The weekend was spent hungover and hearing Quinn go on about the tons of men who's messaged her. Each one offering tons of money, gifts, trips and mind-blowing sex. I got a lot of messages from potential sugar daddies as well but I wasn't interested in any of them. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about the whole thing like Quinn was.
Something about the arrangement made me feel uncomfortable. I knew that I couldn't just have sex with anyone, I had to be in it emotionally. I may have had the odd drunk hook up but to do that long term would only turn me into an alcoholic.
For the time being, I still had to go to work. I worked at a sit down restaurant who's clientele were mostly creepy older men who wanted to watch sports games and the asses of the female servers. As much as I didn't want to, I got into my car and tried to mentally prepare for my shift.
I turned up the radio to cover the concerning grinding sound my car made while I drove. I could barely afford the insurance on it much less the maintenance and repairs too. Even working full time with tips on top, living on my own proved to be expensive even with a roommate. I thought about selling my car and using public transit but I couldn't bring myself to sell what I saved for during most of high school.
The day I picked up my car was one I wouldn't forget, it was probably the most excited I had ever been because I had worked so hard for it. It was in the summer which meant the day was mostly spent driving to beaches with Quinn right there in the passenger seat. Of course Quinn was driving her parents older BMW during high school but Quinn was just as excited as I was. A smile formed on my face as I thought about that day, the first time I felt... boujee.
Most of my classmates saved for their own car had little beaters but my SUV was more like what our parents drove. Sure it was only a Honda SUV but it was the only thing I owned that made me feel luxurious. I always had an eye for luxury things. I had fawned over Quinn when her parents bought her a Louis Vuitton crossbody purse for her birthday. And when Quinn got her parent's BMW, I was pretty much drooling.
Quinn's parents were both doctors who had their own family practice. To put it simply, they were the types to flaunt their money. Her parents lived in a mansion of a house and even though they were now only left with Quinn's two younger brothers, I doubted her parents were planning to downsize anytime soon. Every time I saw Quinn's mom, she was always sporting a new designer handbag, I rarely saw her with the same one twice. Her parents were also the type to buy a new luxury car every couple years just to pass the old one down to their daughter. I had been envious of Quinn because of her upbringing in a wealthy family but she tried to let me know it wasn't all as glamorous as it looked. Regardless of what she said, I wanted to have that same life.
My parents weren't poor or anything. My mom was a teacher and my dad was a supervisor at a construction company. I had gotten the trendy toys, clothing brands and Heelys, like most kids. My mother drove a Toyota sedan and my dad drove a pick up truck. Our house was an average brick bungalow in a family oriented neighbourhood where I would walk to and from school everyday with my older sister. We went on a vacation or road trip every year and we met our relatives at my Nonna's house for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was in competitive swimming and I did my homework as best as I could. It was a normal and comfortable life.
But there I was, working on server wage and depending on tips, I wasn't anywhere the dream lifestyle Quinn had. And although I didn't regret the way I was raised, I was envious of Quinn's upbringing.
All too soon I was pulling into the rear parking lot of the restaurant. The building was half decent on the outside. It was similar to something you'd see in any movie about the Wild West. Very square, horizontal wood slats that covered the entire front side of the building but was a neutral brown to be modern. There was also a porch that held barrels and doors that had vinyl on them to look like the classic saloon doors. The inside was like any other sit down restaurant but had the decor to stick to the Wild West theme. Horseshoes, lassoes, tumbleweeds and cowboy boots. The only thing that was different from the other sit down restaurants was the large abundance of TV's that hung from the ceiling.
Of course the uniform had to match the aesthetic. Obviously we wore cowboy boots which were surprisingly comfortable to wear everyday for eight hours. Our bottoms were medium wash denim shorts that just covered my ass cheeks. We also had to wear a belt with a large gold buckle that was engraved with the restaurant logo, a dancing cartoon cowboy. Our shirts were simple white fitted tops, tucked in. We had the option between tank, t-shirt and long sleeve but all of them had quite the v-neck. We also had the choice to wear a cowboy hat but the ones we had were itchy and got annoying to wear after so long.
I walked in through the employee entrance which took you right into the kitchen. I quickly punched into the machine, wanting to be paid for every second I was here. The chefs were already hard at work. There was about five guys that worked in the kitchen and about five of us girls that worked as servers. Then we had the cluster fuck that was management.
"Good morning, men." I shouted over the kitchen noise as they all greeted me back.
"Morning!" Josh looked at me with a big smile. Josh was my favourite guy in the kitchen since he always had my back and I had his. We protected each other whether it was customers or staff.
"Morning, Joshua." I smiled back as I walked through the kitchen.
He smile faltered as he looked back down to what he was chopping. "Should warn you. I overheard Joyce say that Stacey called in sick and Kate didn't want to cover on her day off."
I sighed and leaned slightly on the swing door that lead out to the hallway. "Great. So just three girls on the floor and Joyce is going to want to help to only fuck things up." I pinched the bridge of my nose, already annoyed with the shift.
"Sorry, I wanted to give you a heads up." I looked to Josh who was now smiling sympathetically at me.
I lowered my hands and gave him a soft smile in return. "I know, thanks. I'd probably walk out if I found out later."
Josh gave me a look to show he didn't believe me. "You always say that."
"I'll do it one day!" I shouted back as I pushed through the doors. I went down the hallway, passing the customer bathrooms to the door on the very end which lead into the staff room.
