Books Glorious Books

Lucian

A loud noise draws my attention to the far side of the bar. There are shattered glasses on the floor. A tray rolls toward the wall. A young waitress with her hair in a tight bun attempts to chase the rolling tray and it makes me chuckle. She pulls at the hem of her schoolgirl uniform as she tries to bend to get it without exposing herself. Those uniforms weren’t designed to encourage modesty, so I find myself watching her struggle and enjoying every second of it. She’s clearly uncomfortable.

Geoff rushes to her rescue and she stands, allowing him to pick up the tray and the broken glass. I’m irritated that he ruined my fun. She turns her head to face him and I catch my breath. Her big eyes are soft and expressive. Her lips are plump and wet. Did she just lick them? I can almost see them glisten from here. Is she a model? She definitely has the legs for it. She places an angelic hand on Geoff’s arm to thank him and blows a loose strand of hair away from her face.

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen her here before. I think I’d remember her if I had. She steps into the shadows where she’s working, and I can’t see her as well. There’s an empty table in her section and I move as I speak.

“Small detour.” I amble toward her, assuming Dave is close behind. I slide into the empty booth, unable to take my eyes off her. She speaks to the couple at the table across from us.

“I’m so sorry. Let me get you two new beers.”

She hurries off toward the bar without even noticing me. She’s careful and avoids bumping into anyone. Standing patiently behind a group of men at the bar, she waits to order. Does she not know where the staff goes to get drinks?

“Why are we sitting here?” Dave asks. “I thought you hated booths.”

“Shh.” I wave him away. His words are making it harder for me to see her clearly. She must be new. I mean, I haven’t been here in forever, but still. She looks like she’s never waitressed before. Who the hell hired her? Better yet, did anyone train her?

One of the guys at the bar starts to fan her skirt and she spins to regard him, clearly uneasy. I bolt from my seat and hurry toward him.

She turns back to the bar to get the drinks. I grab the guy by the back of the neck, leading him away from her as I push his head toward the floor. His two friends follow close behind me. My bouncer, Tyrus, sees the commotion and joins us.

“Hey. You’re Lucian Kane.” The one dude is able to form a coherent sentence. He must not be as drunk as the others. It’s barely eight-thirty. What kind of imbeciles get trashed this early? The one who can still talk chases behind me as I lead them away from the bar.

“Yeah, I am.” I return my attention to the man in my grasp. “Who the fuck do you think you are disrespecting one of my girls that way?”

“Who, me? I wasn’t disrespecting nothin’. I was just admirin’ the sway of her skimpy sssskirt. You make them wear that so we look, right?”

“You can look, but you never ever fucking touch. Do you understand me? You’re going to apologize to her or you’re going home. Got it?”

I feel him nod under my grasp, so I let go. He straightens his shirt as I point to Tyrus. “Make sure he says he’s sorry to her or he’s out of here.”

Tyrus nods and I walk back to the booth. As I slide in, I watch him tap her on the shoulder. He seems to ask for forgiveness. Tyrus stands behind him with his arms folded across his chest. She nods and twists her body away from them as she focuses on carrying the tray.

“What was that all about?” Dave asks.

Holding my hand up to silence him, I repeat, “I said shh.”

She places the drinks on the table next to ours and almost seems relieved when it’s over. She’s timid as she approaches us and pulls a little pad out of her pocket.

“Hi. Welcome to church. I mean, Miracles. What can I get for you?”

I stare at her for a moment and give her my signature grin. Years of photo shoots have taught me this particular smile of mine drives the girls wild. She blows the hair away from her eyes through her bottom lip and shyly smiles back. She’s fucking adorable. “Aren’t you supposed to tell us your name?” I ask.

“Oh, yeah. Blaire. My name is Blaire.” She straightens her twisted name tag to show me.

“Are you new?”

“Is it that obvious? Ugh.” She pulls at the hem of her skirt as if it will somehow make it longer.

“I take it you don’t like the uniform?”

She sighs loudly and tucks a stray hair behind her ear. She isn’t wearing a stitch of makeup and yet she’s more beautiful than any girl I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen plenty.

“To be honest, no. I hate them.”

“Why?”

She pauses for a moment and stares directly into my eyes. Her chest rises and falls rapidly. Am I making her nervous?

