Chapter 16: Chapter 16

LEXI

By the time Lexi finished her assignment and mailed it to her professor, it was almost time for her to leave for work. Just then, her best friend walked in with food.

“Dray, I’ve got pizza!” Reece announced from the doorway.

Before joining her friend, Lexi walked to her room to finish getting ready. She was told to wear black shorts, a black crop top, and sneakers, but there was no way in hell she was going to do that. Instead, she picked out black skinny jeans, a black Hanes T-shirt, and sneakers.

When Reece came to her room and stood in the doorway, Lexi rolled her eyes at her. “Don’t start, okay?”

Reece held a slice of pizza up to her lips. “I didn’t say anything.”

Lexi reached for a slice and then took a huge bite. “You were about to,” she said with her mouth full.

Reece walked in and sat on Lexi’s bed. “I really don’t think you should wear this. You didn’t even put makeup on. Los has a company policy on what the girls are supposed to look like. I promised him you were gorgeous and sexy, but this outfit doesn’t say gorgeous and sexy.”

Lexi rolled her eyes again. “Well, I’m not wearing booty shorts, so forget it.”

Reece placed the box of pizza on the bed and then disappeared for a few minutes. When she returned, she was carrying her curling iron and makeup bag. She washed her hands and began working.

In ten minutes, Lexi was glowing like an airbrushed princess. She had on light foundation, smoky eyeshadow, and matte-red lipstick. She even had big, sexy curls in her hair.

Reece tucked the left side behind Lexi’s ear so that the right side was hanging over her eye. She even took her small diamond studs earrings out of her own ears and placed them in Lexi’s.

Somehow her best friend made her look sexy and beautiful, as well as modest and innocent.

Reece smiled in approval.

“Are you done, mother?” Lexi giggled as she finished off her second slice of pizza.

Reece tapped her chin and looked her up and down.

“Let’s tie your shirt into a knot.”

Lexi’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Not too high up, just below your navel. You’ll still be the most covered employee there.” Before Lexi could protest further, Reece began tying her T-shirt into a knot. “For starters, your boobs are covered, and so are your legs. All the other girls will be next to naked—that’s how Maker’s bartenders and waitresses dress.

“You said you wanted to work, but you don’t want to abide by the dress code. Have you ever seen a Hooter’s girl wearing whatever she wants to work?”

After her best friend was finished lecturing, Lexi went to the full mirror. She blushed at the quick transformation.

“You look like a shiny toy. If I was a man, I’d definitely want to play with you,” Reece flirted with a wink.

Lexi giggled and hugged her tightly. “Can you drop me off, please?”

Reece nodded and released her. “C’mon, let me grab my keys.”

It took approximately six minutes to get to Maker’s by car. Reece parked on the side of the street.

Lexi looked over at her curiously. “Are you coming in?”

Her best friend made a disgusted face. “No, girl. I’m distancing myself from Los. What we do isn’t a relationship, and he keeps acting like we’re together.”

~You know I don’t date for real. We have fun, then we go our separate ways. That’s the deal. What would I want to date someone seriously? So they could get my head and heart all fucked up? No, thank you.”

Lexi nodded, thinking of Daniel. ~You two have a lot in common.~

Reece gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll pick you up after your shift—just call me. I’m gonna be home tonight buying and selling stocks online.”

Nodding again, Lexi exited the car and crossed the street.

***

Maker’s Café was very different at night than on Sunday morning. The music and customers’ chatter could be heard from a block away. The stage dancers wore skimpy carnival outfits, which didn’t really go with the island decorations, and the bartenders and waitresses wore short shorts and crop tops, just like Reece had said.

When Lexi entered the main area and nervously scanned the packed room, a man of about fifty said, “I could spot you in a sea of people.” He wore a crooked smile.

~Carlos. Los~.

“Hello, I’m…uh—”

Before she could finish, the man said, “I know who you are. The question is, what the fuck are you wearing?”

