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“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” Danny asked.
Clay must not have shared with him that she’d had experience as a server. She grinned and leaned her hip against the counter.
“Only in college and high school,” she teased.
He shook his head and grabbed the bucket of soapy water from the sink and handed it to her. He tossed a cloth in it for her.
“You could have just told me that when you first got here and I wouldn’t have been hovering so much.” His eyes crinkled in the corners.
“And rob you of the chance to share all of your little tidbits of wisdom?” she joked. She backed away from him with a laugh. For her first night, she’d actually had fun. The tips were good, and by the looks of what she’d made already, she would reach her goal in no time. Maybe after Tess got back she’d ask if she could come in once in a while to help out. She was sure they would still need the staff.
Cashea went over to where a few vacant seats were at the bar. She tried her best to ignore Draven. He seemed to be doing a great job of acting as if she didn’t exist. She blew out a deep breath and went to work wiping the counters down for the next person who may want to snag a seat. She moved down to the empty spot next to Draven. She didn’t miss the way he tensed slightly as she came close to him.
“Everything all right?” she asked.
He had finished the last beer she’d given him. He’d had plenty, and she wondered if he would be good to drive home. He’d been there for hours, not saying much to the people around him. Just focused on the game and the beer.
“Yeah,” he grunted. His gaze remained on the television.
Cashea honestly didn’t know how to feel. Their night together must not have meant much to him. Here she was, racking her brains on what she could say to him, and he’d barely glanced her way. Which was saying a lot since she usually wasn’t rendered speechless by many. Her nerves were getting the best of her. Should she bring up the other night? Hell, offer him another one? She would be down. His blue-eyed gaze landed on her, and the fluttering in her stomach increased.
Lord, was she in trouble.
“Want another one?” She jerked her chin toward his empty glass.
“I better not.” He shook his head.
Her breath caught in her throat as his gaze slid down her. She clamped her legs together while he took in his fill. What the hell was this man thinking? His face was devoid of any expression at the moment.
His eyes locked back with hers. “How are you getting home?”
She blinked, not expecting him to ask that question. She had planned to try to catch an Uber or Lyft. It shouldn’t be as bad on a weekday as it wason the weekend. If not, Sara had offered to come and get her.
“Um, I was going to see about an Uber or something,” she said. She finished wiping off the counter and dropped the cloth into the bucket. Tonight was her night to be behind the counter. According to Danny, tomorrow he’d have her hitting the tables and walking around serving. She didn’t mind doing either. Her skills had been a little rusty, but it was like riding a bike. After the first two customers, everything had started coming back to her.
Draven stared at her for a moment before speaking.
“When do you get off?” he asked.
She glanced down at her watch. Her eyes widened slightly. She hadn’t realized the hours had flown by. It was almost time for her to go home. The bar had been busy for a weekday. Plenty of people coming through for a bite to eat and a drink. Whatever game had been on had also drawn the crowd. There had been lots of yelling and screaming for the two teams. Cashea and Danny had their hands full meeting the demands of the customers.
“In about twenty minutes.”
“I’ll take you home.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.
Cashea nodded. Something in his eyes hinted that she shouldn’t argue with him.
“Thanks,” she said. She wasn’t going to read much into his offer. He may be a gruff guy who didn’t say much, but he was a softy. He didn’t have to ask her about her ride situation. Hell, he didn’t even have to get involved with the Brett situation but he had. “Want to settle your bill now?”
He jerked his head in a nod and turned his attention back to the television. Another game was on. The last game had finally gone off, and from the sound of the cheers, the right team won. Cashea moved over to the sink and dumped the water out. She rinsed out the bucket and cloth then put them away. She wiped her hands off and went over to the register to get Draven’s receipt.
“Need any help?” Danny asked. He came to stand by her and reached for a bottle of whiskey on the glass shelf near her.
“Draven’s ready to cash out,” she said. She wanted to try to do it herself first. She hit a few buttons on the screen and successfully accomplished what she needed to do.
“Look at you. Fast learner. It took me about a week to get used to this dang computer. Almost threw it out the window, but Clay wouldn’t let me.”Danny chuckled. He patted her on the shoulder before heading to a customer.
She took the receipt over to Draven and slid it to him. He pulled his wallet from his jeans pocket and took out a few bills and handed them to her.
