“Yeah, that’s what I was wondering,” she says while wiping down the counter. “Noa usually only has one waiter on the floor on Tuesday nights. Danko is here too.”
“No clue,” I tell her. Noa has had me on the schedule five nights a week, and I’m wondering if he’s doing it just to give me shifts. I don’t want to go pissing off the other waiters because I’m getting special treatment. I’ll have to bring it up to him.
“Whatevs. Just so you know, tonight’s special is Bum Bum Burger, Cheeky Cheese Sticks, and the drink of the night is Hiney-Kin.”
“Got it. So, is the Bum Bum burger a double or is it fully loaded? Oh, and is the Hiney-Kin hoppy, dark, pale, or just flat?”
“Wow,” Lani says with a snarky laugh. “You are just full of bun puns, huh?”
“Well, I don’t like to bust balls, and with all due respect, you don’t have those, so—I figured bun puns might be more relatable.”
“All right, get out of here,” she says, shooing me off.
“Hey, hot cakes!” an older woman with a toothy grin shouts from a nearby booth, waving a dollar bill in the air. It looks like I need to remind the customers once again, that “Man Buns” is not, in fact, a strip club, though I can understand how it can be easily confused for one.
How did I get here?
Tuesday night is cougar night, and I think it’s a known fact around here. There is not one woman younger than sixty-five here tonight. As it turns out, though, middle-aged women like to throw around money, especially when they are given a passing wink, a personalized smile, or an extra cherry in their drink. I don’t understand what’s so exciting about a cherry, but it’s not a hard job to handle, and in just a few-hour shift, I make more than I usually do during the weeknights. Plus, I can get home early and spend a little time with Kai. As I leave Man Buns, I entertain the niggling thought that has been teasing me all evening. Was it just a coincidence that my shift ended early, or was it a set-up? Does Aya have accomplices in her matchmaking?
Kai’s definitely surprised, and I sort of scare the shit out of her when I walk in the door at nine-thirty. “Holy crap, what are you doing back so early?” she squeals.Yup.Definitely scared her.
“My buns weren’t so fun tonight, I guess.”
“What?” She laughs.
“I’m kidding. My buns are always fun, hun because, baby, I got back.” I wait for the laughter, but she’s just giving me a look that tells me my joke ended a whole thirty seconds go. “I was cut at nine. I didn’t mean to scare you,” I say with laughter.
“Oh my God. Okay, so this is none of my business since this is your place. I promise I won’t be one ofthosepeople, but you might want to consider getting blinds at some point in the near future,” she says.
“Why, did something happen?” I walk up to the massively large windows and look out into the small backyard.”
“I might just be spooked, but I thought I was seeing things out there. I’m not used to windows that big. Of course, it didn’t help that Aya thought she was seeing things too.”
“Oh man, is she okay?”
“Yeah, I told her it was just the wind blowing stuff around. She was fine after that and went right to bed.”
“Good. I’ll definitely be getting blinds, though. I’m sorry you were freaked out.” I make my way across the room toward the couch where she’s sitting. “Thanks again for spending time with Aya tonight. She really likes you.”
“No problem. I charge fifteen an hour, and I don’t take checks.”
Without hesitation, I reach into my back pocket, feeling flustered as all hell because I didn’t even consider offering to pay her. I’m such a jackass. I pull out a hundred-dollar bill and hand it over to her.
She has her hand cupped over her mouth, though, and her cheeks are flaming red. “Oh my God, you’re such a dork. I was kidding.”
I throw my head back. “You just made me feel like the biggest ass ever.”
“Good,” she says with an added sharp inflection.
“Really? You’re trying to torture me? Is that fun for you?”
She shrugs then stands up, ever so slowly, from the couch, before stretching her arms over her head. “Kinda.”
“Interesting,” I respond, taking another step toward her. “You enjoy torturing me but have no intention to undo what you’re doing.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.” She swoops her long hair off her shoulder and places her hands firmly on her hips.
“I mean, you can dish it out but can’t take it in return.”
