Page 19

Bailey

If I thought things were awkward between Charlie and I before, now they border on unbearable. We don’t talk — at all — the next day at work. Occasionally, I catch him watching me from across the room, but there’s nothing there. No heat, no hatred, and definitely not any affection. Just cold, icy indifference. I think that’s worse than hate.

It hurts, but it’s my own fault. I practically begged him to take me to his bed last night, something I keep reminding myself of all day. Each time, I get a sick feeling of embarrassment, like everyone knows. Like they’re laughing at my rejection.

I haven’t heard anything from Andi yet, either. That could also be a bad thing. If Tom told her, then I’m not sure I will hear from her until she’s telling me to pack my bags and hitchhike back to California.

God, Bailey, when will you learn to stay away from these men?

“Why the long face, cheré ?” Lionel asks when I slide up to the window to wait on a tray of food for one of my tables.

“Just in a bad mood, I guess,” I shrug. Lionel peeks over my shoulder at something, then back at me with a smirk.

“Trouble in paradise?”

I cringe and heat rises to my face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lionel eyes me, unamused, and puts both his hands on the window opposite me. “Now you have amnesia? I saw that little thing outside the party yesterday. And, it’s not polite to lie about that hickey on your neck, which, might I add, seems to have a twin now.”

If I could melt into a puddle and slip through the floor, I would. Am I really that obvious?

“It wasn’t what it looked like.”

He rolls his eyes. “When are you going to stop lying to me and tell me the truth?”

He’s right. If he saw what I think he did, then I’m just making an ass out of myself by trying to convince him otherwise.

“Look. Some stuff happened and now we aren’t speaking. I feel really guilty about it.”

My eyes burn and, to my horror, a tear forms in the corner. God, why am I so emotional?

“Aww, cheré, ” Lionel sighs. “Don’t cry on me.” He sits a plate under the warmer. “You’re two consenting adults. There’s no written law that you can’t touch your best friend’s brother’s dick.”

“Lionel, keep your voice down,” I chastise, but he just chuckles .

“Andi ain’t going to be mad. She’s been trying to get that boy to find a nice girl for years.”

I shake my head. “No. I’m not doing anything else.”

Lionel purses his lips. “Okay, and I’m not going to cook French fries again for the rest of my life.”

“He’s an asshole,” I murmur, loading my plates onto a tray.

“He’s probably thinking the same thing you are. He’s probably feeling guilty because you’re his little sister’s friend.”

I guess he could be right, but I also know Charlie isn’t the emotional type. I’m sure a teaspoon has more feelings than he does on a daily basis.

Fuck, that was mean . I really need to get a hold of my temper today.

“That’s not good,” Lionel says, the humor in his voice dissipating. I follow his gaze and see a new table full of girls being set in my section.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, but Charlie’s gaze is on them, too, and this time, he looks pissed. He calls the hostess over and tells her something, but she shakes her head.

Then, I recognize one of the girls.

Fucking Priscilla.

Shit. I don’t know who I pissed off in the universe, but they’re really punishing me today.

“It’s okay,” I say, squaring my shoulders. “I can handle it.”

“Girl,” Lionel says. “I hope you can find a little bit of sunshine, because those girls are going to put you through it.”

“That makes two of us,” I grumble.

I take my tray of food and deliver it to the right table, all the while mentally preparing myself to step into the lion’s den. As I near the girls, I hear them all giggle and I get flashbacks from middle school of all the popular girls that used to be mean to me because I had braces.

“Hi, how are we doing?” I ask the table as I step up to it and for a moment, they all ignore me, continuing their conversation like I didn’t say a word.

I must be invisible today.

I wait for a second, but when the girls still don’t acknowledge me, I clear my throat and try again.

“Is anyone ready to order?”

The table falls silent and four sets of perfectly placed eyelashes turn to stare at me.

“Oh, Bailey,” Priscilla says in a sweet, venomous southern accent. “I forgot you were here.”

I’m sure you did , I think dryly.

“Yep, I’m here.” I’ve only ever seen Priscilla in pictures, so I really don’t have anything to judge her on but the stories Andi told me. Well, and the way she screamed that night Charlie brought her home. I’ve always been a firm believer in there being two sides to every story, so maybe I should try to be nice. Maybe she’s a nice girl and I’m being an asshole for no reason.

