Hadley
“So, are you going to tell me about the guy you were making out with in the parking lot, or you going to act like Rick didn’t have to interrupt anything.”
I grabbed the last of the freshly washed glasses Vanessa was handing me and set them on the shelf. “I didn’t know Rick had such a big mouth.”
Vanessa wagged her finger at me and shook her head. “No, no, no. We are not talking about Rick; we are talking about you and that fine ass man who was at the bar all night making you laugh and smile.”
“What, I’m not allowed to laugh or smile?” I grabbed a wet rag and wiped down the bar.
Tate had sat at the bar most of the night until his friends decided it was time to leave. He had been with a group of men and women, but only one of his friends had come to talk to him at the bar. It had been the one who had been drunk and acted like a fool last weekend.
I had been pouring drinks for Vanessa when he had come up and tried to convince Tate to go sit with him by the stage. His friend was already half in the bag, and all it took to get rid of him was Tate walking back to the table with him, sitting him down, and then he walked back to the bar stool he had been occupying. I had told Tate numerous times he didn’t need to sit at the bar all night, but all he would do when I told him was shake his head and give me that damn smirk that made my panties melt. I stopped telling him to go sit with his friends in fear that my panties really would go up in flames.
“Oh, you’re allowed to smile, but when it’s a handsome six foot three tall drink of water putting a smile on your face, I need all of the details.” Vanessa flipped the light switch on the wall, turning off the neon bar signs. “Spill the hot details now, Sug.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.
I finished wiping the bar and tossed the rag into the sink. “I don’t have many details. He was talking to Kay.”
“Wait, hold up. Was Kay talking to him? Please don’t tell me he did anything more than talk with her, because if he did, then I’m going to have to step in as the good friend and tell you that you cannot, in good conscience, do anything with that man until you get him tested from head to toe because Kay has everything running through that skank ass body, probably even Ebola,” she said matter of factly. “You should probably go wash anything that touched him.”
I rounded the bar and sat down on the stool in front of Vanessa. “He shot her down, V.”
Vanessa’s jaw dropped. “You mean he didn’t go for her tits in his face and hands on his dick act?”
I shook my head. “Nope, not at all. She was laying it on thick, too.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. I guess there is a guy out there who doesn’t fall for her bullshit.”
“Hey, Rick doesn’t fall for it either,” I pointed out.
“Humph, that’s because I told him if he ever thought of even laying a finger on her, I’d break his dick off and shove it down his throat.”
“Such a vivid picture,” I murmured.
Vanessa popped the gum in her mouth and smiled sweetly. “Vivid pictures are what get across to a man. Otherwise, they start thinking with the wrong head.”
“You ladies ready to head out?” Rick called from the back.
“I need five more minutes,” Vanessa hollered.
“Four, and I’ll be waiting in the car,” he countered.
“Just for that, I’m going to make him wait for ten,” Vanessa whispered.
I reached down, slipped off one of my heels, and rubbed my left foot. “You convince Rick to let us wear flats yet?”
“I try, Sug, but that’s something that I don’t think is going to happen. Even I have to agree the heels help me earn more tips.” Vanessa came to sit next to me and slid an envelope to me. “That’s your tips from the bar. You did damn good tonight.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, grabbing the thick envelope. Too bad it was going to be mostly singles.
“Back to tall, dark, and handsome. So what happened between Kay throwing herself at him and you making out with him in the parking lot? But first, start with his name,” Vanessa ordered.
I cleared my throat and stared down at the bar. “His name is Tate, and not a lot happened. He looked at my car, trying to figure out what was wrong with it, then I almost broke my damn neck on these heels, and then we kissed.” I slipped my shoe back on and instantly regretted it. Of course I had forgotten to grab my flip flops tonight so I was going to have to wear my heels home. Fuckcicles.
Vanessa laughed. “There had to be more to it than that, but I’m going to let it slide for now. So what happens now?”
I sighed and shook my head. “I seriously have no idea. He’s giving me a ride to work tomorrow night, he knows where I live, and he has my phone number. What if I just invited a serial killer into my house tonight, and I’m going to wind up chopped up into fifty million pieces.”
Vanessa chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, Sug, but if it does, I promise I’ll try to put you back together again.”
Visions of me looking like Humpty Dumpty flashed through my head. “Make sure you get all of the king's men to help,” I giggled.
“Will do,” Vanessa promised.
I looked in the mirror on the back wall of the bar and scrunched up my nose. “I hate how life fucks with you sometimes, you know? One minute, I’m content being on my own, taking care of Ryker any way I can, and the next minute, some guy waltzes in and threatens to shake my life up like a damn snow globe.”
“The question is, do you want him to shake it up?”
