My first shift went as smooth as could be expected with my complete lack of experience and the confrontation with Miranda yesterday still fresh in my mind. I was set up to train with Derek for the next two weeks, which meant I worked whenever he worked, and fortunately, tonight, that was just the dinner rush. We were both out by 8:30, just missing the Thirsty Thursday crowd.
“Thank God we missed that,” Derek said as we exited, and he pointed behind him. “The last Thursday before school starts is always crazy.”
“Yeah, I remember. Or at least I remember the first thirty minutes of those nights.”
Derek laughed as we began walking back. “So whadya think?”
“Not bad. It’ll probably be better once I actually know what I’m doing.”
“You’ll get the hang of it quick. As long as you got common sense and can deal with people’s shit, working in the food industry is pretty simple.” We continued the rest of the walk in silence. Derek was constantly typing out texts on his phone while I looked around and tried to familiarize myself with the area.
As soon as we got home, I walked to my room and fell face-first on the bed. Even though the only physical thing I did today was organize my new bedroom before we headed to work, I was still pretty tired.
My eyes closed just as I heard Derek’s chuckle from the foot of my bed before he asked, “Tired?”
“Just a little bit,” I slurred into my pillow. His feet padded across the floor, but I didn’t open my eyes until I heard the ripping of tape. My head was turned in the direction of my closet and gave me a clear view of Derek tearing at several unopened boxes labeled clothes.
“Come on. Get dressed,” he said as he turned to face me and gestured to the boxes.
“Uh… why?” I asked.
Ignoring me, he stepped closer before sniffing the air around me and taking a step back. “You better shower, too. I’ll text Naomi and let her know we need about a half hour.”
He made a move to leave the room when my voice stopped him. “Umm, I think I’m going to need a little bit more information here.”
Derek slid his phone in the front pocket of his jeans. “Sorry, my bad. We’re going out tonight. Celebrating you getting a new job or moving in or… whatever the hell we want really. My sister, Naomi, and a couple of her friends are going out, and she asked me the other night if I wanted to come. At first I said no, but now I figure why the hell not?” He shrugged before continuing out of the room. “Oh, and my sister hates when I’m late to shit, so try not to take too long,” Derek pleaded as he vanished down the hall.
…
Thirty minutes later, we were pulling up to another college bar, making my relief at avoiding drunken co-eds short lived. We immediately made our way to the bar, and I was surprised to find it wasn’t as noisy as I was expecting, so when I leaned over and asked Derek where his sister was, I could actually hear his answer.
“Just a sec,” he responded right before throwing back a shot. He offered me the second one, but when I shook my head, he quickly knocked it back without a second thought.
“DEREK!” I heard the shriek over my left shoulder two seconds before the embodiment of that voice launched herself at his chest.
“Hey,” Derek managed to puff out as he reached out to steady himself on the bar. Once he regained his balance, he set her down and placed his hand on her hip to steady her as well. She made a big production of running her hand down his chest and smiling suggestively as she kissed his neck. I really hope that’s not his sister.
“Hey, Becca. How are you?” He placed a quick, chaste kiss on her cheek.
“I’m great.” She winked before turning my way and holding out her hand. “Becca.”
“Gabe.”
“How do you know Derek?” she asked while wrapping her arm around his midsection.
“From work,” Derek interrupted quickly as he worked to untangle her arm from his stomach. “Becca… it’s been good seeing you. But we’re actually meeting people, so…” Derek trailed off as he motioned for me to follow him to a spot farther down the bar, leaving her standing there gaping at us.
“Ex-girlfriend?” At his grimace, I dropped it and changed the subject. “Do you see your sister yet?”
“Not yet, but I really need a smoke. Then we can look for Naomi, yeah?”
“Sure.”
