by Gray Holborn
Jax was also a calming presence during workouts, so I appreciated his unique blend of support and humor each morning. And surprisingly, I was getting better. I could run for a mile without feeling like my lungs were attacking me, and I could meditate for a full two minutes before my mind started thinking about pizza. I was impressed with my improvements, even if nobody else was.
✽✽✽
If only the meditation and balancing techniques Jax was teaching me would transfer over to my serving skills. I was only halfway through my shift on Friday night and I’d already managed to beat my average nightly-plate-drops by two. El was counting. That was loyalty.
“Hey look at it this way, at least you only dropped Soren’s food. It’s not like it was a real customer.” El was bent over next to Soren’s booth, helping to pull the ruined steak bits from the carpet.
Meanwhile, Soren was glaring at me like I’d killed his puppy and smeared its blood on his face.
“I think I’d be safer dropping a rando’s food to be honest. Your brother looks like he’s about to gut me,” I mumbled so that only El could hear me, then looked over at him. “I’ll er...be right back with a fresh plate. This one was super well done anyway—Reggie took a smoke break while he was cooking it and forgot about the grill. I don’t think he likes you much. So really, when you think about it, I did you a favor. I know all you kittycats like your meat practically still breathing. You’re welcome.”
His lip twitched briefly in response but he didn’t say anything when I shot up to refill his order in the back. I wiped my greasy hands down the front of my serving apron. Catching a glimpse of my frizzy hair in the metal reflection of a kitchen panel, I frowned. Somehow El always ended her shifts looking just as perfect as when she started them. And not because she was lazy or cutting corners—the girl took more tables than I did and spent half her time cleaning up my messes and running food to my section. Ah well, if I couldn’t be perfect I guess the next best thing was to surround myself with people who are.
The Tavern was packed tonight, so by the end of my shift I was practically panting when I took a seat at the bar where El, Soren, Jax, and Luis were already deep in conversation.
“How’d your first Friday night go, Jax?” I rested my head lightly onto my hands, begging myself to stay awake for a little while longer. Soren wasn’t interested in letting El work without a babysitter, so Jax volunteered to get a job at The Tavern and work during her shift. Jax was pleased because he had a horde of people to pull energy from, and Sam was pleased because Jax was bringing in a ton of business.
“Not too bad. I got like fourteen numbers.” He winked, a proud grin revealing pearly white teeth.
“The best part is that he totally jacked up all of the orders that led to the numbers.” Luis shook his head, whether in annoyance or amusement I couldn’t tell.
“Well, at least I’m no longer the only one messing up orders around here. Where’s Sam at?” I craned my neck trying to find him. We’d just closed up and he usually sat with us for a bit to have a beer when we were all working the weekend closing shift together.
El looked up with a giant smile on her face, practically bouncing on her bar stool. “He’s making you coffee.”
The mischievous glint in her eye was starting to worry me. “Why would he make me coffee? I’m planning on crashing as soon as I walk into my bedroom. Maybe after scarfing down a grilled cheese.”
Jax and Luis were trying to hide their smirks while El started to squirm. Soren simply raised an eyebrow and watched the scene unfold, derisive as always.
“So, um, we were thinking,” El started.
Soren cleared his throat loudly.
“Okay okay, I was thinking that maybe we could all go out to Inferno tonight. You know, since the guys haven’t really had a chance to get out and do something fun around town. And you’ve been going nonstop all week. It might be nice to let loose for a while.”
I scanned them all slowly. El looked hesitant but excited, and Jax and Luis were simply amused and resigned to their fate of going to the club. Finally, I turned on Soren. “And even you agreed to this? Clubbing seems way out of your wheelhouse.”
His eyes locked onto mine with a hint of mirth, but not enough to cover their usual cool distance. “Oh it is. She’s hard to say no to.” He smiled at El, but I watched as his head nodded subtly towards Luis.
