Page 13 of Somewhere We Belong

The thought of them all together wasn't a new idea, and neither was imagining what it would feel like to be at their center, but hearing Sally and Lou Ann talking about it made me angry and protective.

I slammed my locker shut and the girls stopped talking.

“You ok there, darling?” Sally looked at me with a raised brow.

“Yup, fine,” I tried to say calmly.

They weren’t mine and I had no claim to them, but my overactive brain had always wondered what it would be like if I could be with them.

Lou Ann smirked at me like she had read my thoughts.

“Alright, I gotta go pick up Sol, see you guys later.” I grabbed my things and left the salon quickly.

The last thing I needed was gossip to start that I was simping for the three guys who were practically my neighbors. God, I could already hear what people would say and it wasn’t nice. I went straight to my car, opened the door, sliding into the driver's seat and turned it on.

It started with no problem, and I realized in my haste to leave, I had forgotten my car wasn’t working. Damn fucking car being temperamental and giving me a heart attack for no fucking reason. It wasn’t until I saw a pack of batteries that said, ‘for mommy’s toys’ in front of it, that I realize that fucking Colt had broken into my fucking car and fixed it while leaving something that made fun of me.

That fucking little shit, and while I wanted to be mad, he had fix my car. I just needed to pay him back so he wouldn’t have one thing to hang over me to be a dick about it. Damn that broody asshole.

By day, I was a hairdresser, and some nights, I worked at the Boozy Bandit just out of town. It was a local favorite from the neighboring towns that weren’t too far away either. We saw a lot of people from Mountain View and even Monroe. It was a Thursday, which wasn’t a busy night, but it also wasn’t one of our slow nights either. It gave me extra money to buy things likeclothes for Sol or a fucking car that broke down or a damn leaky roof.

I always wore my denim shorts with a shirt that had the bar's logo on it, and my cowboy boots that I splurged on when I lived in the city. The shorts showed enough of my legs and cupped my ass nicely to be a little sexy. If pregnancy hadn’t left stretch marks, a not-so-flat stomach and saggy boobs then I would be like the other girls here that showed their mid rifts and a lot of cleavage. I wasn’t above using my body for money even if I was older than most of these girls.

Balancing my tray above my head, I weaved in and out of the tables to one of my regulars. He was an older guy who worked in Malone. I didn’t know his name, we never really chatted, but he always came to me if he saw me working. He usually wore jeans and a shirt that looked dirty from working, so in my head, he worked construction.

“Here you go!” I put down his Johnny Walker on a coaster. “Any food today?”

He shook his head.

“Alright holler if ya need anything,” I said, knowing he would only ask for a drink if I came to him.

He nodded, taking a sip of his drink as I walked over to my other tables making sure everyone didn’t need anything. After placing a few orders, the night manager walked up to me with a girl who looked scared to be here.

“Hey, Nova,” he said.

“Hey, what’s up Joe?” I smiled.

I wasn’t his biggest fan, but I tolerated him because he gave me shifts and didn’t expect me here every week.

“Nova, this is Iris, and she will start working with us next week,” he said, bringing the girl forward.

She had dark blond hair with brown eyes and a wholesome look to her, making her look a little familiar. I didn’t know if shewas going to survive the rowdy nights, but hey, the more help the better.

“Hi, Iris, it’s lovely to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand.

“Nice to meet you too.” Her southern drawl was a little thick.

“I leave in about forty-five minutes so you got me until then,” I said to Joe.

“That's perfect, enough to show her the ropes without overwhelming her,” he said, giving her a smile.

His fake concern always made me want to gag.

“Come on, girl, let’s show you the ropes,” I said, pulling her into the break room quickly.

A few girls were back there gossiping as usual and probably complaining about their tips.

“This is our break room and when you start working, a locker will be assigned to you to keep all of your stuff,” I said. “Ladies, this is Iris, and she will start working with us next week.”

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