I felt something heavy on my stomach. My immediate thought was a baby popped into my uterus and I somehow got knocked up. That was the irrational side of me.
I could feel the light on my face and was afraid to open my eyes. I couldn’t bother to strain my eyes any longer. I moved my hand around to feel my stomach and only felt something soft.
“Stop. I’m trying to sleep.”
“Why the hell are you on me?” Carter brought his finger up to my mouth silencing me.
“I’m tired.”
“I figured, but can you get off of me.” He shook his head.
“You have body heat.”
“You’re getting too comfortable.” I tried to get up, but Carter held me in place.
“Five more minutes.” I huffed before staying still. I preoccupied myself by going on my phone to find something to do. Dialing Ashley’s number, I waited patiently for her to pick up.
“Morning bitch.” I heard coughing on her end before it died down.
“Aw, is my little baby sick?” I cooed.
“Some kid sneezed on me at the hospital. I’m trying to do good in the world, and she sneezes on me.” I heard more coughing and mumbling in the background.
“Who was that?”
“Samantha.” I broke into hysterics as I heard Sam in the background berating Ashley in the background. “Oh, you are a manly man.” I couldn’t catch my breath. “If you don’t stop, I’m going to cough on you.”
“Don’t spread diseases Ashley. I don’t want to catch anything.”
“I’m not going to cough on you. I was talking to Sam.” She cleared her throat making it sound even more hoarse.
“I can come over. You know my tea and soup skills are the best.”
“They probably taste better than the shit Sam’s been forcing down my throat since last night.” After more arguing on her end, I hung up.
“Seriously Carter, get off.” I tapped his head. He barely moved. I eased my way off the couch and walked over to my room.
After brushing my teeth and taking shower, I emerged from the bathroom. I changed into a cardigan paired with a basic tank top and some shorts. I skipped down to the kitchen and searched my pantry for the soup and tea before heading over to Ashley’s house.
“You’re working tonight,” I asked Carter who was still out of it on the couch.
“It’s Saturday?”
“Yeah.” He nodded before moving around on the couch. “Recommend me.”
“I’m going to put in a bad word. I refuse to work with you because you’ll take over my job. The one place I can be away from you,” he grumbled.
“Harsh. I’ll be at Ashley’s if you need me.” I swiped my keys off the counter and walked out of the apartment locking my door on the way out. The drive to Ashley’s place was quiet.
“She’s upstairs.” Cedric said when he answered the door. “It’s the most disgusting thing you’ll see in your life.”
“Thanks for the warning Ced.” I sidestepped him and headed up the steps two at a time. I heard the coughing and hacking before I reached her room. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”
“I’m dying.” Her voice was disappearing by the minute.
“I can tell.” I felt her head. “You have a high fever. You’re contagious?”
“Yes. I am. We have masks that Kinsley brought in.” Her arm flew in the direction of them. I fastened one around my face in fear she might get me sick too.
“I’m not staying long.”
“Just make me my soup and tea.” She coughed. “Please.” I cringed before bounding down the steps towards the kitchen. Sam was at the island with Cedric. When I walked in, their conversation ceased.
“You guys are awful suspicious.” I moved around them and gathered a pot and a kettle to cook Ashley’s get-well food in.
“Nothing to worry about.” Sam’s laugh was uneasy, putting me slightly on edge.
“Okay. I won’t pine into it.”
~∞~
When I got back home, Carter was where I had left him. “You didn’t even bother getting up? Maybe even taking a shower?” I shut the door with my foot and set the food Talia made on the counter.
“I’m so tired.” He was face down on the couch once I walked in. “What time is it?”
“6:30. Why?” Carter flew off the couch and ran down the hall. I looked over to where he had gone before shrugging. After devouring Talia’s food, I walked to my room and grabbed a purse to hold my belongings. I brushed my teeth and was by the front door putting on my heels when Carter emerged.
“Is this too much?” I asked him while putting my blazer on.
“It depends where you’re going.”
“My job interviews today. I called today and the owner said he could meet with me tonight.” I twirled once more. “Do I look good?”
“Shorts?”
“It’s LA. It’s fucᴋing hot.” He flashed me a thumbs up before looking at the plate on the counter. He turned to me. “Yes, it’s yours.”
“I hope you aren’t thinking of going with me. I’m working until three.”
“Fun.” I swiped my keys off the counter. “Don’t be late.” I shut the door behind me and walked at a quick pace to my car. I carefully wrapped my hair into a professional bun and touched up my makeup before pulling out.
I emerged into the bar, the sudden cool air striking me back. I waltzed up to the counter asking for the owner. “You here for an interview.” The guy looked me up and down. I crossed my left leg over my right striking a casual pose for entertainment.
“Yes I am. Do you happen to know where he is at the moment?” I leaned in, engaging in eye contact catching him off guard. The man before me was handsome I’ll give you that.
The only thing holding me back was that nagging voice telling me not to mess around with potential co-workers. “The hall, last door on your right.”
“Thanks.” I pushed off the counter and made my way down the hall. It was dimly lit. I silenced my phone before knocking on the door.
