Southern Secrets by Natasha Madison
Chapter 22
Amelia
"Where is your bodyguard?"Reed jokes, walking behind the bar. Emptying the bin of ice, he’s carrying it into the freezer as we get ready for the Saturday night rush. "Usually, I have to ask permission to enter." I push his shoulder, and he laughs. "The truth hurts."
"I’m going to hurt you if you keep talking," I say, and that makes him laugh even harder.
"Momma said I’m not allowed to hit girls," Reed says.
"And if you do, I’m going to kick your ass," Quinn says, and I look over at him. "And then I’m going to tell Mom, and she’s going to kick your ass."
Reed smirks over at him. "Not her baby," he says, walking away, and I look back at Quinn. We both watch him walk out, and then he turns and winks over at a group of girls who have been watching him. They all sigh when he walks by, and Quinn and I look at each other and laugh.
"He’s going to give my mother white hair," Quinn says, and I lean on the bar with both hands outstretched, laughing.
The night is just starting, and I watch as the crowd grows. I look over at the door and see Asher walk in and my stomach literally flips. I watch him laugh with Ethan and then shake his head. I stop for a second and just watch him even though I saw him less than two hours ago when he dropped me off here and waited until Reed showed up. Dressed in dark blue jeans, he shows off just a bit of what he has to offer. After feeling it on my leg, I can say it’s exactly how I thought it would be. A white T-shirt is under the blue-and-white-checkered long-sleeve shirt rolled up to his elbows. His black hair looks like he just ran his hand through it, and his eyes look up as if he knows I’m watching. His brown eyes light up just like the smile that fills his face. He gives me a chin up as he makes his way over to the bar.
The last week has been crazy, to say the least. They still haven’t found the two guys who broke into our cars. He is there in the morning and doesn’t leave until someone else arrives, and then every single night, he shows up at the bar and helps me close it. To anyone watching, it would be like two friends, but when we get into the house, we waste no time lunging for each other. I spend every single night in his arms. We spend the night torturing each other with kisses. I wait for his touch, my body yearning for it.
"Um.” I hear him say when he walks behind the bar. "You changed?" He does the once-over up and down.
"You didn’t think I would wear yoga pants?" I ask, shaking my head. I came in wearing yoga pants and a sweater, but I’m wearing a pair of jean shorts that are loose and hang on my hips with a thin brown and silver country belt. A white tank top with two horseshoes on the center, hang loose.
"Here," he says, taking off his long-sleeve shirt and handing it to me.
"What am I supposed to do with that?" I ask, and he looks around to make sure no one is watching our exchange. He leans in, and I smell the woodsy smell that is him. My heart speeds up, thinking he’s going to kiss me.
His mouth goes to my ear. "If you don’t tie this around your waist, I’m going to have to kiss the shit out of you in front of all these people so they know you're off-limits." He pushes back after he finishes talking.
"Is that so?" I fold my arms over my chest. I’ve never had someone be territorial about me before.
"What does a girl have to do to get a drink around here?" Chelsea says, making me look at her. I turn back to look at Asher, who holds the shirt from his finger.
"Your choice," he says, and I grab his shirt and tie it around my waist, and he glares at me.
"Compromise," I say and turn away from him as I walk to the end of the bar.
"What’s going on there?" Chelsea says, motioning with her chin.
"Nothing. I dirtied my shorts," I say. "What do you want to drink?" I look around to see that the place is jam-packed. "It’s going to be another crazy night." I smile. "You know what that means."
"No," Chelsea says. "But I’m sure you’ll tell me." She has to yell the last part of the sentence.
The DJ for the night has started the music as Luke Bryan starts singing “Country Girl.” I put my hands up as I dance down the bar to get her a beer.
I don’t have time to talk to her or anyone else for that matter as we work to get everyone served. I work side by side with Asher, and I try to ignore his little touches when he walks past me. His hand on my lower back. His hands grabbing my hips when he reaches over me. It is driving me crazy. It also makes me play the same game he is playing.
My hand slowly slips from his back to his ass as I work around him. He looks at me sideways, and I see him squeezing his fist. One time, I walk over to him and get on my tippy-toes behind him, my tits squeezing into his back. "Two can play that game, Asher,” I whisper into his ear and then quickly walk back over to my side of the bar.
The two of us working side by side laughing is one of the best nights I’ve had at work. I sing songs at the top of my lungs and all he will do is shake his head and serve the next person.
"Why are you so happy?" Chelsea looks over at me when things finally get quiet.
"What do you mean?" I ask, avoiding her eyes. I haven’t told anyone about Asher, and I am afraid with just one look, she is going to know I’m lying.
"I mean the whole singing and laughing and joking," she says. "And the whole tits on his back." She points over at Asher, who is wiping down the bar on his side.
"He was in the way." I try to hide the shock that she picked up on that. I look over at her as she sits there alone since everyone bailed out five minutes ago. She is waiting for Mayson to come back from the bathroom.
"Really?" She almost sings the word. "Interesting."
"Don’t start with that tone," I say, hating the fact she is teasing me.
"FYI." She gets up when she sees Mayson making his way back. "Seeing you that happy looks good on you."
I roll my eyes. "There is nothing going on." I fold my arms over my chest.
"Oh, if that’s the case, there is someone who just started working with me," she says. "I was thinking of setting her up with Asher." I glare at her, and she claps her hands together and throws her head back and laughs as loud as she can.
"You’re an asshole." I grab the glass off the bar.
"I wasn’t finished with that," she says and then turns to Mayson, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It’s time for you to take your woman home." She kisses him on the lips and then turns back to look at me. "See you tomorrow."
I nod at her, looking over at Asher who stands there watching me. "What?" I ask, and he walks over to me.
"Hi," he says softly with a sly smile, and I lean back on the bar.
"Hi," I say, and my hand comes up on its own and goes to the middle of his chest. The heat from his chest seeps into me, and his brown eyes shimmer.
"You good?" he asks. His hand comes up and pushes my hair behind my ear.
"Tired but good," I say as my hand slips off him when someone steps up to the bar. His hand falls to his side.
"Only two hours to go," he says, walking away from me, and I laugh.
People slowly start to leave, and before I know it, I look up and it’s empty. Reed and Christopher are picking up the last of the stray empty glasses.
The music plays softly as I clean up the bar. “I’m going to help the boys bring out the garbage.”
"Okay," I say, drying up a couple of glasses and making sure that everything is in its place.
"I’m out," Dolly says, coming over to me, bringing her black bag. "I always think we are never going to top the weekend before, and then bam, it blows it out of the water." I smile, looking at the empty bar. "You did good."
"Thank you," I say. "See you Monday."
I walk over to the sports section and turn off the lights. Making my way toward the pool tables, I make sure everything is cleaned up.
I step out and see Asher walking back in. "Where are the boys?" I ask, walking toward him and meeting him in the middle of the dance floor.
"Told them to take off," he says, and his hand grabs my hand and pulls me to him. He wraps his arm around my waist and slowly lowers his lips to mine. My tongue comes out eagerly to meet his, and my hands go to his chest as I kiss him back. He lets my lips go softly. "I waited all night to do that," he says softly, pushing the hair from my face. "There is also something I’ve wanted to do all night." He lets me go, walking over to the radio on the stage. Taking out his phone, he plugs it in and the song, “Cowboys like Me,” plays through the speakers, filling the room. Turning, he walks toward me with a smile, and his eyes turn a soft brown. My stomach flips, and a smile fills my face. He holds out his hand when he reaches me. "Dance with me."
