500 Days (45 page)

I’d be lying if I didn’t start to notice
some things about Reece after the fight, but I told myself it was
Casper and my family putting bad thoughts in my head. “Alex, go
check and see what the band wants,” Gus yelled. I rolled my eyes
and headed to the back. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

“
Hey, little devil.” I
flinched slightly when he used one of Casper’s old nicknames for
me. Reece bent down and wrapped his arms around my
waist.

“
Hi, sorry, but I can’t
really talk.”

“
Then we won’t talk.” He
pressed an eager kiss to my lips. I tasted something odd and I
pulled back. “You okay?”

“
Yeah, like I said I’m
just really busy. I’ll try and catch you later, okay?” He nodded
and I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before I headed into the
back. I got the strangest feeling when I kissed him. I felt like
something was off, but I ignored it so I could focus on my
job.

I snuck through the crowd and around the
back to see if the boys needed anything before they went on. My
breath hitched slightly when I saw Casper. He looked like shit and
I could tell he was in a mood. “Katherine, so nice of you to grace
us with your presence. I see Pinocchio finally pulled his tongue
out of your mouth long enough to allow you to talk.”

“
It’s a little early to be
drunk, Cas,” I glared.

“
It’s a celebration,” he
said, tipping back his bottle.

I walked straight for Colton and asked him
if he and Greyson needed anything. “Some water please,” he inclined
his head toward Casper and I nodded in agreement.

“
Okay, I’ll be right
back.”

“
You didn’t ask me what I
wanted.” Casper shouted as I rounded the door. I turned back to
look at him. His smile was mischievous but his eyes said something
else. They were a mix of emotions everything from anger, sadness to
desire. My heart broke a little at his torn expression. I closed my
eyes and took a breath, reminding myself he was the reason I was
suddenly doubting Reece.

“
What you want isn’t
available.” Putting my emotions aside, I walked back out into the
madhouse to grab some water for the boys.

It was nonstop the moment the band went on.
I barely had a second to catch my breath. “I really hate nights
like this,” Declan commented as she walked past to fill an order.
“I swear if one more person tries to grab my ass I’m going to knock
them out.”

I knew it was bad if Declan was threatening
violence. “You wanna switch?” Declan was working the floor tonight
while I was behind the bar.

“
No, it’s fine. No use in
risking a brawl.” She knew I wouldn’t take crap from no one and in
these tight quarters a fight could easily escalate. We managed to
make it through the first set without any issues, but by the second
the bouncers had already thrown out a group of people. With how
rough the crowd was getting
,
Gus actually pulled Declan behind the bar and put
me out on the floor knowing I could handle the rowdies. Gus even
gave me permission to take action into my own hands. I smiled
happily as I grabbed my tray. I entered the mob waiting for someone
to start something with me. I had a lot of pent up anger and needed
to let go of my aggression.

Unfortunately my reputation had preceded me,
because no one dared to try anything. I was a little disappointed.
I had delivered my latest order when someone grabbed me from
behind. I spun around fist ready. “Whoa, it’s just me,” Reece said,
startled by my reaction.

“
Sorry, just a little on
edge.”

“
I can help with that.”
Reece pulled me in for a kiss, but I reluctantly pulled away.
“What’s wrong with you?”

“
I don’t have time for
this right now. It’s too crazy in here and I can’t
stop.”

His eyes narrowed for a second. I was ready
to take the defensive when his eyes softened. “You’re right and I’m
sorry. How about you just call me when you’re done and I’ll come
pick you up?”

“
Don’t leave. Stay and
have fun with your friends.”

“
Are you sure?”

I took his hand and yanked him over to a
dark corner of the club, shoving him up against the wall and
kissing him forcefully. Reece was the one to break the kiss this
time. “What was that for?”

“
A preview for tonight,” I
winked. He bent down and placed a sweet kiss on my lips. “Now go
have fun.” I patted him on the behind as I made my way to the back
to deliver more water.

