Wasted (21 page)

Slowly, she shook her head. “I don’t want to
walk away.”

“
Damn it, Lexi, leave me
alone. Don’t you get it? There’s nothing for you here.”

“
Fine,” she whispered, her
lower lip trembling. “But I want you to remember this moment
because there will come a point in time when you realize that this
is the day that you let a really great girl slip away.”

She left, and I closed the door, needing to
get her out of my sight.

I knew she was right.

With the weight of life’s bullshit crushing
my chest, I lay down, wishing I could escape consciousness for just
a little while but knowing that there was no way in hell I could
sleep now.

After tossing and turning with visions of a
distraught Lexi Swafford in my head, I finally gave up and
meandered to the shower. I had to shake this feeling. I’d learned a
long time ago that the best way to make big tips was to exude a
positive energy that attracted customers, to be the guy they wanted
to hang out with, to be the guy that they wanted to be.

I needed the money, and the best way to get
it was to put all this shit out of my head. After I’d gotten
dressed for work, the apartment was quiet. I assumed Lexi had
driven herself to work, which benefited me. There was no danger of
being bombarded with questions.

Out of habit, I searched for her when I took
my place behind the bar. A dark-haired girl was slicing lemons, but
it was Stormy not Lexi.

“
Where’s Lex?”

Stormy glanced at me, her glasses sitting on
the tip of her nose. “Waiting tables.”

“
Why?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Spanky told me
to help you tonight. I just do as I’m told.”

Scanning the tables, I spotted Lexi with her
back to me, taking a couple’s order. This arrangement would work
out well for both of us.

“
Hey, pretty boy, you got a
customer.” Stormy’s voice cut into my musings, and I turned to see
Hawk take a seat.

Spinning a coaster in his direction, I
grabbed a bottle of his preferred beer, opened it, and set it down
in front of him. “So did you save a cat today?”

“
No, but I did have to put
out a car fire.”

“
That sucks for
somebody.”

“
Yeah, it was a total
loss.”

Three babes grabbed a seat on the other end
of the bar. “Duty calls.”

“
What can I get for you
lovelies?” I asked as I approached them.

“
Why don’t you surprise
us?” the blonde in the middle suggested.

“
I can do that. I’m full of
surprises.”

She smiled provocatively, and I grinned in
return. There was a time not so long ago when I would have gotten
her number, maybe even had her come back and meet me after work,
but my eyes scanned the restaurant for Lexi. She had just looked up
from taking an order, and her eyes met mine. I couldn’t turn away,
but she averted her gaze quickly, a flash of emotion crossing her
face. I wasn’t sure whether it was anger or sadness or maybe a
mixture of both.

Hoping to impress the ladies and land a big
tip, I set up three martini glasses in front of them and using
multiple tins stacked inside of each other, I slowly tilted them
until the liquid in the first tin poured into the first glass. As I
continued to tilt the tins, the second tin poured into the second
glass and the third tin poured into the third glass simultaneously.
I’d poured as many as twelve martinis at once, which was an
impressive sight, but pouring even three was still a cool
trick.

The ladies clapped when I finished, flashing
smiles as they grabbed their glasses and tasted the drinks. I had
attracted the attention of customers in the dining room, and when I
looked up, I locked eyes with Lexi again.

Damn, I couldn’t do this all night. I
carried the tins to the sink and went back to collect the money
from the ladies. After dropping off their change, I took Hawk
another beer.

“
You should move to the
other end,” I suggested, motioning to the three women. “You might
get lucky.”

Hawk took a swig of beer. “I’m good.”

“
You dating
somebody?”

“
Not really.” He rolled the
bottle between his palms. “You?”

Unable to hide my amusement, I shot him a
grin. “Who’d have me?”

“
You have a point.” His
lips curved into a smile.

“
Damn, Hawk, you didn’t
have to agree with me.”

“
Trade you a beer for
another pep talk.”

I snatched his empty bottle. “I don’t think
so. If I have to listen to another one of your pep talks, I just
might kill myself.”

He laughed, and Stormy approached us.

“
Me and Lexi were talking
about Spanky’s retirement party. I’m going to get the decorations.
She’s taking up money for the food. She said you might want to pick
out his cake. So anyway, everything’s a go for the last Monday of
this month.”

“
It’s going to be strange
having someone else own this bar,” Hawk said.

“
Yeah.” I agreed. “Shit, I
was hoping it would be me.”

“
I was, too,” Stormy said.
“At least then I’d know what I was getting. Has anybody met the new
guy yet?”

“
I haven’t,” I said.
“Wonder what it would take to buy the bar from him?” I expected my
liabilities to go down soon, and with any luck, Haley would get a
good job that would utilize her degree. And while she hadn’t asked
for much money during her college years, I would feel better
knowing that she could take care of herself financially, especially
if I committed myself to a large financial transaction like buying
a business.

Glancing at the end of the bar, I noticed
the blonde in the middle watching me. I should smile at her, help
solidify my tip, but I just didn’t have it in me. Realizing I was
breaking one of my own rules—give customers what they want—I turned
away and looked for Lexi again.

I had to do something to get that girl out
of my head. She was like the hangover that wouldn’t go away.

The night dragged by. As we neared closing,
I glanced up to see her having a heated discussion with a customer.
On closer inspection, I realized that it was her ex, who was
apparently relentless. I’d made plenty of the cocktail called The
Showstopper in my time as a bartender, but this was the first time
I was going to actually stop the show.

“
Watch the bar,
Stormy.”

She looked up from rinsing glasses.
“Okay.”

Walking around the bar, I kept my eyes
focused on him. He reached for Lexi, but she drew her arm back, out
of his grasp.

Approaching them I asked, “Is there a
problem?”

