Baby Love Lite (26 page)

As I walked to the parking garage I saw
headlights coming around the curve near our spaces. It was Trey’s
Mercedes. I was at a loss as to whether I should wait around until
after he parked his car and got out in case he wanted to talk to me
before I left. My instincts told me that nothing had changed. Once
he'd parked his car on the other side of mine, I backed out and
headed out of the garage without looking back.

A tear threatened to spill as I pulled into
traffic. I could understand his initial anger that I'd done this
without discussing it with him. I just couldn’t understand him
taking his anger to these limits. The silent treatment was worse
than arguing. It seemed emotionally abusive to me.

I filed that away for future reference. I'd
never give him the silent treatment again.

Once at the club, I busied myself with
learning how to enter the drink tabs into the computerized
register. I was working with a bartender named Eddie. He looked to
be in his mid-thirties, totally cute and totally gay. He assured me
that if I got stuck on a drink I hadn’t made before to let him
know, he knew them all. I asked him how long he'd been working at
the Sanctuary.

“
Six months,” he replied,
“but honey, I started mixing drinks for my mommy at the ripe age of
seven. She was all about the latest trendy drinks, you know? Let’s
see, there were the Fuzzy Navel, Slow Gin Fizz, and Tequila
Sunrise. She’d reward me by letting me make myself a Kamikaze or
two.”

“
Really? At seven years
old?”

“
Oh, yeah,” he giggled, “I
was a full blown alcoholic at twelve. My father finally grew a pair
and got custody of me. I spent two months in rehab. I haven’t had a
drink since. Oh, I smoke the occasional blunt, you know, but that’s
the extent of it.”

“
So, it doesn’t bother you
working around all of this?”

“
Not a bit, honey. Great way
to meet guys too,” he winked.

Gina would be managing the downstairs bars.
There were three of them. The entertainment for tonight was going
to be another ‘80’s knock-off band that Ian had already booked
called, “Parachute Pants.” They were setting up and practicing when
I'd arrived.

By 9:30 p.m., the upstairs was getting
crowded. The band had started playing and the club was filling up.
Gina phoned up and asked if Eddie and I were doing okay; she acted
as a floater if one of the bars got slammed for a period of time.
She also covered breaks for the bartenders. I told her that we were
holding our own for the time being. Suddenly she started
laughing.

“
OMG, girlfriend, guess who
just walked in the door down here?”

Of course she didn’t give me the opportunity
to respond.

“
The Hot Nazi with his hot
brother and some chick with long, blond hair draped between
them.”

Shit! Trey, Tristan and Libby - great!

“
Don’t worry; they’re taking
a table down here. I guess I’ll go over and greet them properly.
Call down here if you guys get slammed up there and I’ll come up to
help. Cha-Ching!!”

Why the hell was Trey here after he'd been so
furious with me for investing?

“
You okay, honey?” Eddie
asked as he filled one of the waitress’s trays with draft beers for
a table of college guys sitting nearby.

“
Yeah, I’m okay. Gina called
to say that if we get slammed to be sure and call down for
help.”

“
You're doing excellent
Tylar, for an amateur, by the way.”

“
Thanks, Eddie.”

Just then a couple of guys sat down at the
bar and made no secret of perusing me from head to toe. They were
nice looking; well dressed in business suits. They appeared to have
gone out after work for happy hour and then decided to make a night
of it.

“
So, what’s your specialty
drink tonight, sweets?” the one with the raven black hair and dark
brown eyes asked. He was smiling at me showing straight, white
teeth and a rakish look. I greeted both of them placing cocktail
napkins in front of them and handing out our drink
menus.

“
It’s all good here,” I
replied smiling. “Do either of you want to start a tab?”

“
Here let me, Ryan,” the
other guy said, pulling a credit card from his wallet for me to
keep.