I bit my lip and studied myself in the mirror. I looked the same, but I sure as hell didn’t feel the same. I had tossed my hair up in a messy bun after Tate kissed the hell out of me, the makeup I had put on was now half smudged, and it looked like I needed a good ten-hour nap. It was a wonder what Tate saw in me, to want to stay the whole night at the bar. “I really don’t know what I want, V. I say I want a knight in shining armor to come rescue me, but in the next breath, I’m telling Tate I don’t want a handout.”
“Sounds like you need to figure out what you really want, Sug. I don’t think you want everything given to you, but I also think you don’t want to be busting your ass for the next forty years here when you could be with a man to help lessen the load.”
I laugh and hang my head. “You have helped to make me even more confused, V.”
She squeezed my shoulder. “It’s confusing now, but before you know it, you’re going to know what you want and everything is going to make sense.” She stood up and smoothed out her skirt. “Now, we need to get out to the car, before Rick leaves us here.”
I grabbed my purse from under the bar and hitched it over my shoulder. “That’s another thing I have to worry about. My damn car. I promised Ryker to take him out driving tomorrow, but now I don’t even have a car.”
“You got anything saved up to get it fixed?” she asked while we walked to the back.
I scoffed and shook my head. “I am the poster child for living paycheck to paycheck. Everything I earn is gone by the time the next payday comes. I’m stuck in a vicious cycle with no way out.” I hated to complain, but life sucked when I thought about what I was going to do about my car.
“I’m sure you’ll figure something.” She opened the back door and held it for me. She turned around, locked the door behind us, then threw her arm over my shoulder as we strolled to Rick’s truck. “And until you do figure it out, you can always bum a ride from Rick and me, but I think a ride from tall, dark, and handsome might be more up your alley.”
“He has a name, V.”
She shrugged and opened the door to Rick’s jacked-up truck. “I know, but tall, dark, and handsome sounds so much more mysterious.”
“Is she talking about me again?” Rick asked as Vanessa crawled up into the truck.
I put one heeled foot on the step and hoisted myself in.
Vanessa swatted him on the shoulder and quickly buckled up. “Not talking about you.”
“Then who the hell are you calling tall, dark, and handsome if it isn’t me?” he demanded.
“The guy you saw with Hadley.”
I rolled my eyes and buckled up. I leaned forward and looked at Rick. “His name is Tate, and thank you so much for telling V about what you saw. I thought you would have some honor towards me.”
He hitched his thumb at V. “I only have honor and loyalty to that one, Hadley. Everyone else is fair game.”
Vanessa glowed and patted his leg. “Love you, baby.”
Rick grumbled under his breath and headed to Falls City.
Rick and Vanessa lived on the opposite side of town from me, and they had to go out of their way to drop me off. “If you just want to drop me off at Johnson, I can walk the rest of the way home.” It would be a mile walk, but I hated putting Rick and Vanessa out.
Rick scoffed and shook his head. “Yeah right. I’m going to drop you off on the side of the road and go home and actually sleep. Not happening, toots. I’m taking you to the damn door.”
With a huff, I crossed my arms over my chest and knew there wasn’t any use in arguing with Rick. This would be the last time they give me a ride, though. I would figure out what to do with my car. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too bad, and I could move around some bills to get it fixed. I would be playing catch up for a couple of months, but if it meant I would get my car back on the road, I would do it. I already knew which bills I could either skimp or skip and not get cut off. “Well, thank you,” I mumbled.
“We’ll pick you up at five tomorrow. I know that’s pretty early, but I need to do some paperwork before the club opens.”
I pulled out my phone and quickly sent Tate a message.
Are you still able to give me a ride to work tomorrow?
Ten seconds didn’t go by before he replied. Planned on it. Everything OK?
I smiled at his message. How did he come across as sweet and caring in text? No one ever asked me if I was okay. Everything is good. Almost home. Just making sure you have time to take me to work.
I hit send and looked over at Vanessa who had been reading my texts over my shoulder. “Stop it,” I hissed.
Vanessa shrugged. “Girl, you better keep that one,” she advised.
I rolled my eyes and turned my body into the door, away from Vanessa.
You’re my only plans for the night. I’ll see you at 7. Sweet dreams.
OK. You too. I cringed as I hit send, but I had no idea what else to put.
“I don’t need a ride tomorrow, Rick. I’ve got one.” I shoved my phone in my pocket and glanced over at Vanessa who had a smug look on her face.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be getting more than a ride tomorrow night,” she chided.
“The guy who couldn’t keep his hands off you?” Rick asked, his interest peaked.
I gulped and nodded. “Yeah, Tate.”
“Tall, dark, and handsome,” Vanessa whispered.
I rested my head on the window and listened to Rick and Vanessa talk about work the rest of the way home. I was exhausted but also jazzed. My car was bumming me out, but I was also excited to see Tate again tomorrow. I still didn’t know what I expected or wanted from him, but I figured tomorrow when he picked me up, I would hopefully figure it out.
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