“
This has nothing to do
with you, asshole,” he replied.

I stepped between them. “Oh, you’re wrong
about that. Didn’t she explain to you that she’s not
interested?”

I felt her hand on my waist. “Mason.”

Talking to her over my shoulder, I said, “I
got this, Lexi.” Reaching down to my waist, I gave her hand a
little squeeze, and I was relieved when she said nothing
further.

He stood, facing me. He was tall, though not
quite as tall as me. “We were in the middle of a conversation.” The
tone of his voice made it evident that he was barely controlling
his anger.

Intentionally not responding for a few
seconds, I waited until I was sure I had his full attention. “I
don’t think I like you talking to my girlfriend that way. I get it.
I really do. You realize now that you let a really great girl slip
away. But she’s mine now. And if you harass her again, I’m going to
have to stomp your ass. Now get the hell out of my sight.”

His eyes flickered from my face to Lexi’s. I
prayed that she wouldn’t pick now to tell me that she could handle
him herself. If she blew my cover, I just might have to take him
outside and stomp his ass, anyway. I’d never been in a fistfight in
my life, but right now, it seemed like a good way to let out a
little frustration and get rid of the douchebag at the same
time.

“
Is he bullshitting me,
Lexi?”

She scooted up beside me and wrapped her arm
around my waist. I put my arm around her shoulder and tucked her
into my side.

“
No,” she said forcefully.
“He’s not bullshitting you.” She gestured between her and her ex.
“What you and I had is over, and I’ve been telling you that for
months. You destroyed it. I’m in love with Mason now, so you need
to leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with
you.”

“
But Lexi…,” he
countered.

“
You heard her,” I
interrupted him. “She’s done with you. This is your last chance to
leave without taking an ass whooping with you.”

The muscles in his jaw tightened. His gaze
toggled between Lexi and me. “You can have her. She’s a lousy lay,
anyway.”

Anger exploded in me, filling every crevice
with the need to hurt him.

Shuffling Lexi behind me, I drew back and
knocked the piss out of him, sending him stumbling backwards.
Charging forward, I pulled my fist back again, but Lexi grabbed my
arm. “No, Mason, he’s not worth it.”

“
Get back,
Lexi.”

“
Just stop. I don’t give a
damn what he says about me. Nothing he does or says matters to
me.”

Regaining his balance, he came at me. I
stepped around Lexi, and he connected with my jaw.

“
Stop it!” she
screamed.

I shoved him hard, pushing him away from
Lexi. Then, I went after him, throwing another punch to his jaw and
following it up with a punch to the ribs.

He swung at me, and I leaned out of his
reach. Tackling him, we both fell to the ground, knocking a chair
over with us. I delivered another punch and wrestled him into a
choke hold. I stood, pulling him up, and headed toward the front
door as people gathered around us.

Feeding on my fury, I dragged him outside
and shoved him away from me. “Get the hell out of here, and don’t
even think about bothering her because I will beat your
ass—again.”

He wiped the blood from his lip and glared
at me. When Lexi popped up in front of me, asking me if I was all
right, he snarled, his upper lip contorting in anger and his
nostrils flaring. Flipping us off, he turned around and weaved
through the cars in the parking lot.

Her small hand grabbed my forearm, and I
tilted my head down until my line of vision rested on her face. Her
eyes were wide with fear.

“
Are you okay?” She gripped
my arm tighter.

“
I’m fine.”

“
Mason, you shouldn’t have
done that. What if he calls the police?”

I couldn’t afford to bail myself out of
jail, but there was no way in hell I was going to stand by and let
him insult her. “He won’t call the police. He’s subject to go to
jail right along with me. Besides, there are plenty of witnesses
who could verify that he was harassing you.”

“
Still…you shouldn’t take
chances like that. I could’ve gotten rid of him.”

I grabbed her by the shoulders. “That’s what
you said the last time. How long was he gone? I don’t want him near
you. If he shows back up, you tell me.”

“
Mason….”

“
You tell me.” I
annunciated each word clearly, wanting to make sure she knew that I
was deadly serious.

“
Okay,” she finally
relented. “I’ll tell you if he contacts me again.”

I turned around and headed back inside.

“
Mason.” She grabbed my
forearm, and I stopped and turned to look at her. “Thank you,” she
whispered.

I spun around and went back to the bar, not
wanting to test my willpower to resist her.

Some hangovers were harder to get rid of
than others.

Chapter
17

Hurricane

Lexi

After work, I’d called Seren, who had
promptly demanded that I come over.

I knocked softly on the front door, knowing
that her parents were asleep. She opened it and waved me in.

Hugging me, she didn’t say anything as she
grabbed my hand and pulled me down the basement stairs to her
living area.

“
What happened?” she asked
as she curled up on the loveseat and motioned for me to sit beside
her.

“
Kevin showed up at the bar
again.”

“
Stay away from that
creep.”

I sank into the cushion beside her. “Believe
me, it’s over between us. I think Mason finally made it clear to
him.”

“
Mason?” She raised her
russet brows. “What did he do?”

“
I was waiting tables
tonight, and Kevin came in and sat down. He begged me to give him
another chance. Of course, I refused, but he wouldn’t leave. He
just kept getting angrier and angrier.”

“
I hope you told him where
to shove his second chance.”

“
If he didn’t know before
that I wasn’t interested, he should have after Mason got through
with him.”

“
What did Mason say to
him?”

“
He told Kevin that I was
his girlfriend.”

Seren’s mouth dropped open. “He did?”

“
It’s not true,” I quickly
added. “He just told Kevin that, hoping that he could take a
hint.”

“
And did Kevin take the
hint?”

“
Not very well.” I frowned.
“He and Mason got into an argument. Kevin told him that he could
have me and that I wasn’t very good in bed.”