The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. “Max, do people put their hands on you?” The thought of someone touching what’s mine has my cat growling.
“No, but if they try, they get sprayed in the face.”
Yeah, that’s my girl; the fact that she’s a survivor, overcoming what she went through and continues to thrive, makes me proud and horny. “My girl is tough,” I say.
“Of course. I spent most of my life alone in the mountains, taking care of myself.”
I smack her on her ass when she stands and spreads her arms wide. “Well?”
“Sexy, baby. Go to work before I don’t let you.”
70
Maximus “Max
Another busy night at the Luscious Leopard. The bar area is crowded; Sharayah and I are working at opposite ends of the bar. Drinks are being poured, shots are flowin’, and the crowd is unbelievable. Our tip jar got so full, we had to start another one and that one is nearly at capacity.
“It’s crazy tonight!” Sharayah yells over the pounding of the music. Tomorrow, my ears will still be ringing because the bass is so loud, I’ll have a music hangover.
A dude slips up to my side of the bar. “Can I get a drink?”
I wipe my hands on a towel and ask him what he wants.
“I’d like a shot of Patron and I’d like to buy one for your pretty little self.”
“Thanks,” I yell as I pour his shot. “But I’m not allowed to drink on the job.”
“You turnin’ me down for a drink, sugar?” he asks, taking the shot glass in his hand and tossing it back.
“Bar rules, bro.”
“Come on, just one drink.”
“Nope, I can’t.”
His lip curls up as he slaps his money down on the bar. “Keep the change, bitch.”
I laugh. After being held captive and drugged, some drunk asshole calling me names is the least of my worries. “Thank you!” I shout as he walks away.
“What was his problem?” Sharayah slides up next to me, tossing an arm over my shoulder.
“He tried to buy me a drink. I turned him down. He got mad and called me a bitch.”
“Oh, hell no!” Sharayah is around the bar within seconds throwing herself onto the guy’s back. She knocks him to the ground and wails on his face.
I don’t stop her.
When she’s done, she stands, swiping her long wild locks out of her face. She turns to me and winks. “What a dick,” she mouths, and I laugh.
The hours pass by quickly after that and before I know it, Sharayah is shouting last call. At two in the morning, all the bar lights come on and the glitz and glamour of the dancers and other waitresses disappear, leaving a mess of glitter and fake eyelashes all over the floor. At least the dancers pick up their g-strings before they leave the stage because I’m not touchin’ that shit.
As we clean the bar area, making sure it’s stocked for the next night, the side door opens, and Salvation comes traipsing through, followed a few seconds later by Jude. “Come on ladies, let’s go,” he says, clapping his hands together.
“We’re almost done, relax for a little bit. Here, sit down,” Sharayah orders.
I point in Sharayah’s direction. “Don’t mess with her, she kicked some dude’s ass tonight.”
Jude laughs. “I bet that was fun to watch.”
“Check the security footage. I was amused,” I say, putting two glasses on the bar top and filling them with water. “Here, guys, on the house.”
“I want to hear more about Sharayah kickin’ some guy’s ass,” Jude says, taking up a barstool.
“Some asshole called me a bitch when I turned down his offer to buy me a drink. It was fuckin’ sexy. I might have a girl crush on her,” I say, wiping down the bar with a towel.
Salvation spits out a mouth full of water at my comment. “What?”
“Hey, I just wiped this bar down, you jerk!”
“I’m sorry, but you have a girl crush on Sharayah?”
“Yeah.” I shrug.
Sharayah laughs from the other end of the bar. “Feeling’s mutual, babe.”
“See.”
“Shit, these two chicks,” Jude says, walking over to the stage to inspect. “How was business tonight?”
“Booming, baby,” Sharayah says, setting several tip jars on the bar.
“Damn!” Jude’s eyes widen with surprise and maybe admiration.
“Now that’s impressive,” Salvation agrees, dumping the contents of the jars onto the counter so he can begin counting.
Sharayah passes me on the way to the stock room and high-fives me. “We did good tonight.”
I nod. “I concur.” It’s always a good night when I work with Sharayah. Sometimes I’m jealous of her bubbly – take – no – bullshit – spunky personality, and she’s not too shabby in the looks department either. Okay, she’s fuckin’ hot and always so put together. That chick’s hair and make-up is always perfect. Me, I take about five minutes to get dressed. When I came in to work tonight with my hair in a bun on top of my head, glasses, and jeans shorts, I took one look at her and wanted to go home. Her outfit was bangin’ and I was immediately jealous of how she filled out those blue jeans shorts and paired them with black boots. The black tank she wore fit her in all the right places. Here I am in the same uniform but feel like I’m seriously lacking. She had taken one look at me and knew what I was thinking. She told me to shut the fuck up and I laughed, letting my insecurities go. We had cleaned up in tips tonight, so I couldn’t complain.
Salvation always thinks I’m hot and makes no apologies for showing me or telling me his approval. The sex question is still up in the air, I worry about getting him too worked up. What if he
