Page 4 of Eat Me

“Honestly, I’m a bit surprised that you even know about this drink. Some people would call it an old lady drink.” Making sure I keep my voice light with humor, letting him know I’m not taking a dig at him. “It happens to be one of my favorite drinks.” I know he’s probably thinking I'm just saying that to get a bigger tip, but I do love the drink. Hell, I love almost everything with a lemon flavor. I could eat a whole lemon margarine pie by myself in three sittings if left to my own devices.

He arches his eyebrow in disbelief. Rolling my eyes at his reaction, I began to mix his drink. “I’m serious, lemon is one of my favorite flavors. I can make a real mean sour lemon martini as well.”

He smiles as he tilts his head to the side, watching me shake and serve up his drink. “Hm, I might have to try that after this.”

He pauses, lifting his glass to his lips, his eyes watching mine. His gaze feels intense and it seems to grow more and more intense as he slowly, almost sensually parts his lips to take a sip of his drink. He releases a small moan of pleasure causing hiseyes to slip shut for a second. I can feel my face flush red, but I’d like to know how the hell he made that look like an expression from a porno? I almost jump as he snaps his eyes open, jade-green eyes piercing into me.

“Perfection.” I blush at his praise and glance around hoping to find a way out of the now charged area. Thankfully Viktor gives a light whistle, I quickly turn to him before turning back to the handsome man in front of me.

“Ah, sorry I’ll be back if you need anything else or want the bill.” Flashing him a smile I quickly make my way to Viktor, flushing as he gives me a knowing look. Huffing through my nose I pour him a new drink and pretend to clean the area near me.

I can feel Viktor’s amused gaze on me, a smirk on his lips as he sips his drink. While Viktor isn't one for gossip or butting into other people's affairs, he does love to poke and prod at people to see their reactions, even more so if he’s decided he likes you.

“Not a word Vitkor, but thanks for the save. Next one’s on me.” I technically wasn’t allowed to buy drinks for customers, but if I don’t charge him, then technically, I didn’t buy him one.

I shot him a smile as I’m being flagged down by a pair of young women. They were obviously already a bit drunk having either pre-gamed or bar hopping, great.

“Welp, duty calls, if you need me, just whistle.”

With that, I make my way to the other end of the bar, a bit sad to see that the blond was no longer in the corner. Glancing around I try to catch a glimpse of his blond locks among the ever-thickening crowd. I pause as I catch sight of said locks as the owner of them approaches Viktor and they begin to chat. I swear to God, if Viktor is trying to set me up with his grandson, I’ll kill him!

Chapter Four

Victoria

Nine and a half hours later I wave my goodbyes to the bartenders that show up to take over. Normally I’d hang out a bit, maybe have a beer or something, but tonight was tiring. After I served the two already drunk college girls, a whole fucking frat walked in and their groupies trailing after them.

It was a packed house, which normally would be a good thing. Though, these were college kids, they barely had any money and what money they did have they were trading for Jag bombs. I’d barely made sixty in tips, and that was counting the twenty Viktor and the blond had each left me. I don’t know how they knew each other, but if I was a betting girl I’d bet it all on the blond being a relative. The next time I see either of them I’ll be sure to ask.

Clutching my bag to my chest I leave the loud warm bar, my eyes take a second to adjust to the now night sky. It’s around one in the morning, the sky is dark and the only light around me iscoming from the street lamps and the light that spills out from the bar’s windows as well as the neon glow from the various bar signs in said window.

I remember walking home from my first night at work, being scared to death that some drunk asshole would follow me home and either rape or kill me. Every shadow made me jump, every sound made my palms sweat and my pulse pound in my ears. Now? Now I just wore my purse over my shoulders, clutching it to me with one hand while the other held the pepper spray that was attached to my keys. It was a bright pink canister that was easy to see and identify its contents and purpose to anyone who had two brain cells. It was a clear warning to leave me alone or deal with the consequences.

I’ve never been attacked while walking home. Dealing with drunk, horny assholes who don’t know the meaning of no or even go away has earned me the, ‘don’t mess with that one,’ title. Using mace a couple of times leaves a lasting impression. Even if I don’t have the spray I would definitely put up a fight, I wasn’t some karate expert but I wasn’t a pushover. When push comes to shove, you just have to listen to your instincts. Your will to not die would have you doing things you thought weren’t humanly possible.

Chuckling to myself I shake my head to dislodge the random ramblings. Everytime I walk home my mind tends to wander as my body goes on autopilot. It helps me decompress and switch off from computer service mode. Even so, that particular train of thought has been rather dark. Why am I trying to work myself up by thinking about what I would do if I was attacked? It’s silly, dumb even. There is no way I’m going to be attacked on my ten-minute walk home. Stuff like that doesn’t happen here.

I’m so busy trying to calm myself down and reaffirm that I’m just being paranoid that it dawns on me that I've not been paying attention to my surroundings. The sudden pressure onmy mouth forces me to look down, seeing the gloved hand covering my mouth. I freeze. It’s not the gloved hand that makes me freeze, it’s the knife at my throat.No, no, no, no fucking way is this happening.

I am not just fucking manifesting this! Fear floods my veins and I’m quick to raise my spray, aiming it behind me as I hold my breath. His grip loosens as he pushes me away from him. He drags his knife along my collarbone, leaving what feels like a thin slice. I don’t even realize I’m bleeding until I feel something running down my chest.

I yelp as my body slams into the hard ground. The sting of my palms tearing on the rough ground causes me to gasp as I try to fight through the pain.

Forcing myself onto my feet with shaky knees, I need to move, to get away! I begin running, ready to put as much distance between us as I can before he recovers from his coughing fit.

“You fucking bitch! Get her!”

The gravel has barely began to crunch under my feet before my head is yanked backwards, my scalp screaming in pain as my hair is being used like a swing rope. “Ah!!” I scream as another man grabs my hand, pinching it so hard the bones begin to protest and creak. I try to fight through the pain. I can’t allow the spray to be taken away from me.

“Let it go! Now!” Each word leads to my wrist being painfully twisted as his nails add insult to injury as they dig into my skin. At the same time the asshole that has my hair yanks my head back once again causing me to arch my neck. His nails digging into my wrist, trying to make me let go of the pepper spray while the other man continues to use my hair to pull my head back. It hurts but I refuse to let go.

There’s no stopping the sobbing as my hand goes numb and the spray is ripped from my hands, taking a part of a fingernail with it. The pain is so sudden and burns so badly, tears roll out ofmy clenched eyes. Yanking my hand free, I bring it to my chest, trying to cradle the injured and bleeding finger. My legs wobble as I try to regain my balance, my head is still being yanked behind me and my legs are almost out in front of me.

Gravity quickly takes over and I fall back into the man who has my hair in his fist. Throwing my weight into the fall, I angle my elbow to hit him directly in the gut. We end up falling into a tangled mess of limbs and legs, but my elbow is digging into his side. The gasp and scream he releases from the pain forces him to let go of my hair.

Releasing my hair did two things. First, I land on my ass because I was mostly on top of him and two, it allows me to crab crawl backwards. Scampering away isn’t the quickest, but it’s something. As I decide to get to my feet, someone reaches out grasping a painfully firm grip around my ankle. That’s going to bruise.

“You fucking bitch that really hurt!”

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