Page 17 of Late Nights

“Yes, I have to go tonight if you want me to keep an eye out for your sister.”

His brows pulled together. “What is Demi doing alone at The Bridger?”

Here we go. I focused on putting on my shoes. “Because she works there.”

Now his brows hit his hairline. “She works there?” His voice echoed loudly through the room, and I was sure Halle had heard him upstairs.

“Yep.”

“What is she doing working there?” His shock quickly turned to frustration.

I shrugged. “She needed money, so she got a job.”

“But why The Bridger? She doesn’t know anything about being a bartender.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “If she needed money, she could have come to me.”

“I think the whole point of her going off on her own is to do just that—do it on her own.” I was effectively avoiding how she’d come across said job, and I would keep with the truth by omission as long as I could. I wasn’t ready to be on the other side of West’s wrath when he found out it had been my idea.

“I’m coming with you.”

There was no talking him out of coming along, so I opened the door, and we made our way to the bar.

As soon as we walked into The Bridger, West made a beeline to where Demi stood behind the counter, wiping the top with a white cloth. I lagged behind, knowing Demi could handle West on her own. And it also gave me time to stare at her without either of them noticing.

She looked unbelievably hot tonight. She wore black cut-off jeans that showcased her sexy legs. Her black tank top scooped lower than I was used to seeing her wear, her cleavage beautifully on display. I was positive I wasn’t the only guy in here enjoying her clothing choices.

She’d braided small sections of her hair and had put some kind of hair product in the rest so that it cascaded down around her shoulders, giving it a textured look. Her hair combined with her dark shadowed eyes and maroon lipstick gave her a sex-kitten vibe, and I was just as attracted to her now as I was when her face was bare of makeup and she was in her pajamas in my kitchen.

Her look tonight gave no clue that she could probably count on one hand the number of bars she’d ever set foot in. She looked every part the bartender.

Finally coming up to stand next to West, I listened to their conversation.

“I don’t need your permission to work here,” she said, her voice full of irritation.

West let out a frustrated huff of air. “I know that. But this isn’t a safe place for you to work.”

“Have you seen Robby?” She pointed over to where Robby stood, making up a few shots. “Yeah, he’s not going to let anything happen to me.”

West’s gaze moved from Robby back to Demi. “I’m not saying he wouldn’t. I just…” He ran a hand through his hair. “I can help you, Demi. I’d be happy to help you. Then you could just go to school and not worry about having to work too.”

“You already are helping me,” she argued. “I’ve already taken over your room. Well, really your apartment since I’ve run your best friend,” she gestured her hand toward me, “out of his own place.”

West gave me a quizzical look, but Demi was talking again before he could ask me anything about what she was referring to.

“This job works perfectly with my school schedule,” she continued. “I’ll go to school during the day and then work here at night. And it’s only four nights a week, that’s a pretty good gig. The tips I’ve already gotten tonight are more than enough to keep me happily coming back.”

Dressed like that, with those pouty dark lips, I didn’t doubt guys were flocking to her. There was a reason I hadn’t been going home after work at night. She was too tempting.

“Thanks to Cannon, I actually have a decent job that I like.”

“Thanks to Cannon?” His words came out slow and full of disbelief.

She smiled. “Yeah, he’s the one that told me about the job opening here.”

West turned to glare at me. Well, it had only been a matter of time before he would find out.

I put my hands up in surrender. “I was just trying to help.”

“If this is your way of helping, then stop,” he said, clearly annoyed I’d gotten his sister in this situation. He turned his attention back to Demi. “I know I can’t tell you what to do, but promise me that if you ever don’t like working here or if it becomes too much to balance with school, you’ll quit so I can help you figure out a different plan.”

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