“Come in.” I walked in pulling my resume out of my bag. “Bailey Murphy.”
“Yes Sir.” I looked up and almost staggered backwards. “Mr. Roberts?” A wide smile spread across his face before he got up to hug me.
“I knew the name was familiar. I haven’t seen you in over four years.”
“I may have had a lapse from my neighborhood. A rather long one.”
“Look how much you’ve grown.” I smiled cheekily at him.
“Look at you. You finally opened that bar you were talking to my dad about.” I took a seat and crossed my ankles appearing professional.
“It’s been a blessing.”
“How’s Nicky?” I asked him, striking conversation. I had to appear interested. It would make scoring the job much easier.
“She’s doing well. She’s about to start her final year of college.” We began the formal part of the interview. I handed over my resume filled with my accomplishments.
“Why would you like to join us here at Cheshire’s?”
“If we are being honest, I got fired from my last job which I looked at as a new chapter of my life. My friends, some of your workers, described this place as a family affair. I felt I needed a positive outlook on my life.” I felt I was the queen of bullshitting.
“I practically raised you, so I know you’re lying.” The nervous laughter that erupted from within me caused Mr. Roberts to chuckle. “I like your determination and your demeanor will surely pull in our customers.”
I nodded to be polite.
“Now let’s talk shifts. Our biggest crowd is between midnight and three. I think you’d be best there because of your jovial personality.”
“I can deal. I like being around crowds anyway.”
“Weekends, we have performances that bring in customers as well.”
“I can do six days out of the week. I typically don’t work on Sundays.”
He wrote things down before looking up. “I’ll call you to let you know when you start.”
“Thanks Mr. Roberts. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“No problem. It was nice seeing a familiar face again.” I exited the room, shutting the door behind me before skipping in glee. I eventually face planted in the ground when my heel caught in the ground. I felt like the one girl in a horror film who tripped over nothing in the woods.
I faced laughter once I got up and straightened out my clothes. “Thanks for no help. I already know I’m going to love it here,” I said sarcastically.
“Damn. She got the job.” Carter mumbled while wiping down counters.
“Don’t be so sad. You know you love admiring this body. Now you can do it all waking hours of the day.” I mentioned. Carter grew a smirk on his face. He tossed the towel across his shoulder and walked slowly towards me.
Recently, I’ve been finding that we’ve been more upfront with our sexual desires. I don’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I just know that it made things less awkward between us. “Can we do other things all waking hours of the day?” He whispered close to my ear making my body involuntarily shiver. If I didn’t back away now, my resolve against Carter would fall quickly. I hadn’t engaged in any sexual activities since Vegas. Imagine that. I shoved against his chest but he didn’t move.
I gripped his forearms making sure to pull his hands from around my waist. “I made a pact with myself that I wouldn’t bed my coworkers.”
“You and I both know that’s bullshit, but okay.” He backed off and went back to cleaning the tables. I walked over to the bar and ordered a drink to put my kitty cat to sleep. Cherry came over and sat next to me.
“Why can’t you guys just fucᴋ each other already? Put us out of our misery.”
“Oh we have.” She coughed up her drink, dry heaving to get air in her lungs.
“So upfront. I almost forgot, this is Bailey I’m speaking to.” She stared at me before shaking her head and smiling.
“What?”
“I know why so many people love being around you.” I raised my eyebrows. “You have this inviting aura around you. You’re a kind, blunt person. You spread love.”
“I spread my legs too.” Cherry broke into hysterics while I laughed at how quickly the joke came out. “Sorry. That was a kneejerk reaction. I don’t usually make jokes like that. I feel so vulgar.”
“You are a character.”
“You are too with your fiery red hair. You put me to shame. I’m in love with everything about you. You have such a bright persona, and you’re making Dean, Jack Frost in his earthly form, melt for you.”
“That was a cute metaphor.” She spun around in her seat and admired him. “I don’t know. You know how you feel that connection with someone that goes on a deeper level. Like you can feel it going somewhere?”
“No. Not at all.” She laughed before turning around and sipping more of her drink. “But I understand.” She smiled at me. “Do you hang out here a lot?”
“Nope. I only come if Dean wants me to. Today was one of those days.” She whipped out her phone. “And I’m bored.”
“Same here.” A lightbulb went off in my head. “Let’s ditch this place and go do karaoke or something.”
“Sounds like fun, but I don’t have a car.”
“Lucky for you, I brought mine.” She downed the rest of her drink and we left the bar much to Dean’s protest.
“Where to first?” She asked me.
“Anywhere I don’t have to wear a blazer and heels.”
***
Short chapter, but a chapter nonetheless. I'm finally on Spring Break and I got over my writer's block. Such great timing. I may continue writing and who knows, we may have another chapter up soon.
The Carter/Bailey scene was supposed to be less innocent than it was but my body couldn't handle the idea that I had. I may rewrite it when I have control over my emotions. I'm just a mess right now. I hate this chapter, but we had foreshadowing! Can you spot it?
Outfit to the side is Bailey's interview outfit (Don't give me shit for the shorts. It's hot in LA, especially in summer)