It’s been a long fucking night, especially with Calla not in the kitchen. I don’t have as much fun when she is off. At least not the past couple of nights that Trey and I have sent her to check out the other restaurants. Maybe pushing her out the door in hopes she’ll get laid isn’t the smartest idea I’ve ever had. Because every time I think of some other guy putting his hands on her, I just want to punch someone.

Trey pushes the large wooden doors of Nectar open. “You ready for this?” Trey glances at me.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Nessa quips with her knowing smirk.

Does everyone know I want Calla? Is it that obvious? I truly hope not, because if Calla knows how I feel, what does it mean that she keeps going out looking for someone to hook up with?

I need a fucking drink.

I follow Nessa and Adam into Nectar, with Trey and Forest bringing up the rear. From the bits of conversation I’ve heard from them, Forest hasn’t been sleeping much since coming back from his vacation. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I scan the dining room floor in search of Calla.

The dining room is fairly empty, but by the way the staff busses tables, it hasn’t been slow for very long. I don’t spot Calla at any of the tables, so I start to fidget.

Did she leave and not tell Nessa?

“Welcome to Nectar. Will there be the five of you for dinner?” a pretty young hostess asks Nessa.

The chick is all done up, and overly so. She reminds me of Zoe, and how she tries too hard to get attention. That has become one of the biggest issues we have.

I catch this chick’s eye and watch as she eye fucks me and my friends. Ugh, she’s one of those girls. I roll my eyes at her.

“We’re meeting a friend,” Nessa says. “There she is.” Nessa grabs Adam and starts for the bar.

Calla sets her empty wine glass on the bar just as a chef delivers dessert and takes the bar stool right next to her. The bartender removes the empty glass and leaves two drinks in its place. There is another wine glass, which looks sparkling, and another glass with an amber liquid, most likely whiskey.

As both of the men hover around her, Nessa, Adam, and Trey sidle up to the bar, taking the open chairs next to Calla. I hang back with Forest, taking in the scene in front of me. The young hostess follows us, but stops a few feet away.

“If he thinks I’m fucking him tonight after he’s been flirting with her, he better think again,” I hear her mumble.

Brows furrowed, I glance at the woman then look back to the group in front of me.

“She’s just a tad bitter,” Forest comments in his deep drawl.

I chuckle. “Yes. I’d have to agree.”

My chuckle startles Calla, and a huge grin flashes on her face when she glances over her shoulder. The bartender and the man to her right take notice of us as we close ranks around Calla. Looks of competition cross their faces quickly then disappear just as fast. Trey has a wicked grin on his face as he glances back at me.

“Max, can I get one red wine for the Mrs. and four beers?” Adam requests of the bartender.

So that’s the Max Adam talks about.

Two beers are passed to me and Forest, and we both chin-nod our thanks.

I tip the bottle against my mouth and take a long pull on the cold, hoppy beer.

“Darlin’, you look like you're having fun. How is your night off so far?” Trey asks, stealing her fork and taking a bite of the food in front of Calla.

She elbows him in the gut, and the fork drops.

“Damn girl, your elbow hurts!”

Chuckles ring out as the bartender places another fork next to Calla.

“I had planned on letting you try what’s in that box,” she points to the box to her right with her fork. “But now, I’m not so sure.”

“Screw that! Pass it over. I’m hungry!” Trey holds out his hands.

“Why don’t I just have the kitchen make y’all some?” the man to Calla’s left speaks up.

So he’s a chef? I wonder if he’s the owner as well?

“I’m not going to say no to food. We were slammed, so none of us took a break to eat. And by the time we could eat, none of us wanted what we’d been cooking all night,” Trey informs Calla.

“Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve come in to help.” She takes a bite of her dessert.

“Calla, we were fine. Even if you had been there, it wouldn’t have helped much at all. We were just slammed. Besides, we wanted you to have another night off. If we had been short-staffed, we would have called you in. But we weren’t.” I wink at her and take another sip of my beer.

Trey laughs again, this time at my attempt to make Calla feel comfortable about not working tonight.

“So five plates? Anything y’all don’t eat?” the chef questions.

“We’re all pretty easy,” Trey responds.

“That’s what she said,” we all say in unison.

The chef does a double-take at our response, but Max just grins.

“I see you weren’t kidding about that Adam.” Max laughs.

“I don’t kid about the crazy shit we do at Belladonna.” Adam clinks his bottle to ours.

“Caleb, before you feed these asses, why don’t I introduce you? This jackass is Trey.” Calla points next to her. “Adam and Nessa are next to him. And these two are Wes and Forest.”

“Nice to meet all of you. I’ll get some Drunken Mexican Shrimp and dessert started, if that’s okay for you?” Caleb offers, checking his watch as he slides off his stool. “Let me get the food started and begin closing down the kitchen.”

“Thanks man,” I reply as Caleb walks away.

“Darlin’ do you have a boyfriend yet?” Trey teases.

“Seriously!” Calla reaches up and smacks Trey in the bicep.

I chuckle and sip more of my beer. Max joins in our laughter as he cleans the bar and chats with Adam, all while mixing us a few more drinks. After Trey’s comment, Max glances from the kitchen to the hostess area and back to Calla, confirming my suspicions about Caleb and the hostess. Ever observant, Trey catches the looks and lightly taps my bottle with his.

“Calla, do you have a tab? Max, give the lady another whiskey. And this time, give her a Yellow Spot. It’s her favorite.” I pull cash out of my back pocket and pass it to Trey. “In fact, will you make all of us one?”

“Oh, she hasn’t told me that.” He takes the money and grabs six highball glasses.

“I was being good.” She glances back at me.

“Why? We sent you out and told you to have fun and let your hair down,” Adam interjects.

“Why am I friends with you fuckers?” she mutters.

“Because you couldn’t get rid of us,” Forest replies deadpan, but can't keep from laughing.

As Max sits the last glass on the bar, the food arrives. It’s mostly finger foods. If I had to guess, Caleb has quickly pulled a few different items from the menu for us to try. It is a creative way to either showcase the food he really enjoys, new ideas he wants feedback on, or the foods Calla has tried.

“This all looks great,” Trey announces.

“Some of it’s customer favorites. The others are experiments. We’re trying to add to the menu,” Caleb says, taking Calla’s hand and kissing it. “I need to get back to the kitchen as we close down.”