I scrunched my face in confusion until El’s eyes bulged as she also nodded to Luis, willing me to get the hint. Ah, right. Jax mentioned that he and Soren were planning to scope out Inferno this weekend to try and track evidence of the fire-manipulator, El must’ve just begged until he agreed to make a night out of it. Because even during fun time, Soren had to find a way to make it business.
Well that was that. If even Soren was on board, there was no way El would let me weasel out of this one tonight. I tried to stifle my groan. And was almost successful. “Fine. You all win, I’m clearly outvoted. Sam better be fixing me up a super Godzilla-sized cup of coffee.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, he appeared in the room. I smelled the black liquidy goodness before I saw him. He set a giant glass down in front of me, trying unsuccessfully to stifle his laughter at the worship on my face.
“Seriously, just once I want someone to look at me the way that Dessa looks at coffee,” El said.
“No you don’t, El,” Luis chimed in. “That’s borderline obsession. If someone ever looks at you like that, they’re probably a stalker or a psychopath.”
Sam cleared his throat. “So, has she agreed to go? Taken one for the team?”
My head whipped back and I choked on the liquid I was already greedily inhaling. “What? You’re not going.” When Sam shook his head I turned back to El with exasperation. “How come he gets out of it?”
“Because I volunteered to finish closing up here while you were too busy begging Reggie to make you more food. Snooze you lose, Dess.” Sam smirked, but squeezed my shoulder in solidarity.
Crap. And Reggie ultimately refused to make me that grilled cheese I begged him for. Double crap. Tonight was not my night.
“Why can’t you make your own food, Desi-girl?” Jax asked.
Luis buckled over with laughter, his dimples on full display. “There was an incident with the frier. Odie has been banned from going within two feet of the kitchen cookware for life.”
The glare I directed at Luis did nothing to stop his amusement.
“We should head out then, I need enough time to get both myself and Dessa ready. Dess, you going to invite Michael?” El asked. Soren tensed. I knew he was already annoyed about how frequently Luis was around, especially since we couldn’t talk openly about anything supe-involved but seriously, would no one give Michael a chance?
Luis’s head lifted at her question. “Yeah Odie, I heard even Soren and Jax have met him. And they’ve only known you for a second. Hardly seems fair.” His voice held a tone of humor, but I knew Luis well enough to recognize the glimmer of hurt on his face.
“Nah, not tonight sorry.” And I meant it. Having Michael around would make another Inferno investigative mission slightly less gross. “He mentioned having plans when I talked to him earlier. Studygroup.”
Even though Luis just expressed a desire to meet Michael, I noticed the way his shoulders dropped slightly with relief. Apparently Soren and Jax weren’t the only ones uncomfortable with the addition of new people. And on that note, I downed the rest of my coffee, ready to succumb to the night that just inevitably got longer. If Jax was thinking he could drag me out of bed for a workout tomorrow morning, he would have another thing coming.
Luis agreed to meet us at Inferno in an hour as he wanted to head home to shower and change first. Apparently Jax spilled some vodka on his pants at the beginning of the shift. That left El with way less time than she had hoped. Despite her short legs, I had to practically jog to keep up with her pace on our trek home.
The second she threw open the kitchen door, she shoved Soren
into the bathroom to shower and went to the boys’ room to lay out their clothes, like a mom on a warpath. While she only spent a minute on preparing them for the evening, the way she pulled me into her room made it abundantly clear that I wouldn’t be as lucky.
I looked down at my dark skinny jeans and tank top that I comfortably wore all day. It wasn’t glamorous but it was flattering and cute enough to wear on a night out. “El, this outfit is probably good enough as it is, no? Maybe I can just fix my hair and touch up the makeup?”
Without even gracing me with a glance, she yelled a quick “no” before getting swallowed up by her closet. It was worth a shot. “I’ve been cooped up all week, with Soren hovering over my every move like a drill sergeant. It took hours of bribing and begging to turn tonight into something fun, so we are doing it right.”
