TEN
It only took her an hour to get from the airport to her house, giving her just enough time to change clothes before she had to leave and go to the bar. When she showed up, it took her ten minutes to find a parking spot. It was packed already.
Lilly walked in to find complete chaos. There had to have been a hundred people inside, all of them looking around and mingling with one another. Lilly tried to make her way to the bar, but someone grabbed her arm. She turned around to find Scott standing there.
“Hello, babysitter.” Lilly greeted him with a hug.
Scott chuckled. “Hey, Lilly.”
“Where’s Cass?”
Scott pointed to the bar. Cass was behind the bar. He looked disheveled, stressed, and slightly panicked. People were lined up at the counter, flashing their money at Cass, Mindy, and two other girls she hadn’t seen before. She assumed they were Ryan and Lucy.
Lilly couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that Cass was bartending, and although he wasn’t a bad bartender, the worried look on his face was slightly humorous.
Scott leaned down so Lilly could hear him. “He might need some help.”
“But watching him suffer is kind of cute.”
Scott smiled. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“But I guess he’s suffered enough. I’m going to help.”
Mindy was the first one to spot Lilly when she got behind the bar. She rushed around with a cup of ice in her hand, repeating, “Double-Jack and cranberry,” as she opened the refrigerator.
“Lilly!” she exclaimed.
“Mindy!” Lilly mimicked.
“Great, you can help now! Assholes are everywhere tonight, so beware. They’re fucking ruthless,” Mindy said as she walked away.
“Um. Excuse me! Are you ready to serve yet?” Lilly turned around to find a woman in her mid-thirties looking at her intently. She had a twenty in her hand, and when Lilly didn’t respond fast enough, she shook it at her. “Hello?”
It took everything in Lilly’s power to maintain her composure. This fucking cunt. I have only been here for two-point-five minutes, and she thinks I’m going to allow her to treat me like that? Oh, fuck no.
About the time Lilly was about to give this woman a piece of her mind, Cass stood in between them. “What can I get you?” Cass asked, shooting Lilly a look that said, “You’re welcome.”
“I need three Miller Lites, a Malibu and pineapple, and a Michelob Ultra,” the woman said.
Cass ushered away to get the woman’s requests. Lilly walked to the lounge area behind the bar to compose herself. You are a kickass bartender. You can handle this. Go out there and get in your zone.
Lilly took one stabilizing breath and walked back out front. She walked up to the first customer she saw. “What can I get you?” she asked, plastering that fake bartender smile across her face. One after the other, Lilly waited on everyone she could, dancing around Mindy, Ryan, Lucy, and Cass.
After bumping into Cass and spilling three different drinks,
Lilly grabbed Cass’s arm in passing, stopping him in his tracks.
“Babe, you’re killing me. We’re grateful that you came back here to help, but we got it now.”
He was in the way more than he was helping. It wasn’t his fault, though. The bar was only so big, and his shoulders took up half the space.
Cass put his hands up in surrender. “I was wondering how long it was going to take you to kick me out from behind here. Yes ma’am. I’m going.”
Mindy walked up behind Lilly. “Thank you,” she whispered as a playful giggle escaped her lips. “Now let’s kick some ass.”
Lilly gave her a knowing smile and they went to work.
The rush was exhilarating. She and Mindy worked well together, and Ryan was catching on quick. “Hey Ryan!” Lilly called for her.
“Yeah?” She stopped next to Lilly on her way to a customer.
“Go tell Cass to help you set up the cash bar. I think that will help the flow. You think you can handle it?” Lilly asked, realizing that Ryan may not be comfortable with it.
“Hell yeah, Boo Boo. I got this shit handled.”
Lilly got lost in her zone, slinging drinks and cutting up with Mindy and the customers. She scanned the crowd constantly, noticing familiar faces of regulars and construction workers. There were patch holders everywhere coming out to support their brother in his new business endeavor. Ryan seemed to be rocking the cash bar because each time Lilly caught her eye, she gave her a wink and a thumbs-up.
Ryan had red hair with blonde highlights. She was loud and straightforward and had an hourglass figure that would make any man’s mouth water. She came off strong to customers, but Lilly realized quickly that was simply her way. Lilly gave Ryan a questioning thumbs-up when she caught her eye. Ryan nodded and gave her one in return.
Lucy was making her way around behind the bar with ease and, between her and Mindy, Lilly didn’t seem to be needed behind the bar. No one needed a drink. They were rocking this place. Everyone was either out on the dance floor jamming to the band or bundled around a table mingling. As her eyes moved from person to person, she noticed a double-headed snake patch in the center of a man’s back.
“Shit,” she mumbled to herself. He was talking to Scott, who didn’t look pleased with the conversation, but it was hard to tell from across the bar.
