Gary looked as though he might crawl out of his skin, his bearded face crumpling under the constant barrage of heckling.
Higgs’s jaw clenched tight before he turned in his seat to face the gurus, inhaling deeply. “Folks, Gary said he’ll be with you in a minute. How about we give the guy a break?” His voice was calm, but I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to set them straight if necessary.
“And who are you?” Ames sneered, narrowing his smoky eyes at Higgs. “Better yet, do you know who I am, loser?”
“Ames!” Octavia cried. Clamping a hand over his, she hissed, “Stop it. You’re acting like a real d-bag!”
Higgs stared at him for what felt like forever with his hard cop-eyes, making Ames visibly squirm, before he said, “I have no idea who you are, and I don’t particularly care. But I do know who you aren’t. You aren’t well-mannered or, above all, quiet. So I’ll ask you again to please allow Gary to take our order, and he’ll be with you shortly.”
Just as Higgs was about to reposition himself in the cushy booth, Ames banged his fists against the table again, making the silverware jump. “Do you know how much money I have? I could buy this whole restaurant just to get rid of your stupid—”
The next moment happened so fast, I wasn’t sure it really happened—until I saw Coop staring down at Ames, who was tipped so far back in his chair, I thought he would fall over.
His chest rose and fell as she leaned all the way over him. She gripped the back of his chair with one hand, keeping him inches from the floor with a threatening glare, her legs planted on either side of his trembling legs.
Her green eyes glittered with mayhem I didn’t want to see unleashed. “You’re being exceptionally rude to my friend and our waiter, and if you don’t knock it off right now, I’m going to remove you myself. Gary is taking our order, you selfish, entitled, rich brat, and he’ll be with you soon. Now, be quiet, use your manners if you have any left, and wait. Your. Turn.”
She hiked the chair upright with a jolt and dropped it back on the floor with him still in it.
No one at their table moved, but every mouth hung open in astonishment as Coop made her way back to our table, slid into the booth and motioned for Gary to continue with that same blank stare.
“Please take our order now, Gary. I’m sorry they’re being so rude.”
Ames jumped up from the table and drunkenly stomped off toward the entryway, his leather pants and tight T-shirt rustling in the silence, but Gary breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m really sorry if he upset you, miss. They’ve been—”
“Rude,” Coop spat. “They’ve been very rude, and you have no reason to be sorry. I’m sorry you have to put up with such horrible people.”
He cocked a smile at her, the first I’d seen since our arrival, before he took our order.
“Wow, Coop. I’ve never seen you so angry,” Higgs remarked with a teasing smile. “Maybe we should consider cage fighting as a side job, huh?”
But Coop wasn’t laughing (not that she was ever laughing, but you know what I mean ). She stared Higgs down with a simmering glare. “I can’t believe how incredibly rude he is. I knew he was arrogant and entitled, because I’ve watched his videos and I’ve seen his online arguments, but that was uncalled for. I will not allow a bully in my space. Especially one who flaunts his money as though that’s supposed to excuse you from having manners.”
I blinked in shock, but I recovered quickly because that thing I’d mentioned about idol worship was happening, and I wanted to be there for Coop as she realized what was happening.
“You mostly did the right thing, Coop. Ames was definitely being horribly rude to our waiter—”
“No,” she said from a clenched jaw, her gorgeous face twisted up. “I did the wrong thing. I shouldn’t have threatened him. That makes me as bad as him, and I don’t want to be bad like him. I lost my temper. Now I’m going to have to live with that and the disappointment in myself.” Throwing her napkin on the table as though she were truly fed up, she looked at us. “Excuse me for a minute, please. I just need a little air to gather my thoughts. If our food comes before I get back, please start without me.”
Coop left the table, passing the now stunned-silent group of gurus without even looking their way.
Higgs looked at me as he took a sip of his beer, his raven eyebrow cocked. “Did she just do something that might be grounds for punishment if she were sixteen then turn directly around and teach herself a lesson before we had to say a word—and all of this right before our very eyes?”
I giggled and nodded as I grabbed a packet of crackers from the basket on the table and ripped them open, popping one into my mouth. “Our little girl is growing up.”
He held up his beer and we clinked on it…and that was when I saw Susie Masters get up and lob her napkin on the table. Apparently, her shock had passed.
She glared at everyone at the table, brushing her sleeveless black-knit turtleneck dress with her hands as though she were trying to rid herself of something dirty.
Her beautiful face was hard, her brown eyes fiery as she shook her finger at the group. “I can’t believe we all sit around and let that barely over-the-drinking-age twit behave like that, just because he has a lot of money and influence in the makeup world. He’s not God, you idiots, but he leads you all around like you have leashes around your necks—and you’re all too chicken to fight
