Marlowe nodded and kissed my cheek.
“Want to go pick up food for everyone?” She asked, smiling.
“Wings?”
Frantically, she nodded and stood from the chair, calling Dojo over to us. We told the guys the plan, and they agreed to stay with Dojo while we went to pick up wings and beer.
eleven
dread
Marlowe
Pulling into the parking lot at work, the spot next to Naomi was open. I said a silent prayer that it wouldn’t rain and hid the valuable things in my car or shoved them in my purse. My driver's side window decided it didn’t want to roll back up after I went through the drive-thru on my way in for my shift.
Walking in through the back door, Dave shouted, "Hey, " from the back office, and I waved. Once my things were put away and my apron was on, I pulled my hair into a bun and walked onto the bar floor.
Captain’s was already busy for Thursday. Naomi had called and asked me to come in early. I wasn’t going to turn down the hours. Assessing the customers at the bar, there were two parties that Naomi hadn’t had a chance to serve yet. Taking their drink orders, I began mixing them.
“Thank you so much for coming, Mar. I don’t know what is going on tonight. Dave said he’s coming out soon too. But he’sneck deep in the contracts 93.3 sent over. I told him to focus on that right now.”
“Yeah, no worries. Anytime.” Naomi had managed to keep the bar pretty clean considering it was just her and she was mixing drinks like a wild animal.
Once everyone was taken care of and we had a chance to breathe, Naomi and I took a deep breath and looked at each other as we leaned against the back of the bar. Music pounded from the speakers, playing a variety of rock and alternative music that was the norm for Captain’s. A few customers were hovering over by the gate that separated the music venue from the main bar. They were pointing at the stage and holding flyers for Thrash Fest. The Battle of the Bands shows started in a couple of weeks, and people were coming in hoping to see who had signed up, but it wouldn’t be announced for another week.
We had a few bands in town that were pretty well known locally. They all had pretty decent crowds of fans when they played, so rumors were flying around about who would be coming.
Walking back to the other end of the bar, I moved some glasses from a drying rack to the bar top. A new group of girls walked up to an open space at the bar. Turning around, I set down some bar napkins for each of them. “What can I get you?” I plastered a sweet smile on my face.
“Just three vodka cranberries,” the girl in the middle said, looking me up and down. She wore a tank top that stopped just under her tits that saidHOTin red bedazzled letters.
“Ha, right.” Turning away, I began making their drinks.
The girl in theHOTtank turned to the blonde in the group. “Should we ask her if they’re going to be in the Battle of the Bands? Will she tell us?”
The blonde shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out, I guess. Be nice though.”
“Here are your drinks. Did you want to start a tab or close them out?” I hoped with every fiber of my being she didn’t ask me whatever she was going to ask. There was no way I was going to tell them. This chick was already giving me bitch energy, and when I didn’t give her what he wanted, she was for sure going to go off.
Leaning forward on the bar, she pushed her cleavage together. Was she being serious? “We have a question, actually.” Staring at her, I waited for her to ask. “Could you tell us if Solace is playing in Battle of the Bands?”
“No. So are you starting a tab or closing out?” My face remained straight, no emotion.
She leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. “Like no, you won't tell us? Or no, they aren’t playing?”
“Are you all going to want another drink? Or is that all you ladies are having? I have other customers to get to.” My eyes glanced around the crowded bar. A few other patrons had entered since we had started this back and forth.
The other friend who hadn’t spoken the entire time finally stepped in. “Just this drink, you can close us out.” She handed me cash. “I don’t need change.” Wrapping her arm around her other two friends, she guided them away from the bar as their space was quickly occupied by another small group of people.
Time ticked by slowly, customers trickled in, and it did get slower as it got later. Dave came out at one point and helped a bit. He made a few comments about how the contract with 93.3 had the potential to bring in a lot of business with the radio spots he would get for advertising. He really needed to get us some help here.
With about an hour left before closing, the door opened, and the guys came in. Dexter, Rich, and Chris all found seats at the end of the bar. Walking over to them, Dexter reached over the bar and squeezed my shoulder gently and winked. I did my bestto hide my smile. I hadn’t seen Naomi or had a chance to tell her about what happened the other day at their practice. She was going to kill me.
Feeling a light slap on my ass, I let out a little yelp. “Guys, how’s it going?” Naomi pointedly looked at Dexter’s hand on my arm, then up at me with a smile that said ‘you’ve got some explaining to do.’ Closing my eyes, I looked away from her.
“Hello, gorgeous.” Rich leaned back, taking in Naomi. She cut her eyes to him, and he threw up his hands in surrender.
Pulling away from Dexter’s light hold, I pulled napkins out for the guys. “Drinks?” Setting the glasses for each of their favorites out, I started filling them with ice.
