Page 6 of The Hellcat Barbies: Saskia
“Um, just give me something sweet but strong and surprise me on the food,” I smiled. She frowned, and I knew it was because the smile I’d given her was not only forced but looked crazy.
“You like wings?”
“I do.”
“Ranch or Blue cheese?”
“Ranch.”
“Cool, be right back.”
I watched her type my order in, but instead of making my drink, she went right back to smiling in the men's faces. I didn’t even know if they were attractive. I hadn’t given them a second glance. But they must have been something, judging by the way she was skinning and grinning.
Running my hand down my thigh, I tried to calm my nerves. I had to figure out what was next. Pulling the money out ofmy hoodie, I turned slightly in my seat near the brick wall for privacy. Removing the thick rubber band, I began counting the bills. Counting them twice, I noticed I only had about nine hundred dollars left. The irony of it all. A few million in inheritance and another quarter million in credit and electronic money. Still, I couldn’t access any of it and only had a little less than a thousand dollars to my name.
“Here you go. I brought you some water too.”
The wings were saucy, with a reddish-brown hue, and although I caught a whiff of spice, there was a hint of sweetness. She even gave me fries, and beside the small silver condiment cup of ranch was another filled with ketchup.The drink was yellow and served in a martini glass with a black sugar rim, topped with a dehydrated lemon. She’d unintentionally made my favorite drink. I could already smell the alcohol and knew it would do its job.
“Thank you.”
Not wasting any time, I cleared the plate without shame, not even realizing how hungry I’d been. I just hoped I could keep it down. I didn’t know the last time I’d eaten a full meal. I’d eaten just enough to stay alive these past few weeks, but that was about it. If the gown that the groom had based the dresses on was made from the sizing my father had provided before he passed, I was almost certain those dresses wouldn’t fit. I’d lost weight and wasn’t really sure how much.
Since I didn’t have much else to do and the sports on the televisions around me weren’t entertaining because I never understood them, I watched the bartender bag one of the guys she’d been flirting with. He was cute, and so was his friend.I’d never really had a type and told myself that as long as a man was kind to me, I’d give him a chance, but I knew for a fact that if I did think of a type, gold teeth, diamond chains, and saggy pants wouldn’t come to mind. Those two men fit all the above.
Letting my thoughts drift back to the sexy car in the parking lot, I shifted slightly in my seat to try to identify the owner. I knew I should have been thinking about my next move, but the liquor was making me feel more relaxed, and curiosity got the best of me. My eyes lingered on a few voluptuous women bending over the pool table, trying to catch the eye of the men dressed like the two at the bar; I figured it had to be one of the women. Still, I wouldn’t rule out a man—after all, they too drove neon-colored cars.
“They’re good, right?”
The bartender was now all smiles. She stood a bit taller, and her eyes gleamed a tad brighter. She’d just acted like I was the worst thing to stumble into the bar, and now she was bushy-tailed. All because she’d succeeded in getting the man she wanted. I pitied her, and I was the last person who should have been pitying anyone. In fact, I was the one who needed the pity.
Without waiting for my response, she grabbed my plate, which had only a few fries left. The food had been good. Honestly, I hadn’t had wings that good before, at least as far as I could remember. Going to school in the medical field made me reconsider everything I put into my body. Most days before my father’s death, I ate lean meats and vegetables that my father’s nutritionist prepared weekly for us since both my dad and I had busy schedules, or I joined my father for dinner at one of the City’s steak houses.I almost never ate at bars or chicken spots because I rarely visited them. Sure, there were times when some of my classmates and I went out to the local bars to drink and celebrate passing a test or class, but that was rare.
“It was good,” I agreed.
“Are we closing the tab, or do you want another one of these?”
She held up the drink, and my eyes stayed on it longer than they should have. I wanted another, but I didn’t need one. Withmy funds limited and uncertain about my next move, I had to save money. I could have easily made a withdrawal and left, but I didn’t want to leave a paper trail. I didn’t know this man or the debts he might go to find me. He had to be some kind of psycho, facially challenged loser to even agree to my father’s dying wish.
Who the hell pays for a wedding and never shows his face to at least talk to the bride-to-be or see if I was even interested? I was sure my father had given him photos of me, or he’d seen me around my father’s office at his firm, but what if I was ugly on the inside? Wouldn’t he want to check that out before taking me as a bride? My father always told me that a man’s greatest accomplishment in life was the woman he married. How the hell could that be when the man didn’t even know the woman he was marrying?
“Give her another one and put it on my tab. All of it.” A voice so deep that it vibrated through my chest sounded off.
The bartender’s eyes shifted from me to the figure I could both feel and smell standing behind me. Her eyes widened, then settled into a lustful gaze, as if the man she’d just been drooling over hadn’t been sitting just a few inches away moments earlier.
“O..okay. Of course. You need anything else, Yak?”
Yak? What the hell type of name was that?
“Nah.”
“K..k..kay.” She replied before stumbling over her feet, nearly dropping my plate.
I needed to see what this man looked like, as the waitress was acting as if God had come down from heaven and landed in the bar. I turned in my seat so I could thank him for his offer but respectfully decline. I’d already owed someone who I felt like was a mob wife and had essentially fucked her over. I didn’t want to leave behind a trail of debts while I figured out this life.
“No-”
My heart jolted, and my pulse pounded. Towering over me but still keeping enough distance to avoid making me feel creeped out was a work of art. I’d never seen art so casual in black baller shorts and a crisp white V-neck that was so new I could see the outline of the white beater underneath. He had icy white socks on his feet, which were stuffed in a pair of black and white Celine slides. Though he looked like he’d just come out of the shower and might be ready to lounge, the two diamond Cubans around his neck—one with a symbol hanging from it and the other just accessorized with the longer one—gave off that he was headed to the club.
