Page 21 of Just a Number

“It’s okay. I’ll go and see him. I need to get to work anyway. Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.” Her eyes brim with unshed tears.

“We didn’t do anything wrong.” I try to comfort her, but her panic is evident in the shake of her hands and her teeth biting hard on her bottom lip.

I rise from my place between her legs, brushing my knuckles across her cheek, before striding over to the door.

“Hey, I’ll be down in a sec,” I shout to Zack, listening out to see if he’s coming upstairs. “I can’t hear him. I’ll go and head him off while you take a moment. Okay?” She’s looking calmer now as she sucks in a deep breath and her eyes meet mine, which I take as a good omen.

I will my rock hard cock to calm the fuck down as I swing by the guest bedroom and grab my hoodie. I hold it in front of me as I make my way downstairs.Am I a shit friend for kissing his mum?Something that could be guilt swirls in my stomach, but I refuse to regret what just happened.

“Hey, you want one?” he asks, holding out a can of Coke.

“Nah, thanks, I was just getting ready to head to work. Your mum gave me the spare key.”

He nods. “Where is she?”

I shrug. “In her office, I guess.”

We chat for a while, Zack complaining about a college assignment. It’s like we’re a million years apart in age when he talks about college life. I’ve been out of that space for a few years now and it’s difficult to relate to how difficult the college work is when I don’t know where I’m living beyond tomorrow. But that’s not his problem, and I think I’m probably salty because he interrupted my make-out session with his mum.

“I gotta head. I’ve got some training at the bar and then a shift.”

“Maybe I’ll see if Rich wants to meet me there for a drink. We can come and heckle you.”

“Ha, sure. As long as you leave a decent tip.”

“You think I’m made of money?” he asks with a chuckle.

“I’ll catch you later.”

The house was empty when I stopped at my mum’s to get some more clothes. I was able to get in, get changed, and pack up a rucksack with some things before heading to The Thirst Trap.

I pull the bike up at the back of the pub so it’s tucked out of the way. I lock it up and take my helmet and rucksack inside with me.

“Hey, it’s Alex,” I shout as I enter, not wanting to give Abby a fright. She was opening up at lunch today and offered to walk me through the till and ordering system, as well as mixing up the most popular cocktails in the quiet hours this afternoon.

It’s going to be a long night, but I should be able to get an hour’s break and on the longer shifts, there’s normally a meal on offer for no charge. I’ll get fed and trained up in the hope I can start taking more shifts.

I steer down the back corridor to the staff break room. There’s a wall of lockers on one side and I manage to fit my stuffed rucksack, hoody and bike helmet in one, taking the time to lock it given my laptop is stashed inside. I’m wearing a band t-shirt, jeans and my biker boots. Tom and Abby haven’t mentioned a dress code, but the permanent staff tend to wear tees or polos branded with the Thirst Trap logo.

The door opens and Abby walks in, a big grin on her face. “Hey Alex, how are you doing?”

“Good, thanks. Is this okay to wear behind the bar?” I gesture to my outfit. She looks me up and down with a quirked eyebrow.

“Hmmm, we can do better than that. Men’s medium for the shirt?”

“Err, yeah, maybe a large.” I watch as she opens up a locker at the end and rummages through some packaged items. She tosses one to me and I realise it’s a branded t-shirt.

“Try that. See if it fits.”

“Okay.” I think nothing of it when I whip off my current t-shirt and then rip the packaging open on the one she threw at me. She has an assessing look in her eyes as she checks me out, although it doesn’t seem to be sexual. “Looked your fill?”

“It would be rude not to check you out when you stripped off so nicely for me.” She winks, and I can’t hold back my chuckle.

I pull the medium black top over my head and down. It’s snug. I frown. “Maybe the large would be better?”

“Nah, it’s perfect. You want some tips, don’t you?”

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