When I got to the club, I sat in my car for a minute and took a few deep breaths. After I pulled myself together, I put on a brave face and headed inside. I was just about to step behind the counter when Country called out to me. “Holy Batman, woman. You got somebody you’re trying to impress?”
“What?”
His eyes skirted over me playfully as he teased. “You’re looking fifty shades of fucking hot.”
“I look the same as I always do, Country.”
“Bullshit.” He cocked his eyebrow as he continued, “You’re all dolled up like it’s fucking prom night. There’s gotta be a reason, so spill it. What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing. I just decided to fix up a little. That’s all.”
“You did more than fix up a little. Damn, that ass-hugging skirt you got on there is definitely gonna turn some heads.” His eyes slowly skirted over me as he pressed, “Fuck, I’m not even sure that little thing right there counts as a skirt. Looks more like a tube sock if you ask me.”
“Well, no one asked you, so just drop it.”
“Hmm...You and I both know that’s not gonna happen.” A mischievous smirk crossed his face as he said, “Damn, just wait until Rafe gets a look at you. Poor guy’s not gonna know what hit him.”
“What-ever. He’s not a complete perv like you, so I doubt he’ll even notice.”
“Oh, he’ll fucking notice. You just wait and see.”
I rolled my eyes and tried to redirect his thoughts. “Don’t you have some work you need to be doing or something?”
“Nah, I’m all caught up.” He sat down on one of the empty stools as he announced, “Don’t know if you heard, but we got Gladys moved into her new place.”
“Yeah, Rafe told me.” I started prepping for the night ahead as I asked him, “How’s she liking being at Ada’s place?”
“From the sounds of it, she’s liking it a lot. They’ve really been hitting it off.”
“That’s great. I’m really glad to hear it.” I took a beer out of the cooler and placed it on the counter in front of him. “I’ll have to get Rafe to take me over there and see her soon.”
“She’d really like that.”
I turned my back just long enough to start filling the garnish tray, and when I turned back around, I was surprised to find Rafe standing there staring at me like I had three heads. Normally, he’d greet me with a playful smile or wink and ask me how it was going, but today there was no playful greeting. Instead, I was welcomed with the scowl of a lifetime. Remembering his earlier warning, I glanced over at Country and wasn’t surprised to see that his eyes were wide and his cheeks were beet red. The guy looked like he was about to explode into laughter as he mouthed, “I told you.”
“Ummm ... Hey, Rafe.”
“Hey, Marlowe.” Rafe studied me for a moment, then asked, “Something going on that I’m not aware of?”
“Not sure what you mean.”
“Hmm, pretty sure that you do.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Country leaned over and snickered. “I tried to tell her.”
“I don’t have time for this. The doors open in ten.” I huffed. “So, if you two don’t mind, I have things I need to do.”
Pretending that Rafe wasn’t glaring a hole through me, I turned and went back to filling the prep trays. I was sorting the plastic toothpicks when I felt the heat of Rafe’s breath on my neck. “I don’t know what’s going on here with you, but I don’t like it. I don’t like it one fucking bit.”
“Nothing, Rafe. You’re making a big deal out of nothing. Seriously.”
“I don’t think so.” He stood there waiting for me to open up, but I remained silent. After several minutes, he finally said, “Come on, Marlowe. Just tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”
There was something about his tone that made the knot in my stomach grow even tighter. I didn’t want him to be angry with me. I just wanted to get through my visit with Kate without my heart shattering into a million pieces. I didn’t know how to explain to him my appearance was just my crazy way of shielding myself from all the hurt and pain I knew was coming. It was just too absurd to put into words, so I did the only thing I knew. I turned the tables on him. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing, Rafe. It’s giving me a damn complex, so can you please just drop it?”
I was worried he was going to keep pushing, but he didn’t. Instead, he simply kissed me on the forehead and walked away, leaving me alone with that ever-growing knot in my damn stomach. Thankfully, it was a Thursday night, so things were starting to pick up for the weekend ahead, and I was able to keep myself distracted—until Kate and Eric showed up. The second they walked in it was like a dark, heavy cloud fell over me, and it was all I could do to force a smile as they started towards me. Kate looked incredible as always. She was wearing a short gold sequin dress that hugged every curve and made her perky breasts look even more perfect, and her long blonde hair was flowing down around her shoulders. Eric was wearing a freshly ironed, white button-down with a pair of black slacks. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, but purposefully so.