Chapter Twenty-Two

"Can I have six shots of Red-headed Slut, two Manhattans, two dirty martini's one mojito, and a Mai Tai please." The girl with white-blonde hair styled in pigtail buns yells her order over DJ Snake and Lil Jon's "Turn Down for What" blasting through the onstage speakers.

The DJ is in full swing, and the dance floor is buried by a mass of crazy ass drunk chicks. I usually dread these nights, but today is the worst of the worst. Tonight, we are catering to a bachelorette party of six.

"Can you like bring it over to us?" the girl asks while pointing her fake ass nails over to the table in the back by the pool tables.

"I nod in response as I continue to make the drinks.

"Crazy ass bitches," Tia grumbles as she steps up beside me while preparing two glasses of Coke.

"Yeah, well, at least they're more tolerable than the last group," I respond, adding the ice, gin, and vermouth to the cocktail shaker.

"Oh, you mean the crazy chick who got in my face because she thought I was trying to get up all on her man when he was the one that grabbed my ass?" Tia laughs while reaching for the straws. "I thought I was going to have to take the bitch down when she threw her drink in my face."

I laugh. "Yeah, I remember."

"What? I wasn't flirting with him," Tia defends herself.

"I know, jeez." I continue to laugh at my best friend who looks like she's going to stuff me in the blender.

"Then why are you laughing?"

"I'm not laughing at you. But you did slap her. It's a good thing they left before the cops showed up." I cover the top of the shaker and shake it up and down several times. As I pour the martini into the glass, Tia places her drinks onto the serving tray and walks over to me, placing her chin on my shoulder. "And if they did, you would be right there with me in the back of the squad car. Like Thelma and Louise."

I laugh, agreeing with her as she walks over to her table to serve the customers their drinks. I garnish a drink with an olive. Once I prepare the remaining drinks, Tia grabs the tray and heads over to the wild table. The girls are louder than they were before, bouncing up and down to one of my favorite jams, "SG" by DJ Snake. I shake my head watching two of the girls trying to twerk.

"God. Please make them stop," I mumble under my breath.

"That's a bit judgmental, don't ya think?"

"Wha—." When I look up to find out who the voice belongs to, I'm shocked to find a hot looking boy in front of me staring at me with a flirtatious grin.

He's tall, maybe 6'2", muscular like an athlete, his dark brown thick wavy hair flowing on top with the sides cut short but not faded. He's looking mighty sexy just wearing a normal charcoal T-shirt and dark blue jeans in a relaxed fit. His face is oval-shaped, with a soft creamy complexion and close-set olive-green eyes.

"Do we know each other?" I lean forward on my forearms over the bar with the rag in my hand, eyeing him curiously.

"I can't stop by and say hi to my favorite girl?" He sits on the stool, elbows on the table, resting his chin on the top of his knuckles.

"Come again?" I notice two other boys walk toward the bar and stand behind the boy with a lovable boyish grin.

They look familiar.

The mystery boy grabs a handful of nuts and pops them into his mouth, acting full of confidence and a bit playful. Without thinking twice, he walks around the bar, wraps his arms around my waist, and swings me around, my feet never touching the floor.

What the…

"God, I missed you, girl," he whispers in my ear, gently setting me down on my feet. "Where have you been all my life, Curly Sue?"

Oh my god. It can't be.

I pull back to get a look at his face. The color of his eyes and his stupid boyish grin like the sweet little boys with a dirty Transformer shirt flash in front of me.

"Ash?" My puzzle is now complete.

"Happy to see me, Shorty?" He winks, wiping my tears. I throw my arms around him and silently sob into his chest. We hold each other tight, silently communicating to one another how much we've missed each other. I don't want to let him go. I need these boys back in my life like I need air to breathe.

"I missed you too, Ash."

It's been too fucking long. I pull away but not before he plants a warm kiss on my flushed cheeks. He smiles sweetly and glances over his shoulder.

"These nosy fuckers are Wyatt and Jagger." He points at the guys behind him.

I sidestep Ash and introduce myself. "Hey. I'm Sadie," I say with a smile.

"Can we call you Shorty too or is that reserved for the Du Pont golden boys?" Wyatt jokes, shaking my hand.

"Um…" I laugh.

"No, you can't, dip shit," Ash snaps.

"It's fine." I playfully smack Ash in the chest. I look back at the guys and say, "I don't mind."

"Cool. How about short stack?" Jag asks. He holds his hand out for me to shake. "It was nice to meet you, short stack," he says with a huge ass grin, leaving his hand lingering longer than normal. "You're hot," he suddenly spits out.

