Captain’s
one
captain’s
Marlowe
The jackasses threw the trashcan outside. I was absolutely done.
Normally, working doubles at Captain’s was great. You got solid tips and the night went by fast. But lately, idiots like these guys were coming in, and I was so sick of putting up with their bullshit.
“Naomi, I can’t do it tonight. Please, for the love of god.” Looking up at my best friend with pleading eyes, she relented.
A sinister smile appeared on her face, and she narrowed her eyes.
Her perfectly painted black lipstick didn’t budge when she licked her lips.
“Oh, I’m gonna have so much fun with them then.
” She tossed a glance over her shoulder at the guys who were now trying to reach over the bar to the liquor bottles we had lined up at the well.
They would be gone soon enough. Naomi grabbed bar napkins and moved to stand in front of the four guys.
“Alright fuckers, what we aren’t going to do is lean over my bar.
If you want to drink, tell me what you want.
If you want to get kicked out, keep pulling that shit, and I’ll show you the door. ”
Naomi was my best fucking friend. We had been working at Captain’s together for almost three years.
And even though she was technically my boss as the bar manager, we still treated each other with friendly respect and knew where the lines were drawn.
I agreed to work a double tonight, desperately needing the money.
TJ, the new bartender and worthless piece of shit he was, had called out again.
Our boss Dave sat down at the barstool at the end of the counter. His usual glass of ginger ale in hand. “You doing okay, Mar?” I nodded, grabbing the soda gun to top off his drink. “Thanks again for staying tonight. I’m sure you weren’t planning on it, but we really appreciate the help.”
Placing the gun back in the holder, I shrugged.
“Honestly, I didn’t have any plans, and Naomi knows I need the money, so I don’t mind.
But what are you going to do about TJ? We need the help, Dave.
But we need reliable help. The two of us can’t keep this up.
” I turned to look at Naomi, who was expertly pouring beers from the draft behind the bar.
The party of guys gawked at her. Captain’s was continuing to gain popularity in town, especially on the weekends.
“I know, Marlowe. I appreciate you two more than you realize. I’m going to talk to him after his shift tomorrow, and tell him it will be his last. If he doesn’t come in, I’ll just tell him not to bother coming back.”
“I’ll ask around. See if I can find anyone who would be good.” The corners of my lips tugged up in a small smile before I walked away to clear some empty glasses from the bar top.
The dive bar had been a staple in our town for over 30 years, and Dave had really turned it around, making it a spot that locals flocked to every week.
Not to mention, he had converted a space next door into a small music venue attached to the main bar.
It was the only spot that booked local bands, and he even had radio stations bring in some bigger groups to play surprise shows to feature on their stations.
They left memorabilia and signed the walls when they came.
It had turned Captain’s into a museum over the years.
The small bar had become a big sensation in our podunk town.
I was restocking glasses behind the bar when I heard the door open, and a couple of people sat down at the bar right behind me.
Piercing green eyes stunned me when I turned.
Dexter and Rich had occupied two of the bar stools.
I hadn’t seen Dexter much since that night a few months ago, and truthfully didn’t really know how to act around him.
Part of me wanted to act like it never happened.
But in all honesty, I didn’t want to forget it. Ever.
“Hey guys,” my voice was cheerful. The normal voice I used when working with customers behind the bar, but my heart was pounding, and I did my best not to stare at Dexter. “Your usual?”
“Please, Marlowe,” Rich was the one who answered.
He was always super friendly, and I knew it was because he harbored not-so-secret feelings for my best friend.
He tried to stay on my good side. He always brought me my favorite pizza to band meetings, so I always added some grenadine to his rum and Coke.
After setting the drinks in front of the guys, I continued my work behind the bar, and Naomi joined me a minute later.
She was mumbling under her breath about how annoying the other guys were and that they better leave her a good tip.
We joked and laughed about them. The preppy guys who fawned over us because they had some kind of obsession with alternative women, but in reality they were terrified of anyone who looked the way we did.
Especially Naomi. Something about a tall chick in black lipstick set these guys off.
They would fall to their knees for her, but the moment she talked to them, they were like putty in her hands.
Naomi and I moved with practiced ease as the night progressed.
Dave jumped behind the bar now and then to help clear empty glasses when parties left so that we could help the newcomers.
There was a steady flow of customers through the night.
Regulars greeted the three of us as they came in.
The night went by in a flash, and we were getting ready to close.
“Those fuckers only gave me a five-dollar tip.” Naomi shoved the bill in her back pocket.
I had just given Dexter and Rich fresh drinks, and I turned to look at my friend. “You’re kidding me? They were here for like three hours.”
“Yeah, their tab was almost $200. Fucking assholes.”
“No shit, seriously? God, that’s annoying.” I rolled my eyes and wiped the counter down before looking at Dex and Rich. “That’s last call. Do you guys want another before I close you out?”
Dexter sat his glass down and shook his head lightly. “That’s okay, Mar.”
I nodded and turned around to the computer to cash them out. The receipt printed and I set it between the guys. “No rush.” I smiled at Dexter. Rich was fixated on Naomi, as he normally was when he was here.