The rest of the night went fairly smooth,
except for a few minor run-ins with my fist connecting with a few
faces. I knew it was going to be a late night and I wasn’t going to
get out of there before four. I was just hoping Reece wouldn’t be
too tired to go a few rounds. The only thing I needed right now was
some release. Something to ease the pain I felt inside from all
these conflicting emotions. Thankfully the hectic night kept my
mind busy. I didn’t think about Casper or the strange feelings I
got from Reece.

I had battled all week with my head and my
heart. I needed to understand these feelings I was having. I wanted
to talk to Casper and clear the air. I hated the way things were
between us, but I couldn’t stand his behavior lately.

My head was somewhere else all night and Gus
had noticed. “Alex I don’t know what the hell is going on, but you
need to move it,” he said, shoving me out on to the floor. “Pick up
the pace or I’m demoting you to shot girl.” Shit. I tried to focus
and pull myself together. When the band arrived on stage for their
last set I watched Casper search the crowd before he strapped on
his guitar. I stood behind the bar. His eyes found mine and his
face looked almost angry. I tried not to let it bother me. I told
myself it was something else. There was no reason for him to be mad
at me.

Gus asked me to take some beers backstage
for the boys for when they were done. I loaded up two buckets of
ice and stuffed them with beer. “Hold up,” Declan called. She
walked over with a bottle of Patron and a few shot glasses. “I’ll
help you.” She took one of the buckets while I held the bottle of
Patron. One of the bouncers cleared a path for us as we made our
way back to the only dressing room in the place. We set up the two
buckets and shot glasses on the table. Declan opened up the bottle
of Patron and started pouring shots.

The boys returned before we were done.
Casper walked right over to the table. He reached around me,
grabbed a shot, and took it without a word. His eyes never left
mine as he slammed the glass back down on the table. Then he
reached around my other side to grab a beer and walked away. I
stood there speechless as he made his way into the bathroom. Colton
greeted Declan with a kiss and wrapped his arms around her sweetly.
“How much time do you have?” he asked her, pressing another
nauseating kiss to her lips. I was happy for Declan, but this whole
lovey dovey couple bullshit was getting on my nerves.

“
I only have a few
minutes,” she replied. He led her over to one of the couches and
pulled her down on his lap where they proceeded to give each other
eskimo kisses. I fought the urge to throw up. Casper emerged from
the bathroom where he had changed his clothes. He wiped a towel
over his face and chucked his empty bottle in the trash. He rolled
his eyes as he walked past Declan and Colton on his way to the
table. He took another beer from the bucket and crashed down into
one of the chairs, staring at me.

His look was intimidating and I was almost
afraid to approach him. Before I lost all my nerve, I marched
straight over to him. He slouched down in the chair and looked up
at me with a cocky smile. “What’s up…Katherine?” So he was back to
the little pet names he had for me.

“
Can we talk…in
private?”

He smiled smugly and puffed out a laugh
before he took a swig of his beer. “We don’t talk.”

I crossed my arms, narrowing my gaze at him.
“Oh no, then what exactly do we do?”

“
Sling insults,” he leaned
forward on his elbows. “Have sex.” He waved his hands out in front
of him like it was no big deal.

I was stunned for a second by his words but
then I laughed harshly and looked down to glare at him. I should
have known better. He narrowed his eyes at me and took a few more
swigs of his beer before he placed it on the table next to him.
Then he stood up and grabbed my arm tight, pulling me out in to the
hall away from prying eyes and ears. He pushed me up against the
wall closing me in with his palms pressed on either side of me by
my head. “What do you want from me Alex?”

“
I want to know what it is
I did to make you so pissed off at me. Why you’re so pissed off to
the point that you want to ruin my relationship with
Reece.”

He laughed and pushed himself off the wall
allowing me space. “I’m not the one at fault here Alex. All I did
was tell the truth.”

