Stupid

Victor Russo.

He was here, and my inner teenage self was internally freaking out,until he rudely dismissed me after full on checking me out. What the actual fuck!? Despite that, I'm ashamed to admit I still thought he looked incredibly hot. I stayed away from his side of the bar until he left, which wasn't long after our interaction. A part of me deflated, the stupid part of me.

My class let out early and I checked in before heading up to my apartment, above the bar. Mike had an emergency, and so I sent him home and took over. It was the first time I've seen Vic in along time. I knew from Vance, that he was going through a rough time, but it didn't stop a part of me from wanting his attention. Idiotic,I know. I pushed the thoughts of him away and pushed through the rest of the shift.

It was 4am when I finally fell into bed, thankfully I was too tired to care about Vic's dismissal, at least that's what I kept telling myself.

A heavy weight settles on my chest, rousing me from my sleep. A pair of green eyes stare back at me. It takes effort to breath. "Oh my gosh, you weigh a ton." I speak to my fat cat. "You need to go on a diet Emmy." I tell her and lift my hand to stroke her soft black fur, she begins to purr in response. With my free hand, I grab my phone off my night side table. 11:20am. Ten minutes before my alarm was to go off, I sigh and drop my phone next to me on the comforter.I continue to pet Em, while mentally running over my schedule. I only have one class today, so I can nap before my shift tonight.

Class, Work, Bed. Vicious cycle until summer term, when I can take a small breather. Too tired to care about my outfit, I throw on sweats, my favorite over-sized shirt, and throw my hair up in a messy bun. Grabbing my phone off the bed, I pad barefoot into my small kitchen and grab an apple from the basket on my counter. My mind wonders to Victor again, and I can't help but wonder if I will see him again tonight. Emmy rubs herself against my legs, interrupting my thoughts. No, No. I shake my head, internally scolding myself. Don't go there Jade. Placing the apple in my mouth, holding it with my teeth, I fill up Emmy's dish with water and food, then grab my keys, slip my feet in flip flops and head out my apartment door.

After locking the door, I skip down the private steps that lead to a exit at the back of the bar. My uncle owns Sliders, and rents the small apartment above the bar to me for a steal of a price, as long as I continue to go to school. I attend the local community college, majoring in business management. My parents owned Sliders, and I grew up in this bar, well during the off hours. My parents died in a car accident when I was five, and my uncle became a single parent while losing his brother and sister-in-law. I am forever grateful for my uncle Drew.

With some spare time, I hop into my Honda Civic and head over to The Busy Bean. My bestest friend, Zara just opened her coffee shop a couple months ago, and she's killing it. She has a prime location right in the center of town, and it's unlike anything we've ever had in this small town. I park in front and head inside, the bell above the door jingling. There's a few tables taken, and one person at the front talking with Jared, Zara's one of three employees. Zara comes out from the open door off the side of the front display cases, wiping her hands with a paper towel. She smiles wide when she sees me, "Hey babe, You're early this morning?"

I shrug, "Emmy's fat ass woke me up, figured I'd get up and not have to rush around for once."

"Hi Jade." Jared greets me, no longer busy with a customer. "Your usual?" he asks.

"Hey Jared, yes please."

Zara comes out from behind the counter since Jared is getting my order, and leans against the display case. "How was your night?" she asks, crossing her slim arms across her chest. Zara is tall and very thin, her white creamy arms decorated in tattoos. None of them making sense. Roses, Cheetah print, Jack Skellington. A mesh of "things she likes".

"Same ol'." I play off the night, because the last thing I want to openly discuss is that my long time crush came in, looking like a hot mess.

She hums knowingly with that look on her face. It's funny how you can meet someone and you just click instantly. I haven't known Zara long, we met in Intro to Business. She was a double major, and almost ran herself into the ground trying to go to school with a new born. But she did it and I look up to her. She's about two years older than me, a transplant, followed her baby daddy here but never left when they didn't work out. I am so thankful she stayed. Jared appears next to us with my coffee and blueberry muffin, I take them from him and thank him, he disappears into the back room Zara came out of earlier. "I heard something pretty interesting."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" I ask, taking a sip of my black coffee.

"Little bird said that the oldest Russo is visiting his old stomping grounds."

"Oh." I play off nonchalantly.  She smacks me in the shoulder playfully. I glance at the clock hanging on the back wall. "Look at the time, I better go." and quickly turn to leave. I hear her yell something but can't make it out in my rush to get out of there.

My phone goes off as I drive to campus, when I finally find a parking spot, I check it.

Zara: You asshole! You better call me later!

Me: Sure.

Zara: You're a horrible friend!

Me: *gasp* I am not!

Zara: YOU ARE! You can't hide secrets from me!

I laugh.

Me: What secrets? There is absolutely nothing to tell!

Zara: That's why you failed to mention him coming into the bar.

Me: He came in, drank beer, watched TV, and left.

Zara: hmm

I glanced at the time, and shit, cut the engine and ended up rushing to class anyways.

I find myself getting extra dolled up before my shift, mentally I'm telling myself it's for the tips, but as much as I am denying it, I know why deep down. My tank is extra deep, my shorts ripped, and I have on killer wedges. Adding a red bandanna to my hair, I head down early and find Uncle Drew wiping the bar top down. Mike is stocking bottles, and Anna, another Sliders bartender/waitress is wiping the tables towards the back of the bar.

"Hey." I say to the room. They return hello's and I give Drew a side hug.

"Well now that you're here, I'm gonna head home." he says throwing his rag in a empty bin under the bar. Drew comes in at noon to take inventory and sometimes place orders. Thursdays aren't particularly busy nights, so he leaves the place to Mike and I.

"Sounds good." I return while signing into the touch screen system. Drew finally invested in more advanced registers, and they are a freakin' blessing. When I finish I turn to face Drew, who's wearing a weird expression. "Are you alright?" I ask.

"Uhh..isn't that a bit..revealing?" he asks me. I glance down, even though I know what I'm wearing. I shrug and tug up my tank, "I make good tips when I dress like this."

He sighs, and squeezes the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Alright." he releases his nose and turns to Mike, "You make sure no one touches her?" Mike looks at Drew, "Yeah, of course." Drew nods and walks to me, kissing me on the forehead, "Be smart." he says and walks by me.

We open an hour later, I am on edge all night, constantly looking at the door when it opens. He never shows.

As always, I'd love to hear what you think!

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Please don't hesitate to point out anything amiss. It's been awhile since I've visited these characters. I try to take notes as I go. I'm on a roll right now, and I'm just going with it. These chapters are raw, and may be altered in the future.