Page 5 of The Other Room

After punching out, I climbed into a seat at the bar leaving one space between myself and the mannequin who had lived there for decades and startled most of the new customers. The blonde-haired “woman” we called Wanda received a shocking amount of “sorry” and “is this seat taken” every evening, and I didn’t think it would ever get old watching people’s faces when they realized plastic women don’t answer.

At the Blue Ox a mannequin sat by the window named Captain Bailey. At JJ’s it was Wanda. As a local who grew up in Door County, I never really gave much thought to the trend of mannequins taking up space at our bars. Yet here I was again, working at bar with a mannequin and listening to customers apologize to an inanimate object after they bumped into it.

Never got old.

“You want anything to eat?” Hanson asked as I settled in.

“Nah. I snacked on tortilla chips all night. I’m full.”

“Great job tonight. Here, count the tips.”

“With pleasure.” Grinning, I took the overflowing pitcher of money from him and dumped it out on the counter. Bartending here was hard work... exhausting, sanity-stripping work. But this blissful moment every night made it worth it and stopped me from running back to the slower pace of the Blue Ox.

Between sips of my margarita, I smoothed out the crumpled bills and stacked them in piles of singles, fives, tens, and twenties. While I separated them into equal piles of two that Hanson and I would split, I heard new voices flood into the bar. I looked up to see a few guys filing in through the door, and I groaned when I recognized the one face I’d have happily never seen again.

Matt Michaelson.

“Jo?” Matt said, and I curled my lip at him in return.

His face dropped at my response. Even with his muscular build, strong cut jaw, and piercing eyes, he still managed to look contrite. Good. Let him swirl in the vortex of his own sins.

Matt, Aaron, and Tony headed toward me. I’d grown up with all three of them, and had always considered them friends, only one no longer got to wear that title. The one who used to wear the title of best friend, and the one I now considered beneath my notice.

Matt. Matt the betrayer.

“Jo!” Aaron grinned, his lips parting between his bushy red beard. “What up, girl? I forgot you worked here now.”

Before I could answer, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me off my stool, squeezing me so tight I struggled to inhale.

“Hey, Aaron.” I managed to grunt out. “Hey, Tony.”

“Hey, Jo!” Tony patted me on the back. “Long time, no see!”

Aaron set me down, and I slid a glare to Matt. Through gritted teeth, I growled out, “Matt.”

Lifting his chocolate eyes to meet mine, he pulled his lips into an awkward smile. “Hey, Jo. How you been? You ready for a little Family Guy marathon soon?” His awkward grin lifted into a genuine smile. “Oh! Or I got this new video game. You’ll probably kick my ass like you always did, but it’s really fun. First-person shooter. And we get an RPG launcher straight off the bat. Your fave!”

I didn’t answer, just lifting a brow and staring at him until he gave up first and glanced away. As the irritation of past memories laced with his bad behavior bubbled up within me, I thought about how good it might feel to slap him. Hell, he was lucky I didn’t kick him in the crotch, , or maybe even smack him upside his head with the drink pitcher just within my reach.

Guilt rose up and almost softened my expression. Almost softened my heart. But only almost. With a flare of my nostrils, I shoved that shit back down and told it to stay put. I quickly reminded myself that even though he looked like a scolded puppy who just needed a hug, he was anything but. He was the selfish liar, the betrayer who’d hooked up with Jake’s fiancé and shaken our little friend group right to the core.

Okay, so we’d only thought he’d slept with her for the better part of the summer, but it had turned out he’d only kissed her. But still. Sex. Kiss. Didn’t matter. That kind of betrayal was the gun that wouldn’t stop smoking. Trying to steal your best friend’s girl in any way, shape, or form? Despicable. And not a quality I ever wanted in someone I called friend. So despite the pain and regret, I’d cut the man loose.

Friendship over.

Done and dusted.

I sat back down, and Tony settled into the stool beside me.

“We miss you at the Ox,” he said.

“Yeah, it’s been a big change moving to Sister Bay.”

It was only fifteen minutes away from where I used to live and work, but the faster pace of Sister Bay was a big change from Baileys Harbor, the place locals referred to as “the quiet side” of our little peninsula in Wisconsin.

“Are you done for the night?” Aaron asked, grabbing the stool on Tony’s other side.

“Yep. I survived another crazy Friday night. I thought I was prepared for working a summer in Sister Bay... I was drastically wrong.” Laughing, I took a well-deserved sip of my margarita.