As we made our way to the front door, the silence was comfortable, and I allowed my eyes to wander around the bar. The instant they landed on a booth in the back, everything seemed to go quiet. Two girls sat there, one in the dead center of the booth, gesticulating enthusiastically and laughing so loud it reached us several yards away. Her thick, dark hair was piled high on her head, leaving her porcelain face and neck free from obstruction. But despite her theatrics and faraway beauty, she wasn’t the one who held my attention. That was reserved for the girl directly to her right, who was casually leaning against the seat. One hand fluttered to her neck as she adjusted the long, blonde braid cascading over her right breast, drawing my attention to her modestly covered yet enticing chest. She laughed along with her friend, but her laugh was restrained and timid, like she was afraid someone would look at her if she was too loud. She must have sensed my stare, because her eyes jumped to mine, and after a few seconds, her lips tipped up into a small, tentative smile that—
My head spun to the petite brunette in front of me as she stumbled backward and flew out her arms in hopes of catching herself. I quickly grabbed her before she fell and held on as she regained her balance.
“Hey, I’m sorry about that. Are you all right?” I asked the girl I must have run into.
“I’m great,” she slurred. The small smile I had on my face disappeared as she leaned toward me. “But I know a way I could be even better.”
“Hey!” The shout came just before the shove that had me releasing her and regaining my own balance. “Hands off my date, asshole.”
I lifted my hands in surrender and gestured toward the swaying brunette. “Just making sure she stays on her feet.”
He grunted before looking over at her. “That’s a full-time job. This bitch prefers to be on her back… or her knees.” His friends started laughing and gave each other high-fives right as she shoved him. Derek had just turned around to see where I was when she punctuated the shove with a slurred insult.
“You’re such an ass, Carter.” Her voice was strained as she looked down in embarrassment.
“I have to be when my date’s such a slut.” He looked smug when her cheeks turned a brighter shade of red, because he thought she was still embarrassed, but I wasn’t so sure. She seemed more pissed than anything else. A fact she made obvious when she slapped him. Hard. His eyes flared with anger.
“Bitch, you—” he started, but she was already stumbling away and heading toward the exit. He moved to follow, but his friends held him back.
“Forget about her, Carter. Just find another one.”
He reluctantly nodded before the group pulled him away and toward the bar.
“What the hell was that about?” Derek asked when he finally made his way back to me.
I shook my head. “No fucking clue.” I blew out a breath and nodded toward the door. “How about that smoke?” We started making our way to the exit once more as I thought about the girl in the booth. But when I looked back over at her table, she was smiling at someone else.
Our brief eye contact broke when he caught the girl he just smacked into. He offered her a warm smile as she leaned into him, and I quickly looked away before I was caught.
Naomi and I were waiting at a table while Sherry was at the bar, getting our drinks. Guys had flanked her on both sides, but she only seemed interested in one. He was leaning against the bar, standing between her and the competition, although he didn’t seem to think of them as competition. His friend was standing next to him, almost forming a wall against anyone else.
“I hope she at least brings us our drinks before she ditches us,” I said.
“She’s not going to ditch us. It’s girls’ night.” Naomi turned, and we both watched Sherry accept the drinks from the bartender as the guy she was chatting with paid the tab. Juggling the three drinks in her hands, she turned around and started to walk toward us without a single backward glance. Mr. Generous quickly caught up to her and relieved her of two drinks while his friend set his sights on someone else.
When Sherry reached the booth, she slid in next to Naomi while Sherry’s suitor blindly placed our drinks on the table, not taking his eyes off her once. “Thanks again for the drinks,” she said as she took a sip of her beer.
“No problem.” He smiled easily and kissed Sherry on the cheek. “Who are your friends?”
She quickly introduced us before Naomi shook his hand and I simply offered him a smile. When the silence turned uncomfortable, he cleared his throat and smiled at Sherry. “Come find me later.”
“And that’s why we send you to get the drinks,” Naomi said once he was out of earshot.
Sherry winked and took another pull of her beer. “You’re both hot. You could just as easily get us free drinks.”
Naomi took her phone from her purse and smiled as she typed out a text. “Yes, but I’d feel guilty about it.”
“Mob wife,” I muttered.
“Fine, if you’re such a paragon of good, why don’t you go find—” Naomi paused as she looked at Sherry.
“Kevin,” she supplied.
“Go find Kevin and give him money for your drink.”
I rolled my eyes as Sherry laughed into her drink. “Fine. You’ve made your point.”
