its fumes pursuing me like guilty thoughts as I hurried to work.
At Newport, I dashed through a break in the steady line of vehicular traffic. Once across, I stepped up on the curb and skirted the outer corner of the OB Hotel before flying across an alley, then raced up the steps to the Deck Bar.
Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to sneak to my post at the center bar unnoticed. My boss caught me at the hostess stand.
“Lotus.” Frowning, he shook his head. “You’re late.” He set aside the laminated menu he’d been wiping down. “This is the second time this month.”
“Sorry, Mr. Macari. But it’s only two minutes past this time.”
“Your station isn’t prepped.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll stay late and close.” That would make it late when I talked to Saber, and later still when I got home to fulfill my promise to my brother. But like a lot of things, it couldn’t be helped.
“Fine.” Mr. Macari nodded curtly. “You’re one of my best employees. I don’t mean to be a hardass, but I have to treat everyone the same.”
“I understand.”
I marched to the bar, tucked my purse under it, and grabbed my work things. Choosing a purple bandanna to go with my tube top, I laid it over my hair and fastened it under my braid. Bar apron on, I went to the prep sink, washing and then drying my hands.
“Hey, Lotus.” Jeff, another bartender who was scheduled to work the other half of the circular bar tonight, acknowledged me from his side with a chin lift. “Missed you here on Friday night. We were slammed. How’d LA go?”
I had a one-night stand. It was amazing. He was amazing, except for the part where he got angry and dumped me immediately afterward. Now he’s here, probably joining my boyfriend’s band. And, oh yeah, he thinks I’m a cheating slut.
Maybe I was a slut. Maybe I was in denial.
But instead of all that, I simply said, “Fine. It went fine.”
I didn’t blab my inner turmoil. That was something I could only share with Sophia, but I couldn’t call her from work. I’d have to pull my own self together.
We got slammed again. Not unusual on any night at the Deck Bar, but the weekends were reliably busy and when I made most of my income. Every table was filled. All the high-tops. The coveted semiprivate booth by the mermaid. The individual seats by the windows. All the communal tables. My tip jar was filled by nine, and I still had three more hours on the clock, plus closing duties.
I pasted on my efficient bartender’s work smile and continued filling orders. I had a tray of six of my special pineapple margaritas with sugar rims going but froze solid when I saw Saber arrive with Journey, Shield, and a guy I didn’t know. The hostess greeted them.
Miranda was overfriendly with Saber. She’d been chasing him after having had a fling with him before he got together with me. She placed her hand on his arm and leaned heavily into him. Pressing her side boob into his arm, she batted her eyes with the glued-on extended lashes at him, but he ignored her. Since we’d started dating, he ignored all the women who threw themselves at him.
Catching my eye, he lifted his chin, and I lifted mine back.
Saber is such a good guy. But reminding myself didn’t stop my cheeks from warming or my stomach from fluttering when I looked at Journey.
The guys followed Miranda to the private semicircular booth. Apparently, they’d called ahead, or she was just giving Saber preferential treatment. She removed a private party plaque from the table. The guys all slid in, all being Saber, Journey, Shield, and the thin guy with long black hair that I didn’t recognize. Probably the new bassist.
I refocused on my work, filling order after order. The night edged on toward midnight. Saber knew to leave me alone when I was on my shift, but the thin guy didn’t get the memo.
“Hey, darlin’,” he said low, leaning an elbow onto my section of the bar. “I’m Ted. My buddies and I’ve been waiting thirty minutes for some tequila shots.” He slid me a twenty. “You wanna bump our order up?”
I took his cash. I needed it, and his order was up next anyway.
When I spun back around with the glassware for his shots, he’d moved directly in front of me. Ignoring him, I set the glasses down and tipped up a bottle