Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
RAVEN
L eaving Noah with someone else for the first time since I got him back was not as easy as I thought it would be. I may trust Kat, but there is something about walking away from your child that stabs you in the heart. I have a feeling that will never go away.
I put on a simple plum-colored tank top, Chucks, and a pair of cutoff denim shorts for tonight’s work uniform. The shorts cover my ass, but with legs like mine, these shorts could be Daisy Dukes.
Oh well. That’s my lot in life.
If worse comes to worst, I’ll pull out the self-defense moves Dahlia taught me. Pierce beat her bloody when he found out she did that. Anthony was ready to put her in the ground, but Pierce stepped in and reminded him that she was worth more alive than dead.
Parking toward the back of the lot to leave room for customers, I stroll across the gravel. When I came by to fill out paperwork the other day, Griffin asked that I get here before the rush starts.
Entering The Wandering Raven, I’m met with the same dismal ambience. A couple of tables are occupied, and again, Benny sits at the bar with a drink in hand.
Griffin gets a mischievous look in his eye when he spots me, dragging his gaze up my exposed legs and across my barely there cleavage. “How’s it goin’, Raven?”
“Good. Ready to get started,” I tell him enthusiastically while hiding the butterflies swarming my stomach. This is my second first day, and it doesn’t help that my boss is hotter than any man I’ve ever seen.
His smile is wide. “Perfect. Come on back here,” he instructs.
I round the bar to the far corner and come up next to Griffin. Being in his proximity makes my brain go all fuzzy. Standing this close to him rids me of the earlier butterflies and causes an overwhelming need to roll through me. When he turns his back on me, my eyes wander south.
Hot damn. He fills his jeans perfectly.
I’ve been with plenty of men. Ninety-nine percent of them were not by choice. But I’d definitely choose Griffin to ram me into the headboard.
“Know how to make a drink?” He turns around, raising a brow, and I know I’ve been caught.
Shoving my embarrassment out the window, I tease, “Yes. Need a stiff one to get through my training?”
Griffin crowds my space, forcing me to back up into the counter and shelves behind me. His hands go to the wooden counter, resting on either side of me, less than an inch away from my body. “I got something stiff, alright.”
Smirking, I return fire. “Is that the best you got, Griff?”
“Not by a long shot, Sunshine,” he says with another smirk.
Don’t kiss the boss. Don’t kiss the boss.
He moves his hand, reaching up to a higher shelf, but his eyes remain fixed on me. As he reaches, he leans in closer. His lips are a breath away from mine. Then he steps back with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.
“Can you make a Manhattan?” Griff questions as he hands me the bottle.
That’s one way to douse the fire.
“One Manhattan, coming right up,” I proclaim as I toss it frivolously.
I move around the space, grabbing what I need. Vermouth, bitters, a mixing glass, and a maraschino cherry.
“On the rocks?” I ask over my shoulder.
My question is met with silence. Turning my head, I find Griffin’s eyes glued to my backside. I clear my throat, and his eyes snap up to mine. He gives me an unapologetic shrug and answers, “However you want to make it, Sunshine.”
Shaking my head, I dismiss his shenanigans. “On the rocks it is.”
At Euphoria, I wasn’t just a dancer and plaything. I also had to help out with waitressing and bartending. Seven years at that horrible place, and thankfully, I walked away with more skills than just being able to do the splits.
I stir the mixing glass until it’s cold to the touch. Griffin places a stemless glass on the counter next to me. I add the ice, then pour the drink in.
“One Manhattan on the rocks.”
Griffin takes the drink from my hand. “Bottoms up.” Then he downs the cocktail like it’s a shot and doesn’t even wince.
“That’s good,” he says to the glass with an impressed expression on his face. “Okay, let’s go for another. Margarita on the rocks with a twist.”
“Oh, come on. Give me something hard,” I reply in jest.
I clean my mess and gather the next set of ingredients. Griffin hands me another glass when I’m almost done mixing. I salt the rim, add the ice, and the drink. And once again, Griffin downs the cocktail like an experienced frat boy.
“Let the girl be, Montgomery,” Benny butts in. “She’s passed inspection. It’s not like the folks here are going to order anything more complicated than that. Most are gonna order a Bud Light and call it good. Now let her pour me another whiskey.”
Griffin gestures to Benny. “You heard the man. Pour him a whiskey.”
A warmth spreads through my chest at their acceptance. “You got it, Benny, my friend.”
Pouring the dark liquid into a short glass, I keep my attention on the task at hand but direct a question to Griffin. “So. Anything I need to know before tonight? Seating, tables, restocking. Any of that?”
“Customers seat themselves. We don’t do table numbers. We’re not that rigid here. And I can show you the rest.”
After Benny gets his whiskey, Griffin shows me around. I learn how to put in a food order, close someone’s tab, clean the tables, restock the bar, and so on. Once I’ve proven that I’m more than competent, he shows me the stockroom, his office, and the kitchen.
In the kitchen, the equipment is all silver, and the floors are plain white tile. There’s a door on the far end that I assume leads to the outside and the dumpster.
A man stands at a fryer removing potato wedges from the basket. He’s average height with light blonde hair.
