Britten

CHAPTER 4

When Giovanni and Casper were gone she tried to tighten her strings back up, but she was struggling with it. Manny leaned over the bar and touched her shoulder. She looked back at him and he signaled for her to come around the bar.

She smiled and went around the bar. He tightened her strings back up for her and tied them. It was actually tighter than what she had it the first time. It was comfortable though. "Thank you." He gave a nod and went back to taking orders from people.

As the night went on the bar got busier because people were getting thirsty from dancing. She watched as Manny went through the orders, but he was starting to get bogged down. Friday nights were always the busiest.

She went behind the bar again and he looked at her. She started taking orders and helping him make drinks. Every time she took an order for a shot a guy would buy her one. He watched as she chased it with some sprite but after a few shots he realized the glass wasn't emptying.

She dumped half of the glass in the sink and sat it back under the counter. He smiled and went back to taking orders. She was spitting the shots into the glass of sprite instead of swallowing them. It was the first time that night he had seen her act business like instead of like a party girl.

Her buzz had left her when she was fighting Casper and she knew she had to keep a head on her to close up the club. She hated when she had to close up because she couldn't have fun like she wanted to.

He couldn't believe how fast she was making drinks, even if a lot of them were shots. She was able to keep up with who ordered what, give them their drink and take their money as she moved to the next person at the same time. It was like watching a humming bird.

One guy tried to shove money between her breasts, but Manny grabbed his wrist and stopped him before he could even touch her. He didn't mean to do it, it was a reflex. He applied a little pressure and the guy dropped the money. He shoved the guy's hand away and Britten looked at him.

"Sorry." She smiled and shook her head no. She was actually glad he had done it. She felt a little safer knowing he could react like that. Britten started shoving money into a grocery bag because the register was over flowing. The bag was low enough that no one could reach over and grab it.

By two things began to slow. The club was only open for one more hour. The place was still cram packed with people but the order for drinks was slowing. She watched as he flirted with a group of girls. They were giggly and blushing and two of them were leaning on the bar enough that he could see down their shirts.

Britten tried not to laugh. One of the girls asked if he had a pen and Britten tossed one over to her. She watched as the girl wrote her name and number on a napkin then kissed it to put her lip print on it. She handed it to Manny and he actually blushed. The girls giggled then walked off.

Britten poked him, and he looked at her. "Jail bait." He dropped his head and she started laughing. He picked his head back up and poked her. "You could have told me sooner." She shrugged and started washing glasses that were left on the bar.

Manny didn't realize that anyone under eighteen could get in. He wasn't used to the club scene. He never went to one when he was younger and even when he got older he never went to one. He was too busy with work and raising his kids. Now at the age of almost twenty five, because of her, he was seeing something he had missed in life. Something he would have liked to have seen before he had kids.

The DJ called last rounds for the bars a half hour before closing and Manny finally saw people slowly leaving. He still couldn't believe how many people were still there though. He could only imagine how much money the place made in one night.