I smiled at her words. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I already know I’m off, so go ahead and start planning something. Nothing too extreme. Maybe I’ll see if Mel wants to go out, too. She needs a night out. She works way too much.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
I brought the phone down into my lap and stared at it. I wouldn’t think about what Monday was going to be like. First, I needed to get through the weekend.
*
I arrived at Costello’s around six and headed to the employee lounge in the back of the club where Tiffany and Erica were already changing into their uniforms.
“Hey, girl,” Erica greeted me. “I thought you were going to be taking some time off, now that you’re in law school. Shouldn’t you be studying or something?”
I rolled my eyes and laughed. “I’ve been studying for the past two days. I’m only going to be working every other weekend,” I stated as I opened my small locker. “I need the money. I can’t just quit.”
I placed the bag, which carried my work clothes, on the floor and started taking my clothes off to get dressed for the night.
“I completely understand that,” Erica said.
“How are your classes going?” Tiffany asked.
“They’re good so far. It’s a lot to take in, but I work better when I have a lot to do. The busier my mind, the better.” I grabbed my low V-neck white tee from my bag and placed it over my head.
After putting on my black thigh-highs, I slid my black skirt over my hips and zipped it up. We were allowed to wear anything we wanted to the club as long as it was a white top and black bottoms, but it needed to be conservative. Aaron, the manager, always looked us over before we went out onto the floor. Tiffany had joked that it was his favorite part of every night. Who would get pissed about having to look over the staff to make sure they weren’t showing too much cleavage? He would always say, ‘We’re running a nightclub, not a brothel. We don’t need to show the customers all of your goods.’ I knew he loved his job.
When we were all dressed and ready for the night, we made our way out to the bar area. Aaron stood at the bar talking to Max and Janice, the bartenders, so we waited until he was done to get his approval. I thought it was time he finally trusted that we knew what was deemed appropriate, but it was his way of always keeping control of the situation.
When he was finally done, he turned from the bar and glanced our way. He looked us each over with a nod and we were finally on our way to get our duties done before the crowd entered.
After situating each section and wiping down all the tables, we were ready for the night.
The crowd started to trickle in around eight and it was in full swing from there. The weekends always brought in a big crowd and I loved it. The more people there, the faster the time went by.
The one thing I loved about Costello’s was it was known for its regulars. It was a place for business professionals to kick back and have a good time, a place that didn’t involve a bunch of dance music, but a mellow atmosphere.
I had just dropped off some drinks and was headed back to the bar when I looked to my right to see a group of men entering. I stopped and stared as my heart sank to my stomach. Piercing blue eyes stared back at me.
The men walked in and headed toward the back wall, leaving Mason trailing behind them. He gazed at me as he made his way past. I couldn’t deny the spark that ignited every single time we were around each other.
He smirked as he finally passed and broke eye contact, breaking me from my trance. I took a deep breath and frowned as I made my way to the bar.
After what happened Wednesday night, why would he show up to my place of employment? He knew I worked there. Was he playing games?
I placed my tray down, unloading my dirty dishes onto the bar, and told Janice my order. I turned my head and looked behind me to see where the group was sitting and sighed in annoyance as I closed my eyes.
They were in my section. Of course.
Images of that night flowed through my mind. The way he’d pressed me against the window. The way his hot breath felt on my neck. His touch, which sent waves of pleasure through my body. But the image which stood out the most was that note. Two little words.
My body flushed and a heavy feeling danced around in my stomach as I dropped off drinks to a few customers. I could feel his eyes on me, but I never turned to look. I didn’t want to acknowledge him at all, but I did play up my interaction with the customers. I always flirted the tiniest little bit to ensure good tips, but I may have upped my game at that point. I knew it was childish, but I wanted to feel empowered. After what he’d done to me, I needed to feel wanted, even if it was fake.
Placing the empty tray under my arm, I headed to Mason’s section. You never realized how hard it was to not look someone in the eye when they were staring right at you, until you were put in that situation.
I smiled at the guy he was sitting next to as I approached.