TEA$ERS

Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"Absolutely not." I say sharply, while waving away the nosy makeup crew. Clearly, they've never taken a class in subtly anytime before.

"Pretty please? I never ask you for anything."

"Then why start now?"

I take another quick glance in the mirror, fluffing my hair which has fallen from it's pretty waves to it's usual stick-straight state, and walk over to the snack bar. Maybe Tiffany will get the hint.

"Look, I know that working at the bar isn't your usual job,"

or not.

"But this could be my chance to show Marcus that I can be in the opening acts with you, Ashley, and her minions."

I snort. I've never thought of calling Lily and Jade her 'minions', but it seems like a pretty accurate name for them now that I think about it.

"Come on, just today?" She says, pouting her ruby red lips. "Please?"

"I-fine." I mutter, an exasperated breath following suit.

She grins and hugs me. "Thank you so much Rylee. You're the best!" I stand awkwardly. I hadn't expected her embrace, and I definitely wasn't about to accept it with open arms.

She runs off to god-knows where, probably to tell Marcus about the new schedule change and I head towards the bar.

I'm cleaning the countertop when a boy with chocolate brown hair and a chiseled jaw sits two seats down.

"What's good around here?" His British accent gives him away before I even make eye contact.

"Uh, I wouldn't know. I don't actually work here."

"Ah, so that whole lap dance you did for my cousin wasn't apart of your job description?"

Zayn smiles playfully so I decide to join in.

"Yeah, actually my real job is cleaning children's teeth with floss and toothpaste."

He laughs, a deep laugh that sounds real and more genuine than anything I've ever heard.

"And all this time I thought that you loved this job." He directs his gaze towards the stage. "Besides, you're way to beautiful to have to hide behind a dentist's mask."

I don't respond to his sudden compliment because I have a feeling that it wasn't meant for me to hear. But it didn't mean that I wasn't blushing like crazy. I probably looked like a stop sign.

"1973."

He spins his chair around and focused back on me.

"What?"

"You asked what was good around here. The beer 1973 is supposed to be really good."

Zayn's hazel eyes squint at me.

"Alright, I'll take a bottle of that."

I grab a beer-bottle opener, struggling to release the top of it. It finally comes up, making sure to hit Zayn in the jaw.

"Omigod, I'm so sorry!" I gasp, completely mortified. Way to go Rylee. Injuring the sexiest man you've ever seen.

He rubs his chin with his large hand and smiles. "It's fine. I actually quite enjoy getting smacked with a bottle cap every now and then."

"Well," I push the now opened bottle towards him. "I'm still so, so sorry about that. It's on the house."

"RYLEE HENDERSON!" Marcus barks from across the club, storming towards the bar. His stout body climbs up onto a stool and he rubs his partly bald head. The rest had grayed where the brown hair should be.