Wyatt laughs. "Dude. You're so fucking dead." Jag looks at him with a bewildered "what" look.

Before I can ask what he meant, Tia appears out of nowhere and bumps me with her hip.

"Hey! Oh. Who are these guapos?" Tia winks at Ash as she settles behind the bar.

"I don't know what that means, but you are sexy as fuck." Ash winks back as he tosses another peanut in his mouth and his eyes skim up and down her body.

"Watch it, pretty boy You won't be able to handle me."

Tia gives him a flirtatious smile. She then turns to face me. "I'll cover you if you want to take a break. Looks like you two" —she points her finger back and forth between us— "have some catching up to do. So, go. Deal." She smacks my butt and calls out to Lisa to cover the bar.

I catch Ash staring at her ass as she walks away. "Don't," I warn him with a mischievous smile.

He gives me a sideways glance with slightly raised eyebrows and stands up from the stool. "It's a great view, what can I say." He shrugs.

"We're going to go back to our table and order some grub. We'll let you guys catch up. Hope to see more of you, short stack!" Wyatt and Jag wave me off, leaving Ash and me alone.

"Is your other half here too?" I ask, wiping the table even though it's already clean.

"Yep. He's here." Ash throws another handful of peanuts in his mouth and looks over his shoulder. "There he is." Ash cocks his head behind him.

Sure enough, Doni locks his eyes on me. He looks even more beautiful under the low lighting. The lighting creates a more intimate ambiance that feels like it's just us in the room. I'm completely frozen in place. Should I walk toward him, or wait until he comes to me? I don't know how any of this works. We're friends, so it shouldn't be that hard, right? We text and talk on the phone all the time.

God, he looks so yummy in a long sleeve dark gray shirt snug against his body, outlining every straining muscle. But that's not what's turning me on. No, it's the way he's wearing his black baseball cap—backwards! His long sleeve shirt is pulled up halfway, displaying his black stylish watch and veiny muscled arms.

God. My best friend is so fucking sexy.

He walks forward with both hands tucked away, thumbs out in the front pockets of his dark denims. He smiles and briefly looks away. My heart beats against my chest until he is directly in front of me.

"Hey." He slants his head, giving me a Duchenne smile. His whole face seems to light up once he lays his eyes on me.

"Hey yourself." My head goes on a downward tilt, and I shift my gaze to the left. I hear a chuckle in his throat. I look up at Ash who sits with a smug on his face glancing between us with a humorous laugh while stuffing his face with those damn peanuts.

Yeah, he's just loving this.

"Ok, I think you had enough.." Laughing, I snatch the bowl and hide it behind the bar.

"Yes, mom." He laughs, dusting his hands on his jeans. "I'm going to head back to the table. You should join us, Shorty."

"I'd love to, but I need to get back to work." Ash pouts like a little child but leans over the bar and kisses me on the cheek. "Ok. D said he gave you my number, so I'll be in touch. We will hang out soon," he says matter of fact. "We got loads to catch up on, but we got nothing but time, baby." He spreads his arms out to the side.

We both laugh.

"God it's so good to see you." Ash winks and leans over, placing another soft kiss on my cheek, and pats his brother on the back two times before walking back to his table.

Turning my attention back to Doni, we stare at each other and smile like two kids infatuated with one another.

Tia joins us. "Hey!" She leans over the bar with her boobs on full display. I shake my head in amusement.

"Hey, Tia. This is Donovan, and this is Tia, my best friend." I throw the towel over my shoulder.

"Hey. It's nice to finally meet you." Doni shakes her hand.

"Nice." She gives him an approving look while looking him up and down.

"Sorry to cut your reunion short, but we need to cater to the ladies with their pink penis balloons.." Tia smacks her gum, glancing behind her shoulder and rolling her eyes when she turns back to face me.

"It's nice to meet ya." She turns to me. "Sade." Tia gives me a wink and struts her way back to the party.

"I gotta go. It was nice to see you again."

Doni gives me a sad smile.

"Yeah, it was good to see you again too." Doni leans over the bar, close enough I can smell his minty breath..

"Why are you ignoring me?"

I sigh. "Donie…"

"I'm sorry, ok. I'm so sorry for being a dick the other day. Let me make it up to you. Please?"

I don't respond.

He sighs. "Can we meet up after your shift?"

"I can't." I avoid the look of disappointment on his face.

"Yeah, of course. Can I call you tomorrow?"

"Sure." I give him a small smile.

His face beams with excitement. "Ok. Have a good night, Shorty." He taps the table a few times before he walks away.

"Yeah, you too," I say in a whisper, knowing he didn't hear me.