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“Oh, you think so?” I smile, pleased at this little bit of encouragement.

“Yeah, girl,” he murmurs, leaning in close. “Keep it up and I can have all kinds of work for you. Didn’t Mona tell you?”

“Oh!” I murmur, flinching back.

I definitely didn’t see that coming. What is wrong with me? How did I fall for that?

But he doesn’t seem to mind that I am visibly trying to get away from him. He presses in even closer. I can smell the whiskey on his breath.

“We just have to find the right position for you, you know what I mean? You got any other skills that I should know about?”

I shake my head tightly. I’m sure there are words that I could say, but they don’t want to come out.

“Tammy?” he persists.

I glance at him blankly before remembering that he thinks my name is Tammy. Oh yeah. Right.

“I think this is all I can handle,” I mutter quickly.

My eyes search the bar frantically. Where the hell is Mona?

“Oh, you are just being modest,” he continues, his voice snaking into my ear hole. “You don’t gotta be shy with me. We are like a family here. Hasn’t Mona told you that?”

My hands are starting to twitch from the cold, and I realize that I keep nervously clutching ice cubes.

“Well we are,” he insists. “Mona is like a daughter to me, you know what I’m saying? I taught her everything she knows. You’ll see. Are you looking forward to the show?”

I glance at him, blinking. I really don’t know what to say. What would my dad tell me to do? Probably I should retreat. And if I can’t retreat, crack him in the jaw with my elbow.

“Yeah, you are,” he continues, leaning in even closer. He’s backing me in the into the corner, making it half impossible for me to get away.

“Ty!” Mona barks, appearing suddenly on the other end of the beer cooler.

She glares at Ty threateningly until he stands up straight and takes a half step away from me.

“Can’t you see that you are making her uncomfortable?” Mona continues, stabbing the air with her lacquered fingernail. “Jesus! Give that girl some room, why don’t you?”

Ty sucks his teeth and shrugs, shuffling a few steps away and pouting the whole time.

“We are just getting to know each other, Mona. Don’t be jealous, girl. Christ.”

“As if!” she huffs. “Yolanda is asking for you. Why don’t you go see what she wants?”

He narrows his eyes at her. “Yolanda? Are you shitting me?”

Mona shrugs. “You better go see what she wants.”

I am not sure what just happened, but he actually does go away. He is so skinny that his narrow, light-wash jeans practically hang off his hips. He looks like a carnie. Or a meth head. Not what I always assumed a business owner looks like, anyway.

“Oh wow, thank you,” I breathe. “I was looking for you! He is so weird!”

“He can’t do anything to you,” she shrugs.

I make a mental note that I didn’t say he could do anything to me. It is sort of weird that she would just bring that up out of the blue.

“Well, I didn’t say he could do anything to me,” I sass back. “I was just saying he is weird and kind of in my personal space. What’s up with you? Are you okay?”

She is not looking at me, so I can’t really tell, but then she suddenly snaps her attention back to me and I see her cheeks are flushed. She leans toward me conspiratorially.