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“I’d better get these out.” Sam smiles as she grabs the loaded tray. “If you need anything, just shout, okay?”
I nod as she turns and threads her way through the empty tables to a corner booth that has more people than I believed would fit. Most heckle as she approaches and she, dressed in a short leather skirt and short sleeve black shirt I’m not surprised is attracting so much male appreciation, heckles right back.
A light touch on my shoulder draws my gaze to my right. Aden leans a little closer to me. “You’ll be serving these smaller tables near the bar and the dancefloor area. No heavy trays, and no tables with more than four people.” His gaze darts to my bandaged wrist, which is mostly hidden by my long sleeve. “Okay?”
After seeing how loaded down Sam’s tray was, I’m not about to complain. If I had to carry trays that heavy for the next three hours, I doubt I’d make it to the end of my already-far-too-short shift.
I nod. “Okay. What do you want me to do now since those tables are empty?”
Aden scans the bar. One quick but thorough sweep that tells me he’s been doing this for a long time. “Take it easy for now. We’ll get a wave of people who like to stop in for shots before they move on, and a slower trickle of those in for the night. But when it’s quiet like this, make the most of it. Your feet and back will thank you for it when it’s time to go home.”
“Yeah, it was the same in the restaurants I worked at.”
“Good. You’ll find we’re pretty chill here. No one minds you taking a break during down times as long as you get the work done in the peak times.” Just as he’s finished speaking, a young couple enters the bar before they head for one of the tables that Aden marked as mine.
I glance at him, and when he nods toward them, I swallow hard as I leave the bar, conscious he’s watching.
You’ve served customers before. It doesn’t matter if it was a while ago. It isn’t rocket science that you can just forget.
When the girl, a pretty redhead, smiles at me, it’s a little easier, even if the guy is looking like he’d rather be elsewhere.
I stop at the table they’re sitting at and smile the smile I’d been practicing back at Aden’s apartment. “Hi, I’m Lily. How's your night so far?”
Really? You’re asking them that at seven when it couldn’t have even started yet?
My smile dips a little because I’ve already made myself sound like an idiot.
“Great. We heard this place has the best cocktails, so we thought we’d check it out. My boyfriend isn’t that interested,” the girl says, rolling her eyes.
I glance at the guy and he’s looking even more bored than he did moments before.
“You don’t like cocktails?” I ask, quickly checking there’s no wolf in his eyes.
No, he just looks like a bored boyfriend.
“They never make the one I want right,” he says, glancing at the menu on the table but not picking it up. “I’ll just have a beer. Whatever you have.”
With Aden’s gaze still heating my back, I peer over my shoulder and find him leaning against the bar, his arms folded across his chest, his gaze on me. He raises his eyebrow in question and I subtly shake my head no, that I’m okay.
I return my attention to the couple. “We have an amazing bartender.”
Disbelief clouds the guy's eyes. “Doubt that.”
“Try him. If it’s not one of the best cocktails you’ve ever had, it’s on the house.” I mentally wince because I’m sure Aden’s going to have a serious problem with me giving drinks out for free and on my first shift, no less.
A little of the guy's doubt melts away. He glances over my shoulder at the bar, and then back at me. “For free?”
May as well go all in.
I nod firmly. “Free. And for both of you. What do you want?”
He eyes me a little longer, darts a glance at his girlfriend who shrugs as if to say, why the hell not, and then grabs the menu, which he quickly scans. “A sidecar.”
Smiling as if I know what one is, I turn to the girl. “The same.”
“I’ll be right back,” I say before returning to the bar.
As I approach, Aden straightens from his lean. “Everything okay?”
