Page 10 of Behind the Mask

I smirked, firmly hiding behind the mask once more. She had no idea that I had cheated on her. No sane man would think about another woman while he was with his fiancé, and it just showed how fucked up in the head I was.

She got out of bed and stood up to kiss me. Without moving, I let her take my lips and make them her own, knowing the truth of the matter; that I wasn't hers. Could I continue to deceive her into thinking she was the only one for me? Could I fuck her everyday knowing that I wanted Olivia?

The right thing to do would be to let her go. It wasn't the ideal situation to tag her along like this, and I knew she deserved better. Truth be told, I didn't want to. Because if I did, that meant I still felt something for Olivia, something deep. And if she walked away from me again, this time I wouldn't survive.

Chapter Nine

Olivia

I put my hair up into a messy ponytail, wrapped the tiny apron around my waist, and put on some pink lip gloss. The makeup was a bit heavy, but it worked. The outfit consisted of a black tight t-shirt that filled out my breasts and a pair of dark blue shorts that barely covered my ass.

Lindsey owned a sports bar called 'The Fix' that doubled as a restaurant. She wanted the women to dress like this because the majority of customers had been guys, minus a few women who came in from time to time either because they just loved sports, or the food. We did have a few male bartenders and waiters, but it was mostly filled with women waitresses.

All in all, Lindsey had done an awesome job with the place. No one felt excluded and the place was covered in sports memorabilia. There were televisions everywhere so no games would be missed. This was one of the busiest spots in town and she had outdone herself. While her dad was the main owner, he told her he was going to hand it down to her when he retired so he basically wanted her to run the place so she could get the ins and outs. Her dad only came in every once in a while, to check in on her, but he gave her sole ownership so she could create, design, and run the place the way she wanted.

My eyes roamed over my body. I looked like a Hooters girl, minus all the orange. It was ridiculous, but I had to keep reminding myself that this was only temporary. I had to make as much money as I possibly could until I had enough to get my own place and was able to rent a studio. Once that was open, I would make money by holding dance classes there. Then, hopefully in the foreseeable future, I could buy it outright. I had a long way to go before that was accomplished.

A whistle came from the doorway and I rolled my eyes when Lindsey leaned up against the door frame. "Damn girl, you look smoking hot!" she winked. "You'll make tips for sure tonight."

I chuckled and grabbed my notebook and some pens, sliding them into the black apron. I followed her to the bar and noticed the crowd had increased since I had shown up. It was a Friday night, and there were two of us behind the bar. Over the past few days, Lindsey had shown me the ropes and I think, for the most part, I had gotten it down.

I hadn't seen Axel since the café and was relieved. He only made things more complicated. I was slowly settling back into life here, and I was making this place a home again. Even though there were lingering memories that surfaced on occasion to bring me down, I was starting to be normal again. More human than zombie.

"Damn girl, you fine as fuck." I grinned when Matt's smiling face peered down at me.

He was my good luck charm, and he helped me learn the ropes quickly. I had learned that he was Lindsey's "eye candy" or so she said, but the sexual tension radiated off them with every casual glance they took.

His brown hair that curled at the ends framing his face, forest green eyes popped, and his very prominent jawline had a sexy amount of scruff on it that made the ladies go wild. And he had dimples.What woman doesn't love dimples?

Matt looked around the bar and pursed his lips. "Do you realize how many guys I'm going to have to fight off tonight? Fuck, Lindsey didn't mention I'd have to be a bodyguard when I signed on for this job."

I laughed at his comment knowing he meant well. I knew he truly cared for Lindsey, and that he would never let anything happen to me because it would devastate her. So, it was nice having him back here, plus he was quite entertaining.

The night was busy until about midnight when it slowed down. Matt had just taken off, leaving me alone to close the bar. We stayed open until two, so I still had a bit to go. Lindsey had shut herself in the office so she could go over paperwork in peace, but she said if I needed anything to just holler.

There were two other waitresses still on the clock, and one buser. Apart from the cooks in the kitchen, everyone else had been cut. As I wiped down the bar and put up some glasses, there was loud whispering from the ladies that were sitting on the end.

"Did you hear that Axel Kade is back in town?" I stopped wiping when I heard his name.

"Yeah, and he looks hotter than ever! That baseball career of his has surely turned him into a God."

"No, it was his fighting career that did that to him." I sucked in a breath when I heard that.

"Fighting career?" One of them scoffed. "How come I've never heard of it?"

"It's because you have to turn on Sportscenter to hear about it. A couple of years ago during his college days, he had taken up fighting. No one knows why, but they had said he was the best thing to come from nowhere."

I began wiping again. Her voice lowered. "I heard around town that he took up fighting to get Olivia Banks out of his head."

I froze.

"Olivia who?" One of them asked, obviously not knowing any of our town history. I frowned. She must be new here. It seemed like everyone knew our business here.

The more confident one lowered her voice, making it harder to hear but not impossible. "That girl you see standing behind the bar. That's Olivia Banks. We went to high school together." I raised a brow at that.Of course, we did. "My mom told me she just returned to town after leaving abruptly five years ago."

"How do you know so much about it?" One asked, and curiosity got the better of me.

"I was one of Olivia's replacements. When he fucked me, he kept repeating her name. I didn't care because I wanted him badly, but still, it was pretty fucked up."

---