Please Believe Me

Chapter 23 - Madison

I dodge a fist pumping in the air as I maneuver around the crowded tables. Since it's Saturday night, Jake's sports bar is full of sports-crazed fans. I roll my eyes as men cheer on one of the team's hitting a home run.

I honestly don't know what men see in them but to each their own.

I drop off some burgers and fries for the guests assigned to my table and make a couple more rounds checking in on other customers.

It's late and I honestly can't wait to head back home and get some much-needed rest. After last night, Jake kept on calling and texting me nonstop. I had to finally reply that I was back home in order for him to stop. Thankfully, I haven't seen him at all tonight.

"Hey!" Vanessa bounces up to me. "We haven't had the chance to talk all night." She bypasses me and fills up a cup of Pepsi. I wait for the cook to hand me more orders so I can deliver them. "Yeah, it's been busy. As you can see."

She bobs her head up and down. "I know! Have you seen the guys at one of my tables?" She gestures in their general direction but I don't see them amongst the crowd.

"They're cute. Hopefully, I can get a number from one of them."

I roll my eyes and reach for the tray of food one of the cooks hands me. "I'm sure they've already handed them to you."

"You're right." Out of the corner of her pocket, I see her pull out many folded pieces of paper.

I chuckle. "Get back out there, I'm sure they're waiting to see your pretty face."

I'm walking past her when she pulls me to the side. "Wha—"

"Madi, we need to talk," Her voice suddenly filling with a sense of urgency but I'm not sure why.

"Why?" My brows pull together. "Did something happen?"

She looks around quickly and smiles at one of our colleagues who acknowledges us with a wave of her hand.

Vanessa's gaze meets mine and I try to make out why she's reacting this way which is extremely rare. "You never replied back to my texts yesterday. What the hell?" She whisper-hisses.

I hear one of the guests shout and I tell her. "A few more minutes and I'm done with my shift. We'll talk then, okay?"

She nods and we scatter away to do our jobs. For the remainder of my shift, I deliver drinks to the rowdy crowd which is expected as this happens every weekend. As I walk over to my locker, I can't help but wonder why Vanessa looked like she just let the cat out of the bag.

What was she hiding?

I pull out my bag and am getting ready to clock out when I hear both shouts.

"Mad, wait!"

"Madison, what a pleasure to see you."

I hear his deep rumble and spin around. I come face to face with my douchey boss.

"Jake." Is the only greeting I give him and watch as Vanessa comes to a halt out of the corner of my eye.

"You left yesterday before I could give you a ride home." He remarks and I stiffen.

I glimpse over at Vanessa who's standing in place, taking us both in, her eyes scrutinizing every little detail.

I never did get the chance to tell her what went down last night. We've both been so busy the entire day so I can only imagine what's spinning through her mind now. Because although Vanessa acts careless, she's anything but stupid. Actually, I think that would be the last word I would use to define her.