Chapter 6: That's Why I Gave It To You

Carrigan

I felt like my cheeks were on fire. I tried to busy myself by tending to the other people who were waiting to be served, but my mind never left Royce. I wasn’t sure if he really wanted my number yesterday, so I took a chance. It was only the second time I’d ever done that, and that guy never called me. I don’t give anyone my number. It was the third number I’d had in four years. I changed it when I got to South Carolina, and like how I hadn’t left in two years, I didn’t change my number.

I think I was willing to give Royce my number because something else was happening there. Not just the whole thing with liking Wildheart, which was a bonus for sure, but when I had returned from my break, and he was still sitting there. He was just as surprised to see me as I had been. Something told me he wanted to give me his number but couldn’t.

That’s why I wrote it down for him.

I had been hit on only a few times at Charm, but most of them were drunk creeps, and Kaitlyn or Nina would step in and usually tell them to get lost. It never felt right in the past.

But Royce was different, and I couldn’t pinpoint why.

I saw his friend come back, and I noticed them talking to one another adamantly. At one point, the friend, whose name I think was Nico, looked back at me. I tried not to notice their eyes shooting daggers into me as I made up a drink for another person.

It was a simple drink, just a Moscow Mule, and I made the drink without looking at anyone at the bar. It was easier that way, and when I set down the cup, the man nodded before throwing down what he owed and a tip before he walked away.

When the clock finally struck freedom, I ripped off my apron and squeezed my way down the bar to Kaitlyn, who was bending over to get something from under the bar.

“I need my bet winnings,” I said. It was so fast, and I’m pretty sure I scared Kaitlyn out of her skin with the jump she did.

“Christ, Carrigan. Way to knock a few years off my life.” Her hand sat on her heart, and she leaned over, breathing loudly.

I leaned over, apologetic. “Sorry. It’s the end of my shift, and I wanted to cash in on winning the bet from yesterday.”

Kaitlyn stood straight again and cleared her throat. “Not that it’s any of my business, but why are you cashing in when the kitchen won’t close for a few hours?”

I fought the urge to turn around and look at Royce. “I’m starving and craving our food tonight. Plus, I haven’t bought groceries yet.” My lies had always been rather crappy, but I didn’t even care at that moment. I didn’t want her to know I was about to eat dinner with one of our customers.

Kaitlyn sighed. “Fine. Wherever you sit, tell your server to come to me, and I’ll comp the whole meal. Don’t go nuts, okay?”

I smirked at my boss. “In what world have I gone nuts when I win your bets?”

Her eyebrow raised.

I was pushing it and didn’t want her to change her mind. “Thanks, Kaitlyn.” I moved toward the kitchen to get out from behind the bar.

I looked in one of the mirrors the cooks had in the kitchen for the servers to ensure they were presentable and took down my ponytail. My strawberry-blonde mane went everywhere, and I quickly tried to tame it. I wiped under my eyes at the makeup accumulated there and pulled out my chapstick from my pocket.

If I had known he would be at the bar that night, I would have worn a little more makeup than just eyeliner and mascara. But I hadn’t been dolled up the day before either, and he obviously liked me without a full face.

When I was confident I couldn’t do any more for myself, I took a deep breath and walked out into the dining area. I went to where Royce and his friend had been sitting, and he turned to me with a smile.

He was alone, though, and I found that odd.

“Where is your obnoxious British friend?” I asked, looking around.

Royce let out a cross between a laugh and a cough. “He told me that ‘his work here was done’ and left. Guess the cheeky bastard assumed he did something tonight other than annoy the hell out of the other bar patrons.”

I smirked at that, breathing out my nose the smallest of laughs. “Well, he did get you to come here and find me.”

Royce hopped down from the barstool and returned my smile. “He did indeed.”

“Here, come with me to the hostess so we can get a table.” I began to weave through the people, Royce quickly on my heels. I could hear him behind me, even in the loud environment.

We reached the hostess, a blonde named Danielle, and I asked her if there was anywhere she could seat us.

“Let me see,” she said, looking at her computer screen. “Do you want a booth or table?”

Royce stepped in, smiling at my co-worker with ease and kindness. “Whatever is easiest for you.”

I swore Danielle blushed after he spoke to her and grabbed some menus before having us follow her to our seats. She put us in a booth toward the back of the bar, but I preferred that. I sat with my back facing the front, Royce climbing in on the opposite side.

She left us alone, and I leaned forward as Royce picked up the menu. “Whatever you want, it’s on me tonight.”