“I want a glass of champagne,” one of the girls pipes up.

“I apologize. Unfortunately, we don’t carry that. The drink menu is underneath your regular one if you want to look for something else,” I say and another girl mocks me with an eye roll.

“What do you have?” Priscilla asks and I list off a few drinks I can think of off the top of my head. Marybeth probably has them memorized .

This doesn’t seem to please them because the girl who asked grumbles something under her breath. “Evian, then.”

Oh, great. More shit we don’t carry.

“We have Fiji, is that okay?”

There’s not even anything spectacular about Evian, but the name. It’s just overpriced tap water. These girls, though, do not seem to think so.

The girl scoffs, but Priscilla cuts her off. “We’ll take four, I guess. And can you tell me your vegan options?”

You know, if I’m getting sent back to California, I don’t even really need to stand here and listen to this. But I promised Charles and he’s not done anything but be a complete gentleman to me. Letting him down would be like letting down my own dad.

So, like a good waitress, I point out all the things on the menu that are vegan as warmth rises to my face. I can feel my temper holding on by a thread as these girls continue to interrupt me, mock me, and otherwise remind me of every reason why I hate going out with my mother and her friends.

“None of those sound good. What do you think?” Priscilla asks, putting me on the spot.

“I don’t typically go the vegan route. If you want my opinion, our burgers are really good.”

Priscilla’s eyes travel the length of my body, making me feel like I’m under a microscope.

“It might do you some good.”

Wow, okay. Fucking rude.

“I prefer myself this way, but thanks for the info,” I say, hoping my voice is calmer than I feel .

It’s then that Priscilla’s eyes fall to my ring finger.

“Oh, I thought you were engaged?” Priscilla says with mock sincerity.

“I ended it.”

“Oh, what happened?”

I suck in a deep breath, willing myself to calm down.

“Oh, he cheated. Wasn’t worth it to me.”

Evian water girl snickers into her palm and I can see Priscilla fighting back a smile. “Why would he cheat on you, though? I mean, you’re a solid five.”

A five the man you keep pining over couldn’t keep his hands off last night.

Priscilla flips her hair over her shoulder and crosses her perfect manicured nails in front of her. “Of course, I’m sure you’re trying to work it out with him. Money, looks, a good social standing. He’s the perfect catch.” She leans forward and holds her hand up to cover her mouth, like she’s telling me a secret. “You know, Charlie begged me to give him another chance, but he’s just too plain, you know? He’s not exciting enough. Maybe that’s what you need to do. Be more adventurous. Charlie wouldn’t know adventure if it hit him head on.”

All the girls laugh and it’s in this moment that something snaps in me.

“You know,” I say, raising my voice over their laughter. “It’s almost like you cheating on Charlie.”

Priscilla’s eyes go wide and the laughter cuts immediately. All four girls stare at me, frozen like they can’t believe what I just said .

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah, at least I have the good sense to see that Drew is a walking STD.” I shrug. “I guess Charlie hasn’t figured that out about you yet, but I’m sure the day will come.”

“Bailey,” Charlie’s voice cuts through the air behind me like the crack of a whip, almost making me jump. I hadn’t realized he could hear. A split second later and I feel his warm hand on my shoulder, gripping me roughly to try and pull me back.

But I’m not finished yet.

“And another thing,” I snap, attempting to shrug Charlie off. “Go somewhere else and act like middle schoolers. Families are trying to enjoy their dinners.”

“Bailey, now ,” Charlie practically snarls in my ear. I let him drag me away from the table of soul-sucking Harry Potter dementors dressed up as Barbies and back through the kitchen doors.

He stops when we make it out into the back courtyard, practically dragging me the whole way and finally releases me. I stumble back a couple steps, almost falling on my ass.

I’m too pissed off to care. I can see exactly why Andi doesn’t want her anywhere near Charlie. She’s a leech.

“What the fuck is wrong with you today?” Charlie snaps, his face red and his eyes wild underneath his guarded mask. It’s both terrifying and hot , making my body confused as to if it wants to lean in or run the other way.