Two minutes later, she walked out with an armful of bags. Apparently El did more than pick up more groceries when Jax took her shopping the other day. I brushed and curled my hair while she put together her own outfit: a light blue dress that matched her eyes perfectly. She paired it with some black jewelry and stilettos that made me queasy with just the thought of trying to walk in them.
“You can keep the jeans on, but here.” In another bag, she pulled out the top she picked out for me and I cringed.
“No way. This is like two pieces of string disguised as a leotard, El. It might as well be a thong for shit’s sake.”
When I turned to face her, she had that expression on. The expression that made stronger men than me wither in fear and obedience. “Dessa. You are wearing it. If I only have twenty minutes to get us both ready, you do what I say without complaining.”
“Yes, Mother.” She threw a package at me with a silicone bra contraption in it; and through some impressive sorcery it managed to give my boobs some much needed support, despite the mere scraps. The top fit like a halter, with a V going down almost to my belly button. And the back of the top was pretty much non existent. I ducked when she threw my favorite boots at me as a peace offering. It wasn’t much, but I’d take it. Though part of me would have preferred for her to bring me a grilled cheese instead.
After getting dressed and finishing our hair, we were left with exactly seven minutes to do our makeup. Surprisingly, that left me with enough time to pull off a decent smoky eye. I was feeling pretty proud of my speed until I turned to look at El and saw that she basically managed to make herself look like an airbrushed model in the blink of an eye.
When we walked out into the living room to grab the boys, they were lounging in front of the television, almost done with a beer. El didn’t make them do anything but run under some sudsy water and put on clothes. Guys had it made.
“Damn, ladies,” Jax said as soon as he saw us. Followed by a wolf whistle that only he could pull off without sounding creepy. “Too bad I’m banned from sweeping either of you off your feet tonight.”
I grinned, recalling the story Jax told me about the one and only time he’d been in a legitimate fight with Soren. It occurred about thirty seconds after the first and last time he ever hit on Ellie when they were younger.
Jax looked good too. El had picked out a dark green button up that brought out interesting flecks of gold and green in his eyes that I never noticed before. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing tanned skin and strong forearms. His hair was swept to the side, somehow both messy and neat, complimenting his personality in a way I never knew a hairstyle could.
He watched my appraisal with a cocky smirk, while he returned the inspection with a languid perusal. I rolled my eyes and glanced at Soren, only to find that his eyes were glued to me. The gray looked several shades darker than it normally did, and while the usual boredom was nowhere to be found in their depths, I couldn’t read whatever emotion filled them now. The weight of his stare was doing crazy things to my breathing, so I cleared my throat and broke eye contact, briefly inspecting El’s outfit choice for him. He was wearing dark jeans and a short sleeve charcoal gray t-shirt that perfectly matched the current shade of his eyes. I latched on almost immediately to the interesting pattern of tattoos he had going down his left arm—I had only ever seen him in long sleeves, so this was the first time I noticed them. The swirls and symbols were complex and interesting, but I couldn’t make out a recognizable pattern or image. But they were infused with a golden-white glow. Were all supe tattoos like that?
“We should leave now if we don’t want Luis waiting by himself.” El’s voice snapped me back to reality, and I closed my mouth, annoyed that it had opened slightly without my permission.
When we walked up to Inferno, Luis was leaning against the wall with his back turned to us. He turned around as we approached, and I was surprised to find one of the bar’s frequent regulars standing in front of him, drinking his presence in with equal parts glee and adoration.
El walked up to them while I awkwardly followed behind her, wrestling with a sudden tightness in my stomach. “Hey Kay, Luis didn’t mention you’d be here tonight,” she said, giving her a quick hug.
“El! It’s good to see you again.” She glanced at me standing slightly to the side and sent a shy smile in my direction. “Odessa, good to see you too, you look great!” She turned back towards El, the earnest smile never leaving her face. “I just texted Luis half an hour ago to see if he wanted to hang out, he mentioned that you were all coming up here and said I could tag along. Since I was already dressed for a night out, I figured why not!”
