dangerous."
"I kind of figured that."
"There's one last thing I have to tell you about Nick sweetie."
"What?"
"He took some bimbo home with him tonight."
"He did?" Why did she feel like her heart was breaking Ami wondered?
"Bobby let him go home from work early tonight. He said he thought he looked sick. After he got off the phone with Carson he went out and got drunk at the only other place in town that serves alcohol besides the bowling alley and Gabe's. This seedy, disgusting place that Brian drug me to once that they call 'The Lounge'. He got so drunk that he had to call Carson for a ride home. This chick was all over him in the backseat the whole way."
She looked at Ami and said "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. Was she pretty?"
Alicia made a disgusted face. "Hell no. She was a tramp. Wearing too much makeup and not enough clothes. Bad dye job, stringy hair. She had nothing on you Ami, believe me."
She didn't know whether that made her feel better or worse. "I don't have a right to feel jealous, but I do."
"You're the one he wants, he just won't lay a hand on you while he thinks you've got a boyfriend."
"Why does that feel like it's a problem?"
Alicia laughed softly. "With most men it wouldn't be. You've have to follow your heart Ami. Figure out what you really want and take it."
"But what if I don't know?"
"You'll know. I was considering leaving Brian right before I got pregnant for this guy Bert. I thought I was in love with him, but when it came down to it, I couldn't walk away from Brian because what I thought was real with Bert, wasn't. Eventually your hormones will chill and you'll know what's real and what's just lust."
"Yeah right."
Alicia grinned. "So jump Nick’s bones and then figure it out."
"That sounds fair.”
"Whoever said life was fair was full of shit. If it takes screwing Nick's brains out to get your head on straight then so be it. It's not like he'll mind."
“Sure.” Ami still wasn’t convinced.
"He won't mind. Let me give you my number. It's not like I won't be downstairs, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here. I won't even charge you $3.99 a minute."
"Thanks. About the not charging me $3.99 a minute."
"I was pretty thrilled that I didn't have to go back to phone sex. You'd never believe what those guys want you to say to them."
"Yuck."
She gave Ami her phone number. “I guess I'd better get back downstairs and try to go back to sleep. You wouldn't have any spare earplugs would you? Carson snores pretty loud."
Ami laughed. "Sorry, no."
"Sleep well Ami. And don't worry. Everything has its way of working out in the end even if it's hard to see along the way."
Ami nodded. It didn't seem like anything in her life ever worked out right, but she was tired of negative thoughts. "Goodnight Alicia."
Alicia reached over and gave her a hug. "Night Ami."
She walked Alicia to the door, watching long enough to make sure that her pregnant friend made it downstairs okay.
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 77
