Page 56 of Tease
Huffing out an annoyed breath, I shuffle my feet back and forth, throwing the bar towel onto the bartop, and lean my hip against the counter. But… did I even think once about Joey when Jared stepped into that cage for his fight, literally taking my breath away? Or when he was here at this bar? Did him being the brother of a murderer come to mind when Jared’s eyes locked onto mine during dinner? No… It… Didn’t…
And that fucking terrifies me.
It’s a Thursday night, ladies’ night at The Purple Room. I need to get out of my head and be prepared for the busy night ahead of me. I stand up straighter and shake my head, attempting to free myself from those memories of Jared.Fuck, what is wrong with you, Kailey?!
Just as I lean down to put away the clean glasses, Shelah slaps her small purse on the bartop. “Some asshat—a new employee—walked in today and mentioned how it’d been aquietafternoon...”
I grimace at her statement. Oh boy, I know where this is going. From my clinic time in the emergency department, there was a known golden rule: you never sayquietorslowin regard to the flow of the day.
Shelah’s beautiful round face is flushed. Hair once styled for her shift, now frayed around the scalp where sweat had taken its toll. She’s rocking a solid black tank top, with black scrub joggers and hot pink tennis shoes. Making eye contact with her,my hands go to making her signature drink, an espresso martini. “How bad did it get?”
Resting her elbows on the bartop, her tone vicious, she fumes, “Girl, let me just say this… It never stopped after that idiotic statement of his. The floodgates had been opened.”
I give her a soft smile and place the fresh, strong alcoholic beverage in front of her. This right here, Shelah, is the perfect distraction for me. Ineedit. Her stories always take my mind elsewhere. I’ve missed her. Shelah had taken some time off to spend with her grandchildren. Judging by her appearance, this might have been her first shift back in the grind.
My full attention is on her while she downs the drink in one go. I can’t help but chuckle as she swallows the last drop. My gaze skims the bar; it’s filling up. Almost all of the customers are ladies. I love this scene. I think that’s why I continue to work here—the interactions and connections.
“Wow, yes. That’s the start I needed.” Shelah wipes her lips and holds her empty glass up to me. “Another one, please, pretty lady.”
My eyebrows raise at her. “Ohhhh, is it gonna be a me-driving-you-home kind of night?”
Shelah throws her hands up. “Maybe… I already miss my family. They had to leave yesterday and head back to their lives. And the fuck-face new employee that I had to deal with today was the cherry on top.”
After I slide her the new martini, I start to fill a shot glass for each of us—tequila. Finishing the shots with salt around the rim and a slice of lime, I hand one to her. I grab my shot glass and raise it to hers. “To your friendship always being a light when my life is a dark tunnel.”
She grabs my shoulder and clinks our glasses together. We set them back down on the bartop, lick the salt, take the shot, and bite the lime.
“Mmm, tasty,” I whisper.
Shelah’s eyes have glossed over. “KC, you mean a lot to me too. I hope you know that.” She squeezes my hand before letting it go. “How are things with you? Still seeing that hunk of a man Mathew?” She shimmies her shoulders back and forth. “He’s a stallion in the sheets, isn’t he?!”
I spot Taylor, another bartender, next to me and inform her I’m taking a short break.
Turning back toward Shelah, I hold my finger up to her. “Before we get started on all of my issues,” I scrunch my face at her, “I’m gonna need some funny stories from your shift today.” Walking around the bar, I sit in the high-top chair next to her and bump my shoulder into hers. Leaning my head on to her bare shoulder, I mutter, “Give it to me.”
She twirls the stick from her martini glass and her words are low. “Whew, where to start…” Stopping abruptly, her hand goes to cover her lips. “Actually, we did have a gentleman come into the ER this evening…” A wicked grin takes over her face. “He passed out with a titanium cock ring on. His partner brought him in for excruciating pain.”
I pull my face away from her shoulder. “Wait a minute, he used it and just forgot to take it off?!” My jaw drops, and I wait for her to continue.
“Yep! Of course, there were drugs involved. By the time he came to, his dick was too swollen for either one of them to take it off. And by the time he hobbled into the ER, his shaft was black. Diagnosis: Penile strangulation.”
Fully invested in this story, my eyes go big and I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “What in the world?! They can save his—Right?!”
Shelah’s eyes go to her drink and she shakes her head softly. “Nope, I mean, most likely not. We flew him out pretty quickly so he could get the appropriate care. He was going tohave immediate surgery to remove it, is my guess.” Her body physically shudders as if she remembers the condition of his dick.
“I’ve never been with a partner who used one of those, but I can’t imagine using something for fun and it ending his manhood!”
“Right? And it just so happens that was the first patient that checked in after dumb-nuts made his statement…”
Shelah takes a healthy sip of her drink. “Actually… we also had some foreign objects in rectums today.” She laughs, causing that sip to go down the wrong tube, making her have a small coughing fit.
I pat her back lightly and wiggle my finger at her. “Nuh-uh, no ma’am. Can’t just say that and not go into details.” I pat her back a little harder. “Cough it out, then continue, please.” It still amazes me that the emergency departments get that many patients who shove stuff up their…goods.
Waving off my hand, she looks around the room before continuing. “One was a full-size russet potato!”
“Huh? Why would someone shove a potato up their own ass?”
“Ah, glad you asked. This male was in his seventies, and it was his wife who did it! Told me they were into ‘that kind of thing,’ but it just wouldn’t come back out this time.” Her small hands go to cover her lips as she silently laughs into them.
