"Hi, honey." Malia said to Brook, sliding into the stool at the very crowded bar. "How goes it?"
Brooklyn sighed. "Bad. The guy that took your spot works so slow that it's actually frustrating."
Their manager walked in from the back, looking stressed. It hadn't been as smooth sailing since Malia got a new job and that was very obvious. There was a line at the bar that was longer than she'd ever seen it.
When the managers eyes fell on Malia, he gave her a teasing look. "You just had to leave when it was about to be summer."
"I can help out." Malia offered, walking behind the bar. "If you want.
"Please."
"Excuse me, honey." She said to the other guy working there. "Let me help you out."
Between Malia and Brook, they made it through the entire line of people in 15 minutes. Malia wasn't getting paid for this but she did get tips from the customers. It was fun to make drinks after a long day of speaking to kindergarteners.
Malia felt in her element and she almost felt like it was months ago. Just her, Brooklyn and the bar. The only thing that pulled her from her day dream was Desmond and Tyus walking up to the bar.
"Hey, guys." Malia said. "Lovely to see you all. Hey, have you guys ever gone to a club that wasn't this one?"
Desmond waved Malia off, making her pull a face as he greeted Brooklyn. "What time you off?"
"I'm doing good, Des. How are you?" Brook said sarcastically. "That's good."
"My fault." He corrected himself. "How's your shift going?"
Then, she smiled. "It's going. I'm off in about 15 minutes. Why? What's up?"
"My boy Tyus here owes Malia a fat apology and we thought of dinner." Desmond explained. "So, you down for that?"
Brooklyn paused, looking up. "What the hell does Tyus owe Malia an apology for?"
Malia may have made one mistake when it came to the entire Tyus situation. That one mistake was neglecting to tell Brooklyn how things had gone down. So, Brooklyn didn't even know the Tyus liked Malia. She didn't even know what he said.
"He decided to practice love confessions on her now shits weird." He brushed it off. "Ain't my business. I just wanted you to come."
Malia smiled at Tyus. "You like Malia?"
"Uh-"
"Dinner sounds great." Malia finally spoke up. "She's clocking out soon."
Dinner went smoothly, and Malia felt better now about Tyus. He apologized sincerely and made sure Malia knew that he wasn't sure what he was thinking when he told her he liked her. Everything was all good now, except for Brooklyn and Desmond who couldn't keep their tongues out of each other's mouths.
"Desmond. You used to be my favorite." Malia called over to him. "What happened?"
The shooting guard walked with Brooklyn, about 10 steps in front of she and Tyus. "You wild. Who ya' favorite now?"
"The calmest one." She said. "Jaren."
Brooklyn looked over her shoulder. "Tyus is more calm than Jaren. Jaren yells when we hoopin'."
"Tyus is my second favorite."
"You don't be kissing on Jaren and Tyus but you kiss on Ja."
She rolled her eyes. "Where are we going? Can we just go back to my house, please?"
