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Which reminds me, I have an early session with him in the morning.
Glancing down at my watch, I realize it’s almost midnight, which means I should really get out of here. I stand with my glass in hand and throw back what’s left before glancing at the few guys left at the table. “I’m out,” I tell them.
They all give quick nods as Jaxon speaks up. “Alright man, see you later,” he says, his gaze slightly narrowed, a million questions behind his eyes.
I don’t dwell on it as I turn and make my way to the door.
My gaze flashes back to Charli as I pass the bar, finding her eyes already on me. When she smiles, I can’t help but return it, knowing damn well that I will see her again. I nod my head in her direction and am graced with that sexy as fuck blush again, which only makes my smile turn into a wicked grin. Seeming embarrassed, she tears her gaze away and focuses back on the customer before her, pressing her lips into a hard line as if to smother the smile threatening to tear across her face.
Knowing I have some sort of effect on her is fucking me up, and the need to go back to that bar and claim her as my own is strong, but I need to stay away. My life is a mess and will be for a while. The last thing I want is to burden this girl with it.
Besides, something tells me Charli isn’t the hit-it-and-quit-it type of girl, no matter how badly I want to get between those sweet legs. I saw it in her eyes, she’s intrigued. She can probably sense the danger in me, just like the rest of them, always wanting to take a ride on the wild side. But when it comes down to it, she’s probably after a good boy with morals and values who will drop to his knees and worship at her feet, and one thing is for sure—that ain’t me.
Chapter 4
CHARLI
Charli
It’s been three weeks since I arrived at Micky’s, and to say I’m on cloud nine is an understatement. For the first time in forever, I feel like I have control over my own life, a future that’s mine and mine alone. A life I get to dictate.
I feel free, and it’s amazing, exquisite . . . intoxicating.
Micky helped me secure a traineeship at a local hairdressing salon. It starts next week, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. The owner is an old friend of his and owes him a favor, so she reluctantly took me on. I don’t even care that I didn’t get it myself, I’m just thrilled it’s happening at all. But I will earn my place there if it’s the last thing I do.
It will be a huge change though, and I’ll probably be exhausted for a while before I get used to the added hours. I’ll be working in the salon five days a week from nine to five and then coming home to start my shift at the bar at six. Micky insists that I shouldn’t be working that much, but I don’t care. I owe him everything, and I’ll work until my fingers bleed.
The only downfall is that I haven’t made any friends here, but I’m sure that will come. To be honest, I’m content with how things are. I’m not really sure I need friends right now, but if someone comes along who wants to add positivity and friendship to this new world of mine, I’m not going to say no.
Layla, Micky’s daughter, came in for the first week to show me the ropes. I thought at first we would hit it off, but she’s older, and a bit too classy for me. She’s studying to be a criminal lawyer and is super proper. Don’t get me wrong, she’s incredibly nice and all, even brought me a bag of her old clothes that I could borrow, but I need friends who are super chilled and drama free. A girl like Layla screams drama. Besides, with everything going on in her life, she probably doesn’t have the time to entertain her father’s latest charity case.
Layla occasionally works at the bar, usually on busy nights when there’s been a hockey game. I thought this place was busy my first few nights. There was always a constant flow of customers, and I had finally gotten the hang of everything. Then the hockey season began, and Micky’s became standing-room only. Turns out I didn’t know what busy was until it was staring me in the face, quite literally, with hundreds of college assholes screaming orders at me. It was ridiculous. I’d never been so busy in my life, but to tell the truth, I loved it. Not to mention, the eye candy in the room was outstanding, and the tips came rolling in.
