"Seriously though, you shouldn't be doing this." He spread his arms out wide to indicate to the bar, causing Dean to duck out of the way when he narrowly missed knocking him over the head with his drink. "You should be downstairs stitching us up. It'd be better pay–"
Dean nudged Seb and gave him a subtle look of warning. He really did not want me downstairs.
"Seb mentioned your heroic deed last night," Jen chimed in. "Nice job."
"Thanks," I smiled humbly.
"She's well on her way to becoming Antonio's favorite employee," Seb smiled, raising his glass.
I knew he meant well, but his words had caused my stomach to flip. I didn’t want to be anyone’s favorite, let alone Antonio’s. It came with too much pressure.
Seb's smile suddenly dropped and his eyes widened as he looked beyond Jen’s shoulder. "Don't tell her I said that," he said as he averted his gaze.
In unison, Jen and I looked to where Roxy was approaching. Not towards us, I realized. She was looking right through us, smirking and swaying her hips more than usual as she rounded the end of the bar. Her eyes were fixed on one person. Like a missile locked on its target — if missiles were capable of looking sultry.
She passed behind Seb and sidled up beside Dean, snaking her hand around his bicep as she leaned in to mutter something into his ear. A smile toyed on her bright red lips. “Last night was fun” or something like that.
It felt wrong to watch Roxy’s outgoing display of flirtation, and I think the others felt the same. Seb hadn’t lifted his eyes from the coaster in front of him, while Jen polished and repolished the same area on the counter. I moved back to the boxes and continued restocking the last of the bottles. Pretending I wasn’t still eavesdropping a little from the corner of my eye. It was like a car accident. I knew I shouldn’t be watching but it was hard to look away.
Dean turned to face the bar, sliding his empty glass to Jen and gesturing for a refill as Roxy ran her hand across his shoulders, whispering something in his ear again that caused his jaw to clench.
Once he got his drink back, he finally gave Roxy the attention she so badly wanted. There was a subtle gleam in his eyes and a smirk on his lips that made her look more pleased. She was undressing him with her eyes as she slid her other hand up to his chest, tucking it beneath the collar of his shirt while he leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
Okay, no, I really shouldn’t be watching—
Roxy’s smile slowly changed to a look of frustration, and she dropped her hand abruptly from his chest. Whatever he said made her look like she could shoot lasers from her dark eyes as they went to his face. But before she could say anything else, Dean stood with his drink in hand and lips set in a sarcastic smile. Then he left the bar.
"And that's my cue. See you around, ladies," Seb said, following Dean into the crowd.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Roxy was simmering. Ready to boil over at any second if she was pushed far enough. She shook out her long, wavy hair and got off the bar stool.
Her sharp eyes flicked to Jen and me.
"What are you staring at? Get back to work," she spat before strutting towards the staff room again. People moved for her, even if they were too drunk to understand why. They just knew they had to.
Once she was back in the staff room, she slammed the door shut behind her.
Xavier, who was working the other end of the bar, closest to where Roxy’s warpath ended, looked at Jen and me with wide eyes and mouthed, What the fuck happened?
I think she was rejected, Jen mouthed back with a big grin.
Xavier responded by cracking up laughing as he went back to serving a customer.
Roxy remained in the staff room for the rest of the night, while Seb and Dean remained lost in the crowd. At one point, I glimpsed them in a booth with three other girls. Two of them were completely enthralled by a very enthusiastic Seb as he told them a story. Meanwhile, the third girl was almost sitting in Dean’s lap, a lopsided ‘Birthday Girl’ tiara on her head as she twirled her hair around her fingers. Dean just looked to be patiently listening to whatever she was drunkenly ranting about.
When the crowd shifted, I lost sight of them again.
After several hours on our feet, Jen invited me to take my break with hers. Xavier assured us he could handle the crowds.
I followed Jen to a less crowded booth, carefully carrying my full glass of lime soda in front of me while avoiding being bumped by anyone. The second my bottom hit the seat at the booth, my feet thanked me for it. I hadn't sat down for at least four hours, and there was a dull ache in my lower back and shins.
I sipped the soda and was instantly relieved by its welcome iciness, then crunched on several chips of ice as I relaxed into the seat.
"Mind watching my drink? I've gotta pee," Jen said as she shuffled back out of the booth again.
"Of course." I slid her drink closer to mine, then moved closer to the wall on my left, tucking myself away and out of sight to enjoy my break in peace.
I pulled my phone from my pocket as I sat back and found my sister, Jane, had sent me a picture accompanied by a puking emoji. The picture was of a new bedspread Mom had bought for her bed. Covered in large pink flowers and decorated with lacy frills around the edges.
