Enlightening, Kade, every time you come here. It's always so enlightening." She caught my gaze. "You can stay for awhile if you'd like. You never took your half hour for supper."
When she went inside, I was surprised to see Logan grinning at them.
"She was joking."
He lifted a shoulder. "I don't care. Jax can be hella hot. I forgot how much fun it is to mess with her."
"You were friends with her?"
"Somewhat. She was best friends with Tate."
My gaze shot to his. "What?"
He nodded as his grin thinned.
"Tate as in the Tate that you dated for two years, that you loved, that tried to cheat on you with Mason?"
He nodded before yawning, "Yeah, that Tate. She wasn't always the prissy bitch you met a few months ago, Sam. Tate was cool. I wouldn't have dated anyone who wasn't cool. Her and Heather had been friends for years."
My eyes widened. "Did she used to work here?"
His lips pressed together, but he didn't say anything.
"Oh god. She did, didn't she?"
Then laughter boiled out of him. He slid further in his chair with a wicked smile. "Yeah, she worked here. She quit after she'd been with me for a year, that was when she became the bitch you met a few months ago."
"She wasn't before?"
"Nah, not until she became obsessed with Mason, then she became one." The wicked glint in his eye depleted as memories rolled over him. His voice grew softer. "Tate was really laidback at first, but she wouldn't stand for any bullshit. She never let the guys mess with her, not even me. I think that's why I liked her. She knew what she wanted and she went after it."
"You?"
The humor was gone now. "No, Mason. She wanted him. I was the means to get to him. I should've recognized the signs earlier than I did, but I don't think I wanted to see them. She talked about how Mason was the alpha male at school. She'd say things about how every person needed their other half, that they were supposed to be equals. That's about the time that she started to become more of a bitch to everyone. She tried to become the female alpha that was his equal, I guess. When she became friends with Kate and Parker, that crew, her and Heather parted ways. Tate was awesome in bed. I was getting great sex so I didn't put two and two together until Mason called me from his room." His jaw clenched.
I could see the anger and hurt still there.
"She used me. That girl used me, straight out. She was a cold bitch the first time we slept together. But to give her some credit," he winced, "I don't think she counted on me actually falling for her. But that first night lasted to two, then three. I was taking her on dates, coming here to hang out with her."
"That's why you and Brandon acted like long-lost friends."
He nodded. "I guess. I don't know. I always liked Brandon. He was cool to hang out with." He flashed me a dimple. "He got us free alcohol, you know. Even when we were sophomores. I think his older brother was running the bar then, but Brandon still snuck a keg for us." He paused. "Or two."
The door opened then and Brandon popped his head out. "Hey, Sam. My sis needs your help."
"Okay." With a small smile at Logan, I headed inside. I wasn't sure how I felt about everything he had revealed, but I couldn't dwell on it. As I stepped through the door, my eyes got big. The crowd had doubled. Then I saw Mason and Nate come in through the door. Great, they brought the entire party from the house here.
Brandon was still in the doorway, but I looked around him to Logan. "Everyone from the house is here."
He sat up straight in his chair. "Everyone?"
I nodded. "Yep, Mason and Nate brought everyone."
Oh joy.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
When the dishwasher had to go home for a family emergency, I offered to take his place. I wanted to avoid the extra attention. Time flew after that. Bins of dishes were pushed through the window. I hurried to wash them, get them dried, and back into place for the cook. After two more hours, it didn't look to be lessening, and I heard Heather sigh as she picked up the phone. She was calling in reinforcements. Another girl came in to be a server, and there was another cook in the kitchen. At one point, Heather stuck her head through the window to where I stood and asked if it was okay if I did dishes for the rest of the night.
I nodded. Hell, I was relieved.
At one point, the new server that I hadn't met snapped at me. I'd been stacking the dishes and didn't get out of her way fast enough. I ducked back into the kitchen, but heard Lily hiss, "Watch it, that's Mason Kade's girlfriend."
"What?" the new server exclaimed. "Are you kidding me?"
Lily whispered to her, "Don't worry. She seems really nice."
"Oh." The girl mumbled something else to her, but I couldn't hear anymore. They moved away from my window.
"I thought you were a waitress?"
Mason stood in the back doorway with an odd grin. As he came closer, he reached for an apron and tied it around his waist. His eyes were glazed over.
I snorted, reaching for more plates to pile on the crate. "You're drunk."
He settled beside me and sighed. "Yeah, a bit." Then he bent down and placed a soft kiss on my shoulder.
I wanted to melt into him, and I did, for a second. Then I pulled away and began lining up the plates in their slots again. "Frank had to go home so I volunteered to take his place. What are you doing back here?"