“They’re too short. I went to Catholic school for a few years and this is not what we wore. What kind of man makes grown women parade around in tight schoolgirl uniforms? Are we trying to attract pedophiles here? I feel like a piece of meat rather than a human being. Obviously, the owner doesn’t have a sister or any respect for women for that matter, or he wouldn’t force the women of this bar to dress this way. But that’s just my opinion.”

Dave covers his face to hide his smile and I nod to her in amazement. None of the girls have ever complained to me about the outfits. She just became even more fascinating.

“I agree. He must be a real asshole. Is he here? I can speak to him on your behalf if you’d like.” I look around the bar as if I’m searching for him. Does she not know who I am?

She smiles. “Thank you. That’s so thoughtful, but I heard he can’t take criticism. Supposedly, he thinks he walks on water or something.”

The smile drains from my face and Dave snort laughs as he takes a sip of water from the glass on the table.

“Have you ever met him?” I ask, diverting her attention away from Dave and back to me.

“No. I’ve never even heard of him. But that’s probably on me. I was never allowed to listen to his kind of music.”

“Allowed?” I question. “His kind of music?”

“Long story,” she says. “Anyway, what can I get for you?”

“No, really. I’m interested. Please explain.”

She glances over her shoulder at her other table. “I really need to get their order too.”

“They can wait.”

She shifts her weight from one foot to the other and I can tell this is going to be an issue. Scratching my chin, I decide to take things into my own hands. “One sec.” I slide out of the booth and walk over to her other table.

I crouch down next to them and whisper so she can’t hear me. “Hi. How are you tonight?”

The woman almost chokes on her drink when she sees me. “I really need to talk to your waitress for a moment. She doesn’t know who I am and I need it to stay that way. So if you can avoid mentioning my name and wait an extra couple of minutes for your order, it’ll be on me. Drinks too.”

They fall all over themselves. “Absolutely. No problem. Umm, can we get a picture later?”

“Definitely.” We shake hands and I walk back over to her. “They don’t mind. Now please continue.”

She glances over at them. They wave and smile. The man cups his hand to his mouth and yells, “Take your time!”

“Umm. Okay. What did you say?”

“That’s not important.”

“But—” She’s worried. I can see it.

“I’m buying their food and drinks. Now please answer the question.”

“Oh. That’s really nice of you. Umm… What was the question again?”

“You said you weren’t allowed to listen to the owner’s kind of music. What does that mean?”

“Right. Well, my parents said rock and roll was the music of the devil. They said it led to sin and fornication. It wasn’t allowed in the house.”

“Fornication, huh?” I question. “Do you have something against sex?”

Her big brown eyes bulge. “No. Well… I mean… I think making love can be a beautiful thing between two married people.” She fidgets nervously with the pad in her hands and stares at it as if it’s the most intriguing thing she’s ever beheld.

As much as I’d like to press the issue, the blush on her face tells me she’s extremely uncomfortable. My newest song, “Alabaster” starts to play over the sound system. I take the chance to change the subject.

“I think this is one of his songs. Do you like it?”

She listens intently for a moment and closes her eyes. I can’t help but stare at her body when she’s not looking. She’s toned and tan. I wonder if she has tan lines or if she suns in the nude. I have to force my mind out of the gutter to make sure I’m looking at her eyes when she opens them. Usually, I’m perfectly content being caught ogling breasts, but she feels different.

She opens her eyes and shrugs. “It’s fine.”

“Fine?” I ask.

“It doesn’t have much heart and he mumbles a lot. What is he even trying to say?”

Dave shakes his head in disbelief as he regards her.

“There you are. Why are you sitting over here?” Nadia asks.

I guess it’s time to come clean. “I wanted to meet my new waitress.”

Nadia does a double take at her and rolls her eyes. “Jesus, Lucian. She just started today and you’re already trying to get in her pants?”

My brows furrow in irritation. Even if she’s right, why would she say that out loud? 

“Lucian?” Blaire questions, swallowing hard. “As in Lucian Kane?”

I stand and reach out to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you, Blaire. Thank you for your honesty. I’ll take everything you said into consideration.”

Stomping away, I can’t hide my anger. Even if sex is always on my mind, that’s not at all how I wanted to come across to Blaire. Nadia ruined everything. That’s a great first impression. I shake my head as I climb the stairs to my table.

Pouring myself a drink, I wonder what she’s thinking. A girl with an opinion. Wanting to get in her head more than her pants might actually be a first for me. I stare at the whisky in my glass. The color reminds me of her tanned skin and I’m reminded that sex is all I ever want. Do I want her? Maybe I do. And I always get what I want.