Something for the Pain (Pain #2) (9 page)

Alex flashes his dimples, but doesn’t say a word while he pets Whisper.

“I’ll get right on that.” I tease.

We hang out with Tara for the next hour, talking and having a good time before saying our goodbyes and heading back to the house.

I have to be at work in less than twenty minutes now, so I need to be able to grab my apron and throw my hair up.

Alex stops at the bottom of the staircase, yelling up at me as I dash into my room. “I’m going to be at the parlor until around six. How about I just drop you off and then I can meet you at
Dax’s
when I get off?”

Dax
is the newest bar here in
Crooked Creek.
It opened up about four months ago and Dax, the owner, asked me if I wanted to start out as a cocktail waitress and work my way up to bartending. It seemed like a fun time, so I said yes. I love getting to interact with the customers, and just have a good time so it seemed perfect.

“Yeah, sure.” I scream down to him while tossing my hair into a loose bun. “I’ll meet you at your truck in five. I just need to find my . . .”

I look up at my doorway from shuffling through the pile of clothes on my floor, to see Alex holding my apron. “This? I saw it laying in the bathroom last night, so I threw it in the washer with my clothes this morning.” He tilts his head to the side. “Let’s go. My truck’s running and ready to go.”

Grateful, I jump back to my feet and grab my apron out of his hand. “Always thinking ahead. You’re too damn good to be true, Alex.” I throw an arm around his neck, in a quick hug, before jogging down the stairs. I need to be at the bar in time to do all of the opening procedures and we’re really starting to push for time. The night waitresses never leave the station stocked, so I end up spending most of the time refilling sauces and crap.

I beat Alex out to his truck and quickly hop in, buckling my seatbelt before Alex can say anything. He hops in about two seconds behind me and quickly backs out of the driveway.

He groans when we pull up at the bar to see Dax
leaning against his black Mercedes, most likely waiting on me. “What a fucking douche.”

“He’s not that bad, Alex.” I lean over and plant a quick kiss on Alex’s cheek. “I’ll see you later. Stop worrying about Dax, and thanks for the ride.”

I hop out and slam the door, right as Alex mumbles bye back. He waits until Dax and I are walking in the door before taking off and heading to the tattoo shop.

Overprotective much?

Dax raises an eyebrow, while flipping on the light switches. “I guess your boyfriend is worried I’ll make a move on you?”

I shake my head and walk past him. “We’ve already had this discussion. He’s not my boyfriend.” I laugh and set my purse down. “But yes. He probably thinks you’re going to make a move. He’s just really protective of me, and for some reason . . . he doesn’t like you.”

“Yeah, well if you ask me, he might as well be your boyfriend.” He opens the door to his office and stops to look back at me. “He already acts like it anyways. And by the way . . . if I knew that you wanted me to, I would.”

“Good to know.” I tease. “You would know if I wanted it, but I’m good.”

“Alright. Just pointing it out,” he says teasingly. “Let’s get things ready and fast. I have a feeling that we’ll have an early rush today.”

Without another word he disappears into his office, leaving me to set up the waitress station.

My boyfriend. Alex as my boyfriend.

My heart skips a beat at the thought.

If only it were that easy . . .

I’M SITTING IN MY ROOM at the shop, cleaning off my equipment, when I hear someone clear their throat from the doorway. It doesn’t even take me looking to know who it is. I’ve heard that annoying sound for far too many years of my life.

I smile from my seat, but don’t bother looking up. “Memphis . . . what’s up, big bro? Miss me already?”

I hear his footsteps as he enters the room, stopping behind me. “Fuck no.” He squeezes my shoulder, causing me to look up from my cleaning. “Lyric is busy at the studio, so she asked me to stop in and check on you.”

I can’t help but to grin. “So
she
misses me . . . is what you’re getting at?”

He slaps me on the back of the head before taking a seat in the other chair. “Surprisingly so.” He flashes me a smile, before getting serious. “I suppose I do too. It’s going to take a while before I can trust that you won’t just fucking take off somewhere.”

“I’m not going anywhere, man. Chill.”

It’s silent for a few moments as I finish putting my things away, before Memphis speaks again. “You been staying away from the alley?”

Standing up, I look down at him while leaning against the table. “I’ve stopped in to watch a couple fights. That’s it. Nothing big.” I nod my head toward the door, letting Memphis know that I’m ready to get going. It’s been a long, stressful day, and all I can think about is relaxing with a nice, cold beer.

He stands up and follows me to the door. “Have you been to any of Trevor’s fights?”

“Yeah. I caught the end of one a couple nights ago. He’s getting pretty damn good. Won by KO.”

“Yeah,” Memphis says. “Maybe we’ll have to stop by one night and watch a few fights for old time sakes. As long as we’re both on the outside of that ring, that’s all that matters to me. We don’t belong there anymore. Don’t forget that.”

I nod my head while locking my door behind us. It’s been over six months since either of us has been in a ring. I’m not trying to go back to that shit.

I slap the front desk. “I’m out, Styles.”

Without looking up, Styles mumbles something as we walk past and outside.

Memphis turns to me and grips my shoulder. “I’ll tell Lyric that you’re doing fine and that you’re just as annoying as ever.”

“That’s my best quality, brother.” I walk backwards, giving Memphis the middle finger with both hands, before jumping into my truck and starting the engine.

He stands there and watches me the whole time that I back out and pull off.

He’s exactly who I got my protective nature from, and just like me . . . he never backs down.

