Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
J ust as Pedro had mentioned earlier that evening, Tequilaville was no less busy than it ever was. That was great for both bands, because every crowd had the potential to hold people who would become new fans. And Kyle had begun thinking of their shows as a slow way to build their growing audience which meant, eventually, they could make money doing what they loved.
The other band, Impending Cataclysm, was putting together a tour in the spring and had invited Intent to Murder to open for them. It was a hell of an opportunity and each band member was making arrangements to be able to do it. Kyle was especially intrigued by the Denver dates, because if they had any chance of being watched by someone important, it would be there.
But he wasn’t going to get his hopes up.
He stayed away from the bar during Cataclysm’s show, because it seemed like there were more people than usual at the counter. He planned to steal a lot of Scarlett’s attention later, after things died down, so he could wait.
While he waited, he found Hayley and Wolf at the other side of the large room. Hayley had a knowing smile on her face but only said, “What’s up?”
They’d had a long, hard road together but, today, Kyle was glad to call her friend . And all that time as a couple, including years spent growing up together, meant that they understood each other better than most. He knew she knew he had a thing going with Scarlett, but she didn’t mention it often.
He appreciated that—and, the times she did say something, he didn’t mind.
“Not much. Just pounding water,” he said, holding up the bottle he’d gotten backstage.
Wolf said, “We made more tonight than ever.”
“Oh, yeah? Merch table?”
“No, I’m just talking about what Al pays us. When he gave me the money, he said he pays a bonus in December because having bands is a way to get people to come here instead of other bars in the area.”
Kyle twisted the cap on his bottle. “We’ll never get the country crowd.”
Hayley’s eyes lit up. “We don’t want ‘em.”
“Maybe they’re less rowdy.”
Wolf snorted. “I assure you, they’re not.”
All three laughed, barely audible over the music. Kyle asked, “How’s the merch table doing?”
“Let’s just say we’ve been making enough so we can constantly increase inventory.”
Hayley added, “You missed it. Maria did some fancy PowerPoint projections last week before practice. She said we should be fully stocked by the time we go on tour.”
Kyle finished off the bottle of water, apparently thirstier than he’d realized. “Why didn’t I see that?”
“She showed us before you got there.”
He nodded, realizing he actually wasn’t upset about it. While he wanted to stay informed about all the ins and outs of the band, things like finances and merchandise weren’t necessarily things he could do a lot about, so maybe his presence during that discussion hadn’t been important.
Holy shit. That was what his therapist would call growth . A year ago, he would have flown off the handle not being informed or asked. Now, he hardly cared.
Was that because of the therapy—or the distraction of pursuing Scarlett? For a second, he told himself it didn’t matter…but he knew it did. He got the vibe from Scarlett that she didn’t want anything serious and, even if she did, he couldn’t lean on her to force him to have a healthy perspective on a situation. That had to come from within.
And wow. It was .
If only his therapist knew how much she’d influenced his train of thought.
“Earth to Kyle,” Hayley’s voice, raised over the roar of the crowd, coupled with waving her hand near his face got his attention.
“What?”
“I asked if you wanted Maria to show it to you sometime.”
“Uh, yeah. I think so.” As he spoke, the rest of them—Pedro, Adrian, Maria, and Claire—gathered around the table, close. “I don’t wanna be clueless.”
“Too late, my bro!” Pedro said, all but cackling at what he thought was a joke. Kyle just let it slide off his back. After all, the bad jokes were part of Pedro’s charm.
Wolf said, “Since we’re all here and we’re talking about the spring tour, has everyone asked for those two weeks off from work?”
Kyle had floated the idea past his boss and her icy reception made him realize he’d probably have to quit when the time came—not that he minded. It was just a job and he’d be able to get another.
But Pedro spoke up first. “Hell, yeah, dude. Our boss didn’t like the idea of being gone for two weeks, but we have the PTO saved up and it’s not like it’s during the holidays when they don’t like anybody to take off. When we told him that, he said only one of us could be gone at a time, so I told him I’d quit.”
Kyle smiled. No wonder they were friends.
When Wolf frowned, Pedro said, “Look, dude, it’s not like I’m gonna work there forever. The tour— that’s our future.”
“You’re not wrong, but you don’t want to burn any bridges.”
