It was time for me to get back to work. I stopped by one of Andy’s tables, a bridal party, and before long had the women dancing and clapping along with me to the music. I set my cowboy hat on the bride and twirled her around so I was grinding into her hips.
“My fiancé doesn’t like to dance, so this feels wonderful.” She grabbed my hips and pushed her butt into my crotch.
“Well, I’m happy to be his stand-in for that purpose. As to the rest, you’re on your own.”
She giggled, and her girlfriends circled around us, shouting encouragement and tucking bills into my chaps and jock. I searched the crowd and saw a large table of men toasting their friends. That must be the engagement party José had mentioned, and I could spot the grooms immediately. One was a gorgeous redhead, the other an equally good-looking dark-haired man. Both looked as though they’d rather be anywhere else. Andy set out the bottles and poured the drinks, and I frowned. José had distinctly asked Harlan to serve that table, but I didn’t see him anywhere.
Did Harlan decide to disappear because of what happened earlier?
Chapter Eight
HARLAN
Fuck me tohell and back.The only saving grace was that Oren and his boyfriend hadn’t yet seen me. I raced to the bathroom, shut the door behind me, and thought about throwing up.
Then I thought about running. I could slip out the back and leave without anyone realizing it. I had my tips from the earlier table I’d served, which from the size of the wad I’d folded up would last me a while. I could get on an Amtrak and in a few hours be in a different city. Become a different person. Who needed this shit?
The table had also insisted I down a few shots with them, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, right now I was so fucking glad I did and had a buzz on me. I turned on the water and cupped some to splash on my face.
The door opened, and I met James’s sympathetic eyes in the mirror. The glass must be distorted. James didn’t give a shit about me. But James was the only one who knew my story.
“I’m sorry. It didn’t register with me when Dr. Strauss’s brother made the reservation for the engagement party that his fiancé was your former coworker. Have they seen you?”
Feeling pathetic and incompetent, I gave a shrug and gazed into the sink, watching the water spiral down the drain.Like my life, I thought bitterly. “I’m not sure, but I doubt it.”
“Then go to the kitchen or stay by the bar. I’ll tell José I want you working barback tonight only.”
“Why do you care?”
Unsmiling, James put his hand on the doorknob. “Maybe I’m getting soft, but if Cort sees something in you the rest of us haven’t yet, I’m willing to take that chance. For a while at least.”
The door closed behind him, and I dried my face off with a paper towel. The mirror reflected back a too-thin, overly pale man with dark circles under his eyes. But Oren would know me. How could he forget? I’d spent well over a year tormenting him at every turn, making his life as miserable as my own.
I left the bathroom, skirting the edge of the club like a thief keeping to the border of his territory. I made it into the kitchen, where I stayed for a while, loading the dishwasher and filling the ice buckets. I carried a tray of clean glasses to the bar, then returned to the kitchen to get the ice. I needed this repetitious, boring work to keep from staring over at the table where Oren and his boyfriend had loosened up and were clapping and laughing to Cort dancing.
Worlds colliding.
“You okay?” At a nudge from José, I shook myself back to the present.
“Uh, yeah. I’ll clear the empties now for you. Do you want anything from the kitchen?”
José gave me an odd look. “You just brought me out everything. You sure you’re okay?” From beneath lowered lids, I shot another glance at Oren, who sat with his arms around Noah, locked in a passionate kiss.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” Giving him a smile, I began to clear the bar, noting with relief all the half-filled beer bottles. Once I got everything to the back, I took a clean glass and started emptying the discards, drinking the mix of beers down and refilling the glass four times before the bottles were empty.
I belched and swayed a bit, waiting for the euphoria the alcohol brought, but tonight it didn’t come. The music boomed, the patrons’ shouts and claps rang loud, but none of it touched me. I wanted to be back in that little kitchen in Cort’s apartment, with his hand on my dick. I grew hard, achy, and restless…recalling the slide of his fingers down my shaft. It had filled me with a need I hadn’t let myself think about for years. God help me, I wanted it again. I wanted Cort.
When the night was over and the club shut down, I finished the cleanup and prep in the kitchen for the next day, then joined everyone at the bar. José had finished counting the stock and tallying the register take, and he handed the guys their tip money. Tristan left without a word, Morgan and Juno waved good-bye and walked out with their arms wrapped around each other, but Cort hung around, drinking his beer. I saw a few empty ones in front of him on the bar.
“Hi.” I slid into the seat next to him. “Good night?”
“Uh-huh.” He took a long swallow of his beer. “That last party was a bonanza.”
“Glad to hear.” I nibbled on some of the cheese and crackers.
“I thought you were supposed to serve.” He looked me directly in the eye. “Where were ya?”
“In the back.”
