AllFreeNovel
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“Yup. Just keep ‘em coming.”
Shaking his head, he smiles, and makes a drink for Courtney without even having to ask what she wants.
“Thanks.” I smile. “I promise we’ll be good.”
“But you won’t be.”
“I know.” Shrugging, I smile and flip my hair over my shoulder and walk back to the table.
“Thanks,” Courtney says when I hand her her drink. “So, what’s new with you? What sparked this impromptu trip?”
I shrug, taking a sip of my rum and coke, letting the liquor warm my insides a little. “I just needed to get away.”
“There’s more to it. Spill.”
“Wow, did you wear Ally down too when she first came here?”
“Yes. So spill.”
My eyes dart to Ally, and she just shrugs, letting me decide my fate. “Fine.” I sigh. “I quit my job. My manager had been hitting on me every night after my shifts for the past six months, and then the other night, he took matters into his own hands.”
“What does that mean?”
“He tried to force himself on me, and so I kneed him in the balls and punched him in the face. Then I stole all the tips from that night and ran out of there like I was on fire.”
“Are you serious? What a fucking dick!”
“I know. And that wasn’t the first time this happened to me. This year, actually.”
Her eyes widen. “What?”
“Long story. But I’ll just say that my previous boss thought it was okay to force himself on me too.”
“What the hell is with these guys?”
“I don’t know. But the bartending job was the best one I could find. They’re always packed, so the tips were really good. But now I don’t know what I’m going to do. I already had to move in with my mom to save money when I started that job. And now I’m unemployed and live at home. At 28.” Taking a long drag from my drink, I lean back in my chair and close my eyes.
“There’s no shame in that, Ashley,” Ally says. “That was me last year, and look at me now.”
“Yeah, but you had a choice in everything that happened.”
“I was fired, Ash.”
“Yeah, but you were able to choose what you did next. I don’t have that luxury.
“But you’ll figure it out.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not banned from your profession because of a handsy dick, or was forced to quit the only other well-paying job in the area because of another handsy dick.” Sucking down the rest of my drink, I get up to go get another one. Thinking about my situation makes me want to down an entire bottle of wine, and then wash that down with five shots of tequila.
“Alex, I need another one. And a shot of tequila.”
He raises his eyebrows. “That bad, huh?”
“What?”
“Why you’re here.”
“Maybe.” I shrug. “I don’t know.”