Whatever Scott said seemed to have pissed the guy off. He turned around and walked toward the bar. He was shorter than Scott, with grungy brown hair. His beard was scraggly, tangled, and short. When he handed her his money, she noticed the bruises in the crease of his arms. Both of them were bruised, and there were track marks all over.
Lilly noticed the front of his cut had multiple patches on it. Some said “MFFM,” some had sayings on them, but one that stood out was the one that gave his name and rank. Keith, Vice President. So that’s who Cass was talking to.
After serving Keith and watching him leave, she looked across the bar. Her eyes landed on Cass. He was talking to some of the Hounds that Lilly hadn’t seen before when a black-haired woman approached him. He hugged her, and his hand rested a little too long on her hip for Lilly’s liking. Cass made eye contact with Lilly and removed his hands from the woman.
Lilly took in a shallow breath, fighting the jealousy that she felt building in her chest. She scanned the bar to make sure Mindy and Lucy didn’t need her before walking to the lounge area to take a break. Stopping in front of the walk-in cooler, she leaned her head against the cold metal doors. Lilly took in a deep, steadying breath, and exhaled before sitting down at the table.
She pulled a cigarette out and lit it. Just as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, a hand slid around her waist and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She whipped her head around to find Cass standing behind her, smiling. His smile quickly faded.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just getting a hold on the jealous bitch inside me.” She offered him an apologetic smile and shrug of her shoulders.
“No, no. You have nothing to be jealous of. At all.”
“I know. That’s why I didn’t say anything,” she said, taking another pull from her cigarette.
“Okay. I just want to make sure you know. I may be a lot of things, but disrespectful to my woman ain’t one of ’em.”
Lilly smiled as she looked up at him. “Thank you.”
“You look sexy as hell out there. I bet every man in here wants to take you home.” Cass brushed a loose strand of hair away from
Lilly’s forehead.
She couldn’t fight back the smile on her face. “You’re crazy.”
“Over you, maybe.”
The thought of Cass being crazy over her made her smile. She let herself get lost in the thought of the two of them for only a moment before reality snapped its ugly head back into place.
Mindy rounded the corner to the lounge area. “Lilly? I hate to interrupt, but I need you out here, and you too, boss man.”
They walked out front where most of the people were gathered around the stage.
“I’d like everyone to meet the person who is responsible for tonight, as well as many more to come in this establishment right here. Miss Lilly Summers.”
Scott motioned for Lilly, but her feet were cemented to the ground. Not Lilly. Cass. It’s Cass’s place. He is responsible. Then she remembered. Oh, shit. Of course, everything went in my name. Shit.
Lilly forced her feet to move, and, with a nudge from Cass, she was on her way to the center of the bar where Scott stood. Her face turned at least one shade redder with each step that took her closer to Scott and the full attention of the bar.
When Lilly turned to face the bar, Scott started clapping, followed by everyone else in the crowd. Her eyes wandered over everyone, and she forced that fake bartender smile for show. Evidently, Scott had been talking to the crowd while Lilly was lost in thought. She acted like she had heard and faced him.
“ . . . they did. All right, y’all. Let’s get this band back started and everybody drink up!”
A roar of cheers surged through the crowd, and Scott started making his way toward Cass with Lilly in tow. Lilly walked closely behind Scott, tiptoeing so that he could hear her over the roar of the crowd.
“I hate you for that,” she said.
Scott smirked at her. “You’ll get over it.”
The wide grin on Cass’s face when they stopped in front of him told Lilly that he was thoroughly enjoying it all.
“All thanks to Lilly,” Cass said, wrapping his arm around her.
Scott and Cass shared a laugh. Lilly’s face remained indifferent.
“Lilly! I need some limes, and I may or may not need your help back here. They’re getting crazy,” Mindy called from behind the bar.
Lilly said a silent thank you as she evaded the grip Cass had on her and inched her way back behind the bar. While Lilly was cutting limes, she saw that Mindy and Lucy were nonstop. People were still pouring in.
The men in the bar that wore patches were more respectful to the bartenders than the majority of the other patrons. The night went on to be one of the best experiences behind a bar that Lilly had ever had. She and Mindy worked so well behind the bar together that not once did the two of them collide. Cass was out in the crowd, socializing with Scott never far from him. Lilly noticed a few familiar faces from the club. The two prospects, Leo and Shorty, were there, along with the guy that she had confronted at the machine shop, and Scott. Then there were four men with a Lucifer’s Hounds patch that Lilly had never seen before.
The crowd was slowly thinning out. Mindy made a list of the beer that needed to be stocked, and Ryan cleaned off tables. A few of the Hounds were taking trash cans out, and Cass was nowhere in sight. Lilly looked up to see Leo and Shorty walking up to the bar.
