Dance In The Rain

~42~ Clenching Butts

Holden's POV

I go into the employee lounge and swipe a lamp off of the end table, and watch as it smashes to the floor.

I can't believe I just did that

Sylvie and Nico rush in when they hear the noise, and I give them an apologetic shrug. "Sorry. I'll buy you a new lamp."

I start dragging a trash can over and pick up the shards, slamming them into the trash as I try to get my temper under control.

"It was ugly as hell...My brother picked it out and you just did me a favor," she says in a breezy tone as she joins me in cleaning up my rage.

Nico silently slips out when a customer yells for one of us, and I turn to Quinn.

"See? I always get knocked on my ass."

"Then quit whining and stand back up," she says as she picks up the lamp shade and stuffs it in the trash.

"Sorry. I didn't realize that I couldn't feel sorry for myself for 2.5 seconds," I snap as I throw the lightbulb in harshly, making it shatter even more.

"It's been thirty seconds," she grins as she stands up to get the vacuum.

"Alright, smart ass," I chuckle as I take the vacuum from her and plug it in.

As the vacuum whirls to life, so do my thoughts. What can I do to get through to him? Do I need to intensify the punishments? I'm annoyed.

Once I shut off the vacuum, she's got a mop and is mopping up the tile where glass could have bounced.

"Get out of your head, Holden. Get his side of the story. Maybe he went home when they went to the lighthouse. He might have went; but not drank. Give him a chance."

"Have you met my brother? Not only did he go, he drank."

"Don't do that," she snaps. "My parents always did that to me. They always just assumed the worst outta me...Don't do that to him, or you'll never get him to trust you."

"You're right," I groan as I sit on the couch and put my head in my hands.

"You can head out if you want," she says after a minute.

"Nah, I'm not gonna always chase after him. I'll finish my shift and deal with this when I get home."

~*~

Tate's POV

By the time I finally get home, it's 2am. I really hope he passed out and didn't wait up for me, or I'm screwed.

The lighthouse was so cool tonight. There were several hot girls that I made out with, and the atmosphere reminded me of back home.

Not everyone in this town is a loser, I've decided. Just the majority of them.

I'm actually pretty proud of myself though, because I only had one beer. I may or may not have smoked a joint, but that's besides the point. I didn't get drunk, so Holden really can only nail me for a late curfew.