Love Ink

The Calm Before the Storm

"Catherine, you have horrible taste in men."

"Riley, I'd like to remind you that I'm lesbian."

I couldn't help but chuckle at their interaction. Even as their employee, Riley never let anything get in the way of her friendship with Catherine. I however, couldn't say the same. As soon as the doors to the bar opened, I wasn't Y/n. That was 20 minutes from now.

"You guys are a real life comedy." I stood up and started to waltz away. "And Riley's right. Just because you're gay doesn't mean you get to have bad taste!" I heard a gasp and a chuckle from behind me, quickly followed by more friendly bickering.

I sidled up to the bar where Ruby was drying some glasses. I grabbed a towel, not bothering to ask if she needed help.

"How was your shift at Magic Shop this morning?" Ruby must have seen the mask of calm that I held over my fatigue. Tonight I took my place on the floor as a gogo dancer, hyping up the crowd and sometimes Riley.

"Long." I knew I couldn't hide it from her, Ruby being the mom friend that she was. "I met up with someone afterward and talked for a bit, so that helps."

"Good. No alcohol for you tonight. There's a bunch of energy drinks in the back if you need a quick pick-me-up." I groaned a little bit at missing the fantastic whiskey this place stocked. Finishing off the last of the glasses, I did a quick once over of the place before heading into the back for one of the energy drinks I was promised.

I popped the top and quickly chugged the drink, the acidic liquid sliding down my throat and coating it in a film of carbonation and shitty flavoring. Just as I finished it off, the back door opened and in walked Jackson. I immediately started coughing from the feeling in my throat, Jackson rushing over to my side and patting my back.

"Jesus Y/n. One of these days you're going to kill yourself with that shit." He rushed off into the front. When he returned, there was a glass of water in his hand that he quickly shoved into my own.

"Damn it Jackson, Ruby and I just finished cleaning these." I downed the water just like I had the energy drink.

"Yeah well, you can clean it again because of your stupidity." I flipped him off as the remnants of water washed away the burn of the drink.

Ruby popped in and grabbed the glass from me, proceeding to bring it to the sink and wash it. She started back toward the front, passing me and patting me on the head like a child.

"You still have a toothbrush from the last time you passed out here." With a quick 'thank you' from me, she was gone.

"Come on, we still have 5 minutes until the doors open." Jackson grabbed my hand and tugged me up from where I was sitting among the stacks of boxes that had yet to be brought to the storage room. He didn't let go even as we walked through the swinging door to the front, lazily letting our hands swing between us as Ruby tossed him the key to the storage room. Jackson led me there only releasing his grip on me to open the door and grab my overnight bag that I had kept stashed with the endless racks of bottles and mounds of boxes.

Jackson picked up my hand again and ushered me into the bathroom where he left me to brush my teeth and fix the makeup that had smudged slightly. I rushed back to the storage room and locked it with the key that Jackson had stuffed into my pocket on the way out. When I entered the main floor, I could see the main door being unlocked and opened by Jackson. I took the pony that held my hair in its normal messy bun and shook out my locks. I felt hands on my shoulders as I was turned around to see Ruby's hands make their way to fluff up my hair. Afterward she quickly ran a hand through it to tame it just enough.

"There, go get 'em tiger." She gave me a fond smile, borderlining on a smirk, and turned me toward the dance floor and gave me a little push.

God was I ready to fuckin' party.

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Helloooooooooo! Nice of you to drop by and see MC very clueless. She be like that sometimes.

Well, get ready for a night at the bar in the next chapter. I don't know how it's going to go but uh... It'll be interesting.

I know this chapter is pretty short, but it was just a good place to stop. Plus, I plan to have the next chapter out fairly soon... Notice the word 'plan'. Yeah, I'm not very good at those. c:

By the by, if you're confused, here's a rundown on who is what in the bar:

Ruby and Catherine are the owners (and soulmates), Ruby runs the literal bar while Catherine runs the books, Riley is the full-time DJ, Jackson is a bouncer/bartender, MC is a gogo dancer/bouncer/bartender (depending on who is where and where help is needed)

And the bar's name is 'Forever Young' because why not?

Love y'all!