I pull up at
Dax’s
a little earlier than expected. Tripp still has about thirty minutes left before she gets off, but I decided to just show up early and kick back with a few beers while waiting. I could use a little unwinding before heading back to the house and seeing her and Lucas together.

The bar is pretty packed when I walk in, but I easily spot Tripp over at one of the tables close to the bar. It’s a pretty full table, so not wanting to add to her pressure I make my way up to the bar to order a beer. I smirk at Harley as she looks up at me from wiping down the sticky mess in front of her.

“Harley. Just the girl I’m looking for.”

Harley smiles from ear to ear and her face instantly turns red. Of course she knows that I know. Ace can’t keep his mouth shut for crap. “Don’t even say it, Carter.” She points at me as she reaches below her for a beer, already knowing what I’m after.

I shrug my shoulders, trying to hide my grin. “I wasn’t going to say shit about you and Ace fucking. I promise.” I laugh and she tosses the beer cap at me, hitting me on the nose.

“Alex! I want to strangle you sometimes.” She leans over the bar, suddenly interested, looking around to see if anyone’s listening. “Tell me what he said. Don’t leave anything out or I’ll choke you.”

Standing up, I grab the bottle of beer and lift it up, chuckling under my breath. I love screwing with her. “Cheers, Harley. I’ll see you later.” I walk backwards, smiling while tilting back my beer.

“You dick!” Harley shakes her head while giving me the evil eye. “I’ll get it out of Tripp. Trust me.”

Tripp appears beside me out of nowhere, so I wrap my arm around her neck and pull her to me. “No you won’t. Tripp doesn’t tell anything that I ask her not to.”

Harley bites her bottom lip in annoyance. “True . . . and I hate you for that.” She slaps her towel down onto the bar before crossing her arms. “Dammit! Fucking men! What are they good for?” She tilts her head in thought. “Oh yeah. Well double damn.”

Turning around, I pull Tripp with me as I find an empty seat away from all the noise and Harley’s man-hating ass right now. “Hey, babe.” I kiss her forehead before sliding into a booth. “How’s work?”

She rolls her eyes and lets out a frustrated breath. “Oh you know . . . busy as shit. And for some reason, Dax has only me on the schedule for another thirty minutes.” She holds up three fingers. “Then he has three girls coming in. He expects me to hold the joint down by myself, but can schedule three girls for the late shift. He’s lucky he left over two hours ago or I’d be choking him in a corner somewhere.”

Getting lost in how damn cute she looks when she’s mad, I let my teasing come out, unable to stop myself. I might just get punched for this, but it’s always well worth it. “I’d let you choke me in the corner. Anytime and anywhere.” I take a swig of my beer, before setting it down. “As long as it involves rough, dirty sex afterwards.”

Her face flushes red, but she doesn’t say anything, because some people from a few tables over start yelling her name annoyingly, trying to get her attention. “You’re so damn lucky, slick.” She pinches my nipple, hard, and then walks away, leaving me with a near hard-on.

She’s lucky, because if she did that when we were alone, then I’d have a really hard time not bending her over and fucking her. Best friend or not.

I’m trying to keep my thoughts in check, but I can’t when she does things like that to me.

I’m sitting alone for about five minutes, just enjoying my beer, when a petite blonde scoots into the booth across from me. She’s cute, but I’m not interested in more than a short conversation. My head is somewhere else.

She holds out her hand and smiles. “Mandy.”

Flashing her my dimples, I reach for her hand and shake it in mine. “Alex.” I nod down at her drink when I notice that it’s close to empty. “Let me buy you another drink.”

Tripp walks past just as I’m about to get up and go to the bar, so I grab her wrist to stop her. She looks down at me about to say something, but stops when she notices the blonde sitting across from me. She stiffens for a second, before clearing her throat and smiling. “Hey.”

“Mandy . . . this is my good friend, Tripp. She’s also the sexiest waitress I’ve ever seen.” I wink at Tripp with a smile, hoping to ease the tension.

Mandy flashes a small smile before reaching for her hand and shaking it. “Nice to meet you, Tripp. My name is Mandy.”

“Mandy.” She nods her head. “Let me get you two some new drinks. What will it be?”

I grip Tripp’s waist and squeeze it. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll just go up to the bar.”

Tripp looks down at me and pinches my arm. “Why are you so stubborn? This is my job, Alex. I can manage to get you some drinks.”

Before I can say anything, Mandy holds up her glass, interrupting us. “A Vodka and lemonade will be good.”

Tripp smiles at me and starts backing away. “One Vodka Lemonade and Miller Lite coming right up.” She spins on her heels and walks away, and I can’t help but to feel my stomach sink.

The idea of her waiting on me and some chick makes me feel oddly sick to my stomach. I barely like her waiting on me. It just doesn’t feel right. I like to be the one waiting on her . . . always.

I make light talk with Mandy, trying not to lead her on too much, while waiting for Tripp to return with our drinks. I look over to see her and Harley discussing something at the bar as Harley glances our way, but I can’t really get a read on Harley’s expression. She usually looks irritated, so it’s hard to tell.

Harley slides two drinks across the bar and then Tripp quickly grabs them and starts making her way back to us.

I have the urge to go to her and snatch the drinks before she can serve us, but she gives me that look. The one that will surly make me lose control and rip her clothes off in a corner somewhere if I fight her on it for too long.

“It’s on the house, along with your first beer too, Alex, and don’t even think about trying to fight it.” She sets the drinks down. “I’m going to close out my tabs and I’ll be ready soon.”