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She was highly aware of him as she turned around and bent down to dig under the bar for one of the half-aprons they usually used. When she stood back up with an apron and another rag in hand, she turned around to hand Ryker the apron. But, before she could, Ryker had already grabbed her by the waist and smashed her lips to his. The kiss didn’t last long, but the message was there. That if they were anywhere else, that kiss wouldn’t be the end of things.
Ryker pulled away from her first, but his hands moved lower to rest on her hips. "God, you're such a tease. You're going to be the death of me if we make it through this night together."
“I told you working with me wouldn’t work like you thought it would,” Mykie murmured.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight if I don’t have to. You’re a high flight risk, and I’m not in the mood to chase you down after Thanksgiving.”
Mykie leaned forward and kissed him one last time before she pushed him back so she could move from between him and the bar counter behind her.
"If you stay here any longer, you’re going to be behind on orders. Here,” she said, holding the apron out to him.
“I’d like to see them try to complain,” he muttered as he took the apron from her, moving to tie it around his waist.
Mykie sighed as she wiped around the spot where she was sitting previously. "Ryker, please do your best. I don't want to deal with another incident so soon. If Chance doesn't think I can handle the responsibility of keeping this place in order, he's going to give it to someone else."
“I promise, I won’t mess things up for you,” Ryker said with a nod, a serious look on his face.
She watched him walk away and sighed. It was strange how accustomed she became to his presence in such a short time. After spending almost every day together, she was starting to trust him like he was Jezebeth or Dexter.
Someone on the other side of the bar called out for another drink, bringing her out of her thoughts and she got to work.
After an hour or so of working with Ryker, they seemed to have a seamless system going. She'd make sure all the customers at the bar were happy before handing Ryker drinks. If she got too busy, he filled his own orders and gave her a rundown of what was ordered when he came back for the next batch so she could put it into the computer.
It was a little after midnight when Ryker came back with a grave look on his face. She stepped away from the patrons to speak with him.
"What happened?" she asked, leaning against the counter.
"Your band of misfits are here." He frowned. "I think my brother spotted me, but I can't be sure. I was hoping not to run into him. They're sitting at the table diagonal from the bar."
Mykie looked over and saw that he was right. All the boys, minus Blaine, were sitting around the table. Renly seemed to be extra jittery while Caspar was looking around at the different tables. Corbus, with his hands flying and his eyebrows drawn, seemed to be trying to talk to Caspar, who wasn’t listening.
"What’s wrong with your brother?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the table. "He seems nervous about something. I didn’t think he couldgetnervous.”
“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” he said dryly, looking over his shoulder at the table.
He put his hand on top of hers. “Do you want me to tell them to leave?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ll handle their table. The Vulture only seemed to want to give me that message, and there’s been no sign of them again, even at Adam’s funeral.”
Ryker looked over his shoulder again before he quickly looked back at Mykie. "One of them is heading over. Good luck.”
He handed over the list of drinks he needed and squeezed her hand once before he moved off to the side, avoiding any sort of confrontation that could occur. Mykie, without looking at who was approaching, went over to the other side of the bar and made the drinks. Her back was to the patrons as she grabbed the alcohol she needed. Did whoever spot her then decide to come over, or were they just tired of waiting for Ryker to come to them? What if it was Renly, who spotted his brother? She wasn’t ready to tell him that she and his brother were getting closer without his knowledge.
She suddenly had a pit in her stomach. Renly and she weren’t officially together, but would seeing his brother be considered cheating? At the very least, would he see it as a betrayal after he told her to stay as far away from his brother as possible?
She told him to think about being with her while she was with others. Would he be angry that she didn’t wait to hear his answer before seeing people he didn’t know about?
While actively trying to not compare one to the other in her mind, she had completely put off the thought that one day would be revealed that she was seeing Ryker, too. Would tonight be the night that all blew up in her face?
Eventually, it came to a point where she couldn't avoid the other side of the counter anymore and she turned around. Keeping her eyes on Ryker on the other side of the counter, she set the drinks on his tray.
"I'll be back soon," he said, his eyes telling her it was a promise. He wouldn't abandon her to the wolves if he could help it.
She let out a sigh before she finally looked at the other customers. Her eyes scanned over the crowd and her gaze fell on Corbus, who looked out of place in one of the seats at the calmer end of the bar. She plastered a smile on her face and approached him tentatively.
"I think I need to see your ID before I can serve you anything," she teased.
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not here for a drink. I'm here to talk to you. Why are you avoiding us?"
