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How hard can it be?
I choose to take the long way home, driving past the luxury apartments along the water and wondering what it would be like to wake up to a sunset over the ocean every morning. I could easily afford it with the job that Akim offered me, and I would be doing half as much work as the other bartenders in town. It almost seems like he’s looking for an excuse to overpay me, but how can I complain about that?
I glance through the solid glass walls of the lower level of one building in particular. Everything inside looks so modern and streamlined. It’s impossibly clean and sleek that I can’t imagine walking into a place and calling it myhome.In the apartment I live in now, Regan leaves pots of macaroni in the sink for five days before she can be bothered to wash them.
Of course, I’m envious of all of these people and frustrated that I can’t just believe in Akim’s proposition. It seems like the kind of thing that someone on a documentary about scams would fall for, but I’m so desperate for the money that I might just have to take this hit to my ego and my better judgment.
8
Delilah
When I get home, Regan is on the couch watching a movie about animated talking dogs. I can tell that she’s stoned, or at least hungover from last night, so I choose to be a bit quieter when I enter.
“Where did you go? And is that my dress?” she asks as soon as I lock the door behind me. I’d forgotten that I was wearing her dress, and now I feel like I’ve been caught.
“I went back to that club, the one from last night,” I confess.
She turns all the way around, looking at me with shock. “You went to a club by yourself? On purpose? For what?” she asks giddily. “Are you looking for a new dick to ride now that Elliot’s gone?”
I try not to smile, but I can’t help it.
“Goddamn! You bounce back fast. I mean, we all knew that you and Elliot weren’t going to last much longer, but I was honestly expecting you to be a lot more broken up about it. You’re such an ice queen! I love it!” she says.
My stomach drops. “Were you guys taking bets on how long my relationship with Elliot would last?” I ask, feeling slightly betrayed. My face feels hot at the thought.
“I mean, come on. It wasreallyobvious that you guys were having fights. But anyway, did you fuck someone tonight?” she asks, completely dismissing my concerns.
I roll with it. “Not tonight, but I did get a new job,” I say, and Regan’s excitement lessens somewhat, mingled with caution and confusion.
“What kind of job?” she asks with apprehension.
“The owner of the bar wants me to bartend there. They want to pay me fifty dollars an hour,” I reply, setting my coat over a chair and joining her on the couch.
Regan’s expression is completely untrusting now. “So you’re saying that they want you to do the same job most people our age are doing except… making the same amount of money as a lawyer? That sounds a little sketchy,” she replies. “Don’t you get like, thirteen dollars an hour right now? The math doesn’t add up.”
I can feel myself losing faith in the prospect of this new job with Regan’s fresh perspective. She’s right; it does seem a little bit strange for Akim to offer me so much for such a simple job. But what if it’s all real? How could I pass this up?
“I know it seems weird, but I want to give it a shot. I think it could be good for me if I can make it work,” I reply, trying to keep my tone positive even though Regan has me doubting myself.
“Okay, but be careful. Don’t burn any bridges with the salon just yet,” she cautions, curling up in her blanket and nestling into the corner of the couch.
“What’s the bar owner like?” she asks after a few minutes. “Is he hot?”
“I mean, I didn’t get a great impression of him last night because he was upset with me, but he seems nice otherwise,” I lie.
Akimwasscary to me at first, but now that we’ve had sex, I feel far less anxious about being around him. He seems to have a protective streak, which I find extremely attractive.
I pull my knees up to my chest, watching the TV but not processing it in the slightest. “There was this one guy he was hanging around with that gave me a bad vibe, but the owner doesn’t seem to like him either, so I’m pretty sure I don’t have to deal with him much anyway. He did give me his card, though,” I say, pulling the card out of my bra and showing Regan.
“What kind of bad vibe? Did he seem dangerous or just slimy?” she asks, taking the card and examining it.
“Both? I don’t know. Just seemed like a weird guy overall,” I reply.
“Okay, you’re an adult and everything, but please be careful,” she says, giving back the card.
* * *
Monday rolls around,and I’m anxiously awaiting my first night of work for the entire day. I feel like I’m going to explode from the anticipation. I have no idea what it’s like to bartend, and from my limited time visiting the club, it seemed like a really hectic job.