“They’re all a bunch of brats,” I snap, crossing my arms over my chest. “She wouldn’t stop .”

“You can’t say that shit to customers,” he grits.

“Please, she’s only here to terrorize people. I wasn’t aware we accepted payments from hell.”

“They are still customers.”

“She was being shitty about you! Am I just supposed to let her talk about you like that? She just uses you.”

He takes a step forward, his voice dropping to a deadly level.

“That’s not your fucking business. I don’t need you to fight my battles for me. Now, go back to work and fucking act right or I’ll send you home.”

“Please do,” I snap, but he’s already walking away from me.

He storms away, back into the restaurant and the door swings so hard it hits the brick wall behind it.

My lip shakes and tears threaten to fall, but I don’t let them. I did this and now I have to pay the consequences. It doesn’t mean I regret it. I don’t regret a single thing I said to them.

Truth is, I wanted to do more. I wanted to punch someone for the first time in my life. I’m not a violent person, but I am protective of my family. I guess Charlie is in that same category. Maybe a broken nose is what Priscilla deserves after what I assume has been a life of acting like she just did — I mean, if I can even break a nose. I’m not sure if I’m strong enough.

Allowing myself a moment to catch my bearings, Lionel gives me a slow clap and Marybeth beams at me from the other side of the window.

I’m starting to see why Savannah never fails to speak her mind. It actually feels kind of nice.

“Bailey,” Charles calls from his office. “Can you come here a second?”

Fuck. Am I going to get fired from my kind-of job?

The high I had been briefly riding on collapses and a pit forms in the bottom of my stomach. I step up to the door, feeling like a child who’s been sent to the principal’s office.

I peek my head in, fully prepared to get my ass chewed again, but to my shock, Charles is smiling. He has the camera’s pulled up in front of him and I can see the table where Priscilla and her friends were is vacant.

Thank God.

“Good girl.”

It takes me a minute, then I understand what he’s saying and I can’t stop my own smile.

I nod to him and shut the door behind me to go back to work with the biggest smile on my face.

When we close that night, I hurriedly finish my closing tasks and practically run out the door before Charlie can notice I’m ready to go. I don’t want to walk home with him after he screamed at me earlier. He told me to mind my business, so I will.

I mean, how dare he tell me I can’t stand up for myself. Not only that, stand up for him . If this is how she talks about him to me, I can only imagine what she’s told other people.

Even if I don’t like him most of the time, Charlie doesn’t deserve that. Not in the fucking slightest.

I’ll admit, it’s a little nerve-wracking walking home in the dark, but I manage. As I’m almost to the house, my phone rings and I groan outwardly .

It’s probably Charlie calling to ask me where I am.

It’s a number I don’t recognize, though.

I answer it, like an idiot, and wait for the telemarketer to start reading their script when a different voice comes through.

“Hey, Bailey. I don’t know if you remember me. It’s Peter from the art show.”

I stop on the sidewalk, a small thrill shooting through me.

I smile. “Peter with the boat. Of course, I remember you.”

How could I forget. Charlie practically branded me as off-limits in front of him.

Peter chuckles, sounding nervous. It’s kind of cute, like a boy asking out his crush for the first time.

“Well, I got your number from Tom. He’s a good friend of mine. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Can’t stop thinking of me ? Me, of all people?

“I’ve been thinking about you, too.”

Maybe not in the sense that he thinks, but I have thought a lot about what Charlie said about him. How bad can the guy be? He seems nice enough, and Charlie is no peach, either. I’m sure it’s just your classic my dick is bigger than yours feud.

“Really? That’s great,” Peter chuckles and I can sense he’s smiling. “Oh, well, listen, I was just wondering if you’d want to get dinner whenever your free?”

A date. Haven’t been on one of those in months. Unless we’re counting Charlie taking me for crawfish the other night. That was really just because he realized he was being an asshole, though

Just then, my phone buzzes and I pull it away from my ear.

Charlie: Where the fuck are you ?

What a freaking jerk .

He would be pissed if he found out I went on a date with Peter. He did tell me to stay away from him. I almost tell Peter no, until I remember Charlie doesn’t own me. No one does.

“You know what,” I say, a sudden giddiness falling over me. “I think I would. When are you free?”