“Good evening, gentlemen. What can I get for you?” I asked, looking at the other three men while avoiding Mason’s gaze entirely.
The guy next to Mason laughed at something one of the men said before he looked up to me.
“Here we go. We can ask,” he leaned forward to read my nametag, “Emma, here, her opinion.” He laughed as he moved back in his seat.
The guys laughed again and I raised an eyebrow as I placed a hand on my hip, waiting for him to speak again.
“So Steve here has bet me $100 that every night club keeps a tally on how many times a couple is found fucking. Can you help me win this bet, cutie, because Costello’s doesn’t seem to have a lot of hidden places to fuck in secret?”
My mouth parted at his question and my eyes immediately darted to Mason. He had a grin on his face as he looked me over.
“Um…” I stood there with flushed cheeks and wide eyes as I looked at the men, not knowing how to answer the question.
“See, man,” the guy said to Steve. “Pay up.” He waggled his fingers.
“Hang on a minute,” I blurted with a smile as an idea formulated in my head. If I was going to play this game with them, I’d make it interesting. Especially since Mason was sitting right there. Yes, it was immature, but I didn’t care. “Are you referring to customers or employees?” I asked with a smirk and the men burst out laughing, except for Mason.
I turned to look at him with a smile on my face and he didn’t look happy. I wanted to ask him what was up his ass, but that would go against trying to ignore him, although I wasn’t doing a good job of it anyway.
“Both,” Steve said with a laugh.
I smiled. “Yes, but you didn’t hear that from me,” I said with a wink. “Now, tell me what you want to drink before my boss comes over here and drags me away.”
The men gave me their orders, including Mason, and I left to service a few tables before heading to the bar.
I caught my eyes drifting to his table every chance I could, and I knew then that the night was going to last longer than usual. Then school popped into my head. If I couldn’t focus on work, then how the hell was I going to focus on school when he was the one teaching the class?
Letting out a heavy breath, I gave my order at the bar and waited.
“Everything all right, Em?” Erica asked as she stood beside me, unloading her tray.
I gave her a small smile. “Yeah, it’s great. We’re packed tonight, huh.” I looked around the bar and only a few tables were vacant, but the night was still young.
“More money, honey,” she said with a wink as Janice placed some drinks on her tray. “When are you taking your ten-minute break?”
I looked at the clock and noticed it was already ten-thirty. “Um, I can take it after I drop these drinks off.” We all got two ten-minute breaks during the night since we worked over six hours.
“Sounds good. Let me know when you get back on the floor,” she said as she took her tray and walked off.
Max placed drinks on my tray and I headed off to my customers. I could go all night without taking a break, but rules were rules. All I did was sit in the back, anyway. I’d much rather stay busy and help the time go by faster.
After dropping a few drinks off, I headed toward Mason’s table, staring at him on the way. I couldn’t divert my eyes. Trying not to look at him was taking way too much effort.
I got to the group and placed their drinks on the table. They were engrossed in a conversation so nobody paid any attention to me, except for Mason.
“I’ll be taking a short break, so if you need anything before I get back, please flag one of the other waitresses down,” I said with a smile, then walked off.
I needed to get some water. My body was flushed and I felt overheated being so close to him.
After dropping my tray off at the bar, I headed toward the back room. I figured I’d get some water then use the restroom before I went back on the floor. That should take up at least part of the ten minutes so I didn’t have to sit back there doing nothing.
I walked through the door and flung it behind me, but it didn’t bang closed. Instead, it clicked softly. I spun around to look at the door and jumped in fright with my hand over my chest. Mason was standing there, leaning against the door with a smug look on his face.
“What the hell are you doing back here? You aren’t allowed in here.”
He gazed at me without saying a word as I stood there, heart racing. His eyes roamed over my body, then back up to meet my eyes.
“I wanted to speak with you.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared down at the floor. “There is nothing to say.” I didn’t want to have that conversation. It was bringing up that dreadful feeling I was trying to forget.
“Oh, but I think there is.”
I looked up to see him slowly walking toward me and I scoffed. “Are you serious right now? There is nothing to say. You said plenty the other night. Your actions spoke louder than any words you could have said.”