The uniform for Polly’s was black shorts that I wished were a few inches longer and a tight blue T-shirt that said POLLY’S BAR AND GRILL on the front. I had asked for a looser shirt, but Mae had explained that Polly herself wanted the shirts tight. It kept the male customers happy. There were televisions all around the place playing different sports and there was beer. I didn’t see why we had to dress a certain way to make men happy. They had beer, burgers, and sports. What more did they need?

Mae told me not to complain—the outfit helped with the tips. I was thankful that I had a job and I was getting to work with my friend.

The night started off easy enough. I followed Mae around and watched her work. The computer system for putting in the orders was the only thing that made me nervous. I took mental notes each time she used it, hoping I would get it right when I was doing this by myself. I wanted to start writing these notes down, but that didn’t seem like a good idea. Especially when Mae didn’t even write drink orders on paper. She just remembered them.

Seven tables and two hours into the night I was relaxing a bit when Mae turned to me and smiled. “There’s a table for you to take on your own. It’ll be good practice.”

I wasn’t ready for a table alone and I started to tell her that when my eyes met Charlie’s and I understood. She was letting me practice on her brother and his friends.

“Oh. Okay. I think I can handle them.”

Mae smiled, nodded in their direction, and walked into the kitchen. I pulled out the little notepad that she had given me, which I had never seen her use. I wasn’t ready to memorize orders. I had to remember how to work that computer first.

Charlie saw me headed his way and his smile eased my nerves even more. I recognized Drake and Cole. They had another guy with them I didn’t know. His hat was turned around backward and his attention was on the football game.

“Hello,” I said, smiling. “Can I get y’all some drinks?”

Charlie leaned back, still grinning from ear to ear. “I’m a fan of the outfit.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not.”

“Mae been teaching you the ropes?”

I nodded. “Yep. Y’all are my first table without her, so if I mess stuff up, forgive me.”

“We’re a good group to train with. Unless you get Cole the wrong beer—then he’ll be nasty,” Drake chimed in.

“Don’t listen to him. I’ll forgive any mistake,” Cole replied.

“You ran off last weekend. Left Charlie here all high and dry,” Drake decided to add.

I glanced back at Charlie. I was sorry I’d left. He hadn’t deserved me running off with Slate like that. “I know. I was rude. I shouldn’t have left.”

Cole chuckled. “Sounds like someone found out the hard way just how Slate plays.”

“Shut up,” Charlie snapped at him.

“What can I get y’all to drink?” I asked, now wanting to change the subject.

They each ordered a beer except Charlie, who ordered a Coke. I wrote it down and headed back to the computer to put it in. I couldn’t fix the beer—the bartender had to do that. But I’d need to handle the Coke after I had it in the system.

“You good?” Mae asked, coming up beside me.

“Yeah,” I assured her.

“They’ll be a good table for you to practice with. I’m here if you need me.”

“Thank you,” I replied. I was more than thankful for Mae in my life.

She nodded, then headed back into the kitchen.

They ordered appetizers next, then burgers. It was all pretty easy and my confidence was building. I enjoyed this. Getting a job wasn’t just a necessity, but it was going to help fill my free time. I didn’t need to be thinking about Crawford or Slate.

Maybe fate has a funny way of handling things, or maybe it just likes a good laugh. Heck, I was beginning to wonder if it just hated me in general. Somewhere in my life I’d made an enemy of fate.

I was about to give Charlie his Coke when I saw Slate sit down a few tables away. He was with a girl. I stood there staring at them. I needed to look away and accept that this was going to happen a lot. The ache it caused me was ridiculous. I hated that.

Before he could turn his head and see me gawking at him, I jerked my gaze away and swore to myself I’d not look at him again. Focusing on my table was all I intended to do.

“Here you go,” I said, trying to sound happy.

They barely tore their eyes off the television to mumble their thank-yous.

“Y’all need anything else?” I asked, hoping they would say yes so I would have something to do.

“Yeah, bring me that brownie with ice cream,” Charlie said. Then the table echoed their wanting one, too. So, four brownie delights. I didn’t write that down. First thing all night I hadn’t written down.

When I got to the computer, Mae met me there. “Ignore his ass,” she said in a disgusted-sounding whisper.

I shrugged. “Not worried about that.”

She smirked. “Yeah, right.”

Okay, so she knew me better than I realized.

“He was a bad idea,” I told her. “And I’m done with bad choices.”

“He was a bad choice that most girls make at this school. You figured that out before the others do. Like the one he’s with tonight—she’ll be crying tomorrow night when he’s off with another one. It’s how Slate Allen does things. A girl goes out with him and she has to know it’s just for sex.”

I was glad I hadn’t slept with him. I didn’t want to be that girl the next day. Being the girl I was now was hard enough. If I wasn’t jealous of the girl he was with tonight, I would feel sorry for her.

“I need to put in four brownie delights,” I said to change the subject.

Mae nodded. “Okay. Just ignore him,” she added before walking off and leaving me to the computer.

Once I had the desserts ordered, I decided to go back into the kitchen and wait for them. But not before I glanced over just once …

Only to catch Slate watching me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

THE ONE THING I could be proud of tonight was that I didn’t stand there and stare back at him. I quickly turned away and went into the kitchen like I had intended. He was on a date. He needed to be staring at his date.

The desserts were ready a little too quickly, but I couldn’t hide in the kitchen forever. I placed them all on a tray and headed back into the dining room. Charlie saw me coming and I focused on him. From the look on Charlie’s face, I was pretty sure he’d seen Slate, too.

He probably thought I was one of Slate’s many after last weekend. I didn’t want that, but leaving with him had been my mistake. Something about spending time with a guy in a hospital made you trust him more than you should.

“These look good,” I said as I began placing the brownies in front of them.

“They’re fucking fantastic. Want a bite?” Cole asked.

“I better not. You enjoy that.”

I could feel my back was rigid, and I hated that Slate just being here was making me react this way.

“You okay?” Charlie whispered when I placed his brownie in front of him.

I forced a smile and nodded. “Yep. Can I get y’all anything else?”

“Milk,” Drake said. “I should have ordered a glass of milk before. Sorry.”

“Drink your beer,” Charlie told him, sounding irritated.