Page 58 of Fangs and Fudge

Doc peeled ham from his cheek.

With a sigh, I paused the show again to get towels. When I restarted it, Doc wisely kept his mouth shut and ate the destroyed remnants of his sandwiches.

The next hour flew by without any Shepard appearance or text. I wasn’t relieved since I knew I’d need to face him at work. The urge to go shower tugged at me, but I knew it wouldn't do any good. The damage had already been done. Doc had smelled Cross on me and reported it. No amount of washing would undo that. But wouldn’t it be a little less of a slap to Shepard’s nose if I didn’t waltz into work smelling like fresh Cross?

“How many times are you going to sigh like that?” Vena asked. “You’re distracting me from the goods.”

The goods being the shirtless workout on the screen.

“Something wrong?” Doc asked.

“Yeah, something’s wrong. You tattled on me, and I’m worried about what Shepard’s going to say when I see him at Blur.” Another sigh escaped me, and I slouched deeper into the couch.

“There-there,” Vena said with mock sympathy. “Now that you’ve received some pity, shut it and pay attention. Donte’s shirt is off.”

I ended up skipping the second half and showering before work instead of drooling over Donte’s abs with Vena. When I emerged with my hair styled and enough perfume to make a werewolf wheeze–Doc proven–I was a little calmer about facing Shepard.

Doc followed Vena and me into work, going so far as to linger by the lockers until we’d stowed our things.

“What in the heck do you think we’re going to do? Run?” Vena asked with annoyance. “You know where we live, Doc. Besides, I’m here to collect my poor unloved bill-babies, not abandon them.”

“Bill-babies?” Doc echoed.

“She means the money people leave on the tables,” I said. “You know…tips.”

“That’s my girl,” Vena said, slapping my ass. “Now, go make nice with the boss so we can both get paid.”

Doc snorted and shook his head at her.

I rolled my eyes but did as she said and made my way to the meeting room. Surprisingly, Shepard didn’t show his face until it was time to assign sections. And he didn’t ask me to stay after either.

“Looks like the perfume worked,” Vena mock whispered on the way down to our sections.

As soon as the doors opened and patrons started filling the tables, I forgot about being a participant in the Shepard-Cross kissing contest and focused on delivering drinks with a smile. The tip money rolled in like usual, and the hours on the clock ticked by unnoticed until the last call.

Vena’s laugh rang out over the music as she served a group of fae. I glanced at them to make sure she was okay, but she had everything under control, keeping a careful distance even while delivering one of her signature flirty winks.

I turned to check my next table and caught sight of Jaws frowning at Vena from Anchor’s usual spot. We needed to find him soon. He knew how not to judge the servers for their friendly smiles.

Shepard was at the bar when I came to collect my drink orders. He nodded to me as he set them on my tray. It felt normal. Normal was good. Why was I so nervous then? Could he smell my nervousness over the perfume? Was that why he was being nice?

I delivered the drinks and started to clean up as my tables emptied. Vena did the same and joined me at the bar to count out tips after the last patron left. Shepard was there, cleaning glasses, and smiled at Vena’s happy squeal over a fifty she’d been given.

“What did you need to do for that?” Jaws asked from behind us.

Vena slowly turned, obviously hearing the same tone I had. I internally cringed and spun around to face Jaws.

“She learned how to be a people person,” I said, keeping my tone cluelessly upbeat. “You should give it a try. It starts with a smile and a kind tone. It doesn’t work well when she’s hungry or tired though. Then she tries to draw blood. Are you thinking about being a cocktail concierge yourself?”

Jaws stared at me as I smiled at him. Behind us, Shepard chuckled. It wasn’t filled with humor.

“I think you owe the ladies an apology, Jaws. They know how to do their jobs. Learn how to do yours. Am I clear?”

Jaws nodded once to Shepard, mumbled an apology to us and left.

“And on that note,” Vena said, sliding the bartender split toward Shepard, “I think we should head out. Thanks for the tour this morning. See you again Wednesday. No closing your doors permanently.”

“I won’t,” he said.

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