The staff room was a big room with tables, chairs, small kitchen appliances, sink and the typical break room stuff. There was also two change rooms, one for the guys and one for the girls. Within the change rooms were our personal lockers for our uniform but I was already in mine. So I hung up my purse within my locker that was decorated with sticky notes saying motivational or funny things from the other servers.
I took a deep breath and walked onto the floor. The other two girls wouldn't be here yet since they always walked in just as the first few customers were coming in. I decided to go out onto the floor to be ready for the first customer.
Of course, when Joyce unlocked the door there was a fair amount of customers. I looked back to see if Amanda and Lauren had arrived and luckily for them they were hurrying out onto the floor in their uniforms.
"That was a close one. You almost owed me." I teased to help cover my annoyance.
"I can't afford $100 right now." Amanda said as she stood beside me and adjusted her loose copper curls.
"Then it's good I got your lazy ass out of bed." Lauren rolled her eyes.
Joyce sat the customers down and we began to wait on the tables in our sections. The days were always the same. We had the lunch and the dinner rush with the people in between who loved to sit at their table for hours and talk. And of course we had to act like we enjoyed middle aged men attempting to flirt with us using the same lines we've heard a thousand times.
I definitely wasn't cut out to have a sugar daddy. But at the same time, wasn't I? Enduring small talk with older men for the sake of money? A sugar daddy would be paying way more for my time than the fifteen to twenty percent tip I was currently getting.
Once we hit the lunch rush, Joyce tried to step in and take care of one of my tables without letting me know. When I went to greet them, they were confused.
"Howdy! Welcome to Cowboy Billy's. My name is Brielle and I'll be your server this afternoon. Can I get y'all started with any drinks?" We were encouraged to use as many Southern terms as possible when talking to customers. Management said it made the experience more authentic and enjoyable, as if the customers weren't coming here to enjoy the sights of our bodies.
"Um, I thought Joyce was taking care of us? She was just here a few minutes ago." The man who spoke was a balding man, beer belly, a long beard and wore a suit. A standard look for the customers who came here during the day.
I wore my fake customer service smile. "Oh! I'm so sorry about that, I wasn't aware. But no worries, ya'll are in good hands." I made a hasty exit then went to the kitchen.
Pushing the swing door open, I found Joyce getting her table's drinks. "Joyce, you have to tell me when you want to take one of our tables. I just did my introduction at table 12 and it's a waste of time if they already have a server."
Joyce looked at me for a moment, the expression on her face not showing anything other than slight annoyance. "I wanted to make sure they were being served right away. You can have them back."
I shook my head. "They're your table now and I'm going for my break."
Joyce scoffed. "You can't take your break! There's a rush!"
I shrugged. "Sorry, I get in trouble if I don't take my first break by one. Plus my tables will be fine for fifteen minutes." I simply walked away, going right out the kitchen back door.
Usually my breaks were spent sitting at the worn picnic table outside during the nice weather. Somehow I'd always end up having my break with Josh, today was no exception. We'd talk about all the things going on in our lives. Naturally I told him about getting drunk and how Quinn made us profiles to find a sugar daddies that past weekend.
"Wait, are you serious about actually doing it?" He was shocked, probably because I wasn't the type to do that kind of thing.
"No, Quinn was more into it than me." I shrugged as I traced my finger along the heart someone drew onto the picnic table.
Josh chuckled, a familiar and comforting sound. "Sounds like Quinn. I remember her boujee ass in high school with her parent's two year old BMW. Man, sometimes I don't think she realizes how blessed she is."
I shrugged, thinking back to when she was upset on the weekend about not being independent. "Her life isn't perfect though."
I looked up to see him smiling softly. "No, she just has rich people problems."
My lips couldn't help the small smile. "I wish I had rich people problems. The ones like 'Louis or Gucci? Black or white Range Rover?' Man, I wish."
Josh nodded. "I wouldn't be here, that's for sure."
I elbowed him playfully. "How would you pay the bills?"
"A sugar momma." He joked as I rolled my eyes at him. He could always make me smile. There had been times I've barged into the kitchen ranting about some old geezer asshole and Josh always said something that was brighten my mood, even if it was only a little bit. It was always enough to keep me going the rest of the shift.
Our break soon ended and the lunch rush ended not too long after. Joyce kept helping tables without telling us and even ended up causing a couple minor hiccups. But soon the shift neared to an end and it was tip counting time. We always got our tips in cash at the end of the night. Greg, the general manager, always totalled them up and gave us the cash. My tips weren't too bad for a Monday so I went home feeling alright but tired both physically and mentally.
After parking in my spot at our apartment building, I dragged myself and our dinner to the elevator up to the apartment. Quinn worked as a bottle server at a club so she never really got home until the middle of the night. I dressed into a loose t-shirt and pyjama shorts before I put on something to watch on the TV and ate my food from the comfort of the couch.
After I was done eating, I listened to the movie I'd seen a hundred times in the background while I went through more profiles on the sugar daddy app. My thought kept going back to the idea that I would be doing almost the same thing as I was now but making way more. It still bothered me about the sex part. I suppose I'd push through and learn to deal with it for the sake of a hefty pay check.
I was in my bed, scrolling through more profiles when a new message came through the app. I had gotten lots of messages but this one caught my attention. It was from a woman named Layla.
Please let me know what you think! Sorry if there's any grammar or spelling mistakes lol