Naomi’s smile was victorious. “I’m certainly not studying law because it’s fun.”
“I guess we’re just lucky Sherry has no moral compass.”
“Gee, thanks, guys,” Sherry deadpanned.
Naomi laughed as her phone went off again, and her smile grew as she read the screen. “Good news. Derek’s here. He says he’s got some exciting news.”
“It’s girls’ night. So unless his news is he got a sex change, tell him it’ll have to wait till tomorrow,” Sherry said.
“No can do, Sher Bear.” At the sound of Derek’s voice, Sherry cringed and glanced behind her, but not before I saw a flash of pain race across her face at the nickname.
“Sher Bear?” Naomi and I asked in unison.
“Ughh… I am forever going to regret getting drunk enough to tell you that nickname.” She groaned and banged her head on the table.
Derek laughed as he moved around to the front of the table. He leaned down and spoke in her ear, making sure it was still loud enough for the whole table to hear. “And don’t worry. The dick’s here to stay.” He winked as she shoved him, and Naomi gagged. A deep chuckle came from behind him, and that was when we noticed his shadow.
“Ladies, this is Gabe,” Derek said as he patted the newcomer on his back.
“Hey.” Gabe smiled and nodded at each of us, but when our eyes locked, his smile got wider.
“Gabe, this is my sister Naomi, my surrogate sister Alara, and of course, we can’t forget Sher Bear here.” He made a move to rub her hair when she growled, and he quickly retracted his hand.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Gabe.” Sherry paused and offered him a saccharine smile. “That being said, if you ever call me Sher Bear I will cut off your balls and make you wear them as earrings. Okay?”
Gabe choked on his beer but recovered quickly and nodded. “Noted.”
“She’s all talk.” Derek paused, glancing at Sherry’s raised eyebrows. “Well… mostly,” he amended with a nervous smile.
“I’m a lot nicer when I have a full drink.” She raised her already empty bottle in Derek’s direction. “Buy me another?” He smiled in response, and she winked as she got up and sashayed past him.
“You good?” Derek asked Gabe, his eyes trained on Sherry.
“Yeah.” Without a backward glance, Derek nodded absentmindedly and followed Sherry to the bar.
“Ughhh… my stupid brother and his stupid dick,” Naomi mumbled miserably as she watched them leave before downing her drink.
Gabe had followed Naomi’s gaze, giving me a few seconds to take him in.
I was pretty average all around, and that included my height. I didn’t need heels to go out (thank God), but I also didn’t have to worry about finding a giant to compensate for being too tall. So based on that alone, the only thing I could tell was he was just north of six feet. Anything beyond that and I was completely clueless. I didn’t really understand how girls always seemed to know how tall a guy was. They were always so sure of themselves, like, Oh, here comes this really hot guy. He’s six foot five, weighing in at 195 pounds with a 36x34 pant size. Was that even a real pant size?
But whatever his height and weight were, he wore it well. The only color in his outfit was the light-red button-down he wore, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing toned, light-skinned arms. I’d just made my way to the top of his black jeans when Naomi made a rather grandiose production of clearing her throat, compelling my eyes to fly to hers. With a knowing smirk, her gaze shifted between Gabe and me before returning her scowl to Derek and Sherry.
I felt the booth under me shift as Gabe sat, and when I looked over, he was already staring at me with a soft smile on his lips. “Hi.”
“Hey.”
“Why do they continue to do this to me?” Naomi whined, drawing our attention back to her.
Gabe quickly looked toward the bar before raising an eyebrow. “She doesn’t like them dating?” he asked me.
“Oh, they’re not dating,” I said.
“No, they’re just fuck buddies,” Naomi spat out. “Against their better judgment and my numerous requests that they stop.” She exhaled loudly, and we all looked toward Derek and Sherry just as they exited the bar, his hand on her lower back. Despite Naomi’s insistence, I never really got the impression that they hooked up. Sure, they joked about it, but that was all it felt like… a joke. “I’m gonna grab another drink. Maybe find some bleach for my eyes. You guys need anything?”
