Page 59 of Game Changer
Maya
After another closing shift at Happy Endings, I’m exhausted. My head hurts from five hours of straight bass rattling my brain, and my clothes are sticking to my body because two girls crashed into me and spilled their drinks all over my uniform. I’m a sweaty mess who reeks of vodka, and my only desire is to go home and pretend tonight never happened.
“That was a shit shift,” Tabi mutters. It’s the first time we’ve spoken all night because of how busy it was. We should’ve known the fair downtown would drive more customers than usual to the bar, and we were tremendously outnumbered tonight because of it. I didn’t have a second tobreathe, let alone take a break. “I think I have four new blisters on my feet. I shouldn’t have worn these new sneakers without breaking them in first.”
“Tell me about it. It feels like someone dumped an entire bottle of maple syrup on me.”
Tabi snorts. “Those girls were plastered. I’m surprised they weren’t thrown out after the first hour.”
We make quick work of wiping down the tables and flipping the chairs. Tabi’s curly red hair is frizzy and untamed in a messy bun, and she frustratingly pushes the falling pieces behind her ears as we grab our purses and coats from the office. “I would talk more before I leave, but honestly, I’m beat,” she admits. “Annie comes home tomorrow from her dad’s, so I need all the sleep I can get.”
I arch a brow. “He’s watching her for an entire night?”
“Trust me, he’s not watching her long. I dropped her off before my shift started, and I won’t be surprised if he shows up with her before ten tomorrow morning. He can’t watch her for more than three hours when she’s awake because that would mean he’d have to put in effort.” She rolls her eyes. “He’s the laziest fucker I know.”
We head down the hallway together, only to stop dead in our tracks when we see Mark and Ethan standing outside the front door.
Tabi goes rigid beside me before balling her fists at her sides. “I don’t have time for his bullshit today,” she sneers. She flips the lock and throws the door open. “What the hell, Mark? I told you I don’t need anyone walking me home at night. I can handle myself for Christ’s sake.”
Mark pulls a pink lamb from behind his back, and the object looks so tiny compared to his massive body that I would have laughed if it wasn’t for Tabi’s face paling. “Annie left this in my car this morning. I know the Asshole has her tonight, so I wanted to talk to you first to figure out what you want me to do with it.”
“What do you mean?” she asks, her eyes darting to the lamb again.
“Do you want me to drive it over to his house? You and I both know she can’t fall asleep without it. He’s likely losing his fucking mind. If she doesn’t have Lamby tonight, he’ll probably drive her back to your house before sunrise.”
“Why didn’t you text me earlier about this?”
Mark sticks a thumb over his shoulder at Ethan. “I found it about an hour ago after convincing this one to go out to shoot some pool. You never answer your texts at work, so we drove here to meet you after your shift.”
Tabi, who is usually so witty and quick with comebacks, has no words. She stares motionless at the lamb for a solid ten seconds before she says, “You’d drive it over there for her? He lives across town.”
Mark shrugs as if he’s not doing her a huge favor. “I had a nap earlier. You didn’t. Go home and get some sleep.”
“She can probably manage for one night without it.”
“But she shouldn’t have to. It was my fault for not checking the car when we came back from getting ice cream. She’s probably crying as we speak, and—” He clears his throat. “She needs it.”
I’m so caught up in their conversation that I haven’t even had time to process Ethan coming along with Mark. Was he just getting a ride home from playing pool?No.That can’t be all when his gaze roams from my head to my toes. His stare produces an electric current that zaps me awake. I’m suddenly not tired at all.
“I need the Asshole’s address,” Mark continues.
“He has a name, you know.”
“And he doesn’t deserve to be called it. He’ll always be the Asshole to me. Now, can you give me the address so I can put your child out of her misery, please? Lamby needs to be returned to his owner.” A sound short of a gasp works its way from his throat. “Well, I’ll be damned. Did you justsmile, Tabi cat?”
Her lips, which had slightly twitched at the sides turn into an immediate frown. “You’re seeing things. Add hallucinations to the list of injuries football has caused you.”
“I know what I saw.”
“Mmm,” she hums. “I’ll give you his address, but this changes nothing. You’re still . . .”
He arches a brow, awaiting her answer.
“ . . . a pain in my ass,” she finishes.
He throws his head back and laughs. “Hey, I’ll take that over something that crawled out of the pits of hell. You called me that yesterday, in case you forgot.”
She smiles wickedly now, nothing short of devious. “Trust me, I didn’t.”
