Page 22 of The Playboy and the Waitress

“Come Dage, bring your little flower this way. I want you to taste my newest wine. We just brought this one out and I believe it will be a huge hit. Tell me, Jenna, are you a wine girl?”

“In my own way, yes.” I look at all the wine bottles on the wall and think of my collection of Boone's Farm back home. I bite the inside of my lip to keep myself from laughing out loud.

He hands me and Dage both a glass and instinctively I smell it. Unfortunately, I was not able to stop the grimace on my face. It smells like kerosene. So, I turn my head slightly, acting like I'm taking a sip.

“It will take a rather long time to get rid of that glass if you don’t drink it,” I hear Dage whisper behind me.

“I thought I was doing a great job of masking my disgust. I was thinking about dumping it in this plant over here, but I don’t want to kill it,” I whisper back.

Dage’s sudden laughter has everyone’s attention back on us. He takes the glass away from me, sets them on the bar, then orders us something else.

Cruz looks confused by Dage’s laughter, “Was there something wrong with it, Dage?” he asks.

“My old friend, I'm going to be honest with you, and by me doing this I believe I will save your family business. But that shit sucked, I hope you haven’t counted on that one as a big seller because I think it's rotten.”

I watch Cruz pick Dage’s glass and sniff the contents, a frown now upon his face. He turns to the girl behind the counter. “Tracy, if anyone asks to taste this particular wine this evening, please tell them it’s not for sale, get Dage and his guest whatever they would like instead.”

“Yes, sir.”

A few seconds later Dage hands me another glass and smiles at me. “Now don’t drink that one too fast, it will hit you hard, it’s a little stronger than what you're used to.”

It smelled wonderful. I take a sip and an instant smile forms on my face. “You know your wines it seems. I'm slowly filling in the blanks on you, before long I’ll have you completely figured out.”

A female's voice echoes through the room. “Dage, quit hogging the girl to yourself and introduce her to the rest of us.”

“I tried,” I hear him say.

He grabs my hand as he pulls me into another room. A large fireplace sits in the corner surrounded by couches, and to my horror, the whole room is full, with every eye on us.

“Hey guys, this is Jenna, I don’t want to spend the evening being embarrassed by all the lies you guys tell her about me, so talk about yourselves for a change.”

We sit down on one of the couches and I swear I can feel their eyes running over me inspecting me like a bug under a microscope.

The whole room is full of small talk almost like a group discussion. It is sadly sterile compared to me and the few friends I have. Dage seems uptight and not his normal easy-going self. The few times I have asked him something I get one-word sentences back. He has pulled me over a few times kissing me on the cheek or even on the forehead. He is in a conversation with the guy next to him when I feel his whole body tensing up. I gradually slide my hand under his, intertwining our fingers, and I immediately feel him relax. Not long afterward he settles back next to me, kissing my hand gently before he places ours together on his leg.

I notice that every time he does something intimate, the women here look puzzled. I don’t know him in this world, so I don’t know if this is normal or not. After the second glass of wine, I’d asked for water and now my bladder is feeling it.

“I need to go to the little girl's room. I’ll be right back.”

“Do you need me to go with you?”

I laugh. “No, I think I can manage.”

I walk into this elaborate bathroom and shake my head at the money they spent in here. It probably could have funded a third-world country. I walk into the first stall as the doors of the other two are closed and just as I shut the door, I hear whoever is in the other stalls start to talk to each other.

“Ok, we have both been around him for years and I have never seen this side of him. I mean she is pretty and all, but she doesn’t come from his usual stock, and you can tell it. I mean did you see those boots, so three years ago. He stands over her like a guard dog, I mean what a shame. He is throwing away all the major players that have been thrown at him, women that could elevate his career and standing in society, for someone that is so under him, such a waste.”

It doesn’t take a rocket science to figure out who they are talking about, and I don’t know if it should bother me or not. I mean apparently he is acting out of character because of me, and from what I can tell I don’t feel like it’s in a bad way. But these people are his friends… Friends who are acting like I’m a stray dog he picked up on the road.

I finish up and open the door, and this is soooo one of those moments you see in the movies where the girls are caught talking about someone in the bathroom. They both look at me in the mirror and I will give them this, they never blink an eye when they see it was me in the other stall. These two are well trained in the art of hiding what’s going on in their minds. I don’t act like I’ve heard a word. I simply smile as I finish washing my hands then I walk out of the room. In my apparent out-of-style boots.

As I start to walk back into the room I can tell Dage is in a heated conversation with Cruz. Everyone in the room is acting like they are talking, but every ear is tuned to the two talking in the corner.

As I get closer I hear, “Have you lost your mind, Dage? I knew I recognized her from somewhere… She’s the damn waitress you were talking about the other day. I understand we all have our slumming days, but you can’t afford to do this now. Play with her and get her out of your system quickly before this gets any further than this room. Your whole career and your way of life depend on your inheritance… don’t screw that up over a piece of ass.”

I stop in my tracks, my first thought is to run out of the room, but my Daddy didn’t raise a coward, and I’ll be damned if I’ll act like I'm ashamed of who I am. I don’t know who is more shocked, me or Cruz when I hear Dage growl out,

“Fuck you, Cruz, and this room of my so-called friends.”

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