Something Else (16)

“The next time somebody uses my name to get into the club please assume that they don’t know me,” Jaycee said sternly to Louie as he walked her into the storeroom to examine her wrists for injury.

“You got anymore old boyfriends you broke up with we should know about?” Louie asked.

“No one recent. There was this one guy in high school…but he’s gay.” She said smiling.

Eddie and Jack handled the bar crowd that had thinned somewhat after the fracas ended and the contest resumed.

Richie came in behind them and both men concentrated on her wrists which appeared scuffed and red, but the skin wasn’t broken.

“Looks like you might be a little bruised tomorrow. Do you want to take off early and go home? Eddie can close up,” Richie offered.

“No. I’m fine. I’ll finish the shift with Jack. I need to thank him. Did you see him leap over the bar? That guy is a total bad ass!”

Louie said “You got that right. He took on the three of them almost single handedly. No fear.”

Jaycee grabbed her purse and went to the ladies’ room. After freshening her makeup, she reached into the bag and retrieved a bottle of Valium, shook one out and swallowed it. Then she returned to the bar, dropping back into her station. When she got there, she looked over at Jack who had just completed a transaction. He looked up and smiled. She blew him a kiss and then got back to work.

The contest had started at 10:30 pm and been interrupted by the fight but Brad got it back on track quickly and finished it at about 11:20 pm. The judges consultated and the DJ promised to announce the winner by 11:45 pm.

At 1:00 am Brad announced, ‘Last Call for Alcohol!’ and he put on ‘I Love to Love You, Baby’ by Donna Summer, saying crassly “It’s hotel time. But if you ain’t got it by now, you ain’t gonna get it.” Thirty minutes later the place cleared out, with some nudging by Louie and his stooges.

Eddie had skipped out just after midnight leaving Jack and Jaycee to take care of the customers, get the bar organized and cleaned so they could leave by 2:00 am.

They dropped their banks and the night’s receipts in the back office where Richie was making the final tally on cover charge cash.

“It was a big night,” he said as Jack and Jaycee waited for his attention. “It probably would have been even bigger without the little skirmish with your boyfriend,” Richie said looking up at Jaycee and smiling.

Jaycee scowled and said firmly, “EX-boyfriend.”

They handed over their cash receipts in the money pouches and then set their drawer inserts with their banks on the desk.

“Great job tonight, Jack. You kicked ass. Literally,” Richie said.

“Thanks Boss. Just doin’ my thing,” Jack replied.

The bartenders turned to leave with Jaycee in the lead. When they got to the storeroom to punch out Jaycee turned around and kissed Jack firmly on the lips. He was a little shocked at first but reciprocated and their embrace lingered.

“Do you want to go to Big Boy for coffee?” Jack asked?

“Coffee? No, I need Vodka,” she replied.

“Well, the bars are closed, as you know. You could come to my place, but my roommate is probably holding court with several of his night shift assembly plant buddies, and it might be a zoo.”

“How about following me to my place across the river in St. Charles. It’s quiet. My sister and daughter will be asleep. I have some Smirnoff and beer in the fridge.”

Jack hesitated. Jaycee said “Hey it’s not that far…its only fifteen miles. We can be there in twenty minutes. I need to thank you for helping me.”

“You just thanked me with a kiss.”

“Well, there are more kisses where that one came from,” she said demurely.

“I’m sure.” Jack said.

Jaycee was a little deflated and put on a pouty face.

“How about I take you out to dinner on Sunday night?” Jack asked.

Her face perked up and she said “Sure! Where do you want to go?”

“What kind of food do you like?”

“All kinds. Italian, Mexican, Steak… but no seafood. I don’t eat seafood.”

“You don’t eat seafood? Why not?”

“I never liked it. Even as a kid. My mom used to force us to eat seafood on Friday nights. I guess it was a religious thing. We would have Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks or tuna salad sandwiches. One time she made us eat salmon cakes. Yuck! They were horrible.”

“Well then you never had good seafood. Fresh seafood. When I was in the Army I was stationed in Hawaii. We had some of the best fresh fish you ever tasted. You should try Mahi Mahi. But maybe that’s for another time. Let’s take a ride downtown to ‘The Hill.’”

“What’s ‘the Hill?’”

“It’s near Forest Park. It’s an Italian neighborhood with great restaurants. There’s one called DiMartino’s. My dad took me and my mom there when I graduated from high school. I had Chicken Parmesan with Linguini Alfredo. One of the best meals of my life.”

“Sounds wonderful. It’s a date.” She said with a big smile. Then she kissed him again. This time only on the cheek but then she gave him a big hug and he could feel her breasts pressing against his chest, and he wondered whether he should have taken her up on the original offer.