Counter Lotus

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Oregon was often rainy, but today I experienced my first severe thunderstorm here. Let me tell you, since we were on the coast, it was severe. Bring it on though! Storms were relaxing and made everything cozy because you just wanted to stay inside. It made traveling a bitch, but thankfully, it struck just after I got to work.

Another bonus to the storm: it was making for an easy shift so far. Not many people wanted to be out in this mess. Aside from three people sitting up at the bar, the whole place was empty. Mindlessly playing with my necklace, I wandered through the empty dining room over to some of windows next to the booths. Under the dark gray sky, the violent wind and rain swirled the tops of trees.

Zack was with me today, so it wasn't boring at least. Looking over the hazy parking lot outside, he came up next to me. "I'll give you twenty bucks to run outside and roll around."

I snorted. "20 bucks? I'm a classy escort, not a filthy street hoe. I would need like 40."

"25 is the highest I would go."

"Then I guess I am staying inside," I smiled.

I took bets and dares seriously. I didn't consider myself to be obnoxious, but I loved being goofy and having fun. So I'll happily embarrass myself or wow the crowd, but either way, you better make it worth it for me. The people here were slowly learning that about me. Last week, I earned 10 bucks for drinking a full cup of disgusting mushroom juice. Yes, I was very classy and cool.

The patter of the downpour added to the quiet music playing through the speakers. Other than that, there was nothing but soft chatter when we walked back up to the bar. By now, I knew a few of the regulars. Some were pigs, some weren't, but thankfully Bryce wasn't.

We've already had a few nice conversations since I've started working here. He was maybe a few years older than me and was Zack's friend. He was apparently quite the host of some epic parties too. He was telling us about one he was planning on having next week.

"I already warned the neighbors – and made sure to invite them so they won't call in any noise complaints this time. I figure if you bring pizza, I'll provide the beer," he said to Zack from where he was sitting at the bar. "I just bought a new stereo too. You have that night off, right?"

"Yeah, I made sure of it," Zack said before looking over to me. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You have next Saturday night off, right? You're welcome to come if you want. I know you mentioned you liked to party."

"I don't know..." I chuckled, looking between them. "I won't really know anyone there."

"You'll know us. You'll know plenty of people by the time you leave too."

"My girlfriend makes the best queso dip," Bryce added, sipping his beer.

That's really all it took to convince me – not the queso dip (though that sounds great) but their willingness to invite me. I was ready to let loose after my rocky start here. Plus, meeting new people sounded exciting! Moving here was my chance to be the person I always wanted to be and that meant putting myself first. And yes, putting myself first meant downing some shots, maybe throwing up, and not worrying about anyone else. Sounds like the life to me!

"Well awesome," I said with excitement. "Sure then, that sounds fun!"

Bryce nodded. "It will be good way for you to get to know people too since you just moved here."

It was uplifting to have something to look forward to for once. That is... until what happened not an hour later.

With no orders to take, I stayed behind the bar with Zack. We chattered while he served a few more drinks. Our boss Vince even came out from his office and showed his face a few times before going back to do his paperwork. Yes, the storm killed business that much tonight. Not like I minded. I bust my ass every shift so having a break was nice.