Sylvie's POV
"Noooo!" I breathe as I ring up another 20 shots of Hot Damn, and look over to see that Ryan is right.
That little shit.
"Give them their card back," I say darkly as I let Ryan finish up this mess while I clean up another.
I'm seriously the worst girlfriend ever
I walk up to the table that Tate is at. He's got a beer in one hand, and is making out with a bleached-blonde chick with big boobs.
I tap her on the shoulder, and she lazily pulls away and wipes spit off of her lips.
"He's 15," I hiss, and her eyes get big as she looks him up and down appreciatively. "Damn you're gonna be hot as hell in a few years if you already look like this."
He starts to smirk until he realizes that he has the beer in his hand, and then stares at me in horror.
"Quinn....."
"Don't," I hiss as I take it out of his hand and give it to her, and then grab him by his bicep and pull until he's behind the counter with me and Ryan.
"He can't be behind here, Quinn," Ryan starts, until I give him my 'I'm about to throat punch you' glare.
"I know! Give me a damn second," I hiss to him before turning to Tate. "You drank 1/3 of that beer...That's enough for me to lose my liquor license."
"I didn't....."
"I swear I'm not the person to lie to. Get your ass in the kitchen before I get busted for having a minor behind the bar....."
Tate is stunned at how pissed I am at him, and very wisely walks to the kitchen as I follow after him. "Where's your sister?"
He simply points to the lounge, and I go and check on her.
She's just reading a book on the couch, NOT trying to ruin my livelihood.
I go back into the kitchen and Rusty is swearing at the pile of food tickets not yet done.
"Rusty, I've got you a helper. He doesn't leave your side, and if he does you come find me. You do whatever he tells you to do. Hear me? Don't try testing me, Tate," I warn, pointing my finger at him. I can tell he's about to argue, but when he truly looks at my face, he visibly gulps and nods once.
I can't even process this right now, because there's another huge group that walks in.
WHY DIDN'T I BRING IN MORE PEOPLE?!?
Tim Lee, the school principal, comes in and looks around in horror. "Put me to work, Quinn."
"I love your face!" I say to Tim as I just sweep my hand around the crazy. I will forever love my regulars. They are here enough that they know how I run my bar, and I know I can trust them.
Tim nods as he goes over and takes an order, and then starts filling it as Ryan rings it up.
Please don't let us serve to any minors.........
~*~
At 1am, the bar is finally clearing out and I'm tired. I'm beat, actually. Tim blows out a breath and wipes the sweat off his brow. "Alright, I'm heading out. You good?"
"I'll get you money next time you come in. You just saved my ass. Thanks buddy."
"No you won't. I'm pretty sure I got several hundred in tips."
"Come in this week and your food and drinks are on me. I mean it, thank you."
He grins at Ryan and me and then nods as he leaves.
"Go home before I'm responsible for you and Marissa breaking up. Tell her I said thank you, and a bonus will be in your next check."
"You sure?" Ryan asks as he pulls his register to start counting and resetting the cash.
"Yeah. Rusty is closing up the kitchen now and then I'm shutting it up and going back to Holden's."
"Sounds good, Quinn"
Rusty leaves about twenty minutes after Ryan, and Tate is still doing dishes. I get the last customer out of here and check on Jules.
I smile when I see her, sleeping peacefully on the couch.
I walk around and start locking all of the side doors and checking the bathrooms, making sure nobody is in there and no sex is being had.
"Dishes done?" I ask as I go back into the kitchen and inspect how Rusty left it, and make sure the stove and fryers are off.
"Yeah. Quinn, I'm sor..."
"Nope," I interrupt, causing him to jump.
"You're not sorry, so let's not go through those formalities. You got caught. You risked my entire livelihood tonight. How could you do that to me? If Grebner would've walked in, I honestly don't know if he would have let it go. If an under-cover cop was here and saw you drink, I would've been shut down. I can't believe you would do that. I thought we were buddies."
Tears fill his eyes and his chin starts to quiver as he shifts from foot to foot. "We are."
"And of course you would pull this shit when Holden isn't here. Of course you freaking would. Grab your stuff," I snap as I go into the lounge and gently shake Jules awake.
"Ready to go girly?" I ask her softly.
She blinks multiple times and then sits up.
"What time is it?"
"Late. It's a little after 2. Ready?"
At her nod, I go back out into the bar and Tate is just sitting on a bar stool and staring at the counter. When he sees me, he stands up and shocks the hell out of me when he pulls me into a hug.
"Please don't hate me..I wasn't even thinking of your bar getting shut down. I'm so sorry, Sylvie."
A ton of anger leaves instantly. He's never called me Sylvie before, and he's NEVER given me a hug before. Dang...
I hug him back and reach on my tip toes to kiss his cheek.
"I don't hate you, I'm just pissed. We're still buddies."
"You're kinda scary as hell," he says sadly as he pulls away and looks back down at the floor.
"I've made a reputation for being scary here. This place is all I have, and I refuse to let anyone ruin it. Sorry I lost my temper at you."
"Please don't tell Holden. He said the next time I drank he'd give me the belt."
"You know I have to, Tate."
He slumps his shoulders and his face falls as he looks down at the ground once more.
"SHIT!" I hiss, causing both kids to jump and look at me in horror.
"What?" Julianne asks.
"We walked here," I groan.
"Yeah?" Tate asks
"Your brother ripped me a new one for walking with the killer not being found. He's REALLY gonna be pissed now that we don't have a way home and I've got the two of you."
It's silent for a few moments as we all think about our predicament.
"I won't tell Holden about this if you don't tell him I drank," Tate says.
I give him a look and the hope on his face disappears. "Nice try......"
"Alright, you guys ready to go?" I finally ask.
"What if the guy is here?" Julianne says with terror in her voice.
"Didn't you hear Tate earlier? I'm scary as hell," I say as I try to keep my tone breezy.
It doesn't work.
She looks out the bar window and into the vast darkness, drawing in a shaky breath.
"I wish Holden were here."
YOU ARE READING
Dance In The Rain
Teen FictionJulianne Thompson has never known a healthy family. She has walked through her fourteen years in a daze, clouded by storms that won't dissipate. When she and her brother Tate get taken from their home and placed into their eldest brother's custody...
