The Etiquette of Smoking

Cold Ones

I unlocked my apartment door as quietly as I could, hoping Gavin was asleep so we could avoid any arguments until tomorrow, but as is my luck, he wasn't. He sat on the brown couch in our living room, eyeing me until I shut the door. I didn't bother speaking because I knew he would steamroll over anything I had to say anyway.

"Liv! Where the hell have you been?" He asked, rising from the couch and coming up to wrap me in his arms. I felt myself stiffen at his contact before relaxing as I realized he wasn't angry like I'd anticipated he would be. "The door was unlocked when I got home, you weren't here, you weren't answering your phone...you scared the shit out of me."

He held me tighter, burying his face in my hair. I couldn't remember the last time he'd held me like that so I closed my eyes and savored it. I was happy to realize that my earlier predictions of his reaction were far from correct and I suddenly felt silly for thinking he would be so angry. He was just worried about me, like anyone would be.

"I'm sorry." I whispered weakly, raising my arms to wrap around his torso. We stood there for a minute before he pulled back, looking me in the eyes.

"Where have you been, Olivia?" He asked seriously, holding my shoulders in his hands. I had no idea what to say. I didn't want to lose the privilege of seeing my new friends or being able to stay out late, but I didn't want to go with my original plan of making up some lame excuse like going out to get food.

Say something.

"I was out with my friend Niki." I replied with half of the truth. I'd quickly decided that telling him I was at a boy's house surrounded by 4 dudes would have been an instant ban, so I kept it to myself. He looked confused as he dropped his hands from my shoulders and pulled his lips into a tight line.

"Who the hell is Niki?" He asked, watching me the same way a cat eyes a mouse.

"My coworker...from the club." I admitted sheepishly and received an instant look of disapproval from him. He crossed his arms across his chest as he sighed deeply.

"You mean the titty bar?" His voice held a tinge of annoyance. "Great, making friends with strippers now?" He sneered. My brows furrowed in anger at his words and I suddenly felt that frustration from the last time he insulted my job rise up in my gut.

"I told you it's not a titty bar!" I hissed back lightly, careful not to give too much attitude. "And she's not a stripper, she's a waitress like me. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that I was leaving or answer your calls. We went shopping and I lost track of time. It won't happen again."

He didn't seem angry, perhaps a little annoyed but I was fine with that. He nodded at my words, uncrossing his arms and sinking himself back down on to the couch. I followed, sitting in the arm chair beside him.

"If it becomes a habit, you can forget about her." Was all he said before picking up the TV remote and turning the volume up.

══════

Wednesday morning and afternoon weren't very eventful. The time spent with Gavin was quiet, but at least he didn't bring up the previous night again. I'd received a call from Ethan, my manager, to inform me that the venue and staff had been rented for a private party tonight and we'd need to all wear our club 88 shirts.

So, at 8pm, I arrived for work wearing one of the black, entirely too short, club shirts and some black jeans. I left my hair down for a change and put on my old gold necklace. I felt nice tonight... pretty maybe. I met Niki and Max in the back room, smiling and receiving smiles back from them.

"Hey Liv, you coming to game night next time? We're thinking of going to an escape room." Max asked as he sat on a chair in the back room, removing his shoes and replacing them with an older, dirtier pair. His invitation warmed me and I happily agreed, excited at the prospect of being able to spend more time with my coworkers outside of work. Nikki and Max chatted away about it when Ian came in to grab a bottle of water from the mini fridge beside me.