27. Every Day After #2
Moving in front of the counter, Winnie started restocking the candy. Valerie dipped her head back to the magazine at the girl’s accusatory glance.
“Who does Sal work with here at the Casino Hotel?”
Valerie raised her eyes at the weird tone in Winnie’s voice then tried to hide a knowing smile once she might have realized the source of the question. It didn’t hurt to confirm her thoughts. “Why are you wondering?”
“I’m just curious …” Winnie tried giving an indifferent shrug that Valerie saw right through before coming back behind the counter to sit down on the stool next to hers.
Opening a bag of Starbursts for herself, Valerie’s eyes dropped to the red Starburst in her hand as she started peeling the wrapper.
“I’m stuck in here all the time, and I’m not allowed on the casino floor.
I don’t know much about anything about anyone who works here or what their jobs are. ”
“Join the club,” Valerie huffed out. Sal didn’t want her meeting any of the men who worked here.
While she was allowed on the casino floor, she figured Winnie wasn’t because the girl didn’t look to be twenty-one yet.
The sweet girl was lucky to be eighteen, by the looks of it.
Her flame-orange hair, chubby red cheeks, and freckles really solidified Winnie’s fate of having to be carded until she at least reached thirty years of age.
Watching Winnie choose her next Starburst that matched her flame-colored hair, Valerie’s mouth watered. Everyone knew orange was the best.
“Can I have one?”
Winnie held out her hand with the Starburst in it. “Sure.”
“I know what some of the guys do,” she politely offered after snatching the candy with lightning-fast reflexes to pop it into her mouth. “Others, I don’t.”
Carefully taking out another orange Starburst, Winnie slowly unwrapped the candy with painstaking precision. “I didn’t say I wanted to know about a guy that works here, per se …”
“Please.” Valerie eyed her and the piece of candy. She knew when a girl wanted info on a guy, and this was definitely it. “Now, who is it you are curious about?” Valerie asked before Winnie could place the candy in her mouth.
Slumping her shoulders, the girl finally gave in, “Amo.”
Valerie happily snatched the candy cube. Amo, she definitely had gotten acquainted with. “What would you like to know?”
Winnie sat up straight, losing all pretenses. “What job does he do in the casino?”
She had to think for a moment of what she could tell the girl. “Well, he works on the very bottom floor of the casino.”
“But this is the bottom floor?”
At her confusion, Valerie simply played dumb. “Is it?”
Getting serious, Winnie took out another Starburst before rephrasing her question. It was obvious she knew something shady went on in the Casino Hotel, but she had yet to know what that was. “What’s Amo’s job?”
Yellow. Everyone knew yellow was the worst. “You have any more orange?”
Winnie switched the yellow out for the orange.
“Security guard.” Valerie couldn’t help it; she was easy.
“Really?”
“Yup,” she confirmed, popping the orange square in her mouth without remorse for being bought so easily. “You should see him walking around, checking on all the dealers and making sure everything is on the up and up from time to time.”
Winnie leaned to the side in her chair, trying to take a peek out the giftshop door to look out onto the casino floor. “How come I’ve never seen him?”
“Must be missing him.” Valerie shrugged.
“Interesting.” The girl mulled it over before giving up in trying to find him when she almost fell sideways out of her chair. “That makes sense, considering how b—” Her cheeks grew a brighter red after realizing she had gotten a bit too comfortable speaking. “ Big he is.”
It was hard for Valerie not to chuckle a bit when Winnie forced the last bit of her sentence out, but she didn’t, not wanting to embarrass the sweet young girl.
Seeing her peel the yellow Starburst, Valerie generously didn’t take it from her but eyed the rest of the bag.
She thought about getting up and taking a new bag for herself, but one glance at the trash can, she stopped herself.
She already owed a huge tab on what she’d already eaten, and she had been wanting that bag of Skittles.
“Does he have a girlfriend?” the girl sheepishly mumbled.
It was a question Valerie had to ask many times herself about Sal. Smiling to herself, she didn’t blame the girl, having been in the same predicament herself just a short time ago. But knowledge came at a price … “You got more orange Starbursts?”
Digging in the bag, Winnie held out five.
Damn, she liked this girl.
“You have a serious sugar addition,” Winnie told her with slight concern on her face.
“Tell me about it.” Taking the candy away, Valerie started peeling the wrappers. “What I really want is my vape. Candy replaces the urge.”
“You could replace the urge with healthy alternatives, like celery or carrot sticks,” Winnie offered helpfully.
