Chapter 3
After going back to the motel, making sure my makeup was perfect, and changing my outfit at least ten times, I went to the bar to see if Holt had been able to talk Abel into hiringme.
“Hey, Crickett,” Holt called to me from behind the bar. “Abel should be here any minute. Just got off the phone withhim.”
“Yeah? How’d itgo?”
Holt was counting the register’s drawer. He glanced up from a wad of twenties. “I think he isinterested.”
“Sounds good.” I took a seat at the bar, throwing my purse on the counter with a bigthump.
Holt stared at my bag for a second. “Do ya have rocks in there orsomething?”
I laughed a little. “Never seen a girl with a concealed carrybefore?”
“Yeah, but none that looked likeyou.”
I felt my cheeks burn as the front door swung open. Abel’s large frame took up most of the doorway. My heart pounded in my ears, my palms started sweating, and suddenly it was stifling hot in the dankbar.
“So Holt here says you’re looking for a job?” Abel took the seat next to me; the musky smell of his cologne and his deep blue stare were all toodistracting.
I fumbled for words. “Yeah, figured I’d give this little town a try for a bit. Who knows? Maybe I’ll end up liking ithere.”
“When can youstart?”
“Now.”
He smirked. “Have you ever worked in a barbefore?”
I laughed a little. I kind of had, but I’d been dancing, not pouring the drinks. “Something likethat.”
I winked and watched his mind try to make sense of it. “I guess that’s good enough for me. Holt can start training you now, if that works foryou.”
I hopped off the stool and didn’t think twice about going behind the bar to let Holt start showing mearound.
“Damn it, isn’t one of you going to ask if your boss wants a freaking beer?” Abel half-smirked at me as Holt tossed a bottle over to him from the ice trough in front of us. Opening the bottle, Abel got up and started to make his way to the back room. “That’s more like it. And Crickett,” he pointed at me with the top of the bottle, “this area is off limits to anyone that isn’t wearing a damn cut like mine. Gotit?”
Inodded.
His lip curled under the silver rings as he pulled the door open. “Good.”
* * *
After a few daysof working at the bar, I started to get to know most of the guys: which ones tipped well, which ones were drunk flirts, which ones treated chicks like dirt. It was all pretty much like stripping, other than the fact that the guys had to use their imaginations to know what my curves looked like rather than just trying to bribe me to get stark naked during a lap dance. All in all it was a welcome change ofpace.
Only a few women passed through with their guys from time to time. Most of them just ignored me or were so snarky that I didn’t give them the time of day. The only lady I remotely had an interest in talking to was Ronda, the part-time night bartender who only came in on nights that she felt like it, or when Abel called her in when Holt or Rich were too slammed to thinkstraight.
She was tall and crack-head skinny with leathery skin, nice as could be with a mouth like a sailor. Other than that, I had no female contact, which I actually preferred. Women bred drama and problems and I wanted to stay as far as humanly possible from both of thosethings.
While cleaning a bunch of dirty pint glasses off the bar I heard Abel talking to one of the older club members. “Rave will be gone handling everything for a few more days. Hopefully it all worksout.”
“Sure it will. Rave has a way with those guys over inArkansas.”
Hearing the name Rave and my home state in the same sentence sent shivers down my arms. I had no idea if it was just a coincidence; it probably was.Right?I could not picture my father being part of a motorcycle gang, but who the fuck was I to make any judgements either way? I barely remembered him, let alone knew him. He could have been sitting in that very bar and I would have had noidea.
“Crickett?” Abel waved his hand in front of my face. “Crickett, you all rightsugar?”
I shook out of my daze of trying to picture my old man’s face again. It scared the shit out of me how hard it was to remember his physical featuresanymore.
