“I’m not saying you can’t work here. All I’m saying is you know the pay sucks. It’s only going to get worse when tourism dies down a little bit. You know you’re like my sister, Had, and if I wasn’t honest with you, I wouldn’t be a friend.” Tyler wipes down the bar top while talking to me. I walked in right at opening. Two of the regulars were in their corner of the bar, shooting the shit and drinking cheap beer.
“I know, but I can’t not work while I’m looking for another job. I have to at least pull my weight at Cooper’s. You know me, even with his offer to not worry about rent for a couple of months, I’m still going to worry. I’ve never not paid my own way, and I’m not going to start now.” I shiver. “What do you have the air conditioning on? One level below freezing?”
“The job is yours. Go grab a sweater from the stock. If you want, while you’re over there, you can clean it up. The other waitress who took your place is a mess, and that’s the least of my worries right now,” Tyler states. I turn my head trying to get a handle on why he’d allow something like that to slide.
“Don’t start.” I watch him walk away. His black shirt states that he’s staff, as if anyone doesn’t know that besides the tourists in this town. I roll my eyes before making myself walk to The Alibi’s merchandise corner. I know exactly why he’s not pushing the waitress to pull her weight; Tyler isn’t much of a lady’s man, but every once in a while, he gives in to temptation. Apparently this time, it was a waitress. That’s so unlike Tyler. This I have to see. He has a rule here that he states when he hires anyone, no fraternization with employees. I think I’ll stick around until she gets here. I grab a hoodie, throw it on over my top. I fix my ponytail—much like I should be fixing what happened between Cooper and me, but that’s for another time—and I tackle the mess.
“Holy crap, it’s like no one has done anything with this in months.” I scratch my head. This is bad even for Tyler.
“No one has,” a thin brunette with her hair up in a messy bun says. It’s then I realize who she is. This must be Tyler’s waitress he was talking about. No wonder he broke his own rules. She’s gorgeous. Not in the girl-next-door look. This girl knows she’s pretty and is definitely flaunting it.
“I can tell. I’m Hadley.” I hold my hand out, but she doesn’t shake it. Oh no, she does something I would never expect, she sneers at my hand as if I’m beneath her.
“Okay, then,” I breathe out before returning to my task. If she wants to be that way, so be it. Tyler can deal with her. I’m sure with me working a few shifts a week, our paths will cross, and I can tell you now, I won’t be looking forward to it.
“Anya!” Tyler must be pissed. He usually doesn’t raise his voice. He’s a lot like Cooper in that way, quiet and reserved. Nothing can ruffle their feathers. Sometimes I swear they’re more like brothers than friends.
My mind returns to Cooper. Sure, the interaction with Anya got my mind off things for a few minutes, but after she left, even the folding of the shirts, sweaters, and shorts that Tyler offers as kind of a souvenir purchase keeps my thoughts at bay.
“You’re up tonight, kid. Anya is out. Long time coming. I hope you don’t mind working tonight. I’ll even let Cooper know, since apparently you two are fighting.” He moves his fingers in air quotes.
“I can work tonight. I’m even wearing sneakers. No dice on jeans though. You’ll have to take it or leave it. We’re not discussing what Cooper and I are until Coop and I discuss it first.” I stand my ground. I swear Tyler is trying to get a rise out of me, hoping I’ll take the bait and spill my guts to him. That is not happening.
“Yeah, you’ll probably get better tips anyways without wearing jeans.” He laughs. I roll my eyes. There’s one thing about The Alibi, Tyler doesn’t have uniforms like other bars tend to. I’m more than thankful for it right now.
“Ha, what happened to Anya?” Two can play this game.
“Besides the fact she was supposed to open today and called in sick yesterday five minutes before her shift started?”
“Yikes.” I finish folding the shorts before making my way to the shirts.
“She wasn’t very friendly to you, and you’re my fucking family. Anya knew that. She was trying to do something that wasn’t possible, and it didn’t work.” The way Tyler states that, it warms my heart. I’ve been trying to hold my tears in all day, then he says that, and the waterworks turn on.
“Ah, fuck. Come here, Hads.” I try to wipe my tears with the sleeves of the hoodie before making my way around the counter. Tyler’s arms wrap around me. He lets me cry on him even though he has no idea why I’m doing so.
“I’m sorry,” I blubber into his shirt.
“No problem. You okay?” I pull back from him, nodding my head, wiping beneath my eyes.
“Me? Never better.” I roll my eyes and laugh at the same time.
“If you need to get out of here and get back to Coop, you can have the night off,” he offers.
“Thanks, but I need the breathing room. He’ll be home when I get there. Maybe by then my raging hormones won’t control me.” This causes Tyler to chuckle.
“Alright, I’ll shoot him a text and let him know you’re working.”
“Nah, I’ll do that. It’s my turn to return his text,” I breathe out. Tyler nods his head before leaving. I get back to my task, but not before texting Cooper.
Me: Hey, I’m working for Tyler today. I promise we’ll talk when I finish this shift.
I put my phone in my back pocket, not thinking he’ll respond right away.
Cooper: I’ll be here, Hadley. I’m not going anywhere.
His words make me think maybe we didn’t fuck up. They also have me thinking that maybe my running away like the blazes of hell was licking at my feet wasn’t the best thing to do. I guess I’ll know in a matter of hours what’s to become of Cooper and me.
Eight
Cooper
Fuck, I’ve done all I can today in my office. The only thing I could do to keep my mind off Hadley and her leaving. It was a disaster of epic proportion, so bad in fact I refused to let the cleaning lady in here during her weekly routine. Hadley fussed at me to clean up after myself, but when I’m in the middle of a project, it looks like a wrecking ball in here.
It doesn’t help that after Hadley sent me that text message, Tyler called to let me know she broke down on him. He didn’t say much else, but clearly shit needs to be discussed. The air needs to be cleared. If I had it my way, I would have gone straight to The Alibi, flung her over my shoulder, and brought her home, where she belongs. I knew if I did that, though, it wouldn’t do a bit of good. Hadley would storm off, and nothing would get solved. And her resolve would get worse before it got better.
Tyler said Hadley was working for him today after he let a waitress go, but she wouldn’t be closing, and he’d make sure she wasn’t dead on her feet. Something tells me he can read between the lines of what’s happening between Hadley and me. I pick up the mess from last night that’s still on the balcony. The discarded food, beer bottle, and empty wine glass. I shake my head. Hadley would be so pissed at herself for leaving her food out and not at least saving it for leftovers if she had a chance, especially her pimento cheese bake. That girl is in love with all things cheese.