Page 14 of Hot and Bothered
“I just started today,” I told her.
“That’s great,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “Now that Lizzy and Grant both have their side jobs, they’ve been cutting back on their hours. I know Mason can really use the help.”
“I’m not sure how much help I am,” I confessed. “I’m really new to this kind of service work.”
“What do you normally do?” she asked curiously.
I didn’t know how to answer. Luckily, a customer called out to me for a drink so I was able to excuse myself.
“I hang around the bar sometimes to spend time with Mason,” Bree said. “So I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other. Good luck!”
“Thanks,” I told her.
I sure did need some good luck about now.
6
The rest of my shift at the bar was relatively quiet. I continued with the cleaning and carefully avoided the sink. I felt bad I wasn’t able to help out as much as I wanted to, but Lizzy reassured me that, since I was just getting started, I was already doing a good job.
It was later that evening after she told me I could go home that I realized I had been working for five hours straight.
I knew most people worked eight hours a day, or sometimes even twelve, but I’d never done work like this for that long. Although I’d made lots of mistakes, I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself.
At the very least, they hadn’t fired me on my first day. That was a good start.
When I got ready to leave, I realized I’d have to find my own way back to Evan’s place. Luckily he’d written down his address for me that morning, but he’d driven me here. I didn’t have a car. I didn’t even have money for a cab.
I sat at the bar, mournfully staring into my empty purse. My cheeks burned at the thought of asking Lizzy or Grant for some money to get home.
“Need a ride?”
Bree slid over to take a seat next to me. She had a sympathetic smile, and I had to wonder if Lizzy had regaled her with the tale of the runaway bride.
“Evan dropped me off,” I told her. “I don’t have a ride back.”
Bree jingled her keys.
“Let me give you a lift,” she said. “I need to head home, too.”
“Thank you,” I told her fervently, not even putting up a token protest.
I made a note to myself to ask if I could get an advance on my paycheck. It was very nice of Bree to offer, but I didn’t want to be caught in this situation again.
It wasn’t a long ride to Evan’s place. Bree dropped me off with a smile and a wave as I thanked her again. I felt a bit silly knocking on the door to his apartment so I tried the knob first. It was open.
I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible as I went in. It occurred to me that perhaps Evan might have invited his girlfriend home if he had one.
I found the living room and kitchen empty. There was a plastic shopping bag on the kitchen table. I wondered if he had forgotten to put the groceries away when he got home.
“Evan?” I called out, but there was no response. He must have been out.
I snuck a quick look inside the bag to make sure there wasn’t any milk or cream accidentally left out. I could at least be a helpful roommate-slash-house guest-slash-freeloader and put away the forgotten groceries before the milk spoiled.
But when I looked inside the bag I found a few women’s dresses folded neatly on top of one another, a couple pairs of yoga pants and tank tops for sleeping in, a pair of black flats, and a cross-body messenger bag. The shoes were my size. The clothing was plain solid colors of black, red, and blue. I tentatively pulled out a dress and held it up against my body. It had capped sleeves and went just to my knees. It fit against my figure perfectly.
Evan had gone shopping for clothes for me. I peeked inside the bag once again and found a package of socks and cotton underwear. My cheeks flushed. Evan had also gone shopping for my underthings. How embarrassing.
I couldn’t help but be grateful, though, because I had been wondering what I was going to do for clothing the next day. Lizzy had lent me one set of clothes, but aside from my grimy wedding dress, I didn’t have anything else to wear. I vowed I would pay Evan back the moment I got my first paycheck from Sin and Tonic.