He narrowed his eyes at me. "You like it back here, don't you?"
"Yeah," I confessed. "I kind of do."
He reached out and brushed some hair back from my forehead. When he leaned close again, I felt his lips there and snuggled against him.
"Employees only, Kade!" Heather rapped on the window. "Out."
He wrapped an arm around my waist. "Make me, Jax."
"Are you serious?" She shifted and one hand went to her hip.
I hid a grin at the movement. After watching her yesterday and today, that was what she did when she was all business. She'd shift back on her left heel, her hand went to her hip, and she narrowed her eyes at whoever was giving her trouble. Her elbow stuck out when she really meant business. She did it all now, but then threw both hands in the air. "Fine. Fine. Just actually help your girl. If you distract her and we get behind because we have no dishes, I'm throwing you out."
"Whatever."
"Don't think I won't call a few of Brad's buddies. They're bigger than you, Kade."
He chuckled but sighed when she narrowed her eyes again in a warning. "Fine. Yes, I'll help her. Why do you think I'm here?"
"You're here to see your girl. When your posse came in, she went back there so then you had to go back there to see her. I'm not a moron, Kade. I know why you're back there, and I don't want any sex going on in my diner. You hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"My diner, Kade!"
"I get it," he barked back now. "Your diner, your job. My girlfriend."
She stuck out her chin at him. "She's my worker and she's my friend."
Mason grew stiff beside me. I wasn't surprised when his next words came out as a threat, "I already told you I'll help her back here. If you keep talking to me like that, you and I are going to have a real problem."
I knew neither of these two would back down so I moved Mason to the back end of the dishwasher. Ignoring Heather's hawk-like scrutiny, I lifted the door and pulled out the crate that'd been washed. "You need to wait until they're all dry and then stack them in those places over there."
He glanced to where I pointed and nodded. All the other dishes were easy to see. As he started to dry, I went back to loading more dishes onto the crates to put through the washer. Heather hadn't moved.
"Sam," she started.
My hand shot in the air. "Don't. If I was dating Logan and he were back here, you wouldn't care. I know you don't like Mason, but I love him. He's being a good guy right now. If you think that I would let my relationship interfere with my job, then I need to show you that's not who I am. I am sorry
about being late today, but you have my word it will never happen again."
Her hand fell from her hip again and her shoulders dropped. "I'm sorry. I was being a bitch." She chewed on her lip for a second before she gave me a sheepish grin. "I kind of think I'm in love with you myself. I get it now. I see why those two care so much about you." Her eyes twinkled in humor. "If I were a lesbian, I'd want you as my girlfriend. I have a straight boner for you, Sam. Hot damn."
Mason cursed behind me.
Her smile widened even more before she left.
When I heard a groan behind me, I turned. "What?"
Mason had a towel in one hand and a bowl in the other. He glared at me now. "She's going to be your new best friend, isn't she?"
I straightened at his words. Was she? Then I shrugged. "I have no idea. Would that bother you?"
He rolled his eyes. "Your friends are either scared of me, want to screw me, or think I'm an asshole. Can't you find some girl who is just a good friend to you? Who doesn't care that I'm your boyfriend?"
A snort came out of me. "Please. Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? One, you are an asshole. Two, a lot of girls want to screw you. And three, if they don't fall into those two slots then they're going to be scared of you, like Becky was."
He grimaced as he reached for another mixing bowl to dry. "I just don't like feeling that I can't be around my girlfriend. I'm sick of having to jump through hoops and sneak around to be with you."
My voice softened. "If what you say is true and Heather and I become good friends, she might turn into that girl who doesn't care about you. She's looking at you through the same lens as everyone else right now. She hasn't seen you with me enough to know how good you treat me. And she's not my mom."
His shoulders relaxed. "Yeah, I know." Then his eyes shot back to me again. "Things aren't done with your mom, you know. We're just in the waiting stage while she regroups." He moved to put the dishes away. When he came back, I pushed another load out of the washer for him. He picked up a plate and leaned back against the wall as he dried it. "My dad's suspicious of her now so she'll focus on him and play nice for awhile. Once she's got him brain-dumb again, she'll start back on you."
I felt stabbed in the gut. I'd always be her second priority. The man was number one.
"Hey," Mason called over, his voice soft again. "You okay?"
I nodded, but I couldn't speak. The emotions were choking me again.
"I said something wrong?"
