Resurfacing

Chapter 27:

I got up from the booth to see if I could find Rachel, she was not on the schedule this weekend and I hoped she would cover for me so I could go away with Ezra. When I spotted her, she was leaning over a table with a sucker in her mouth. She was working hard for her tips tonight. I laughed at how desperate we always looked when we were trying to make money. It was so shameless.

I decided I was going to help her out so she might help me out this weekend. I walked up behind her and placed my hand on her back and traced my fingers around the hemline of her shirt.  She tensed until she realized it was me and a faint smile pulled at her lips.  We had done this a few times before to try to get the tips flowing.  It was a little devious, but it was what helped pay the bills.

"Hey, baby." I said out loud and then whispered in her ear, telling her to get ready. She smiled when I brought my hands to her hair and played with the dark strands. The middle-aged men at the table were watching us hungrily. I looked over at the table and smiled at them innocently. "You boys treating my girl well?"

I put my hands on her bare hips and squeezed. She let out a little noise like a squeak. I looked over at the bar and Jules was on high alert until he realized it was me who made her shriek.  He shook his head as he smiled and stood back, watching us from the bar. He wasn't going to miss this one. Rachel better agree to help cover my shifts after this.

"Yes, ma'am." One of the guys said, watching my hands, which were still on her hips. He licked his lips at us and I winked at him and looked down to where my hands were on her.  His eyes followed mine eagerly.

"Don't treat her too well. We've got a bet going. If she makes more money than me tonight, she wins. I don't want her to win." I leaned over and whispered to the man closest to me. Rachel was pretending like she didn't hear me.

"What happens if she wins?" The man whispered back with wide eyes.

I smiled and stuck out my tongue ring and twisted it around. Rachel pulled me in front of her and smacked my ass hard. I yelped when her hand came in contact with me, that hurt. I looked back to the bar and Jules raised his hands in the air and shook his head before turning away from us.

I ran my hand down Rachel's arm before walking away. I heard the guy I whispered to ask her what happened if she won. She mentioned something about a riding crop and I busted out laughing as I made my way back to the bar. She was getting more inventive every day. When I got back behind the bar, they were handing her fistfuls of money. She really owed me now.

A few minutes later, she walked over to me. She was suspicious; she knew I just did her a favor. She would have no choice other than to help me out. 

"I think I still have your handprint on my butt cheek."  I laughed at her.

"Good. You deserve it. Turn around and I'll give you a matching one on the other side." She huffed. "What do you want, Riley? I know you want something."

"Can you work for me this weekend? Ezra wants me to go to meet his Mom." I asked.

"Riley, I have plans." She whined. Rachel would give into me.

"How much did they give you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and smiling.

"Seventy-three dollars." She said, smiling as she pulled out the cash and waving it at me. "And a carwash voucher...people are really strange."

"I'll throw in another $100.00 if you work for me." Jules owed me a decent amount of money tonight and I could skim a little off the top and still come out ahead. I had made some decent tips behind the bar, which helped.

"You suck." She said.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I said, jumping up and down. 

At the end of the night, Jules handed me $250.00 and I turned around and gave her $100.00 from it. Jules raised his eyebrows at me, confused.

"Thanks for working for me this weekend, Rachel! See you both on Monday!" I skipped out the door towards my car. I was so excited to get home to Ezra. I was going to have to tell him about seeing Aiden tonight and what he said to me about Brynn. It seemed so strange and I didn't want to believe it. Brynn had been my friend for as long as I could remember. What he told me tonight just didn't seem right.

I pulled into the apartment parking lot. The lights in my apartment windows were out. Ezra must have fallen asleep while I was working. We were planning on hitting the road early in the morning. He told me it was about a three and a half-hour drive to get to his Mom's house. I told Ezra I didn't think my car would make it. He said he would call some friends while I was at work and arrange to get his car here. I suspected it was the dark car in the parking lot I did not recognize.

My tired legs climbed the stairs and I turned the key in the lock. The apartment was dark and I tried to sneak in quietly so I wouldn't wake Ezra up. I tiptoed to my bedroom and opened the door. Ezra was sprawled out across my bed in just his boxers.  He kicked all the blankets off him in his sleep and I could see every inch of his flawless skin in the moonlight.  He was so tall his feet hung over both sides. I laughed, not exactly sure how I was going to squeeze in next to him.

I shimmied out of my work uniform and took my bra off, standing just in my panties. I debated putting some pajamas on until I saw the shirt Ezra was wearing today on my dresser. I grabbed it and pulled it over my head. It smelled like him and I let out a deep sigh of relief when the soft fabric touched my body. It was a lot longer on me since I was so short. It looked like I was wearing a nightshirt.

I leaned back against my dresser and watched his chest rise and fall in his peaceful sleep. He always looked so young and innocent when he was dreaming. He was so flawed and damaged during the daytime, but that contrast between the two made me love him that much more. 

I stretched before moving to the bed and grabbed the scrunched up blankets hanging off the bottom to spread them back over him. I found a little space on the bed to climb in next to him.  Ezra shifted and gave me a little more room when he felt me slide in. 

"Welcome home, Beautiful." He whispered in a raspy, sleep heavy voice. 

Ezra wrapped his strong arms around me tightly and pulled me into his body. He kissed the bottom of my neck before I felt him slip back under for the night. 

I was so tired that my eyes closed as soon as I hit the pillow and joined him.