Lexi was so shocked, she couldn’t speak. ~Is he allowed to curse at me?~

“I was very specific about the dress code. You’ll be working at a bar, not a goddamn synagogue.” Carlos didn’t hold back as he yelled loudly over the music. “Why are you so covered up? Is it winter?”

He continued, “There should be shorts in the back that might fit you. Go change and get ready to start your training.”

Lexi shook her head and folded her arms in defiance. “No,” she said with a straight face.

Carlos was clearly about to blow a gasket when a customer approached them. He was wearing an expensive suit.

“Wow, fresh meat. I like her, Carlos. Make sure she serves my table personally.” The man sounded drunk. “She looks like a white little snow fox. Pure and innocent. I can’t help but feel like I’d enjoy dirtying her up.”

Lexi had a suspicion that he wasn’t an ordinary customer, a suspicion that was confirmed when Carlos smiled and lied through his teeth. “I know, right? She’s my new bartender and waitress. I was just telling her that I like the wholesome look she brought to the bar. Very teasing and appealing indeed.”

When the customer walked back to his table, Carlos pulled Lexi forward and whispered in her ear. “He’s my most frequent customer. Spends more than ten thousand dollars every night. Go to the bar and ask one of the girls what to do, then go serve his table. Don’t fuck this up, or you’re fired!”

He released her and walked away.

Lexi stood motionless for a second. Her brain just couldn’t catch up to the speed at which everything seemed to be moving.

Eventually, her legs got the message, and she moved over to the bar.

“H-Hi. I’m Lexi,” she introduced herself to the two girls working behind the counter. “Carlos sent me over here to learn what to do,” she added more confidently, but they both ignored her.

Lexi tapped one of their shoulders and then pointed to the customer sitting at one of the VIP tables. “Carlos told me to serve that guy. What do I do?”

Those must have been the magic words because they both stopped what they were doing and rushed toward her.

“Hi, sorry. We’ll teach you. Come.”

And just like that, they showed her the top-shelf liquor that the customer liked, they gave her tips on how to serve him, and they even showed her how to hold the tray and carry the shot glasses between her fingers. Luckily, Lexi wasn’t a moron, so she picked up everything immediately.

One of the girls placed a bottle of high-priced bourbon on top of a tray, as well as a glass with four ice cubes. “Go,” she said.

Lexi shyly walked to the customer’s table and carefully placed the tray down. As she opened the bottle of bourbon like one of the girls had shown her, she felt proud to have learned what to do in such a short period of time.

“Baby, come have a seat.” The customer pulled Lexi down to sit beside him. Luckily, the girls had already walked her through his habit of drinking with employees.

“I don’t drink,” she said before he could ask. It wasn’t a full lie; she does drink, just not with him. “It’s unprofessional. You paid for great service, and it wouldn’t be great service if I got drunk and threw up on you.”

The man burst out laughing. “I bet your boyfriend feels like a lucky bastard.”

Lexi wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or sarcasm, so she asked him to clarify. “What do you mean by that?”

“He gets a woman who looks like an innocent angel and a vixen all rolled into one.” The man stared at her with lust in his eyes.

Lexi was about to say, “~I don’t have a boyfriend,” when a frightening voice snapped at her.

“Get up before I break your fucking legs!”

It took a whole minute for her to gather the courage to lift her head. When she saw him, she couldn’t speak.

Who said it was a good idea to put a man like Daniel in a dark leather jacket and skinny jeans? Lexi stared at him for so long that she forgot everything and everyone. She even gave up fighting the urge to smile; her ear-to-ear grin stretched out like furniture in a showroom.

~I hate you.~

The man beside her moved closer. “Doesn’t look like she wants to go with you. She might see something that she wants more.”

Lexi cringed at the nonsense coming from the customer’s mouth.

“Draya, if I count to one and you’re still sitting there, you will hate me for the rest of your life.” The threat wasn’t soft, wasn’t empty. It was full of dark promise.