I shook my head, turning to load more dishes onto the crates. When the washer beeped another cycle, I avoided his gaze and pushed another crate through. He didn't push me, and slowly the emotions started to settle down again. We worked in silence for awhile, maybe an hour, before I noticed that the dishes had stopped piling up so much.
"What the hell, man?" Logan's voice made us both jump as he boomed through the window. "You're both back there? I want to go back there."
Mason came up behind me. I felt his heat as he pressed against me, but he didn't slide his arms around me how I expected. Disappointment flared in me. Then he spoke over my shoulder, "Where's Nate?"
Logan bristled, "Who cares? I don't know. He's with Parker, I think."
Tension replaced my disappointment. Those girls were here too? Did everyone go where Mason and Logan went?
Mason's hand splayed out on the small of my back. I knew he felt how stiff I became at the mention of those girls, but he didn't say anything. For that, I was relieved. Instead, he asked, "When's everyone heading out?"
Logan rolled his eyes and threw an irritated glance over his shoulder. "I think they're all waiting to see what we do. What are you thinking?"
His arms slid around my waist, and I was finally pulled back into him. I breathed a little easier. As he spoke, I felt the rumbling through his chest. "Tell Ethan to have the party at his place."
Logan's eyebrow arched.
Mason's voice had an edge to it. "Why do they always have to be at Nate's? That's our home too. We only had people over to the house when we wanted them."
"Nate initiated the open-door policy."
Mason bit back a growl, but his hand clamped tighter on my waist. "He only did that for us. He'll do whatever we say—"
"Whatever you say, you mean."
"Whatever!" He growled now at his brother. "What's your problem? You've been pissy all day."
My eyes went wide. I knew Logan was just waiting for an opening to start something and Mason had given it to him, but now was not the time or the place. "Okay." I turned and shoved Mason back, then gave Logan a meaningful look. "Get everybody out of here. We'll come to the party when I'm done with work, but I would enjoy a quiet house tonight."
"Yeah. Okay," he grumbled before he glowered at me. Then he sighed and left to do my bidding.
"What was that about?"
I glared at Mason. "Not now, and you know what that was about. Don't play stupid with me."
His head reared back, but a slow smile grew across his face. His eyes darkened, and he licked his lips when he took a step towards me. "I forgot how hot you can get when you're mad at me. You sure about the no sex at work?"
"Mason!"
He laughed but moved back to finish the dishes.
When everyone left and the kitchen closed, Heather assigned me two tables in the bar section. That was fine with me. The other server and Anne were released to leave for the night, leaving Heather, Lily, and me for staff alongside Brandon, who was still behind the bar. As the night drew to a close, I grinned as Mason, Brandon, and Gus watched a game on the television. A few girls remained, all whom were captivated by the guys at the bar. When they wandered over and perched on seats, I knew why Mason chose to sit near one end. The girls were on the other side of Gus, who choked on his drink when the first smiled at him. The other two craned their necks around to see Mason, but he was the good boyfriend. His gaze remained trained on the game, even when two of the girls started a conversation about the game. Brandon was the first to join. He poured their drinks and answered each giggling question they sent his way. Gus piped up too, and when my last customers left, I couldn't stop from watching the show.
"Ah." Heather jumped on the stool next to me as her last table left. "Gus loves when we close. He comes in late sometimes and hangs out with Brandon because he knows that's his best time to get a girl. They're so drunk by then, and he thinks that Brandon makes him look better for his chances. He's in heaven tonight, sitting beside the god-like Mason Kade."
I heard the cynicism and frowned. "You really don't like Mason, do you?"
She hesitated, but then shrugged. "I…I'll be honest, I can't be objective with him. He's the reason Tate isn't around and why she and I stopped being friends. But I like you and you like him and he likes you, so I'm woman enough to say that maybe there's more to him than the asshole everyone says he is."
"With a referral like that, who wouldn't want to get to know him," I teased, but sat up straighter when one of the girls took a deep breath and walked around Gus. She approached Mason, who still hadn't taken his eyes off the television. As she slid onto the one open stool beside him, he still didn't look over. He yawned, instead.
Heather choked on a laugh. She hit her chest and bent over, her shoulders shaking. "Man, if that's not a burn then I don't know what is. The girl is stupid."
Lily stopped on the other side of the counter with a washcloth in hand. "I think she's being brave." Her eyes met mine, and she gave me a timid smile. "I know he's your boyfriend, but a lot of girls don't believe it. She's being brave. She's going for it."
Heather snorted, "She's going to crash and burn. Mason has never been open to cold approaches. Logan, on the other hand, doesn't give a damn, but not that Kade. That Kade has whipped out some doozies for rejections. You know many girls I've found crying in the bathroom?"