“You’re not from around here.”
“I’m not.” I swallow, but nothing moves. My throat scrapes raw. Maybe I should order a drink. “But I’d still like a job.”
Rap slings three cocktail glasses on the bar and pushes them over to the guy waiting next to me, taking his credit card in turn. “Why? You have money. Lots of money from the looks of it.”
A jolt goes through me, but I try not to let my surprise show.
The sting of guilt and confusion over leaving home snakes in, winding around me for the first time since I left. “I wantindependence. I want to live my own life, without being under anybody’s control.”
Rap stops cold. One hand is poised with a scoop of ice hovering over an empty glass, but she doesn’t pour for one...two...three beats.
It’s as if I’ve said something that struck a gong at her center, hitting a mark so hard it’s reverberating through her entire body.
I don’t say anything as she processes...whatever it is that she is processing.
The ice clinks into the glass. Suddenly, she’s back to swift movements and harried execution as if nothing happened at all. She takes orders from more patrons who’ve pushed in next to me. The place is packed, and despite her fluid movements, she is barely keeping up with the crowd.
I bounce on the balls of my feet, becoming restless and impatient. I want this job. I want it bad.
Ever since I overheard that human woman talking about this place, I knew, just knew I needed to be here. I don’t know if it was the way she described the cozy lights and the delicious concoctions, where the entire place is a sultry haven, or if it was because of the rebellious badass Lost Girls who worked here. I just knew I wanted to be one of them. It lit up inside me like a beacon I followed all the way here.
“What about the Dragon?” Rap asks, continuing to work without pause. “Is he bothering you?”
Yet again, I swallow back my surprise. “No.” I twist to look over my shoulder.
My tall, dark sentry several feet away watches me and the bar, scanning for trouble. A girl with short blonde hair sidles up to him, running her fingers over his jacket. An inch off and she’d get a hot shock. From the tilt of her head, I can tell she’s flirting.
His lips barely move as he responds with something I can’t hear. The girl’s hand drops as she leaves with a vague look of disappointment on her face.
“He, uh, he’s helping me.”Against his will, but let’s count it.
“Be here when we close at two. Both of you,” Rap says before taking off to get orders from another group of thirsty patrons.
Giddiness gallops in my chest again.
It wasn’t a yes, but she’ll find out I won’t accept a “no.”
“I don’t supposeyou have a resume,” Rap says, fingers interlaced on her heavy desk. Unlike the warm, sensual maximalist style of the bar, her office is devoid of personality with only a tall file cabinet, a desk, and the couple chairs across from it. Talon chooses to remain standing.
He studies the one semi-decorative item on the wall. A calendar with a picture of an unamused looking cat strapped with a pair of bunny ears, with the captionYou’ll Pay For This.
Despite the woman’s commanding force, there are circles under her eyes. While Talon and I got drinks and retreated to a corner to people-watch, the crowd didn’t let up until the lights went up at closing time, forcing everyone to spill out on the streets of Boston.
“No resume.” My voice is quiet to my own ears. To compensate, I sit up straighter. “But I’m willing to learn.”
Even as I say it, I'm mentally preparing counterarguments for whatever objection she might raise. It's a stubborn streak I can't seem to shake, even when I know I'm out of my depth.
Those emerald eyes study me for a long time, and I bite back the urge to fill the silence. I’m sure Talon has no difficulty withthe tense quiet. As I’ve told him on many occasions, brooding is his superpower.
“You got people after you?” she asks casually, as if it’s a normal interview question.
I think about it for a minute. My parents could send more people after me, but they don’t know where I went. The letter I left behind said I needed some time to myself, and I asked them not to follow.
I shake my head.
“What are you to her?” Rap barks at Talon.
To his credit, he doesn’t even flinch at the command in her tone. Rap can’t be much older than me, but she carries a steely confidence that I’m in absolute awe of.
