“This girl”—he jerks his thumb at me—“is the sweetest, hardest-working girl I’ve ever met. And besides that, she’s fucking beautiful. You’d be lucky to have a girl like that, you pecker-head.”
“Whoa, man, I didn’t know—”
“Didn’t know what, fucker?”
“That she’s your girl.”
“She’s not my girl, but that doesn’t matter. Grow up, dickhead. This ain’t middle school. A real man never demeans a lady, especiallythatlady.” He points to me again. “Now get the fuck out of here. The next time you come in, you apologize.”
“I’ll do it now,” he sputters. “I’m sorry, Luke.”
Luke rolls his head around in a circle. “Not to me, you fucking dumbass. Her.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Next time. When you’re sober. And you’d better mean it, or you and your fucking pussy-whipped followers are banned. For. Life.”
“Luke…,” the guy whines.
“Out!” he shouts so loudly that the people lined up at the bar immediately stop talking.
“Fine,” the guy grumbles as he stands up from his seat at the bar. “Fuck you,” he mutters.
“Banned!” Luke shouts even louder. “All of you.”
He glares at me. “Thanks a lot, you fat bitch,” he spits.
Oh, like I’m the one who got him banned. I’m getting looks I don’t deserve. “I didn’t—”
“No worries, Quinn,” Luke says, patting my shoulder. “Get back to work.”
So I do. I play barback, pour beers, and mix drinks—the ones I know, anyway. The ones I don’t, I get Luke or Chris, the other bartender, to make. The night is hectic, but it seems to be flying by.
Until I seehimwithher.I glimpse Bryant from the corner of my eye. I turn to smile at him, and that’s when I spot Kara. She sees me too. And when she does, she wraps herself around him like a python, pulls his head down to kiss him. With tongue. The sad part? He kisses her right back. He kisses her like he’s done it before. Lots of times.
I watch for a second or two, but as soon as I gather my wits about me, I run down the basement stairs as fast as I can, almost taking a tumble. At the bottom, I take in deep breaths and release them slowly. “I will not cry.” I won’t shed tears over the guy I thought I was supposed to marry because he’s kissing someone else. And not just someone else.Her.Hewas kissingKara.
Once I’ve gathered myself, I find what I need and head back upstairs. Tromping up the steps, I whisper to myself, “Think happy thoughts.” I squeeze my eyes shut and do my best to think of something happy, but nothing comes to me because all I can see is how my life is a fucking failure. How did I get to this place? The one where I put all my hopes and dreams in the hands ofoneguy. I know it isn’t realistic, but when you lose your heart to someone, howcanyou be realistic?
“Why doesn’t he see what I see?” I mutter to myself.
“Quinn!” shouts Luke. “Hurry the fuck up.” At the top, Luke is waiting. “What’s the matter?” he asks, taking the case of beer from me.
I must look flushed or something. “Nothing.”
He looks nervous, and it surprises me. I’ve never seen him look tentative about anything. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
His tentativeness gone, he snaps, “You can’t let shit get to you here, Quinn. People are assholes.”
“I know.” He thinks this is about the other guy. “Thanks.” I pass him and wait by the fridge for the case so I can get right to work restocking the refrigerator. I do my best to stay busy, but every now and then, I see them. One time, she’s sitting on his lap. She looks over at me every few minutes, and when we make eye contact, she smirks. At one point, Bryant approaches the bar. I hear him call out my name, but I pretend not to hear him, and Chris waits on him.
The next time he comes right up to me. “Quinn?”
I give him my best ‘I’m surprised to see you’ look. “Oh, hey, Bryant. When did you get here?”
“Halftime.”
