When she tosses out thehoneyin a text, or when she’s whispering it breathlessly while I’m giving it to her, well, it’s hard to be upset.
Me: Lettin’ you go. Know you’re at work. See you tonight.
Sugar: Later <3
Now that I’ve got shit cleared up, all that’s left is to strip out of my work clothes, hop in the shower, get redressed, and head out the fucking door again. Goddamn, wish I could stay home, and I wish like hell Jade were here with me.
“Hey, big brother, Locke.” Jade looks from Jace to me. I hold her attention for a smidge too long. It’s a good thing Jace has his eyes focused on something else; what that is, I’ve got not one single fucking clue.
We ate our fill of steak, baked potatoes, and salad. Jace had a Jack and Coke, I had a beer, we shot the shit for a bit then moved to The Social shortly after.
“Hey, Jade,” I pipe up when her brother still doesn’t say shit.
“Jade.” Jesus, fuck, I’m gonna have to kick him in the dick tonight.
“Did you happen to get my text?” she asks, heading to the cooler to pull out the two bottles of beer; we each prefer something different.
“Kind of like you picking up the phone when I call you, right?” I don’t wade in, not yet. Jade can handle herself when it comes to her brother, but if he gets disrespectful, all bets are off.
“Yeah, well, when you act like a jerk, it takes me a minute to cool off. You’d realize that if you pulled that shit on me. And for future reference, I don’t ever call you when you’re on a shift at the Steel Mill because I care about you, and the last thingI want is for you to get distracted. So, excuse me for worrying about you.” She slams his beer down on the bar top, then does the exact opposite to mine before she turns away to help other customers.
“Shit,” he mutters, “I fucked that up, per fucking usual.”
“Come on, we’ll grab a high top, play a game of pool. When things die down, try and talk to her, maybe start with apologizing. It might help.”
“You’re right. Gotta get my head screwed on right.” He sits down, looking out the front of the bar at the passersby walking down the main drag.
“Yep, that you do.” I settle in, keeping my eye on Jade, and when her brother isn’t looking, she sends a megawatt smile my way. It hits me right in the dick, stirring up a deep-seated need I only feel for, and I see it reciprocated when I shoot her a wink.
Fuck, tonight is going to be a long one. And waiting to have Jade to myself and my hands on her might do me in.
10
Jade
“Girl, you’re in deep with that one.” Ronnie shoulder-bumps me. It’s rare she’s here near closing time these days. But her crew is here celebrating. Rory, her man’s sister, officially graduated high school and has been accepted into a college out of state. Their group is massive. They also threw this together last minute, which means we’re not really staffed for the nearly thirty top.
“You have no idea.” She’s been helping me with drink orders as well as running to the back to serve as many appetizers as our cook can keep up with.
“Well, as you can tell, if you ever need a few friends, you’re more than welcome to join our group. We usually have coffee once a week at Oak & Brew, you know what. I’ll just add you to the group chat.” Ronnie and I usually talk, see how things are going in one another’s lives, but it’s rare that we intermingle our working relationship into, I guess, a friendship. I don’t begrudge her, either, especially when there’s usually a turn-around when it comes to waitresses. And to be honest, I’m sure I’ve given off the vibes of being here to work, not play.
Maybe tonight, I’m giving off a different aura, probably because I’m feeling a lot of guilt between my mother finding out about Locke and me needing to talk to Jace about it. I need tobring it to his attention with a swiftness, but after that greeting, who would really want to?
“Thanks, I’d really appreciate that. I think I’m going to need all the friends I can get,” I say as Jace makes his way back to the bar.
“Girl, anytime. I’m going to go handle my crowd. Holler if you need any help. I’ll jump in.”
“I’m good. You should be celebrating. And please, let me help out so you can enjoy it, too.”
“Please don’t leave us, and I mean that as a friend and employee. You’re the best thing that’s happened to The Social. I’m finally able to keep a schedule, and there’s no worrying about being called in or answering a phone in the middle of the night because this or that happened. Truly, thank you.” With that, Ronnie lifts the heavy tray loaded full of an assortment of drinks—beer, mixed drinks, water, and sodas. We don’t technically allow anyone under the age of eighteen in here without an adult and past a certain time, but clearly, tonight is one of those nights when you look the other way.
“Jade, you got a minute?” I turn my attention away from the group when I hear my brother’s voice.
“Yeah, but it’ll have to be quick. Unless you want to shelve this for tomorrow?” I follow up to soften the blow a smidge.
“This won’t take long. My wingman knocked some sense into my head, though I knew I needed to say this all along. You deserve an apology, a genuine one. I’ve overstepped, and I’m sorry.” My jaw drops open. I quickly close it and then swallow my tongue. Okay, not really. I’m still going to circle back to that wingman comment, but Jace McKay, my older brother, the person who is allergic to apologies, is giving me one.
“Apology accepted. But listen, I’m keeping the location sharing off. I kept it on for far too long. If the situation were reversed and I showed up out of the blue, you’d have had myhead. You’re also not going out to do something crazy like buy me a car or transfer money into my account. I’ve got this, really. I’m twenty-eight. I need to do this, okay?” I look around Jace. “Plus, Locke has no problem with me borrowing his truck until I get a lock on what I’m going to do next.”