Luis moved over towards the rest of us. “Sorry, I probably shouldn't have invited her since our group is already uncomfortably large these days but I suck at saying no,” he mumbled into my ear. “Also, what the hell are you wearing Odie?” His nervous voice was laced with laughter.
“Don’t be silly, it’s fine Luis. And this monstrosity of a shirt is courtesy of Ellie so if you mock again, I’m telling on you.” I’d meant to tease him, but when his eyes met mine I knew we were both thinking the same thing: neither of us enjoyed being on her bad side.
As we moved towards the door, I tripped on a piece of upturned sidewalk. Sensing my fall almost immediately, Luis turned back to catch me, his hands hot against the bare skin of my back. His eyes deepened as they travelled down from my face. When they made their way back up my body, his stare lingered an extra second at the generously revealing dip of the top. Unable to hold it in, I burst into laughter at the awkward moment.
“Shit, sorry.” Luis’s cheeks reddened while he averted his eyes, and he turned back to the rest of the group so quickly that he ended up accidentally knocking me into a steeper fall than he had rescued me from.
Luckily, Soren’s hand reached out to steady me, the touch of his skin against mine sending tingles down my arm. As soon as I was out of danger of face-planting, he ripped his hand away as if I’d burned him.
When I looked back towards the club, I caught Kay’s eye. She smiled softly at me, but the slight downward turn of her mouth wasn’t there a moment ago. I was pulled from the awkwardness of the moment by Muscles McGee’s booming voice at the front of the line.
“Ellie, Klutz—I had no idea you guys were coming out tonight.” He paused, looking down conspiratorially at El. “And you, pixie, never pencilled me in for a date this week.”
Soren growled, and while Muscles looked temporarily taken aback, El placed a small hand on his arm. “Ignore my brother, Ronnie. He’s a bit of an overprotective tool sometimes.”
That eased Muscles back into his usual easygoing smile. “Hey, can’t blame him. I have a little sister too.”
“Don’t give him any encouragement, Ronnie,” El continued. “He’s enough of an alpha douche as it is. Anyway, this is my brother Soren and his best friend, Jax. They just popped in this week for a visit. We haven’t seen each other in a while, so we’ve spent the week catching up. Hopefully you can forgive me enough to take me out sometime next week?”
“You got it,” he beamed.
“Excellent. Oh, and these are my fri
ends Luis and Kay,” she nodded over in my direction, “and I’m sure you haven’t forgotten Odessa.” After glancing quickly at the window I’d claimed last week, she added, “though it looks like someone has cleaned up her calling card.”
Ronnie and El started laughing, with everyone else in our party looking confused by their exchange. I crossed my fingers, trying to mimic their confusion in hopes that El and Muscles would end their reminiscing without detailing the events.
Thankfully they did, and Muscles let me pass him with nothing more than a wink and a whispered “be careful” as I entered the club. If it was possible, the place was even more packed than when El and I were here last week. The same blue-haired DJ was headbanging to the bass on his elevated platform, girls thrashing around all four sides.
I latched onto El, and she pulled our group through the mix as if we were a conga line until we made our way to the bar. There was a cute new dude working as bartender who seemed immune to El’s smile and wink. After four minutes of trying to signal for his attention, I shoved Jax to the front in order to try a different tactic.
And it worked, almost instantly. Not only did Jax immediately get served, but the bartender who was an interesting mix of pretty and masculine, with dark creamy skin and better shaped eyebrows than I could ever hope for, gave our entire group drinks on the house in exchange for his number. Secretly, I was hoping that between Jax and El I wouldn’t have to pay for a drink in a long while. There were benefits to rolling around with a pretty entourage—and I was more than willing to exploit those benefits. And Jax was an equal opportunity feeder, leaving the bartender with his number, a fat tip, and a playful smile.