Pedro laughed. “Like I care. It’s just a job for a big corporation. We’re talking about the rest of our lives.”
Maria asked Adrian, “Does he talk like this at work?”
“He’s almost worse.”
“How do you keep your job there now ?”
Pedro finished the beer in his bottle. “I bust my ass. I get more shit done than half the crew while I’m there.” Looking at Adrian, he said, “Except for this beast.”
Adrian frowned. “Hardly.”
“The difference is I don’t give a fuck about the long term with a job. When the boss is having a discussion ,” he said, momentarily changing the tone of his voice to sound like someone else, “I tune his sorry ass out. And if I take a long bathroom break, let him yell at me. I’ll tell him where to shove it.”
When Maria gave Adrian another glance, Adrian simply nodded, affirming that Pedro wasn’t exaggerating.
“ Boss makes a dollar. I make a dime. That’s why I shit on company time. ”
Kyle laughed and everyone else smiled. Maria asked, “Did you make that up?”
“No. I heard it once and memorized that shit—and it’s been valuable work advice ever since.”
Wolf, a twinkle in his eye, said, “Why don’t we get back to planning—unless you’d all rather wait.”
Maria said, “Oh—I gotta get back to the merch table. Let me know what I miss.”
While they discussed details about the spring tour, Kyle only half paid attention. He tried not to be obvious when he glanced over at the bar in Scarlett’s direction, but he was waiting for things to die down. When Impending Cataclysm stopped playing, it helped, because slowly the crowd thinned out. Then Intent to Murder talked for a while with the members of the headlining band, letting them know their plans so far.
Hayley and Wolf were the first to leave the bar that night, but the other two couples in their band followed shortly after.
Finally, the moment Kyle had been waiting for. Performing always gave him a natural high after the first few minutes of jitters, but a woman often had the same effect. The time he and Scarlett had already spent together had confirmed that she wasn’t just another lay—she was something more. Even if they only remained friends, Kyle wanted to get to know her in the most intimate of ways, and his mind had rarely strayed from that thought since their date earlier in the week.
Kissing her had been the spark that had ignited the flames burning inside. Her lips, her tongue were so sweet, her small but strong body pressed against his. Even holding hands on Razor Ridge Drive had amped his desire.
He wanted her in the worst of ways—but she’d let him know, at least on Monday, that she wasn’t ready.
He was hoping against hope that her resistance was temporary—and, as he’d promised her in the beginning, he was nothing if not persistent.
And patient.
Although there were still quite a few patrons in the entire place and plenty of bodies on the stools around the bar, Kyle managed to find three empty ones all together and he picked the one in the middle. It was only a second before Scarlett noticed him. She said, “I thought maybe you’d already left.”
“I told you I was gonna come see you.”
“Yeah, I know, but it’s been chaos up here.” Stray locks of her brown hair had escaped from the ponytail, an indication that she’d been too busy to notice. It made her look cuter than ever.
“You look like you’ve had a hell of a night, Tink.”
Her smile grew wider then. “It’s better now.”
“I get it, though. It was a packed house. Al told us there’d be lots of people, and he wasn’t lying.”
“Yeah, but what made it worse is Denise had to leave early. Her grandbaby was taken to the emergency room for something and she had to watch her daughter’s other kids.”
“So you had to tend the whole bar by yourself?”
“No, Al helped—but usually on a night like this, it’s all three of us and we still struggle to keep up. If it was just drafts and shots, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But that’s okay—I’m not complaining. I’m pretty sure I made a killing on tips tonight. I won’t know about the credit card tips till tomorrow. Usually, Denise cashes me out before I leave but Al said he’d do it in the morning.”
Although she’d had a rough night, she still seemed to have a little life in her, so Kyle decided to venture forward. “What time do you get out of here?”
“No idea. I have to close by myself tonight.”
“So you won’t be out of here till—”
“After two. The servers take care of the tables and floor, but I have to take care of the bathrooms and all the stuff back here at the bar. Usually, Al would have one of the servers do it, but Jenny would get overtime if she did and Amber had a party she was going to after work. I’ve never cleaned the bathrooms before so—”
“You’ve been working here how long and you’ve never had to clean the bathrooms once?” Kyle wondered how she’d managed that one. Maybe Al favored the pretty girls.