My eyes widened as I shot her a you-better-not-leave-me glare. “I’m good,” I answered, raising my nearly full whiskey sour. She noted my drink but purposefully avoided my eyes, like she knew what was waiting there.
“Would you mind grabbing me another beer?” Gabe asked.
When he pulled out his wallet, Naomi finally looked at me. Her eyes widened and she nodded her head toward Gabe before shooting me a pointed glare. I subtly shook my head and nodded toward her seat, code for sit your butt back down. She ignored it, and once he handed over a twenty and told her her drink was on him, she started walking away with a pleased grin.
“Excuse me one second,” I said before scooting out of the booth and grabbing her arm. She looked over my shoulder before scowling.
“What’s wrong with you? Get back over there. He’s hot, and you promised to socialize.”
“Yeah, with supervision,” I hissed.
“Oh God.” Naomi started laughing. “You’re not a child.” I gripped her arm harder.
“I know. But it’s like those stupid Dos Equis commercials.” I paused to clear my throat and mimic his deep voice. “I don’t always talk to random strangers, but when I do, I make it awkward as fuck.”
She paused in her retreat as we both started laughing, and relief blossomed in me that she wasn’t actually leaving. That—
My thoughts cut off as she pivoted and began walking away.
Okay, so she was going to leave me; she just did so while cackling.
…
I slid back in the booth, keeping a fair amount of distance between us. Gabe turned his body toward me and let his gaze roam over my face. I started to fidget, becoming uncomfortable with his presence, when he relaxed back against the seat and turned his body back toward the dance floor.
As he watched everyone else, I watched him. He had a thick head of dark hair with a subtle yet attractive widow’s peak and blue eyes that shone from beneath full eyebrows. His very defined jawline was lightly covered in a five-o’clock shadow that faded naturally into his high cheekbones.
I swallowed nervously as I prepped myself for the awkward conversation we would most likely have to suffer through. I absolutely despised small talk, but I’d promised Naomi and Sherry that I’d try to be more social. Ugh, why the hell do I do this to myself? I hate going out. I hate people. I hate everything… Taking a large sip of my drink and a deep breath, I tuned out my inner drama queen and initiated conversation.
“So how do you know Derek?” I asked. Really impressive, I know. But baby steps.
The safe distance I kept was eliminated as he scooted closer so he could hear me. I repeated the question as he began picking at the label on his bottle. “We actually just met. I got a job at the bar.”
My eyebrows rose as I thought of the busiest college bar in Carillo and all the crazy stories Derek had told me about it. “That place can get pretty wild.”
His smile grew as he lifted his arm to rest on the booth behind me. “Do you know this from experience? Will I be seeing you there a lot?”
“Not even if you paid me.” Gabe chuckled as I continued. “My favorite coffee place is just down the street, so sometimes I stop by for lunch when Derek’s working. He’s told me stories, and the night crowd sounds like a little bit too much for me.”
“Well, I guess I’ll find out. Hopefully, it’s not too much for me. So what’s this coffee place?”
“Caffeine IV. I’ve been going there since my senior year in high school.” I smiled as I remembered the first time I walked in. “I was actually walking to the bar to meet up with Derek when all of a sudden, it started pouring. I grabbed the first handle I saw and was immediately greeted by Kath.”
“Kath?”
“Yeah, she’s this retired nurse from Alabama. She’s a mother of four and a widow as of six years ago, when she moved here. She works there to ‘keep busy’ since apparently none of her children visit much since her husband’s death and her move. She loves to volunteer at the hospital, has an affinity for hand-knit scarves, and is allergic to blueberries.”
Gabe wrinkled his nose and his eyebrows bunched in adorable confusion as I listed this off like I was reading stats off the back of a baseball card.
“She told me all this the first time I met her. I don’t think she took a single breath in that ten-minute conversation. I could probably write her biography by now, three and a half years later.”
“So she’s a talker?”
“Only in every single sense of the word.” We both laughed as our gazes swept over the floor in front of us. A tolerable silence descended as I mentally patted myself on the back. Okay, this isn’t so bad. I can totally be a normal human.
