Bad Rep (Bad Rep, #1)(7)

I also couldn't help but notice his group of friends were still standing in the hallway waiting for him.  Um, embarrassing much?  I knew Eli was already drunk.  I could smell the Jack Daniels on his breath as he moved to nibble on my ear.

“Yeah.  We'll probably be down there all night.  You sure you can't come?  I'd like to see what you've got going on underneath here.”  Eli pulled at my collar, looking down my shirt.  I smacked his arm and pushed him back.

Eli laughed and stepped away.  “No can do, I've got to do the whole responsible thing.”  I hated how wobbly my voice sounded, but Eli brought out the bitch-in-heat side of me like nobody else.  Eli smirked.

“Well, I'll miss you.  I'll call you tomorrow,” he said lazily.

I would have smiled at the fact that he actually said he'd miss me except that the f*cking red head had a hold of his arm again and was pulling him out toward Randall's car.  I put a hand to my flushed face.  It was crazy how he could make me go from zero to sex starved in point two seconds.

“Um, okay.  Have fun,” I called out, but Eli didn't hear me, having already gotten in the back of the car, with slut one and slut two.

I got into Riley's car.  “Don't say a word,” I warned, shooting her a look.  Riley lifted her hands.

“What?  I wouldn't dream of telling you he's a douche bag.  Considering that you actually allow him to stick that filthy tongue down your throat.  And I definitely wouldn't tell you that he clearly has a standing appointment with gonorrhea.  That would be just too mean.  I just really hope you guys are safe.  I would double wrap it, to be on the safe side.”

I sighed and didn't comment.  Riley was right of course.  My run in with Eli left me with a sick taste in my mouth.  Yeah, I wasn't so sure about our pseudo relationship anymore.  As good looking as he was and as much as I loved the way his tongue made me wet, I thought more of myself than that.

Refusing to think too much about my floundering love life, I focused on the night ahead of me.  I was excited to be working at Barton's.  I was looking forward to the tips and the increase in cash.  The number $3,500 kept flashing through my mind like a neon sign and I knew I had to get my shit sorted and fast.

I had talked to a couple of my sorority sisters and knew they were planning on coming in tonight to give their support.  So, I was looking forward to my evening.  And though I hated to admit it, I was looking forward to seeing Jordan again.

My stomach fluttered as I thought about his blue eyes and tongue ring.  I had heard that tongue rings could feel amazing.  You know, when they were doing things...ah, hell.  I could admit I had fantasized about his tongue underneath my panties ever since I had laid eyes on him that afternoon.

What was wrong with me?  I had just got hopelessly turned on by the guy I was sort of seeing and now I'm getting even more turned on thinking about my new co-worker!  My hormones were seriously out of whack!

And damn if the blush didn't start.  By the time we pulled up outside of Barton's and parked in the employee area around back, my cheeks were scarlet.  Riley arched an eyebrow at her.  “Why are you all red?  You alright?” she asked.

I rubbed at my face. “I'm fine.  Let's go inside,” I replied airily, getting out the car.  Barton's was pretty dead.  It was only 4:30, so we had some time before the dinner rush hit and then the later drinking crowd.  I followed Riley through to the kitchen toward the small manager's office.  We poked our heads inside, seeing Moore sitting at a desk and Jordan in a chair, his feet propped up on the table in front of him.

Jordan looked up when we arrived and gave us a huge grin, his eyes immediately finding mine.  Moore looked at us over his shoulder.  “Hiya girls.  Good to see you.  Thanks for jumping in with both feet today.  I hope you'll enjoy working here,”  the manager said, swinging his chair around to face us.

I couldn't help but smile at him.  He seemed like a really nice guy.  Moore grabbed a stack of papers on his desk and handed them to Riley and me.  “You'll need to fill these out and then Jordan will start walking you through our computer system, how to punch in at the start of your shift, give you a tour...the whole shebang.  Jordan has been here for three years, so he knows about as much as I do when it comes to how this place ticks.”

I gripped the forms in my hand and felt suddenly stressed.  I had never waited tables in my life.  I imagined the worst case scenarios.  You know, the ones where I drop someone's food in their laps or make an ass of myself by tripping with a tray loaded down with glasses.

What had I gotten myself into?

Jordan must have noticed my suddenly pale face because he got to his feet and slung an arm around my shoulders companionably.  “Don't fret, my pet.  You'll be golden.  You've got me looking out for you.”  He smiled down at me and I noticed he was quite a bit taller than I was.  But instead of making me feel better, I felt like I was going to barf.

“You'll have to excuse our girl, Maysie.  Stress is her middle name,” Riley commented, shooting me a smirk.  I stuck my tongue out and wiggled out from underneath Jordan's arm, not feeling too comfortable being that close to him.  Especially since the smell of his aftershave was doing strange things to my insides.