Page 2 of Drunk Girl

“Chicken or beef, or both?”

“Chicken, no jalapeño, and extra sour cream, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Anything else?” I ask before I send the order to the kitchen.

“That’s all. Thank you.” She picks up the glass of water as I step away and grab the broom to start sweeping the floor behind the bar. I’m able to get that done and have just finished stacking the floor mats that need a good cleaning into a pile, to mop the floor beneath them, when the mystery woman’s order is brought out.

“One order of supreme nachos, with chicken, no jalapeños, and extra sour cream.” I repeat her order as I set the platter in front of her, along with a roll of silverware and a few extra napkins.

“Thank you,” she says, digging into the platter.

“Anytime. I’m Nick, by the way.”

She accepts the hand I’ve offered across the bar. “Ashley.”

“Holler if you need anything. I’m going to start mopping while you eat and your phone charges for a little while longer.”

“Will do,” she tells me.

I busy myself filling the mop bucket with water and floor cleaner before I get to work on the area behind the bar, followed by the non-slip mats that cover the area. With all that done, I head out into the open area of the bar and start helping Katie flip the chairs up on the tables so we can clean the floors out here. We’ve been working together now for a few years, and have a pretty good routine down.

“How was the food?” I ask Ashley when I return behind the bar to check on her.

“Just what I needed. Thank you.”

“Anytime,” I tell her. “You looked like you could use something to cheer you up.”

“Yeah,” she says, emotion filling her voice. “It’s been a pretty shitty day, that’s for sure.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I got laid off from my job, only to return to my apartment to find my boyfriend fucking a girl he works with.”

“Shit. Thatisone hell of a day.”

“That it was.” She pulls her hair out of the ponytail it was in and readjusts it to gather all the flyaway hairs that had fallen out.

“Do you have someplace safe to go to tonight?” I ask, then wonder what the fuck I’m going to do if she tells me no.

“Yeah, my mom just lives across town.”

“Good. Here’s your phone. It’s up to fifty percent, so it should last you for a while.”

“Thank you,” she says, accepting the phone from me. I see her hit the Uber icon and go through the process to set up a ride. “My ride should be here in just a few minutes. Thank you again for the food and water. I really appreciate it.”

She slips off the bar stool and heads for the front entrance, watching out the windows. Her ride pulls up outside not too much later, and I watch as she walks out to meet it, sliding into the back seat.

“Ready to lock up?” Katie calls out to me from across the bar, pulling my attention from the taillights disappearing down the road.

“Yep,” I tell her, now that it’s only the two of us, besides the few employees still cleaning and shutting down the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later, the kitchen staff has all gone home and Katie and I are packing up, as well. She only has to go up the stairs to the upper penthouse apartment she and Kaiden share.

“Goodnight. Thanks for all your help tonight,” I call out as I lock up the back door before walking out to my truck.

“Night, Nick!”

“See you on the flip side.”

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