“Uh…it’s kind of a long story.”
“I got nowhere else to be—and I don’t see any customers lined up for a drink.”
With what seemed like a sigh, she gave a quick nod—and something in her eyes told Kyle she trusted him enough to tell him something she thought she shouldn’t. “I work for tips and tips only. I don’t get paid wages, and so, in exchange, I only take care of duties behind the bar, things I can do while earning.”
Kyle was curious as hell about why she’d made that arrangement, considering it seemed like everyone else was being paid regularly—but he kept his mouth shut on that subject. Instead, he said, “So tell Al you’re not going to clean the bathrooms.”
“No way. He’s been really good to me from the beginning, taking a chance on me when I doubt many other people would have. Besides, he offered to pay me extra cash under the table for doing it. He even gave me the spare keys so I can lock up and he told me how to close out the registers. Everything else he said he’ll take care of in the morning.”
Inspired, Kyle said, “Hey, I’ve cleaned my fair share of bathrooms in all my jobs. What if I did it?”
“Why would you want to?”
“So you’ll have time to hang with me after.”
A tiny smile crept up on Scarlett’s lips. “Won’t you be tired?”
“Not even close.” After a show like the one they’d performed, Kyle had energy, and he’d never had an issue staying up late. What was hard was getting up the next day—but he’d managed just fine. And because tomorrow was another show night, he had the day off.
Meaning his focus was all on Scarlett. Nothing else mattered for now.
“Al might not be—”
“Al will never know unless you tell him. And I don’t think he’d turn down free help, do you?”
“I don’t know…”
Kyle arched an eyebrow. “Just show me where all the cleaning stuff is and I’ll get it done now.”
“We’d have to clean it again if you do it now.”
“Damn it, woman. I’m trying to help you.”
Scarlett’s pupils grew wide and she drew in a deep breath through her nose—but she didn’t say anything.
Had his words or tone scared her? He’d just been playing, but maybe he’d come off as really pissed off. “Hey—I’m just messing around. But I am trying to help.”
“Sorry. I guess I’m a little, uh, hypersensitive. Uh…my ex was—let’s just say he had a quick temper.”
“No, I’m sorry. I really just want to help.”
“One sec.” Scarlett shifted her attention to a few stools down where customers needed her. While she tended to them, Kyle dwelt on what she’d last said about an ex and then Kyle reflected on himself. When he and Hayley’s relationship was at its worst, he’d probably had what Scarlett would call a “quick temper.” After more than a year of therapy, he knew that what he and Hayley had often done was trigger each other. And because Kyle hadn’t been good at expressing all the shit inside, it had been difficult communicating. Now, as friends, they did a pretty good job, but it had been a long, hard road.
And knowing that Scarlett had some possible trauma around—was it the cursing? The feigned angry tone? The way he’d contorted his face? Or was it a combination of all three? He’d tread as lightly as possible and hoped that there would be a point where she’d be willing to talk about it.
When she returned, she said, “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be sorry. You’re just doing your job. Anyway…please let me help you, okay? I want to. And if it makes you feel better, you can buy me a beer after.”
Although the struggle was apparent in her eyes, she said, “Okay.”
“Great. Now where do I find all the stuff?”
“You’re going to do it now ?”
“Yeah…get it over with.”
Scarlett picked up a rag and began cleaning the counter. “But you’ll have to clean up again, because the drunker people get—”
“Yeah, I know. But it won’t be as bad if I start now.” He wasn’t going to argue with her, but the bottom line was that there were fewer people in the bar now—and even if a guy came in and missed the urinal when he first started pissing, Kyle would only have to clean up that spot on the floor and maybe wipe off the urinal.
“So where’s the stuff?”
Scarlett enlisted the help of the server still there, and the young woman eyed Kyle up and down, obviously wondering how Scarlett had managed to get one of the musicians to do one of the shittiest jobs in the bar. But she showed Kyle the closet full of cleaning supplies, pointing out the disposable latex gloves. “I recommend using those.” Kyle nodded, no stranger to them, having worked in food service for so long. “I like to think of them as armor—and you’re going in to battle in there.”
Jesus. Was it really going to be that bad?
He focused his thoughts on Scarlett and spending time with her later. No matter what, she was worth it.