Page 14 of Somewhere We Belong

The girls waved, but it wasn’t friendly at all; I wouldn’t expect anything less from them.

“Hey, y’all,” Iris said, giving them a wave back.

The girls quickly went back to their gossiping as I shook my head and took Iris to the kitchen, then back to the bar as I picked up my orders.

“You can wait here, I’ll be back,” I said, taking my tray to a few of my tables asking for refills before I stopped at my quiet regular.

He nodded and left forty bucks on the table. I grabbed his money and glass, and headed back to the bar to teach Iris how to use the computers to put in orders and close them out.

“You, ok?” I asked after we closed my regular’s tab.

“Yeah, just… it’s a lot and I’ve never worked at a bar,” she said nervously.

“Neither had I when I first came here,” I said, trying to ease her worry. “It does take some time getting used to, but once you get into a rhythm with everyone, it will get easier.”

“Ok, but do I need to dress like those other girls?” She nodded to the girls who were in the breakroom.

I chuckled. “Jeans and a work shirt is the uniform, but you can also wear shorts, and nothing says you need to be as skimpy as those girls.”

She looked at my outfit, nodding.

“Ok, I’ll probably be dressing like you,” she said in relief.

“You could even wear jeans if that makes you more comfortable,” I said, feeling a little protective of her.

She didn’t seem too young, but something about her screamed, sheltered.

“Ok,” she smiled.

“I’ll see if I can try to pick up a shift next week, maybe we can work together,” I said, glancing at the tables I had left.

“That would be amazing,” she said, relaxing a little bit more.

“Hey, Iris!” Joe yelled and waved her over.

“Thanks for everything, Nova,” she said, giving me a hug.

“You're welcome, I hope I see you soon,” I said, pulling away, not used to hugging people.

“Cool,” she said, walking away.

I liked Iris, hopefully she liked it here, because I would love to have a friend here at work. My tables left shortly and after cleaning up, I made my way home. As I drove home, the box of batteries stared at me, mocking me until anger lit inside of me and I wished I could do something to get him back.

When I got home, I took the batteries down with me, like hell I would let them go to waste just because he bought them for me. I grabbed the tarp I had bought for the roof that I needed to put on tomorrow morning since it was supposed to rain. I walked into the cabin and the local babysitter, Stellar, was lyingon the couch watching TV. She was in high school, and she was amazing.

“Everything good?” I asked, taking money out of my wallet.

“Always perfect; Sol is amazing,” she said, getting up and putting her shoes on.

“Thanks, Stellar. I’m glad she doesn't give you a hard time,” I said, handing her the money.

“Nah, Ms. Nova, she’s one of the best kids I watch,” she said, grabbing her things.

“That’s good,” I said, relieved. “Have a good night!”

“You, too!” she said, waving as she got into her car.

I locked up after she pulled out of the driveway ready for my date with my vibrator. As I switched out the batteries and turned it on, the vibrator didn’t work. I changed them out for another set and those didn’t work either. This fucking asshole gave me a box of dead batteries. Colt was probably laughing at me that I wasn’t able to get off. Well, jokes on him. I grabbed the remote batteries and made myself come twice.

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