Page 4 of Yearn

I took in her frustration and something else in her dark eyes—a hungry glint that I recognized perfectly. We both wanted to succeed so badly it overtook everything else, but at least we both had good boyfriends by our side as we figured it out. I needed to stop questioning everything and go with the flow more.

“Fuck ‘em,” I said, bumping her hips playfully.

“Fuck who?”

I turned at the familiar voice and my smile disappeared.

Gabriella stood by us, cocking her head as if she had a right to be included in our convo. She was new to Red, and I’d disliked her on sight. I knew her type immediately, especially after I caught her flirting big-time with Max behind the bar. She knew Max wasn’t single, but didn’t seem to care, all touchy-feely and sticking her tits in his face. Even worse? She viewed herself as an influencer and had more followers than me. Of course, I knew why. I wasn’t about to post a bunch of half-naked pics online just to get noticed. She was…trashy. Her bright red hair, green eyes, and double DD breasts were ridiculously common. Rumorsspread she was banging one of the managers and that’s how she got the job.

I wasn’t surprised. She’d been sniffing around our group and targeted Max as the weak link to entry. I’d already schooled him on not interacting with her, but he said he couldn’t ignore her at work.

Elle shot me a look and remained quiet, giving me the lead. I spoke up. “Nothing. Why are you here? Thought you were on the schedule for Sunday?”

“I’m covering Maya’s shift. Who are you fucking?”

I ignored her and began stacking the utensil rolls in the bin. “Just our boyfriends. Something you wouldn’t know about,” I said sweetly.

Elle smothered a laugh.

Gabriella either didn’t care or didn’t get the insult. “I’m on section three so let me know if I can help out. I won’t get busy till late when the Madison Square Garden concert is out.”

“We don’t need any help.”

“Well, just yell if you do,” she said, her fake smile in place. I figured it was fake because my disdain was pretty evident. Another woman would have scurried away in fear, but she kept showing up.

“We won’t. But you can finish up here.” I grabbed Elle’s hand and walked away.

“Harsh,” Elle said. She hated conflict so I always had to protect her from the leeches.

“Necessary. She was all over Max last weekend so I know her game. Trust me, Coop can be next. No one’s safe, she’s a slut.”

“Ugh, you know I hate slut shaming,” Elle said with a groan.

“Sluts are empowering as long as you’re not stealing other people’s boyfriends,” I pointed out.

Elle laughed. “Okay, I can get on board with that.”

Our shift was beginning in a few so I shoved the annoying Gabriella out of my head and put my game face on. The work was hell on the feet and the arms, but worth the money and attention. “Good. My goal is twenty more good followers so keep me in the loop if anyone has potential at your tables.”

“Always.”

I blew her a kiss and got ready to dazzle. I saw Max safely behind the bar, prepping for the crowds. He caught my eye and smiled, and I was reminded again why I was with him. There was a sweetness underneath all that swagger. I needed to focus more on our relationship so I could get over this strange restlessness.

Everyone’s shifts ended at 1am, and that’s when the real fun started. My crew and I had our favorite haunts to blow off steam—cool bars that stayed open till 4am, and a breakfast dive where we gathered in our favorite booths to fill up before collapsing into sleep.

Anyone who believed the worst things happened in the middle of the night was dead wrong.

In our world, that’s when all the good stuff started, and tonight was no exception.

I just wasn’t ready for the eventual fallout, but if I’d known, would things have been different?

Maybe.

Then again, maybe not.

Chapter Three

Landon

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