It was club policy. Ryan’s friend was
probably about the same age with very blond hair and pale blue
eyes. Ryan looked up from the drink menu and ordered a Captain
Morgan and water; his buddy, whose name turned out to be Andy,
ordered a bourbon and coke. I noticed they both wore expensive
watches, like Trey’s.

By 10:30 p.m. the bar was full and most of
the tables on the mezzanine were as well. The band had been playing
for an hour and took their first break of the evening. I was
handling the bar; Eddie handled the drink orders from the floor
waiters and waitresses. If there was a lull, he helped me with the
bar patrons.

By this time, Ryan and Andy had consumed
about three rounds. Ryan was now waving me over with a silly grin
on his face. “Tylar,” he said having read my name off of my
nametag, “over here.”

I went over to where both of them where
wearing shit-eating grins.

“
Andy and I think that we're
ready for something a bit more interesting and fun to drink,” he
clarified. “Tell us a bit about this drink here called Adios Mother
Fucker.”

“
I don’t think that I'd
recommend that one for either of you,” I laughed.

“
Why not?” Ryan asked,
encouraged. “Is it because you aren’t ready to say ‘Adios’ to us,
Tylar?”

“
Well, guys, it’s more along
the lines of I don’t think my conscious could stand giving you a
drink like that considering what you’ve already consumed here, not
to mention what you probably consumed before you got
here.”

Ryan laughed good-naturedly. “You’re
beautiful and caring at the same time. I’m impressed, Tylar.”

“
Well, then,” Andy chimed
in, “we need something for the road, Ryan. Something a bit tamer
I'd guess.” Andy had a slight British accent as if he was either
born in England and had spent most recent years here in the states,
or perhaps was from here but spent a lot of time in the
U.K.

Ryan leaned forward as if he wanted to share
a secret with me. I was getting restless knowing that with the
crowded bar there were other patrons I needed to serve. I really
had hoped they were ready to cash out and be on their way.

“
Yes, Ryan?” I inquired
politely.

“
I’ve decided that I'd like
you to give me a Kiss on the Lips.”

“
Me, too,” Andy piped in,
“only I want you to double mine.”

“
Excuse me?” I heard a very
familiar smooth and silky voice say from behind them.

Oh shit!

“
Mrs. Sinclair will not be
giving either of you a kiss on the lips. That's unless you're
willing to part with your teeth should you try.”

“
Trey, stop,” I cautioned
quietly. “They just want a drink.”

“
A drink is one thing,
Tylar; I believe they wanted more than that.”

“
Nooo, Trey, they didn’t.
The drink they were requesting
is
called Kiss on the Lips.” I recited the
ingredients for him as Ryan and Andy snickered in the background.
Andy was the first one to get lippy. It was evident he was
British.

“
Shove off, knob head,” he
said, his accent more pronounced. “We’ve got it covered here. Who
are you to care anyway as to what the lass says or
does?”

“
She's my
wife,
” he hissed towering
over Andy with a glint of murder in his blue eyes.

“
Don’t see a wedding ring on
her finger,” Ryan cut in smirking.

Trey lowered his eyes to my left hand.

Holy shit! I didn't put it back on after
braiding my hair.

My ring had snagged my hair a couple of times
as I was French braiding it, so I'd taken it off while I finished.
Apparently, I'd forgotten to put it back on. Trey was livid.
Thankfully, Eddie sensed that something was amiss and quickly came
to my side.

“
Is everything okay?” he
asked.

“
No, it isn’t,” Andy chimed
in. “This chap here is poaching on what Ryan and I've staked our
claim on for this evening.”

Oh, Holy Shit!

The next thing I knew, both Ryan and Andy
were picking themselves off the floor while Trey ordered me out
from behind the bar threatening to drag me over the top if I wasn’t
front and center within ten seconds.

“
Call Gina up here, now,” I
whispered to Eddie as I made my way past him around to the front of
the bar. All of the patrons at the bar were watching the drama
unfold.