Just as I had that thought, the quiet started to feel tense. Should I force more small talk or just let the awkward silence hang there? Maybe it wasn’t awkward for him. Maybe I’m just crazy. No, I’m definitely crazy, but that’s beside the point. Small talk or awkward silence… my constant internal dilemma.
“So based on earlier, I’m guessing you hate all bars, not just Derek’s?” he asked.
Small talk it is.
Taking another generous sip of my drink, I turned my body toward him slightly. He took in my change of position with a grin and moved his hand down so it settled more firmly on my shoulder. “Earlier?”
He coughed as a faint pink crept over his cheeks and he looked toward the bar. “You just didn’t seem thrilled to be here. You looked…” He trailed off before meeting my eyes again. “Uncomfortable.”
“I definitely don’t love them, but I don’t hate them either.” I shook my head and laughed. “And honestly, even if I were a fan, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, I’ve been informed that I have RBF.” At his raised eyebrows, I clarified. “Resting bitch face.” To which I constantly wanted to scream to the world, THAT’S JUST MY FACE! But I digress.
He threw his head back and laughed, bringing his arm in full contact with my shoulder and back. The small movement stirred the air around us and brought with it the slightest trace of mint, the scent so faint I could’ve almost convinced myself it was never there at all. Against my better judgment, I leaned toward him and subtly inhaled the hint of sweet mint. I loved that he didn’t feel the need to overload on cologne. Fragrances shouldn’t be used to impress anyone within a ten-foot radius. They should be a reward for that one person you trusted enough to get close.
I’d just finished leaning back when he brought his head down to face me with an irrefutable smirk plastered there. His eyes were alight with humor, making it more than obvious he’d caught me sniffing him. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, no doubt wondering why the heck I’d smelled him, I quickly continued my explanation from earlier.
“No, I wasn’t hating it. I just wasn’t feeling particularly excited about coming out tonight. But it was girls’ night, and I’ve been informed it’s a best friend’s duty.”
He smiled softly. “You must be a really good friend, then.”
Yes, I was a great friend… such a great friend that I didn’t notice Naomi had been gone for almost twenty minutes. I lifted myself off the seat as I scanned the bar and surrounding areas, frowning when I couldn’t find her.
“You think she ran off with my money?” Gabe asked as I sat back down.
“Probably. I mean, twenty bucks can get you so much these days.”
He smiled wider and moved a little closer, and as he continued to stare, I refused to grow uncomfortable. Instead, I tried to focus on keeping the conversation going until Naomi came back.
“So you meet Derek for what, half an hour on a job interview, and he invites you to come out with perfect strangers?”
“Well, actually, he offered me a place to live first.”
My eyebrows skyrocketed to my hairline, and I took in Derek’s new roommate before looking out at the dance floor. “That’s going to be a lot of Derek. Are you sure you can handle that?” I asked nervously as I tried to discreetly move away from him. There was certainly no way I could go back to his place now.
“So far he doesn’t seem so bad. I certainly like the company he keeps,” he said softly.
Slowly, I brought my eyes back to his, and we stared at each other for several seconds before my palms began to feel slick and my mouth dry. I clenched my jaw, a nervous habit I exhibited when I felt out of my depth, as I waited for him to say more. I couldn’t think of—
“We are pretty great company.” Naomi’s voice broke through the fog in my brain as she sat down beside me.
I jumped slightly as my eyes snapped to hers and widened, a silent thank you for her excellently timed return. She slid a beer over to Gabe and leaned back, shamelessly grinning as her gaze shifted between us.
“Where have you been?” I accused.
“Sorry, Mom. I ran into some friends.” She shrugged. “So what did you two do while I was gone?”
I shrugged and shifted away from Gabe a bit. “We talked. Derek met him when he got a job at Pick Your Poison, and guess what else? He’s Derek’s new roommate.”
Naomi chuckled and nodded her head at me, her way of saying, Okay, you get a pass. “That’s great! So I guess we’ll be seeing you a lot, then?”
Smiling broadly, Gabe gave Naomi a brief glance before his bright blue eyes came back to me. “I sure hope so.”