Griffin introduces us. “Camden, this is Raven. Raven, this is Camden.”
“Raven?” Camden’s brows rise in humor.
“Yeah, yeah. Corny, I know,” I reply before he can crack a joke like Griffin did the day I met him.
Griffin gets an odd look on his face and chimes in before Camden can say anything else. “Camden is the cook. Don’t touch anything hot, but you won’t have to worry about that. You won’t be back here much anyway.” He places his hands on my shoulders and steers me back out into the bar.
“I know not to stick my head in the oven. I’m not five.”
“Trust me, Sunshine. I’ve noticed.”
My stomach flutters at his implication.
Damn. I’d climb this man like a tree.
He keeps pushing me until I’m back where we started, standing opposite Benny.
Whirling around on him, I place my hands on my hips. “What was that about?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Griffin makes an innocent face and changes the subject. “I’m sure you’ll meet Knox at some point tonight. He might be held up in the office all night, though.”
“Knox?”
“My partner.”
A light goes off in my head. “Oh. Ohhhhhhh.” Of course, a man as good looking as Griffin is already taken.
Reading my expression, Griffin shivers. “Uh, no. Knox is my business partner.”
I raise my hands in a defensive gesture. “Hey, I’m not judging. Live your life. Seriously. There’s nothing wrong with loving who you love. I know we’re in Texas, but I’m not that kind of Texan.”
Folding his arms, Griffin adds, “Knox is also my brother.”
So there are two people in this world who look like that ? Heaven help me.
Even though I know he’s telling the truth, I decide to have some fun. “Okay, dating your brother is weird,” I tease, making a disgusted face.
“Ha, ha. Very funny,” Griffin says sarcastically.
Griffin reaches to pinch my side, but I swat his hand out of the way, wagging my finger at him. “Nuh-uh.”
“Ticklish?”
“No,” I respond too quickly.
“Right,” he replies, disbelieving. “I got your number, Raven. Remember, payback’s a bitch.
” He winks, and on his way to the back hall, he turns and walks backward.
“Poke around the bar. Familiarize yourself with where everything is. There’s a cup of quarters right there by the ice machine if you want to change the song on the jukebox. ”
“Does it only play country?” I shout back, but he’s already turned the corner.
“Unfortunately,” Benny grumbles.
Placing my elbows on the counter in front of him, I tilt my head and give him my best endearing smile. Now that I have a moment, I take in his features. Weathered skin, salt and pepper hair, hazel eyes.
“It’s Benny, right?”
He grunts his affirmation.
“We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Raven.” I stick my hand out to him. He stares at it like he forgot what a handshake is.
When he finally takes my hand, he gives me a half-hearted comment, “Nice to meet you, Raven.” Then he goes back to staring at the TV behind me on the wall.
Ignoring his dismissal, I continue, “I take you for a soft rock kind of guy.”
He grunts again.
“You’re right. Soft rock is too cliché.” I pretend like I’m thinking really hard. “I got it! Jazz. Definitely jazz. And I bet you listen to funk when no one else is around.”
There’s a slight wrinkling at the corners of his eyes, letting me know he’s paying attention to everything I say and he’s finding it amusing.
I place my hand on my chest and gasp as he takes a sip of his drink. “Why, Benny! We just met! You can’t ask me something so personal as to what type of music gets me hot and bothered!”
He chokes and spits the whiskey back into his glass.
I giggle at the mess I created, swipe a coin from the cup Griffin told me about, and make my way to the jukebox across the bar. Trace Adkins drifts from the speakers, and I wrinkle my nose. I’m in the mood for a faster beat.
The coin goes in through the slot, and I pick a song I vaguely recognize.
Trace Adkins is replaced by Luke Bryan, and I feel the beat resonate in my chest. For the first time in a long time, I let the music flow through my limbs and dance my way back to the bar.
I sway and move my arms as I move behind the bar and explore, taking note of where everything is.
The song ends, and another takes its place. Still fast paced so I’m able to continue. Eventually, I forget what I’m doing, and I let the song take me away.
Georgia Kelly used to make me practice my routines until I’d collapse from fatigue.
She herself was a ballerina, but her dream never took off.
So, obviously, that meant I had to fulfill it for her.
Then along came Anthony, and I was yet again forced to dance.
He’d snap his fingers, and I would have to dance until he said stop.
Being tired wasn’t an option. I was their puppet.
But the day I was rescued, I promised myself that I would cut the strings and do what I want when I want. And right now, I’m choosing this.
Feeling eyes on me, I pause mid-spin and snap my attention to Benny. His mouth is hanging open with his glass half lifted and his gaze trained on me. It’s not a predatory gaze. I know what that looks like.
“You got talent, kid.”
A blush takes over my cheeks, and I suddenly feel exposed. “Thanks.”
Benny gives me an honest-to-God smile and goes back to watching the TV.
It’s different when I’m complimented as I’m forced to dance on a pole. These movements came from my soul.
And it felt…freeing.
Out of the corner of my eye, a dark figure shifts in the hallway, but when my head snaps in that direction, there’s no one there.
I need to get a grip. Seeing things that aren’t actually there is not a good sign.