"Do you really think that is the best idea?" she asked me, concern etched across her face. I'm sure she'd seen many people coming in to drink their troubles away, and I didn't mind being the next.
"Yep. I'm very sure." I was quite ready to get fucked up.
"How about I get something that doesn't even taste like alcohol, it will sneak right up on you?"
"I don't care. I just need to forget." I really didn't want to hear that Gabe guy and Tegan yelling at me in my mind or remember either of them looking at my naked body.
"You just better not puke up all that good food I made you!" she told me, pointing down that the plates of food that she'd kindly made.
"I'll do my best!" I promised. I really hoped I didn't, and she'd been so nice that I'd feel bad if I made a mess of her bar. She nodded, and then moved down to the other end of the bar.
She came back a minute later with a tumbler of a reddish tinted drink with a little cherry in it. "This is sweet, so it will disguise the alcohol. But I'm only giving you one until you get food in your belly. No drinking on an empty stomach!"
I took a sip of the drink, and she was right, it was very sweet with a cherry flavor to it. "I'll be good. But you better have more of these lined up, they're delicious!"
She smiled and nodded. "I'll make more, don't sweat it. In the meantime, do you want to talk about what happened? Or would you rather wait?"
I took a bit of one of the potato skins, and almost moaned, it was so good! I really needed this food. I should probably talk to her, I mean that is what bartenders do, right? "Let me get a little food in me, then I'll tell you everything."
She nodded quickly, then served a few other people drinks, but I couldn't help but notice she was keeping an eye on me. It was nice that she was making sure I was okay, and I was flattered that she'd been as helpful as she had been. Really, she didn't have to give me dry clothes, protect me from that old Harry guy and then make me food. Yes, I know they normally sell food, but she'd kicked Christian back there to do the cooking now that it was busier, which meant that she'd wanted to do it for me. I hoped.
Fuck, am I being stupid and reading things into the situation just because she saw I needed the kindness so much after the shit that went down at Tegan's? Am I so desperate that I'm seeing things where they aren't? Hell, Uncle Ray has helped out many a patron in the bar when they were down, and no doubt that was all that Skye was doing too. I needed to keep my head out of the damned clouds. After what I just went through with Tegan, I should be steering clear of anyone with gorgeous hazel eyes, a sexy blonde ponytail, a stunning ass, and perky breasts who was treating me nicely.
Yeah, good luck with that.
But right now, I just tried to concentrate on what I needed to. The food was good, and just what my body needed. It was so dark driving here through the downpour that it had seemed later than it was, and I guess my body decided it was famished. Part of that might have been the emotional trauma I'd just been through, but when I looked at my phone, I realized it wasn't even 7pm yet. I didn't realize it, since I was lost in my own thoughts, but I'd already polished off the potato skins, and half the drink before I started in on the wings. We have a lot of good wing places in Florida, with lots of Latin influences so I liked them spicy. These were some sort of a sweet and spicy chili sauce that were nice and crispy, and I think I could have eaten them all night. Damn were they good!
I was almost done with them when Skye came over with another drink. "Those wings usually need more to wash them down with, so I took the liberty."
I had the sauce all over my face, and my mouth was full of chicken wing. Perfect timing to talk to an insanely hot girl. Thanks a lot, to whatever lesbian god was doing me zero favors right now! I quickly chewed and swallowed before wiping my face and responding. "Thanks! Everything is great, thank you so much for making this."
She stuck her thumb in her mouth, then reached out, wiping a little more sauce from the corner of my mouth before bringing back to her mouth and sucking it off. I think I may have just soaked the sweatpants when she did that, as I instantly felt myself growing damp and my breathing became shallow. "My pleasure. Can I get you anything else?"
Okay, that time I know damned well she was flirting! "For now, I think this is it. But keep the drinks coming."
"You got it!" She flashed me a wink, and then went to make another, as I finished off the second. She was right though; these things were great, and I was going to suck them down all night. I did worry about coming back to get my car in the morning, because I didn't think I'd be able to drive if she kept making them. But right now I didn't care.
She came back, sliding the next drink in front of me. "So, are you ready to talk now? You should have a full belly, and a couple drinks in you."
Well, what the hell. If I told the story, and she still flirted, then maybe she's just a saint. Or she just wants to get in my pants. Is it technically a rebound if I was never in a relationship? Ugh, I don't know! "Fine, I'll tell you."
She smiled, then scooted all the way down the bar and leaned over so she could hear without me having to yell over the crowd and the music. "Okay. I'm not judging, but I'm usually pretty good at advice, so lemme hear it."
