HARD TIMES ━ lip gallagher²

01 | old man dick

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"HEY BOYS," AMARA GREETED Lip and his AA buddies with a smile as they got settled into their booth next to a window. "The usual?"

"Can we add a couple of rice puddings?" Brad asked, and she nodded, jotting the request down.

"What kind of Jell-O you got today?"

Amara titled her head and raked her memory before looking at the man whose name she believed to be Jermey. "Strawberry and lime."

"Two of each. Extra whipped cream."

She refrained from smirking and nodded. "Anything else?"

Lip glanced around the table and then back to her. "Nope, I think we're good."

She met his eyes and nodded once more before turning on her heel to fetch the order. She could feel his gaze on her every movement from across the room—and her stomach did flips just at the thought of it. It took every last part of her to not discreetly nod her head in the direction of the bathroom, but if they kept up what they were doing, people would definitely start to catch on. That was something neither of them wanted.

Amara had been on sliding the third piece of pie onto a plate before the sound of tires screeching echoed from outside. She tensed and glanced to Fiona, who was sitting at the counter with her laptop, but she had already rose to her feet. "ICE!" She screamed. "ICE! This is not a drill!"

The staff broke out into chaos as the few immigrants rushed to get out of the building. Amara stepped back to allow one racing co-worker a clear shot out the back door. Not a second later a law enforcer stood into the restaurant. Amara clenched her jaw and stared innocently along with Fiona, who did the same.

"US Custom and Immigration Services. Everyone freeze."

No one froze, there was still one of the chefs from the back struggling to get out the door, luckily he escaped, but she wasn't sure how far he got when two officers chased after him.

Once the officer left, Fiona sighed. "Alright. V, you're on the register. Lip, Sierra, looks like we're cooking. Amara, I need you to cover all of the tables."

God, it was going to be a long day.

☆

"Nice hot tub," Amara said, not entirely sure if she was so delirious that she was imagining it, or if it was really there. Her feet ached, her arms felt even worse. She couldn't remember a time where she'd been so worn out. Silvia splashed some water at her, and she realized that it was in fact, real. "Take it you bought this with your meth money?"

"You bet," Carl nodded his head as Lip moved closer to it. "Hop in."

Lip didn't hesitate on shredding his tank top and tossed it to the side. Amara kicked off her shoes and sat on the edge to dip her legs in. Silvia splashed her again. "Get in all the way, pussy."

Amara returned the gesture. "This uniform is a one piece, and it's a pain to get off so no."

Lip eyed her with that look that made her insides explode. "Who said anything about you taking it off?"

"I'm not getting in with my-" She didn't get to finish, Lip had leaned forward to yank her in by her ankle. His touch caused sparks to shoot up her leg, and she was certain he knew, too, especially from the look in his gaze. Amara yelped as she slid into the seat, glared at him. "I hate you."

They fell quiet, the bubbles simmered and Amara played with the jets in complete relaxation. It wasn't until Lip got close enough to where she could feel his breath tickling her neck that she stilled. "I want to be the one who rips that uniform off of you," he murmured lowly. Every inch of her was on edge now, her heart racing in her chest. She glanced up from the water to make sure no one was looking. "Been thinking about it since you took our order this afternoon."