The little minx living in her head told her to keep sitting. ~Defy him,~ the voice whispered.

When Lexi didn’t move, Daniel’s intoxicating eyes turned black. The arm that pulled her up could’ve easily dislocated her shoulder.

The customer tried to stop him and was immediately knocked out cold.

Lexi watched as the man’s expensive bottle of bourbon shattered into a million pieces, liquid spilling out onto the floor. She watched as he fell with a thud, and she was sure she heard him snoring above the music.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked, raising her voice at the madman who almost pulled her arm from its socket and then knocked out a valuable customer.

Daniel didn’t respond. He laced their fingers and yanked her behind him.

Even if Lexi ran to keep up, he would still be two steps ahead. The man was moving so fast it was as if he was going to be late for his own funeral.

Lexi tried to tug her hand away, but it was no use. She was shoved into a dark corner between the dance floor and the bar. Her back pinched as the cold concrete wall found its way through her shirt to her skin.

“Let me go,” she ordered, but her mouth was stuffed shut.

With his tongue.

Daniel tasted of wine and sin. A lethal combination.

Lexi would’ve been fine if he kissed her gently, but he held a hand at her throat. The way he searched and ravaged her mouth was like he was a starving man and she was the only thing he wanted to eat.

For a moment, Lexi stood still. Shock was part of it, but the other part was the wetness in her underwear. It got worse every time Daniel flicked his tongue into her mouth. She shivered when his lips grazed her bottom lip, and the little squeeze of his long fingers at her neck made her feel like she ~belonged~ to him.

Suddenly, Lexi was kissing Daniel back, swallowing the groan that left his throat. Greedy kisses filled the corner they stood in, and she wasn’t certain if people were watching. She didn’t give a damn either way.

One of Daniel’s hands stayed at Lexi’s throat, and the other cupped the fullness of her breasts. She was so startled that a confused moan slipped from her lips. Confusion mixed with lust. She arched into his hand and into his kiss.

Daniel’s lips broke away and moved to Lexi’s neck. She gripped his jacket and shivered at the wild sensation, multiple colors flashing before her eyes.

Her underwear soaked even more.

“I should fuck you right here,” Daniel threatened in a voice that scared her.

Opening her eyes wide enough to see how much he meant it, Lexi finally regained a level head and pushed him off. “You have enough women to sleep with. I will never be one of them.”

She suddenly felt ashamed of herself. In a flash, he had kissed her, devoured her mouth, and touched her in public. She was horrified by how much she had enjoyed it.

~What’s wrong with me? How could I let this asshole put his mouth on me? The mouth he used to kiss other women all over their bodies!~

The thought made her sick.

Lexi walked unsteadily toward the ladies’ room. Thinking she was safe there, she sighed into the mirror.

The door suddenly opened, and Daniel walked in.

“You can’t come in here! Are you crazy?” She was so shocked she could barely make sense of his actions.

“Why do you keep running away from me?”

The question left her speechless. ~Running away? Me?~

Lexi folded her arms. “What do you want from me, Daniel?”

He didn’t hold back. “I want to fuck you. I’ve wanted to do it for a long time. I want to fuck you so hard that I’ll be numb when I’m through. Maybe then you won’t have an effect on me. And I won’t have an effect on you.”

She stared at him as if he had lost his damn mind. Her subconscious finally woke from its slumber, and the rage she felt made her body tremble.

“Go fuck yourself! You’re the worst man I’ve ever met in my entire life. You want to fuck me to forget me? Who says I wanted you to know me in the first place? Who says I could tolerate someone like you being on top of me? Do I look like the whores you spend your nights with? The ones who will suck you off with no questions asked? Well, I’m not them, and I never will be. So, either buy something to support the club or get out!”

When Daniel didn’t say anything, Lexi shoved him out of her way and walked back to the bar. Let him wallow in a state of bitter contemplation.