Page 39 of In a Pinch

She saw me, I know she did. Watching Caden follow her around like a puppy has me seeing red. He’s a grade A asshole and has no business having his grubby ass hands on her.

While fighting every instinct of mine to punch the guy, I make my way to the bar instead. Theo sees me and heads over.

“You see who your lady friend has tailing her?” Theo’s eyes find Caden in the crowd and he juts his chin out.

“She isn’t my anything, and yes. Of course, Caden latched onto her like the parasite he is.” Resisting the urge to look in their direction, I rest my arm against the bar.

Caden grew up in this area. He went to a different school but when you’re that big of a douche, everyone within a fifty-mile radius knows. I’ve known him since high school, and it’s safe tosay those were his glory days. He would be the poster boy of “peaked in high school” if there was one. I almost disliked seeing her with him as much as I disliked seeing her with her date the other day. He appeared respectful and successful. And for reasons I refuse to admit to myself, I hate it.

“Keep telling yourself you’re not jealous. It’s written all over your face.”

My head snaps back to Theo. “How about you shut the fuck up and pour my beer? Some bartender.”

He just chuckles. “Yeah, you’re totally fine. And I would have poured your beer if you had ordered one. She was right about the stick up your ass. You should get that checked out soon.”

He plops my beer down on the counter and I swipe it and walk away. Theo is one of my best friends—he really is. But if he keeps running his mouth, I’m going to have to drop his ass into the middle of next week.

I hear his chuckle behind me as I swerve through the sweaty bodies on the way back to the Flambé crew. A handful of us go out together after rough dinner services, and tonight definitely fit into that category. We had not one, but two large groups of twenty or more. Working in a kitchen and trying to get twenty dishes done all around the same time is literal hell.

We hired a new cook in the kitchen who definitely lied on his résumé. If I had to guess, he holds the world record for most burned pieces of toast in a lifetime. And Chef decided tonight would be a good training exercise. So, I got to watch over the whole kitchen. It was a clusterfuck of herding cats. A shit show. Usually, I get here and get to relax, but while Addie is being followed by the city’s scum, I cannot do that.

“Damn, you couldn’t get me a beer?” Charlie asks. He was hired not long after me, and I quickly learned we share a lot in common with asshole fathers and being the black sheep in the family. We spend just as much time together watching footballand slinging beers on Friday nights as we do serving up main courses.

“Sorry, I bailed out of there pretty fast. You can have mine. I didn’t drink out of it yet, and I don’t think I’m in the mood for drinking tonight.”

“Ain’t gotta tell me twice.” He swipes the beer from my hands and gives a good, hearty chug, immediately followed by a belch.

“Nice.” We both chuckle.

My sister catches a glimpse of me and waves her arms at me. Liv was always my favorite. Since she’s five years older than me, she acted as a second mom the older we got. When shit went south went Dad, I shut her out, too. I’d be lying if I said I don’t miss her.

“I’m going to go say hi. I’ll be right back,” I say, and Charlie nods. But this place is packed tonight, making it incredibly hard to sneak through.

Finally making it through the crowd, Liv’s face lights up as I lean in to give her a one-arm hug.

“It’s so good to see you. How have you been?” Her excitement bubbles up. Now that I’m up close, I can see the flush in her cheeks.

“Good, thanks. What are you guys doing out tonight?” I’ve been here quite frequently since Theo took over, and this is the first night I’ve seen her out and about.

“Addie’s coworker decided we were due for a girls’ night, and I couldn’t resist.” She shrugs and takes a sip from the cocktail straw, the drink looking closer to empty with every second that passes.

The rest of the girls are on the dance floor. Isla is doing more hopping and jumping than she is dancing, and the girl I don’t know at least has some rhythm. My sight lands on Addie, and I see Caden grinding up on her. His hands keep riding up her waist. I watch her push them down three times. Her bodylanguage is getting more and more tense as the seconds pass. She tries to take a step forward, but he won’t let go of her waist.

I try to decide whether this is somewhere I should intervene. Surely, one of the girls with her has noticed. While glancing through the crowd, I quickly realize all three are inebriated beyond compare. Even my super attentive big sister is a little out of it. And because Liv was so much older, she didn’t go to high school at the same time as him to know he’s an ass.

Addie manages to wiggle away and whispers something in the ear of the girl I don’t know. Then, she starts to walk toward Liv and I, leaving Caden behind. His eyes track her every movement and I hate it.

“You having fun?” Liv asks Addie, putting down her drink.

“Yeah, it’s getting a little hot and too crowded. I’m just going to take a step outside for a minute.” She does a little nod toward me, all while hiding her eyes. Something is definitely up.

My eyes dart back to the floor. Caden tries to come up behind Addie’s coworker, but she slips out before he can get a grip on her. The rumble in my ear leaves me to believe my sister is having a one-sided conversation with me, as I am too engrossed in watching this asshat make a fool out of himself. He rolls his neck and beelines for the same door Addie just slipped out of. The way he is bulldozing through the crowd sends my hackles up.

Yup. That’s enough of that.

“I’m going to be right back,” I mutter to Liv as I stride to catch up with Caden. Theo gives me a concerned look from the bar. I just give him the eye and he knows. That’s the best part of knowing people well; sometimes, no words are needed to get the hint.

I get out the door and see Addie a little down the sidewalk. The low light of the building flickers above her head, letting justenough light in to see what’s going on. Lo and behold, there’s the scum of the earth. She pushes him away and I pick up my pace.

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