I pushed the dolly filled with boxes of wine in through the back door. I had to stop half way to shake out the usual pain and stiffness in my right hand. I rubbed the knuckles, feeling the ridges of scars left behind by the pins doctors had used to put my fingers back into some form or order.

Dylan was having a conversation with someone, working hard to be charming. The answer was a frilly giggle. We weren't open for hours, so he must have brought his latest fling to work. I had no idea who he was seeing at the moment because he moved on quickly from one girl to the next. Sometimes I never even got a chance to learn their names.

Dylan was proof that some people managed to drag their high school glory days right on through life. Dylan was a senior the year I started high school. He was the proverbial big man on campus, both in size and popularity stature. He was the guy who could silence every female conversation just by walking past. And the guys' heads turned just as much. Everyone wanted to see what Dylan Parson was up to, what he was wearing, what lucky girl was on his arm. And as much as I hated to admit it, back then I looked up to him too, as if he had glowing stars circling around his thick skull. He also did a pretty good job of being just a big enough asshole to solidify his top senior man status. Apparently, you had to be somewhat of a jackass to pull it off just right. The only reason he'd paid a freshman like me any attention at all was because I was dating his sister. Otherwise, I would have faded into non-existence just like all his other worshippers. Oddly enough, we grew into good friends.

I rolled the dolly to the wine storage rack and started pushing the bottles into their slots.

"Dylan wants the receipt for the wine."

I spun around quickly. Penny, our newest server, was standing behind me wearing her teenage smile and a skimpy pair of jean cut-offs. I'd fought against hiring her because I thought she was just too young and inexperienced, but Dylan wouldn't let it go. For a second, the sweet innocence of Penny's wide eyes reminded me of a sixteen-year-old Rebecca. I still hadn't gotten her out of my mind since the phone call.

"Right." I pulled the receipt from my pocket and handed it to her. "I didn't expect to see you in here so early."

She tilted her head enough to swish her long blonde ponytail sideways. "Dylan said he needed the help with inventory, and I was glad to get a few extra hours. I'm saving for a car." She lifted the receipt. "Thanks. I'll walk this over to Dylan."

Inventory, my ass. It was Wednesday, which meant only a light load of stock to put away. I turned back to my task. I dragged a razor blade across the tape on the next box and plucked out two bottles.

"Hey, bro," Dylan said from behind. "Penny and I are hungry. We're going to pick up some sandwiches. What do you want?"

I shoved the wine into its slot on the rack and turned around. "Why the hell did you need help with inventory?"

Dylan's gaze shot across the room to make sure Penny wasn't around. "The kid needed the hours, so I told her she could come help me." Dylan's hair had been thinning some, and he'd taken to shaving it close to his head to camouflage the baldness. The close shaved dark blond hair paired with his deep set eyes made him look mean. But that didn't seem to stop the women from latching onto him.

I stepped closer, also not wanting Penny to hear what I needed to say. "She's sixteen."

"Yeah? And?"

"Just reminding you that she's not an adult, and you are well into adulthood. So even though she looks twenty-one in those short shorts, she's not."

"There's no law against looking."

"Well, maybe there should be."

"Wow, Mr. High and Mighty walked in this morning with a large metal rod jammed up his ass. What's the matter? No sex now that Tory and you are done?"

"Never fucking mind." I turned back to the wine rack.

"As I recall, you never had a problem with looking when Rebecca was sixteen and wearing short shorts."

I twisted back around with a wine bottle clutched tightly in my hand. "That was a little different."

"How's that?"

"Because when she was sixteen, I was eighteen."

"And you were engaged to Emily."

"We were never engaged and you know that." The wine sloshed in the bottle as I moved my arms in anger. What I wanted to do was crown him with the fucking thing. We were close enough friends that we could say pretty much anything to each other. While things sometimes got heated, we both usually cooled off fast. But there was no damn reason for him to start in on the past. "Why the hell are your bringing up Emily and Rebecca? Or are you just grabbing at any piece of defense you can find?"

"Guess I was just thinking about Becca because you said she called. Besides, I'm just trying to prove a point."

I stared at him and gave a sharp shrug of my shoulders. "What point?"

"That you look too, so don't be such a fucking prick about it. You're no saint."

"Never said I was. But that has nothing to do with you and your cock checking out a sixteen-year-old. Just get the fuck out of here and get lunch before I throw this damn bottle across the room."

"Yep, I'm out of here. And you should find yourself some new pussy soon because you're an uptight asshole when you're not getting any."

"You worry about your own cock and keep your mind off of mine. Dick."

"Penny, let's go." Dylan grabbed his keys off the hook on the wall so hard, the hook broke free from the wood. He kicked the hook across the cement floor of the storage room.

I unpacked the wine as I listened to them walk out the back door. There was no way Penny didn't hear us, but I wasn't going to worry about it. But the fight had brought me back to thinking about Rebecca. It had been three days since she called. I'd left her two messages, but she never called back. I just hoped she wasn't getting herself into trouble. Something she used to be really good at.