“
No. You put lies in my
head. You and my brothers and now all I can think about is what
Reece is doing. You’ve made me some paranoid freak.”

“
Good. You should be…See
ya ‘round, hiedra venenosa.” With that he was gone. I stared at the
empty spot in front of me. How is it that I feel worse than I did
before? I gripped my aching stomach. How did he manage to have this
weird effect on me even when he was being an asshole?

I left and headed back out to the front.
Casper had eventually ventured out of the back room, but he wasn’t
alone. He had his arm draped over some skanky blonde who was
practically giving him a hand job in the middle of the bar. There
was no reason that this should have bothered me, but it did. I
tried to ignore it the best I could but it was hard for the fact
that they decided to take a seat at the bar. I had to watch this
chick give him a lap dance while they swapped spit. To make matters
worse I had no idea where Reece was. I had texted him earlier in
the night but got no response, and to top it off the bar would be
closing soon and I hadn’t seen him. Frustrated and having enough of
watching Casper with his side show act, I ‘accidentally’ knocked
over a glass on the bar, spilling beer all down the back of this
chick. She screeched and stood up, holding her hands out. Her bug
eyes zeroed in on me. “Sorry, accident,” I said and walked away to
hide my smile. Declan shook her head at me laughing, while I got
Casper a new glass of beer.

I pushed it over to him. He grabbed my arm
and held me there before I could pull away. “If you wanted to take
her place all you had to do was ask.”

“
Been there, done that, no
thanks.” I ripped my arm away and got back to work.

“
Excuse me?”

“
What?” I
snapped.

“
Um…can I get a beer?” the
man asked a little frightened.

“
Sorry,” I mumbled and got
him a drink.

I was a little angry at the events of the
night and was taking it out on innocent people.

Just before closing, Reece had finally
resurfaced. “Where the hell have you been?” I snapped, taking my
anger out on him.

“
I’ve been hanging out
with my friends. Like you told me to,” he replied
calmly.

“
I texted you like twenty
times.”

“
My phone died,” he said
sincerely. I sighed. I shouldn’t be taking my anger out on
him.

“
I’m sorry. It’s just been
so hectic tonight and I –”

He didn’t even let me finish my sentence. He
pulled me into him and I relaxed against his chest. “How about when
you’re done we go back to my place and I’ll help you release some
of that tension?”

“
Sounds fantastic but I
won’t get out of here until almost three and I can tell you now I
won’t be much fun. I don’t want to make you wait that long. How
about you just go home and I’ll call you tomorrow?”

“
Are you sure?”

“
Yeah, no sense in us both
being tired and cranky.”

He kissed me sweetly on the forehead. “I’ll
see you tomorrow.” I smiled and waved goodbye before I got back to
work.

I finished my orders for last call and
started to clean up. “Hey, why don’t you leave and go spend some
time with Reece,” Declan said after I returned.

“
Yeah right. Gus would
never let me leave.” I started wiping down the bar.

Declan grabbed my hand to stop me. “Go, I’ll
cover for you.”

“
Are you sure?”

“
Yes. Now go and hurry so
you can catch him before he leaves.”

I smiled, giving Declan a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you. I owe you.”

“
Yes you do but we’ll
worry about that later. Now get your butt out of here before I
change my mind.”

I collected the little tips I made tonight,
stuffed them in my bag, and rushed out the door. I took out my
phone and text Reece, crossing my fingers in hopes that he didn’t
leave yet. It took me a minute to remember he told me his phone was
dead. Shit.

I wasn’t looking where I was going and I
bumped into someone. “Shit sor – you,” I growled.

Casper narrowed his dark eyes. “Where you
off to in a hurry? Late for a sacrifice?”

“
Fuck off.”

“
Don’t let me stand in
your way. Wouldn’t want you to miss out. Since it’s
thanksgiving
,
do
you still slaughter chickens or switch it up for the holiday and
use a turkey?” he laughed. I shoved past him and kept
walking.