I scowled, knowing she was right andwent to get ready for work.
My shift went by quickly and I wasgrateful for the distraction. Rushing from table to table and remembering foodand drink orders didn’t allow for much else to fill my head, though I didmanage to think of Cole and that kiss about a thousand times.
It was winding down around midnight,and Connie and I were taking a breather when a blond girl with huge breasts andbright red lipstick came striding into Jupiter.
“Oh shit,” Connie muttered.
“Who’s that?” I asked, perplexed whenit was clear that the girl was headed right for us.
“One of Cole’s old hook ups, justignore her,” Connie replied with disdain.
Shit.
“You Scarlet?” The girl sneered.
“Yep,” I answered, standing upstraight and meeting her judgmental gaze. If this girl thought I was someonewho could be easily fucked with, then she had another thing coming. It was acommon misperception about me--people always thought I was sheltered and soft.It wasn’t until they rubbed me the wrong way that they discovered what I wasreally made of.
“Stay the fuck away from Cole, he’smine,” she warned.
I laughed right in her face. “Honey,you might want to pass your message along to Cole if you’re concerned about it.I’m not the one doing the chasing,” I replied, completely unaffected by her.I’d dealt with this type of woman time and time again and they were all thesame. Thought they could sleep with a guy in the club and then sink their clawsin. There were the kind of girls who became old ladies, and then there were theones who were one-night stands. This girl was clearly the latter.
“I don’t give a fuck who’s doing thechasing. Stay away from him!” she cried, agitated that I wasn’t taking herseriously.
“Don’t raise your voice when you walkinto my place of work,” I replied, finally aggravated with her. “If you thinkwith all the other shit I’ve got going on that you remotely concern me, youhave another thing coming. But I will tell you one thing, you continue to standthere and threaten me you’ll be the one who has something to be concernedabout. Now get the fuck out of my bar,” I said, staring her down with fire inmy eyes.
She glared at me clearly trying togauge how serious I was. Whatever she saw in my expression, it sent herflouncing back in the direction she’d come from with an audible huff.
“Holy shit, I had no idea you weresuch a bad ass!” Connie squealed, laughing hysterically. “That was the bestthing I’ve seen in my entire life!” she hooted.
I shrugged, suddenly feeling tired.
Her expression immediately softenedwhen she saw how exhausted I was. “Hey, things are slow. Why don’t you takeoff?” she offered. “I don’t know the extent of what’s going on, but you looklike you could use an extra hour of sleep,” she offered kindly.
“You know what? I absolutely could,” Iagreed. “I owe you one, thank you,” I replied sincerely.
“Don’t mention it. And you don’t oweme anything, that little encounter was all the pay back I need,” she said.
I laughed lightly and reached behindthe bar to grab my purse.
I drove home with the welcome thoughtof my soft bed, hoping that tomorrow would feel more like a normal day. What Icertainly didn’t need was any more biker drama.
It took me a minute to remember thealarm code when I got home, but I managed to turn it off and reset it beforethe National Guard was called. Kat wasn’t home, not a surprise since she wasalways off doing something. I got ready for bed, donned my typical camisole andshorts, and sighed blissfully when my head hit the pillow. I had to admit, thenew alarm and locks were reassuring and I didn’t have any trouble drifting off.
My phone rang and woke me up after whatfelt like just seconds of sleep. I squinted and saw “Cole calling” flashing onthe screen. Of course he programmed himself into my phone. I hit ignore anddrifted back to sleep. My phone rang again, not a moment later, and I picked itup knowing he wouldn’t stop until I did.
“Yeah?” I asked, my voice raspy withsleep.
“What the fuck, babe?” his deep voicedemanded through the phone.
“Hello to you too,” I answered dryly.
“I thought you had to work till one,Wes was supposed to make sure you got home okay, but you weren’t there.”
“Is it a crime for a girl to get offearly? Jesus calm down,” I grumbled irritably.
He sighed, clearly trying to get ahandle on his temper. “I was just concerned, that’s all.”
Now was an excellent time to say whatI’d intended to earlier, even if I was half asleep.