Once I was out from behind the bar area, Trey
took my hand leading me as he wove us through the crowd on the
mezzanine dragging me behind him. As soon as we got to an area that
was somewhat cleared, I yanked my hand from his grasp. He spun
around looking at me as if I'd somehow lost my mind.

“
What in the hell do you
think you're doing, Trey? How dare you come up here and make a
scene like that,” I snapped.

“
What the hell? You come
here not wearing your wedding ring, leaning over the bar flirting
with those two idiots, who by the way, were enjoying the view down
your unbuttoned blouse. So I’m thinking that should be my question.
What the hell do you think
you
are doing?”

“
I’m working; I’m a partner
in this, remember?”

He stood there in a partial slouch, hands
resting on his hips looking totally gorgeous and extremely
pissed.

“
You don’t have the right to
come into my place of employment and conduct yourself like some
overbearing, hormonal crazed jerk!”

Just then Gina and Tristan were at our side.
“What happened?” Gina asked.

“
Trey assaulted two of our
patrons,” I replied, crossing my arms and glaring right back at
him. I saw a flicker of amusement cross Tristan’s face. Trey wasn't
amused.

“
The fuckers were telling
her they wanted her to kiss them on the lips,” he
snarled.

“
Oh, Jesus Christ,
counselor, that’s the name of a drink,” Gina hissed.

“
That may be, Gina, but
their body language was speaking to much more. Then the bastards
accused me of encroaching on their turf!”

“
Trey,” Tristan spoke up
calmly, “Let’s get back downstairs and let Tylar work, okay?” Trey
didn’t take his eyes off me. He didn’t answer Tristan because he
was too busy staring a hole in me with those piercing eyes. There
was much that I wanted to say to him but here and now wasn't the
time or place to air our dirty laundry.

“
Trey, C’mon, let’s get back
down to our table and leave Tylar to her work. I left Libby down
there by herself when Gina came to get me.”

“
I’m sure she’s been kept
entertained in your absence, Tristan. She’s probably
humping
the bus boy
or
spanking
the
bouncer,” he spat.

Oh my God. He did not just say that!

I looked over at Gina. Her expression was
frozen in disbelief. I raised my eyes to Tristan who had taken on a
steely expression. I'd never seen Tristan anything other than
congenial or laid back. I was seeing the angry side of Tristan now;
it was a bit intimidating.

"You're out of line, Trey,”
he said, his words edged with calm fury. “I'll consider the fact
that you're drunk at the moment and for whatever reason, pissed
that your wife did something on her own without your permission. We
all know your
need
to control, but don’t ever speak about Libby in that manner
again. You aren’t eight years old anymore; I guess we’ll finally
see who can whip whose ass.”

Tristan turned to depart then stopped and
turned to me. “I apologize for my brother’s behavior tonight. Good
luck with your new endeavor. If you need anything, please let me
know?”

“
Thanks, Tristan,” I replied
softly.

With that he turned and left. Trey was still
standing there staring at me. He looked totally miserable and out
of sorts. I wasn’t sure if it was because of me or a result of the
way he'd just acted with his brother. He raked his hand through his
hair then glared at Gina before turning and following Tristan. Now
it was Gina and I left standing there in confusion.

“
Wow,” Gina said taking a
deep breath. “That was kind of hot.”

“
Oh, Gina,” I wailed, “how
can you say that? Trey hasn’t spoken to me in a couple of days then
comes in here and gets all jealous and causes a scene. What’s hot
about that?”

“
First of all, I was
referring to Tristan putting Trey in his place; secondly, why the
hell haven’t you said anything to me about Trey not speaking to
you?”

“
Because it’s my problem; I
need to deal with it.”

“
Alright, alright. Obviously
you didn’t feel the need to share this with your best friend. I'll
keep my nose out of it. Are you okay to go back to the
bar?”

“
Yeah. I’m good. I’m sure
those guys are gone by now.”

“
Okay. Call if you need
me?”

“
I will,” I smiled as I
turned to go back.