I took a deep breath and got right into it. "Okay. I'm from Florida, and my uncle owns a place like this. A bar and grille on the water. They were short staffed one night this past spring break, and I worked. A girl who was a sports hero of mine shows up there, which shocked me, and we hooked up for a couple of days, then she disappeared. But I had a full ride offer to her school and decided to come here. Not just for her, they were one of my top teams anyway. Either way, we hooked up a couple of times since I got here, and the other day she told me to meet her at her place, naked and in bed. Then today, she even reminded me about it. I used her spare key to get in, and I got naked and, in her bed, just like she asked."
It was hard once I got to that part, and my voice got caught in my throat. I opened my mouth to speak, and nothing came out. Skye quickly reached across the bar, gripping my hand in both of hers. "Take a drink. Then count to ten. There is no rush, okay? You can even stop if you need to."
I nodded, then took several gulps of the cocktail before taking several big breaths while counting to ten. "Okay, I'm good." I was pretty sure I could keep going, I hope.
"You're sure?"
"Nor really," I said with a shrug. "But I'm almost done. She showed up with a guy. One she was obviously together with, and pretended to be shocked to see me. He really was shocked to see me, I think. Of course, I was naked in their bed, and they're both screaming at me, and I was just freaking out and trying to get dressed and out of there as fast as I could."
"That explains the bare feet and no bra," she pointed out. "You have cute toes on giant feet."
I just raised an eyebrow at her, trying not to laugh.
"What? I didn't say anything about the nipples, nor the fucking amazing show when you changed. I'm being good here!"
"Fine, yes, thanks. I just couldn't believe she did that. I don't know if the basketball team hazes players like a sorority does with pledges, or if was just some weird joke or she was getting me back for beating her in the scrimmage on Wednesday, but the whole situation is fucked up."
"Okay, so you and Tegan huh? And she set you up?" she shook her head in awe. "I'd always thought she was straight."
I looked at her, my mouth open in shock as I realized what she said, "I never told you it was Tegan!"
"You just did. But it wasn't hard to figure out. The only two women's basketball players in this area who could be considered sports heroes are Tegan and Imani. Now, you don't go to UNC, because I'm tight with them and Imani is a friend and I know she'd never cheat on her girlfriend, so you have to go to NC State. That means Tegan. But it still doesn't explain why she did it. I've never heard of any hazing like that on teams, so it had to be personal. Maybe it really was something as petty as revenge about losing a scrimmage."
"I can't think of anything else. But I still have to figure out a way to be her teammate after she pulled that shit," I pointed out.
"Ignore her. If you make a big deal out of it, then she'll have won. Just concentrate on the game and go from there. Maybe she's scared of you. Do you play the same position?"
"Yeah, we're both power forwards," I acknowledged. "I held my own against her in the scrimmage, but I thought that we'd be starting side by side."
"You might still do that. But in the short term, you need to show her that she can't get to you. You need to be the fucking hot chocolate amazon and kick her ass by not acknowledging what she did at all."
"Hot chocolate amazon, huh? I like that!"
She let her eyes wander down, taking in my body down to my breasts, then back up with a smirk. "Well, you have the hot part for sure, and your skin it like some delicious chocolate. Now just get that amazon attitude. Be the fucking beast."
A beast. Fuck yeah! I could do that. "I like it. I can just stick with my friend Leah and ignore Tegan."
"Are you going to be, okay?" she asked, squeezing my hand that she'd never let go of. I was conscious of the warmth of her fingers as I looked down at out hands together.
"I am. This has helped a lot."
"Let's get your clothes then. I don't think you want to spend the whole night here." She let go of my hand, then walked around the bar, only to take my hand again, and tugged me after her. My clothes were still draped over the chairs in the office, and not yet dry, and I'd resigned myself to putting them back on and freezing. Instead, Skye folded them up and handed them to me. "Bring back Ben's sweats the next time you're in the area. The shirt is yours."
I almost cried again, this time at the continued kindness. "Are you sure?"
"Yep. You're always welcome back here."
"Can I stick around until my Uber gets here?" I pulled out my phone and got ready to order one.
"You don't need one. You were drinking Shirley Temples all night. I don't serve minors. I like my liquor license." She winked again and I just shook my head.
"You're lucky you're gorgeous." Wait! Why did I say that? Oh, but that made her blush, I liked that look on her.
She moved into my body, pulling me into another hug. "You're going to be okay, but you're always welcome to come back if you need to chat again. If you ever need a shoulder to rest your head on, or drape your thighs over, I'm here." She added a wink and a smile to let me know she was kidding.
I couldn't help but snort as I laughed out loud at her joke. Holy shit that was funny! "I'll remember that!"
"I hope you do!"
But there was a big part of me that hoped that it wasn't a joke, and that she meant that statement!