“We’ll hang out until you two leave, if that’s cool. This one clearly doesn’t want to leave anytime soon.” Dexter nodded over to Rich.
Chuckling, I set a couple of waters in front of each of them. “Sure thing. Once that group over there leaves, we just need to clean up, then we will be out. Dave will probably leave sooner if you two are going to stay with us.”
Once all the customers were gone, except for the guys, I let Dave know they were staying until we left.
He thanked them for hanging back with us and made sure we were comfortable with him heading home.
When we begged him to head home, he finally relented.
Dave was the best boss and the best thing to happen to Captain’s.
But he also had a baby at home, and we knew his wife would appreciate him getting home a little earlier than she anticipated tonight.
“Thank you two. We won’t be much longer.” Naomi grabbed a broom, went out onto the floor, and began sweeping.
Rich stood immediately. “No, I’ll do it.” He grabbed the broom and dustpan from her and took over. Naomi just shrugged and walked away, meeting me back behind the bar.
“You know that man has it bad for you,” I said, nudging her with my shoulder.
Naomi huffed a laugh, “Oh, I know.” The slight smile that formed on her face said something that I couldn’t quite decode.
Rich swept and fixed the chairs at the bar. I had set a sanitized cloth on the far end of the bar to wipe it down a few moments ago. When I went to wipe down the bar, I noticed Dexter was already halfway done.
“Dex, you don’t have to do that.”
He stopped right in front of me and leveled his eyes with mine. The piercing green of his irises swirled with intensity. He dropped his head, and a few dark pieces of hair fell in his face before he looked up again, a giant smile gracing his face. “Let me help. Please.”
There was no way I could say no to that face. Throwing my hands up in submission, I turned my back to help clean up the back of the bar. Music still played loud over the speakers in the bar. Naomi leaned over to me. “What the fuck is going on there?” She eyed Dexter behind me.
I bit my lip and closed my eyes, taking a deep, steadying breath.
“There’s something I need to tell you, but I can’t right now.
” Turning, I looked at Dexter, who was diligently wiping down the bartop.
When I looked at Naomi, her eyes were wide, and her jaw had dropped.
Slapping her shoulder, I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the stockroom with me.
Standing among the boxes of liquor bottles and kegs, I looked up at my best friend and told her the secret I had been hiding for three months.
“Don’t say a fucking word, Naomi, I swear to god.
” She made a show of zipping her lips shut.
“I can’t get into the details right now, but remember that party at Dex and Bunny’s a few months ago, the one you couldn’t go to?
” She nodded, clearly remembering. “Long story short, I’ll fill you in on everything another time, but me, Dex, and Bunny hooked up. ”
Naomi’s eyes went wide, and she just stared at me. Completely shocked.
“I know. I haven’t really seen or talked to either of them since then.
This is the longest I’ve been around Dexter since, and I haven’t even seen Bunny.
Which is kinda weird actually. So of course I’m overthinking everything.
But, yeah.” I grabbed her hand to pull her back out to the main area of the bar where the guys were.
“Wait, wait,” she whispered. “You three didn’t talk about it after it happened?”
“Naomi, we were so drunk. I don’t think we even realized it was happening until it was actually happening.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah. Now let’s go back out there before things look weird.”
When we emerged from the back, Dexter and Rich were standing to the side of the bar, drinking their waters and talking. Rich looked at us and asked if there was anything else they could do to help. The four of us finished the closing duties and got ready to leave.
We walked into the parking lot, going our separate ways to our cars.
Dexter had parked next to my beat-up Honda.
It really was on its last leg. I felt blessed every day when the car actually started.
Naomi honked as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.
Sticking the key in the ignition, I said a silent prayer as I turned it.
Nothing happened. “Oh for fucksake.” Trying again, nothing.
“Please…” I kept turning the key as if a miracle would happen, but clearly the thing wasn’t going to start.
Dexter appeared at my door with a knock on the window. His smooth, deep voice was intoxicating. “Want a ride home?”
Sighing heavily, I looked up at him. “I think I just need a jump.”
“It’s late, Mar, just leave it here. I’ll bring you back tomorrow to jump it and get you a new battery or whatever it needs. Let me take you home.” He stepped back and opened the door wider for me. Grabbing my purse from the passenger seat, I locked the door and followed Dexter to his car.
Rich climbed in the backseat. “You ride up front, Marlowe. I’m going to take a nap.”
“Dude, it’s like ten minutes until we get to your place, even with dropping her off.”
“Fuck off, I’m tired.” Rich curled up in the backseat using a jacket as a pillow.
Dexter rolled his eyes. We got in the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
93.3 Thrash Radio, our local alternative rock radio station, played low in the car on the short drive.
Once we arrived at my house, a single-wide trailer I shared with my sister, I looked over at Dexter. “Thanks for the ride. I appreciate it.”
“Anytime, Mar. Really.” His smile was genuine, and it brought me back to the night at his place with Bunny. The admiring way they both looked at me. Biting my lip, I turned and got out of the car, gently shutting the door.
I could hear yelling coming from inside the house. My sister’s boyfriend was here, and they were fighting again. Closing my eyes, I took a deep, steadying breath and walked up the stairs to the front door.