Asshole: If that's the case, I'm going to need you to come over and help me with a big problem I'm having.
Me: I told you I'm not doing the assignment for you. Figure it out yourself.
Asshole: Not the assignment. A different kind of problem...
Me: ... Goodbye West. And don't you dare send me any dick pics or I'll puke right here in the library.
Asshole: It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.
Asshole: *Sends candid shot of Bronx*
Asshole: My dick pic ^
Was this a cease-fire? It sure felt like it.
Truth be told, I didn't have the energy to go toe-to-toe with West during every interaction. I knew he would fight until his last breath, but that wasn't my style. My method of punishment over the last two years had been ignoring him and proactive avoidance. What we'd been doing for the last week was exhausting. The only thing that came from my brilliant plan was that people at school were talking about me.
Talking shit about my outfit, calling me names, catcalling. All of it was enough for me. I just wanted to be Ashtyn.
When shit like that happened at Aces, it didn't bother me. I was making mad money and I had other girls doing the same things as me. They were my armor in that place. It was different at school. People were cruel and I could only handle so much of the nitpicking and name-calling.
Saturdaynightfinallyarrived,and Aces was packed with people. I checked my phone during a break around ten o’clock and noticed a ton of missed video calls from Bronx. Since I had fifteen minutes to waste, I decided to try him back knowing he was probably wasted at Axel's party.
"Heyyyy Ash! Oh shit, I forgot you're working! I was calling to tell you to get your ass over here!" Bronx smiled once he answered the call. His sandy brown hair was a mess, and he didn't have a shirt on.
There was a circle of people drinking and smoking behind him and I spotted Cade right away. He stood on the coffee table in the middle of the group and shot-gunned a beer while they hooted and hollered.
I was hiding out in the locker rooms where all the girls got dolled up before their shifts, trying to avoid a certain greasy-haired guy. "I saw all the calls and thought it might be an emergency."
"Oops, sorry! I thought I only called once. Cade, say hi to Ash. She's at work." Bronx thrust the phone over to Cade and he happily took it.
"Sup baby girl, how's your night going?" He jumped down from the coffee table and flopped onto a couch, wedging himself between West and Axel.
"Busy. Ready to be done and get the fuck outta here."
"We could come see you! West would love to take you to the back room and have his way with you." Cade thrust his hips in the air and aimed the phone at a scowling West.
"Ash, who is that?" One of the waitresses, Chloe, asked as she walked up to me. She was taking her break too.
"The one holding the phone is Cade, the grumpy one to his left is West, and the brooding, smart-looking one to his right is Axel."
Chloe took the phone and held it out further so the guys got a full shot of our outfits. I was wearing a black, low-cut bodycon dress and fishnets. Chloe wore a black wrap dress and her red hair looked like fire against her fair skin.
"Holy shit," said Cade. "You're fucking gorgeous."
"Thanks, hon. How old are you?"
"Twenty-one"
"He's eighteen," we both said at the same time.
"He's legal, I guess," she shrugged. "If you ever come by Aces, make sure to ask for Chloe and I'll take real good care of you." Chloe blew a kiss to Cade and handed the phone back to me.
"My break is almost over so I gotta go."
"Alright baby girl, what time do you get off? You could swing by here once you're done."
"Midnight. Are y'all even going to be coherent by then? You look fucking gone."