Lost Souls Book 1 Collison

Chapter 4

The printer finally stopped vomiting out order tickets at ten to midnight, giving Tabby ten minutes to finish the last orders before the kitchen shut down for the night.

The clanging of a bell rung out from beyond the kitchen doors and Jerry's bellow announced that it was last call for the bar. Half an hour later, Nick popped back into the kitchen, dragged her away from the heat of the grill and out into the cool night air for a break. 

She slumped tiredly against the cold brick of the building, wiping the sweat from her brow with a damp bar rag, wishing she could just melt into the wall and disappear.

Being busy had helped her to temporarily forget about her conked out car and the imminent meeting with her mercurial boss. Outside, away from the bustling distraction of the kitchen, the wave of anxiety slammed back into her, sapping the last shreds of energy she possessed.

Nick tapped out a smoke and offered one to her; she refused with an absent wave of her hand and pulled off the ugly hair net, shaking out her sweaty hair. It felt so good to be out of the stifling heat of the kitchen that Tabby closed her eyes for a minute enjoying the quiet calm of the night.

"You did good tonight, sugar-pie," he hugged her to him, kissing the top of her head. Nick was tall, blond and almost too beautiful for words. He reminded Tabby of a cowboy crossed with a supermodel excluding s*x and charisma with every move his perfectly formed body made.

The man was built to f**k, she thought, and not for the first time. Too bad his gate didn't swing in my direction.

She indulged in the comfort that his arms offered, needing something nice to counteract the bubbling anxiety in her bloodstream and help her get through the rest of the night. He tickled her playfully and she crumpled against him, laughing and beating at his chest with her small fists. 

"Quit it!" she wheezed, wriggling away from his fingers. "Isn't Brian due here any second?" she accused him. "You don't want him to see you fondling me like a blow up doll and have him think you've suddenly gone straight do you?" 

Nick gave her a saucy wink and rapped her shoulder with his knockles. "Sweetie, if I were straight, I'd be taking you home to bed for myself tonight." He paused and pretended to have just had a brilliant idea, a sneaky smile creeping across his lush lips. "On second thought, Brian probably would love that. You game?"

Tabby blushed, even though she knew he was joking - or at least she hoped he was joking. With Nick, it was hard to tell sometimes. Being openly gay didn't stop him from flirting and teasing her at every opportunity, but she knew it was just teasing. Nick did not do chicks - his words, not hers. His partner though, was pansexual - taking whatever it came in the form of a male, female or some shade of grey in between. 

"Thanks, Nick, but I think I'll pass." She sighed and looked at the kitchen door, her misgivings rising up and making her insides feel like they just rearranged themselves upside down.

"That's a shame," he quipped. "Showing up with you in tow would have earned me some serious brownie points! Brian likes you." He waggled his eyebrows at her in a suggestively lewd manner, took a long drag on his cigarette and then grinned at her. She knew by the mischievous glint in his sparkling blue eyes that something dirty and wildly inappropriate was about to come out of his mouth. 

He nudged her and said, sotto voce, "We could get drunk and make you the filling in a manwich! Imagine the fun!"

"Nicholas!" she giggled in mock outrage and punched him in the shoulder. He painted on a wounded puppy expression, pouting prettily at her and she sighed. "You're incorrigible, you know that? I'd better get back inside and finish the clean up. I really don't want to give Jerry another reason to rip me a new one and I don't want to be stuck here all night." 

A sleek sports car pulled into the alley, illuminating them in its bright headlights. Nick beamed and waved at the driver, adoration for his boyfriend softening his features. 

"I can stay if you'd like, Tabs. I don't mind, for moral support and all that." To protect you, is what his body language said. He was just as worried about leaving her with Jerry as Tabby was.

"That's okay, Nick. Go on, I'll be fine," she replied, not really wanting an audience for the humiliating ass chewing she going to receive. In addition, she knew Nick's boyfriend was only in town for two days before he had to fly out on a month-long business trip. He deserved some quality time, even if she was freaking out about having to deal with a drunken Jerry on her own. Besides, she tried to convince herself, the miserable bastard wouldn't actually do anything other than yell and embarrass her. She hoped anyway.

"Don't worry, sweetie," Tabby reassured him, sounding braver than she actually felt inside. "I can handle Jerry. Brian's waiting for you and I'm going to be stuck in there for at least another hour."

"You sure, darlin'?"

Tabby nodded and pulled the door open to go back inside. "Go on, Nick." She stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Have fun with Brian you big perv. I'll text you in the morning and maybe the three of us can get together for pancakes and you can give me the gory details."

He gave her a tentative smile, not reassured by her casual attitude. "Okay then, if you're sure. I'll talk to you in the morning, sugar."

He gave her a quick hug then ran over to his boyfriend's car, skillfully dodging the numerous puddles that dotten the alleyway. He somehow managed to fold his lanky frame into some semblance of an origami human and climber into the small car.

Both men smiled and waved to Tabby as they passed by her. She watched the taillights disappear out of the alley, leaving her alone with a mountain of worry that she couldn't ignore any longer. 

It was time to go inside and face the music. 

Just the thought made her want to puke.