15. Tammy
FIFTEEN
TAMMY
It was my first night working with Delia, and she was a hoot.
A while after her shift started, Stella and Anna had come in for girls’ night.
“Anna, I believe you know Delia, but Stella, I’m not sure if you’ve met. This is Delia, my newest bartender.”
“Anna filled me in on the drive here,” Stella explained, letting me know she knew the full backstory.
“She’s the one who only drinks margaritas?” Delia asked me, trying to remember which of the women liked what.
“No, that’s Ruthie,” I clarified. “After four drinks, she tends to use the word fuck like a comma, so you’ve got to keep track with her.”
Stella and Anna laughed. “Oh my God, that’s so true,” they both commented between chuckles.
Ray was here at the restaurant, too, but not in his usual seat.
He was sitting at a nearby booth with Frank and Chase, but I often felt his gaze on me while I was working.
I’d glance up from time to time, and our eyes would make contact, even briefly, before he’d grin or wink or give me a little chin lift.
Each one of those little glances or pointed looks sent a little flutter of excitement through me.
My body felt like it was always left in a slow, steady burn phase—never enough to explode, but impossible to ignore.
The heat just lingered there, my body ready and willing for Ray, whether my heart agreed or not.
I knew he would be heading back to Texas eventually, even though he hadn’t actually set a date yet. Still, I felt a lump in my throat every time I thought about it.
It was ridiculous, really, since I had known this was just a short-term thing from the beginning. But now that he’d stayed and we’d spent more time together, I found myself craving that extra time and wanting it to last longer.
Work.
I needed to focus on work, not Ray.
I’d now worked at least one shift with each of my extra “staffers.” Diego, Andre, and Delia had all picked up shifts this week, working various roles—bartender, host, and barback, mostly.
Delia excelled at all those jobs and was just a fun person to be around.
Delia Abbas was beautiful but also a badass in her own right.
She had the most stunning, rich tawny-colored skin and long black hair that went down to her mid-back.
She was friendly but carried herself in a secure, confident way.
André was like a big old teddy bear and was great at greeting people when they walked in and helping our hosts and hostesses when we got busy.
He had a large frame and an always cheerful demeanor.
He was also a looker, too. Gorgeous dark-copper skin, shaved head but with a neatly trimmed goatee, and muscular.
His fiancée trained service dogs and brought them into the restaurant sometimes.
Diego was a nice guy, but he had the male equivalent of a resting bitch face when he wasn’t engaged in conversation, and many of the employees were intimidated by him.
And while I didn’t know for sure, I was guessing some of the customers probably felt the same.
Once you got him engaged, though, he was quite the smooth talker.
My only beef with Diego was that he liked to take his break to eat during our busiest time.
He would order his food from the bar and then escape back to the employee break room in the back of the pub near the kitchen.
I knew he wasn’t a social butterfly and preferred his alone time, but it still made it a bit more inconvenient for the rest of us.
Every one of the men and women from Ranger Shield who worked security here got a free meal while working their “shift.”
He’d walked up and sat at the bar to place his dinner order and was shootin’ the shit with the guy next to him, a semi-regular named Clint, about fantasy football teams. They talked about which players were the ones to bet on and which ones to bench like they were professional sportscasters.
They were deep into stats when I dropped off Diego’s food, which I assumed was why he actually stayed and ate at the bar for a change. I guess when the topic was good enough, he could be social.
Ray came up shortly after and took his usual seat, joining in on the football conversation between Diego and Clint sitting nearby.
Eventually, Diego finished his meal and went back to his post, Clint paid his tab and made his way home, and I was left with Ray.
Since we had slowed down, I had a moment to breathe and catch up. “Frank and Chase have a good time?”
Ray nodded and gave a small smile, letting me know he’d enjoyed his time with them. “Yeah, but Chase has an early flight to catch tomorrow, so he called it a night.”
I saw the notes Ray had jotted down on the napkin in front of him with random sports stuff.
“You thinking of doing one of those fantasy teams like the other two?” I asked.
He snorted and shook his head with a small grin. “Maybe, but I’m not making any bets on their advice.”
That surprised me. “Really? I thought you said they had some good pointers?”
I didn’t know much about football, but I’d eavesdropped enough to hear Ray comment that their picks had promise.
“Clint did, but he also thinks he can catch a ball better than half the Falcons football team. So his advice is a bit skewed.”
I laughed. If there was one thing that was common at sports bars across the country, it was that most men considered themselves Monday morning quarterbacks—smarter than the real players.
“Diego just seems to pick whoever is the favorite that week, but not much basis other than that,” Ray added. “The easy win kind of pick.”
I nodded, because if I were a betting person, I would probably do the same thing.
A couple of hours later, we were all closed up for the night and finally ready to head back to my place.
“I’m glad you had fun with your friends tonight,” I said as we walked out to my car. “What were the exciting topics of the night?”
“Yeah, it was a good time,” he answered, opening my door for me and then walking around to his passenger door before picking up the conversation again once he sat down.
“Frank’s trying to get a guys’ fishing trip together for next summer out west somewhere, and we also talked about me potentially moving. ”
Well, that got my attention.
“Where?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
He gave a small shrug. “Not sure exactly.”
“Don’t move north or you might freeze to death,” I teased.
He rolled his eyes and tried to send a death glare my way, but clearly my body was impenetrable when it came to those.
“Frank’s been doing the heavy sell on Georgia,” he said, and I felt my heartbeat tick up ever so slightly.
“Georgia?” I echoed, trying to come across as low-key interested. “That could be fun. Frank would definitely like that.”
He stared at me, eyeing me thoughtfully. “Is Frank the only one who would like it?”
I knew he was asking to gauge my opinion, and I tried to think of what the best answer was. Did I hedge my bets and play it casual? Or did I tell him how I really felt and that I wanted to give this thing between us a go?
Did I think he liked me? Absolutely, but he didn’t need me. And there was a difference.
“Your friends are all back in Texas,” I pointed out, though he already knew that.
“Yes, but Frank and his family are here,” he countered. “And most of my friends—as proven by Chase—can travel to come see me if they want to, especially since most of their kids are grown up now. Chase actually seems to be on Frank’s side.”
All his points were valid, and I was glad he had friends who were supportive of what he wanted to do. And yes, I was excited as well, knowing that this could give Ray and me the opportunity to see where this thing between us could go.