to guys hitting on her all the time. Even the redhead at the end of the bar—who is now on her knees giving head to the guy who had been sucking on her tit a few minutes ago—isn’t getting the same attention Stone is just by walking around the bar doing her damn job. She really is a fucking knockout under all that ink and attitude. Maybe even because of it.
Okay. I can do this. I’d be taking one for the team, right? Say what you will about me, but I’ve always been a team player. Even when my heart is not in it, I give it my all. I always have. And this time, losing isn’t an option, since the repercussions of me failing The Society’s first assignment might be the end of us.
If sleeping with Stone Bennett is how I get them off my back, then that’s what I’ll have to do.
I mean, how hard can it be to seduce the devil’s spawn anyway?
Chapter 4
Stone
Can this night get any shittier?
First, Big Jim tells me I’ll have to lock up tonight since Janet called in sick, turning my six-hour shift into a nine-hour one, which will definitely show tomorrow morning on my first day back at school. There won’t be enough concealer under the sun to mask the bags under my eyes. And secondly, Janet bailing couldn’t have happened on a worse night. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear the bitch did it on purpose. Anytime my boss announces there will be a contest to win a few bucks, the desperate and needy of Ashville crawl out of the woodwork for a few Benjamins, while the vultures flood our doors, thirsty to watch the deplorable show go down.
Tonight’s poor excuse for a contest is an old favorite of my employer’s, as well as every last pervert within a twenty-mile radius. The wet T-shirt night at Big Jim’s Bar is not like the ones broadcasted on TV or spring break music videos. Instead of girls gone wild, it’s more like moms without shame.
A prime example of this is Wanda and her old man doing it doggy style for everyone’s eyes to behold, while her seven-year-old kid is probably sound asleep at her grandma’s place again. Poor kid should be thankful her folks didn’t bring her in tow this time. Watching her parents get wasted and do live porno would scar her for life. But if I’m being real, she’s probably seen worse.
Most of the kids who grow up around here are used to shit like this anyway. I sure as hell saw my share of fucked-up things growing up. I really wish I could say this sort of crap was a one-off here at the bar, but it’s not. Shit like this happens most nights. I guess you just become immune to the filth after a while.
It’s also a side effect of living on this end of town. We expect the grime and the dirt. It’s the shiny and new that raises our hackles. Case in point—Finn Walker and Easton Price sitting at a table casing the joint like they are planning some sort of heist. It’s oddly funny considering Easton’s stepdaddy owns one of the world’s most prestigious banks there is. He could probably buy this bar with his lunch money, so why Big Jim’s would suddenly grab his fancy is beyond me.
However, Easton doesn’t get on my nerves as much as the friend frowning at his side. Easton wasn’t born into money like Finn was. His momma just managed to marry into it. Rumor has it that before Price put a ring on Easton’s momma’s finger, she was turning down beds and cleaning toilets at some swanky hotel, living in a one-room, rat-infested apartment up North with her kid. At least Easton knows what it’s like to live in squalor.
Finn Walker, however, wouldn’t know the first thing about sacrifice, let alone worrying about where his next meal is coming from. I mean, look at him! Not only is he drop-dead gorgeous, with his wavy blond locks and piercing blue eyes, but he’s as big as a tank. That boy hasn’t missed a meal in his whole life. Sure, it’s probably steel muscle from all the workouts he has to do to keep in shape for football, but damn! He puts most of the guys sitting here to shame.
Worst thing is, he’s a cocky asshole, and he knows it. Just by the way he gloated about his