CHAPTER 3
We walked into the bar at noon the next day to find the lunch rush in full swing. I could tell the girls were nervous, for different reasons of course. Steph was afraid she was going to spill a drink on someone, and Nic was trying to not go to prison. I had a little bit of both concerns, but this was a means to an end for us, and we needed it.
We stood looking around as servers and patrons went about their business. I'd admit it was a little overwhelming, looking around. Busy didn't cover it. They were slammed, and if I allowed myself to think about everything we were about to be doing, I'd probably freak. Unfortunately, Nic was already fretting.
"Nic, just think of this as an adventure in one of those books you read, yeah?" I said, trying to calm her nerves.
"I read romance, Piper," she said, crossing her arms.
"Just plug one of the fine-ass men surrounding us into that huge brain of yours and take off, okay?" I raised an eyebrow.
"You two crack me up. I'm so glad we are doing this together," Steph said.
After two hours of filling out forms and going over the rules of the bar, we were ready to start training. Stephanie was paired up with a girl that looked to be just a little older than us, named Stacy. Nicole was shadowing Jenny, our waitress from yesterday. She had worked in the bar for four years, so I knew she would be tolerant with Nic. I was paired up with Cole. He was definitely one of the hottest guys I had ever laid eyes on. He had brown hair that had just a tinge of curl to it. His eyes were almost gray, and he was just under six feet tall. I could see his muscular outline under his shirt, but what really made him hot as hell in my book was the most amazing sleeve of tattoos I had ever seen. The artwork was breathtaking. Cole was really down to earth and welcoming, and I knew from the moment we met, we were going to get on well.
I picked up on everything fairly quickly and felt that I was really going to enjoy this job about half-way through the afternoon. I tried to keep an eye on Nic and Steph, and they seemed to be doing great as well.
There had only been a couple of drinks with which I wasn't familiar. Cole was patient and explained everything easily. Another thing I really liked about him was that even though I could tell he was a typical flirt, he still did his job. That put me at ease. I really didn't want to have to do my job plus his. I couldn't keep up with the women that tried to catch his attention. They were everywhere and of all shapes and sizes. He didn't seem to discriminate. He flirted with all of them equally. I'd actually spent half my time with him laughing. He was definitely smooth, I'd give him that.
Nicole was feeling much better by our first break. "I'm still a little nervous about it, but I really like everyone here. Plus, the job isn't that difficult."
"Yeah, at least now I've delivered food and drinks to people. I was so scared I was going to dump someone's plate on them or spill their drink," Steph added.
"I told you guys! This is all going to work out." I smiled.
Around eight o'clock, I noticed some commotion at the back of the pub. I glanced around until I located Stephanie and Nicole. The girl Stephanie was shadowing was laughing and her hand covered her mouth. I still couldn't make out what was so funny.
"What the hell?" Cole asked.
"I'm not sure." I noticed a couple of the patrons were laughing as well.
Just then, Stephanie rounded the corner white as a ghost. She walked quickly down the hall toward the restroom. Nicole followed her along with another waitress I hadn't met yet. Stacy opened the door and ducked in behind them.
"I'll be right back," I said.
Cole nodded, but stayed where he was.
"Steph, what happened?" I barged into the women's restroom like my ass was on fire.
"I seriously just about got my ass handed to me by a biker bitch!" She was splashing her face with water from the sink.
"What? Oh my God. Why?"
"She was so angry." Nicole rubbed her back.
"This is your first lesson in assumption. Never assume anything these days, girl. Hell, before too long, we'll have a full-service bar for people that marry their pets." Stacy laughed.
I looked at Stephanie, waiting for her to explain. "A lady ordered a beer and so did the guy at her table. I asked for their ID's like Stacy told me to." She sighed. "I took the ID's from them, glanced at the date of births, and then asked the lady if her and her son wanted a bottle or draft beer."
"What's wrong with that?" I asked, still not following.
"Nothing, if he would have been her son." She shook her head.
"That lady stood up nose to nose with Stephanie and said, "'Bitch, I'll cut your ass up if you ever refer to my husband as my son again,'" Stacy said.
Laughing, I hugged her. "Steph, I'm so sorry."
"This is my parents' fault," she cried. "They never let me work before and I have no clue what I'm doing."
"It's okay. We are all learning together," Nic said.
We stayed in the bathroom until Cole finally came to the door. I had him go get the check from the table. He came back ten minutes later and told us that the coast was clear. He pushed Stephanie's hair back behind her ears and told her that everyone had moments like that. It was sweet. It was also smooth. Her eyes dried up shortly thereafter, and she regained most of her composure after Stacy told her a few horror stories of her own.
By the time we ended our shift, I had made a couple of new friends, and so had the girls. Everyone at the bar was friendly and welcoming. We hadn't encountered anyone that I could see a future pissing contest with. I'd learned from the few jobs I'd already had, that usually, where people were concerned, it didn't take long for some form of jealousy to set in. It wasn't that it always happened to me, but with three new girls all starting at the same time, I wouldn't have been surprised. Even Nic was feeling really good about it.
"You all did really well today. I'm really impressed," Brandon said as we all gathered in the locker room. Granted—he didn't know about the incident with the biker chick and we chose to keep that to ourselves.
"Thanks, Brandon, we really appreciate it. We all really like it too," I said.
"Awesome, I'll see you girls tomorrow."
We said goodnights to our co-workers and headed back to our apartment. We thought we were excited before we got home, but when we actually sat down and emptied our pockets—we were thrilled.
"Man, I made a hundred and twelve dollars tonight," Steph said.
"I got eighty-eight," Nic added.
"Damn, I made a buck-forty, and that was with me and Cole splitting."
"You, my friend, are brilliant!" Stephanie said.
"I agree," Nic added, still looking at her money.
I went back to my room and brought out another bottle of booze I had stuffed into my bag before we left Missouri. I walked over to the cabinet and pulled down three cups, filled each one with a shot, and handed them to Nic and Steph. "Here's to a kick-ass future!"
"And that cupcake behind the bar!" Steph added.
"Cupcake?" I laughed.
"Yeah, he's delectable and sweet." Steph shrugged.
"That is hilarious." I laughed. "Cupcake it is!"
"Oh gosh," Nic said. "We are officially giddy with good-looking men."
"Whoever we meet, sleep with, or date, I say cupcake is a damn good start as far as eye-candy!" I agreed, as we clinked our glasses together.
After a little bit, we decided to call it a night and head to our own rooms because after all, it had been a very long day. I pulled out my acoustic and piled my pillows up against my headboard. Playing always soothed me. I normally played every night before bed. I started with the slow melody in my head and hummed along as I strummed. At twenty years old, I had started a new chapter in my life. I probably would have ventured out on my own at some point, but I was so glad that Stephanie and Nicole were with me. I was starting to believe the cliché that these were the best years of my life because so far, I couldn't have pictured anything better. Once school started we'd have more responsibilities, but right now I felt like the sky was the limit. I missed my mom and my little sister, but I was so glad I had taken this chance and moved here with my friends.
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