5 Bikers for Valentines

He nodded and went back to the kitchen without another word. Two birds with one stone. Not only did I get out of dishwashing, I wouldn't have Tommy in my hair all night. Win-win for me. With people already filing into the club and the crowd growing, the night was already starting to show promise. “Casey, I said – ” Leon was right behind me now, his voice making my ears ring

I turned on my heels and stopped him. “Tommy offered to do dishes,” I said. “I'm on the floor. Heading over to relieve Sasha now.”

“Tommy's doing dishes?” he asked, looking completely taken aback.

Hell, nice to see that even old Leon could still be surprised now and then. He looked about as shocked as I felt when Tommy had offered.

“Yep, go ask him yourself if you don't believe me,” I said.

“I might just do that,” he grumbled, trying to quickly compose himself. “But for now, take Sasha's section. Only a few people over there, but they're big spenders – so be on your best behavior.”

Yeah, don't go off on them and tone down the sarcasm. That's what he really meant. We shared a look and I smiled sweetly at him, giving him my best angelic face – an act he clearly wasn't buying, given the sour look on his puss.

“Of course, Leon,” I said anyway. “When am I not?”

“Don't make me answer that.”

He turned and escaped to the back, and just in case Tommy wasn't getting his hands wet in the sink, I hurried off to the section I was assigned. Sasha had her hands full – the poor girl really didn't know how to work a crowd. Not even a small one. I often wondered why she was hired in the first place, but then she'd turn around and show off her D-cup breasts which rested on a tiny size two waist and the answer was more than obvious.

She didn't have to be smart, she just had to look good in the outfit and not fight with the customers. That should be easy enough, I supposed. But hell, even I couldn't handle that last bit half the time. Some of these pricks just need to be put in their places.

“Alright, girly, you're off the clock,” I said.

“Oh, thank goodness,” she said. “A couple rich guys just sat down at that table near the corner. They're just so crude and disgusting. I can't stand them.”

My eyes drifted over toward where Sasha was pointing, and I recognized them instantly. I rolled my eyes and smiled.

“Yeah, I'm familiar with them,” I said. “The blonde guy isn't too bad though, honestly.”

“That's Malcolm Crane, right?”

I nodded. “He's less of an ass than his friend.”

Sasha shrugged. “If you say so. Personally, I think a person's choice of friends says a lot about them.”

Maybe she was right, I thought to myself. Or maybe, it was just an overly-simplistic generalization to make. Personally, I hated to think Malcolm was anything like Greg. In the few, brief interactions we'd had, he seemed to be a decent enough guy. But then, I also barely knew him. Anybody can appear to be decent enough within a small enough sample size.

“You better clock out before Leon throws a fit,” I said. “You know how he feels about overtime.”

Sasha walked off toward the timeclock in the back, leaving me to face the table alone. Greg grinned at me as I approached while Malcolm kept his head down, his eyes focused on the phone in his hand.

“Can't stay away for me, huh?” I teased. “Not even on a Monday evening. I'm flattered, boys.”

I stared at Malcolm, and only Malcolm, when I spoke. He finally looked up from his iPhone to meet my gaze. He flashed me a crooked little smile and there was a strange gleam in his eyes.

“You make it hard to stay away,” he said.

Greg looked at his friend, then back at me, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. For once, he seemed unsure of what to say. Hell, so was I. I didn't expect Malcolm to hit on me or say anything even remotely flirty. That was usually Greg's game.

“The usual for you guys?” I said, clearing my throat.

Malcolm gazed at me with a fierce intensity and I felt the heat creeping into my cheeks. Beneath his scrutiny, I knew I'd be turning a very unnatural shade of red if I didn't get out of there soon. The last thing I wanted them to think was that they intimidated me in any way. I was the tough and unflappable girl. The girl with the sharp with and even sharper tongue. That was my MO and I needed them to keep thinking that.

“Yes, the usual for me,” Malcolm said.

His deep, blue eyes were so intense, I felt like I was drowning in them. A girl could very easily get lost in eyes like that and never find her way out. I swallowed, my words getting stuck in my throat and my thoughts getting muddled in my brain.

Damn, he was having an effect on me.