“I’m using a three-step process to quit. I’m using candy to get over the urge to vape, then when I have that beat, I’ll switch to healthy alternatives.”
Winnie watched her open the last Starburst curiously. “How long has it been since you stopped vaping?”
“ A while …” she finally choked out, too embarrassed to put a number on it.
“I think I’d ditch the three-step process. You’re stuck on step two.”
“You’re right. I need to give serious thought about what my next step should be,” Valerie agreed with her newfound friend, swallowing. “You got any more red ones?”
Winnie held out the bag. “Here; you can have the bag.”
Smiling, she wiggled her brows at her. “Since you’re being so generous, I’ll ask around about Amo just for you.”
Suddenly, the bag was snatched right back out of her hands. “Don’t. I was just being curious. If you ask, then they could assume I like him. I’d die if that happens.”
“I don’t think you’d die …” Valerie retorted when a broad-shouldered man came through the doors.
Jumping off the stool, she shimmied up to the cash register, giving Winnie a wink. “I got you, girl.”
“Valerie, please don’t embarrass me!” Winnie hissed from beside her, trying to shove her out of the way.
Elbowing her back, Valerie shot her a warning glance, pointing at the stool. “Sit.”
Pivoting back, she saw Amo coming to the counter and played it cool. “How’s it going, Amo?”
“Good.”
Valerie started ringing up the pack of gum, chips, and two Gatorades, like she had done it a million times before. Welp, there went trying to get out of ringing up the next five customers. “Feeling dehydrated?”
Amo didn’t break a smile at her friendly chatter, and he didn’t answer her question either. So, she decided to try a different tactic after looking over secretly at Winnie.
“Sal and I are planning on going to a movie this weekend. If you have a girlfriend, we could do a double date. It’s more fun to go with another couple.”
Amo held out his credit card to tap it on the machine. “What’s the movie?”
Valerie had to quickly think what was out and what the big oaf would want to see, as well. “ Mission Impossible .”
“What night are you wanting to go?”
Why couldn’t he just answer the fucking question with a yes or no? Now she had to think of the best night that he would actually want to go. Friday and Saturday would be busy, and Amo would have to work, so would Sal. “Sunday.”
“I have to work Sunda—”
“We could go another night,” she quickly offered before rambling on. “I’ll ask Sal what other night would be good for him. So, are you up for a double date? Do you need to check with your girlfriend what night she’s available?”
“You’re better off asking someone else,” Amo told her unhelpfully. “Nero and Vincent are scheduled for the day shifts. Elle or Lake love going to the movies, but I don’t see them wanting to see Mission Impossible .”
“Exactly why I didn’t ask them …” she mumbled, feeling just as defeated as poor Winnie looked.
“You could ask—”
“Never mind,” Valerie cut him off, giving up on her own mission impossible. Amo was helpless. “I’ll leave it up to Sal. He can figure it out. Have a nice day.”
Grabbing his drinks and his other purchases, Amo left them staring after him.
Valerie turned back to Winnie. “Are you sure you like him? I think he’s a dick.” How the man couldn’t see Winnie was in love with him by a single look defied her imagination. Boys, they’re so oblivious.
“I didn’t say I liked him.” Turning bright red, Winnie started putting out some keychains. “Only that I was curious about him.”
“You know the first thing that attracted me to Sal?”
The girl looked back at her. “No, what?”
“How hot he was,” she confided. “Of course, I had to get past the strong and silent part of his personality.”
“Amo is hot.” Red seeped down from her cheeks to her chest as her head hung low. “Too bad he doesn’t even know I’m alive.”
“You know that isn’t true,” she tried consoling the lovesick girl. “It’s not like he thinks a robot is ringing him up when he comes in here.”
“I might as well be a robot—a fat robot.” Glumly, she picked up one of the keychains to play with. “He probably has a lot of women he goes out with that are prettier than me.”
“You’re very pretty.” Valerie stared her down intently to make sure the girl understood that.
Life was already hard for a girl in this cruel world; adding societal pressures on women of needing to fit inside a box of what was pretty by societies pressures didn’t help.
She knew that better than anyone, considering how she dressed.
However, men were dumb dogs, and Valerie didn’t want to get her hopes to high.
She didn’t know anything about Amo’s personal life. He could have a steady girlfriend, and it wouldn’t be fair to raise Winnie’s hopes up if there was no chance of getting with him. It was obvious her confidence was already a bit low by the way Winnie talked about herself.
“Besides looks shouldn’t matter, anyway.”