“Cass told us to check and see what you needed done,” Leo said.
“I need beer stocked, and then when we get everyone out, I have to clean the bar.”
“Okay, can we start stocking beer now, or do we need to wait?” Shorty asked.
“Let’s wait until it gets a little bit slower.”
“Fine by us,” Leo said, and he and Shorty disappeared back into the crowd.
Mindy laid her head on Lilly’s shoulder. “My best friend totally fucking rocked it tonight.”
“Oh yeah? That’s funny because my best friend totally fucking rocked it tonight.” Lilly reached up to touch Mindy’s head.
“We kicked ass. It’s good to have you back, Lil.”
“I wasn’t even gone that long!”
“Well, it felt like forever. How are things with you and boss man?” Mindy raised her eyebrows.
“There is not a word in the English language that would do it justice. Amazing sounds so feeble compared to what it’s like with Cass.” Lilly felt all her features soften at the thought of her and Cass.
“I’m so happy for you.” Mindy’s sincerity soaked into Lilly like the sun.
“Excuse me, can I get a bartender?” Lilly heard Leo’s voice from behind them.
Turning around, she saw him standing with Shorty at his side. Lilly couldn’t help the smile that crept across her lips at the sight of them. They were almost like family. Not because of anything other than the fact that they treated her as such.
“You two must really be bored.” Lilly sighed. “Come on, I think we can start stocking. Shorty, will you get Ryan to close up her register and come see me, please?”
“Yep. I’m on it.”
In the meantime, Mindy started sweeping behind the bar and Lilly showed Leo where the stock room was. It was nice to have help, especially after the long night they had.
Ryan rounded the corner of the bar into the lounge where Lilly was taking a break. She plopped down on the couch right next to Lilly. “I definitely like bartending a hell of a lot better than my last profession. I made damn good money, too.”
“Bartending is good for quick cash, but don’t get me wrong, you work your ass off for every penny you make. You earn it.”
“I noticed. My legs are killing me.” Ryan rubbed her thighs.
Lilly laughed at her words. “Yeah, you’ll get used to it though. So, which one of the guys is yours?” Curiosity got the best of Lilly. She had to ask.
Ryan smiled. “The one with the longest beard that always has a cigar in his mouth.”
“The one that works at the machine shop?” Lilly asked, remembering when she barged into the place looking for Cass, and the guy that was working got the brunt of Lilly’s frustration.
“Yes ma’am. That’d be my pain in the ass, Gater.”
“I met him at the machine shop a few weeks ago,” Lilly admitted.
“I know. I heard about the little firecracker that came through the door like a mad woman looking for Cass. It’s nice to finally meet you, officially.”
Lilly smiled shyly. “It’s nice to meet you, too, and it’s nice to have you as part of our team.”
Lucy came around the corner to the back of the bar, sitting on the other side of Lilly. “My feet are so sore.”
“You get used to it . . . eventually.”
“I didn’t think the people would ever stop coming in,” Lucy said.
“They have to stop at some point. Y’all ready to shut it down?” Lilly asked.
“I was ready four hours ago.” Ryan got up and walked to the front of the bar with Lilly and Lucy in tow.
Lilly ducked as she walked through the doorway, coming eye level with a case of beer that Leo carried on his shoulder.
“I grabbed one too many cases.”
“I see that. Trying to kill me already. I’m telling Carrie on you,” Lilly teased.
“Go ahead!” he hollered over his shoulder.
The bar was nearly empty; only the club guys and four people were left to help the band pack up. Mindy was emptying ashtrays and putting bar mats in the sink when Lilly spotted her. Lilly began cleaning the bar off, throwing away empty beer bottles and then wiping the bar down with cleaner.
Ryan was cleaning up around the cash bar, and Shorty picked up barstools. Everyone pitched in and everyone did their part. Lucy and Mindy had the bar itself clean in no time.
Ryan walked back with her tip bucket.
“Let’s see how we did,” Mindy said, grabbing hers and motioning for Lucy and Lilly to do the same. The girls walked to the lounge area, and all four sat down in the middle of the floor. It didn’t take long for them to count out what they had made and exchange their ones, fives, and tens for twenties and hundreds.
“Holy shit!” Ryan exclaimed after she counted out her tips. “I made two hundred and eighty dollars in tips alone! And I get seven dollars an hour for eight hours? You’re fucking kidding!” Ryan’s excitement was contagious.
Mindy’s smile mirrored Lilly’s as she spoke. “Yep. This is why we do what we do. Sometimes it sucks so badly, but the money is fire.”
Lilly smirked. “Welcome to the world of bartending.”