He looked up quickly at me, eyebrows shooting up so high they were nearly hidden behind his hair. “What? You’re not paying.”

“First of all,” I teased, “I gave you my phone number, not the other way around. Second, it’s fine. I work here. I got it covered.”

“I asked you out, though, so the idea that you want to pay for dinner is insulting.” He leaned in. “So let me get you dinner.”

I said nothing else, turning to my menu.

I didn’t drink all too often, but I ordered a Blueberry Fizz Mojito, and Royce got himself a draft of our Victory beer. I smiled inwardly to myself over the excellent choice. I worked in Philadelphia for six months at Victory Brewery, and it became my favorite beer. I was glad we sold two different drafts and two bottles year-round.

“So, what’s good here?”

                                    I turned to look at Royce. His smile was easy, and his eyes warmed me from the inside. It made me feel nice to be noticed.

I really wasn’t the kind of girl to accept advances from strangers at my job, but Royce was something different entirely. I could feel his warmth and kindness, and I had difficulty forgetting his phone call from the previous day. Even though he swore up a storm, I knew it was something he deemed necessary, not just some stupid argument.

“I’ve never had anything bad here. My favorites to get are the pretzel bites, and the parmesan fries are to die for. They make a damn good Margherita pizza, and the burgers are a huge crowd favorite, too.”

Royce nodded. “Well, I’m glad I asked you because that pizza is calling my name.”

“Want to split a large then?” I don’t know why asking him made my heart beat faster. It was splitting food, not a bed.

He looked up at me from the menu. “Sure, that actually sounds great.”

When our server returned, we placed the pizza order. Before our server, Kayla, could walk away, I said, “Tell Kaitlyn that Carrigan put in this order.”

Kayla nodded and rushed to the closest computer to punch in our order and to most likely find Kaitlyn.

Royce leaned over the table. “What was that about?”

I shrugged. “I told you that I had the meal covered.”

Royce and I began to talk, mostly about our work. I told him I’d been at Charm for the past two years, and he explained he was a computer programmer working on an app with his company.

“I wasn’t originally working on this, but about four years ago, everything sort of fell into my lap, and I don’t know, it felt like I had to finish it.” Royce’s voice cracked a little as he spoke, and I could tell it wasn’t from nerves or excitement. It was the same thing I could tell when he came into the bar for the first time the day before.

Something happened, but it wasn’t my place to try questioning him. Everyone deserves their own secrets.

When Kayla got our pizza to us, we talked into bites. But what he made sure to say first was: “This is a damn good Margherita.”

“What did I tell you?” I teased.

He laughed, but we both continued to eat and talk about work.

“I’d never been here before,” Royce noted, gesturing to the bar. “I only work about a ten-minute walk from here, but I never saw this place until this week.”

“What made you walk in then?” I questioned.

He shrugged. “I only worked half the day and was trying to find a way to kill my time. Decided that it was time to try it out in here.”

I felt pieces of the story missing, and I wasn’t sure if it was because I was doing the exact same thing. I did know that I wouldn’t push him. Like before, I knew everyone was entitled to their secrets, no matter how dark they may be.

“I said that I’ve worked here the past two years,” I recounted to him, leaning back in the booth. “It’s cause I never finished my degree. I didn’t even get my associate’s degree.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you wanted to do?”

Is it? Was the drastic change that overtook my life four years ago something I wanted to do? No. It wasn’t. But how could I be completely honest with a man I just met?

“No,” I told him instead. “Things changed, you know?” I shrugged, looking down at my plate of pieces of pizza crust. “Sometimes there’s nothing to do.”

He snorted. “Oh, I get that. I really do. But you’re doing what you have to, right? Doing what you need to get by.”

Still, without looking up at him, I nodded. “Exactly.”

We sat silently for a few minutes, and I had difficulty looking back at Royce. Something felt wrong.

Instead, I heard paper crinkling, and Royce passed something over to me.

I looked up enough to see what it was and found a smile trying to creep onto my face.

“So, am I allowed to use this sometime?” My phone number was scrawled on the receipt I gave him yesterday.

I shook my head, chuckling. “Of course. That’s why I gave it to you.”

That’s when I looked up a little more to see Royce’s brown eyes and smile spread across his entire face. He took the number back and ran his hand through his black hair.

“Good,” he responded. “Don’t want to keep showing up here with Nico to harass you.”

I snorted. “You should bring him back. I liked him, even if he was a prick.”

We both started laughing, and I took a step back from myself to enjoy that moment. It was the first time I felt like I could be myself in four years.

I didn’t want it to be the last.