What's your Poison? - h.s

12.

Love made me do it, I couldn't stop myself
His name is on that bullet
Plead insanity to it, yeah

*3 months ago*

All bottles were fully stocked behind the bar, the tables were clean and the DJ had started. Saturday night and I was in charge. I'd been in charge of weekday nights, but never a weekend. This was big deal. Sam offered it to me this morning, he told me he believed in me and knew I was more than capable of doing it. Springing it on me the morning of was a bit of a shock, it was a bit unexpected. I woke up to him propped up on his arm, stroking my hair out of my face. He leaned it for a kiss, then pulled away and said "you're going to run the shift tonight." Causing me to stare at him in shock.

At first I thought he was joking, this club was important to him and Saturday nights are a big deal. If people have a good time tonight they're more likely to come back during the week and the following weekend. If they don't enjoy themselves once, they'll never come back. Major things come into play when it comes to making sure people have a good time, like how long they wait for drinks, how good the music is, and even just the toilets being clean can effect it. All of these things rely on me being able to keep all the staff organised. It's down to me.

Whilst Sam reassured me he'd be upstairs for most of the night if I need help, he said he'd be leaving around 1am for some business meeting. There would still be 2 hours left of the night, and a lot can go wrong in two hours.

"Kylie, glasses all clean? Good." I say as I make my way round the club with my clipboard, checking off my list of things that need to be done before opening. "Beth, get those cocktail shakers ready. Matt, get those tunes on, doors open in 5!" I walk round each area of the club, checking that each place looks perfect. A good opening sets the right mood for the rest of the night. I make my way to the front door, turning the neon light on that says 'Open' with a deep breath. If I can smash tonight, I know I'll have a chance at owning my own club one day.
Kylie had been a waitress ever since I started, whilst Matt was our resident DJ, so I had a lot of faith in them. However, Beth was new, she had started about a week ago so I had no trust in her yet, I was relying on her to not let me down.

Just minutes after the clock hits 8pm, the club starts to fill up, with all tables being taken by 8.30, leading to the dance floor and bar area becoming packed. I place myself behind the bar to help Beth, but mainly to watch her incase she makes a mistake that will fall back on me. I notice the way she flirts with every male customer, almost as if that's her job rather than making the actual drinks. Typical new, young bartender. I roll my eyes as she laughs at one of the guy's jokes and playful touches his bicep across the bar.

"Beth, would you mind being quick with the drinks, there's lots of people waiting." I say as I lean over to her. I notice her roll her eyes as she turns away to me to get some alcohol from behind her. I can't be bothered to deal with her right now, I'll just pass the problem on to Sam.

I spend the next few hours behind the bar, making drinks nonstop as people keep on coming to the bar. As I'm mixing up a pornstar martini mix to create a Pornstar Martini Tree, I feel hands slither around my waist and pull me backwards with a kiss on the neck.

"You're doing amazing, babe." Sam says as he leaves his hands around me, resting his head on my shoulder. "It's 1am so I've got to go to that business meeting. I'll see you at home? Just call me if there's anything you need, but you've got this." He says before kissing me on cheek briefly and leaving. I'm still curious about what this meeting could be at 1am in the morning, he told me it was because of time difference but never said where the meeting was coming from.

"I'm only on a half shift." Beth says as she walks up to me, starting to untie her apron around her waist. Although I'd struggle being one bartender down, I'm happy it was her we were losing. I ignore her as she drops her apron on the bar behind me and walks off without another word. Something about this girl doesn't sit right with me, I don't know why we started off on the wrong foot but I can't see that changing anytime soon.

I call Kylie over from table service to help at the bar for the rest of the night. The rest of the night flew by, it all felt perfect and I felt so proud of myself. As Matt starts to turn down the music, people start to stumble out of the club, all looking very merry and happy. As the last group leaves, I follow to go lock the front door behind them. I peer out across the street and notice the club across the room, still very much open and full. I'd never been in Stealth before, and I can't picture myself going in there anytime soon. I turn round and look at Kylie and Matt smiling at me.

"That was a great night, Daisy!" Kylie says as she starts to applaud me.

"Yeah, honestly Daisy great job. Who knows, maybe Sam will promote you to co-owner." Matt adds with a wink. Whilst that does sound amazing, I would love to own a club by myself. Fully mine.

"Thanks guys, let's tidy up real quick so we can get home. Can't wait to tell Sam how great it all went." I clap my hands together, heading around the table and grabbing all the empty glasses.

We clean up the club in a record time, and I leave with a skip in my step as I lock up and head back to my apartment. I couldn't wait to tell Sam all about tonight, I'm so excited to see what this means for my job. I practically run up to my apartment in anticipation, unlocking my door and throwing it open.

"Oh my god Sam what a night!" I say as I walk in and turn to kitchen to place my bag down. "I actually did it I can't-" I stop talking as I turn round and see Sam already asleep in my bed. I feel a little disappointed that he didn't wait up for me to see how it went, but I guess the meeting took a lot of focus and drained him a little. I slip out of my dress and climb straight into bed, not wanting to wake him up in my search for pjs. As I bring the cover over me I hear a buzz from the other side of the bed. I peer over to Sam sleeping peacefully, noticing his phone next to his head on the pillow.

I pick his phone up to move it onto the bedside table, not wanting it to wake him up. The screen turns on when I pick it up, and I can't help but notice a text. 'thanks for tonight x' from Beth. I feel my chest tighten as I read it over and over again. Sitting in bed and just staring at his phone.

This doesn't mean anything. Maybe she's saying thank you because he let her have an early finish for whatever reason.

I can't let this ruin my night. I'm sure it's all innocent. I place the phone on the side and slide down into the bed, my back to Sam. I close my eyes, trying to focus on how well the night went and not that text. It's probably nothing. Right?