did Brody and I. “We have a new, hot, little thang on the wait staff, fo sho. Everybody, meet Mercy!” He clapped his hands and I waved, my eyes wide. Brody laughed and finally, I released a breath and laughed, too. “She’s a Taurus, is single and new in town. She’s also a freak!” I whipped my head around to him. “Yeah! Baby girl is a fr-e-ak! So, in honor of her freaky ways, imma play you dis song!”
Rihanna’s “S & M” poured through the speakers. My face was on fire. Not like a fireplace-cozy-warm fire. Like lava-melting-pavement type of burn. Brody chuckled and pulled me close and we began to dance. I could see Summer laughing with the same table of guys I’d left her with before taking my break. Brody was tall, but I could see Jaxon near the bar, too. He wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t even grinning. He was...angry. I hoped he didn’t fire me. I had nothing to do with Fast Eddy’s little welcome.
The following Sunday , I went to Celeste’s for lunch. She made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup and it was amazing. Comfort food had never tasted so good. We talked about the store and business was booming. She raved about the bikinis and cover-ups I had placed in the shop this week. She’d found an old garment rounder in the back room. I dragged it out and cleaned it until it gleamed. Celeste said it was mine, reserved for my crochet creations. Did I mention I loved this woman?
“How’s your dad?”
“He’s fine. I write him once a week, at least. I talk to him just as often. I know he doesn’t have visitors now that I’m gone, so I try to keep in touch. He looks forward to it.”
“Jaxon knows about him?”
“Sort of. He knows he’s in prison. He doesn’t know what he’s in for.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with that boy.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s a slut.”
I gasped before laughing. “Celeste.” Her bluntness was hilarious. She was this tiny, kind, ornery old woman and too funny for words.
“Trust me, honey. He’s stopped bringing the bar bunnies home recently, but before that, I worried about the state of his penis.”
“What?!”
“I did. You know, these days you have to be careful. There are diseases. Gonorrhea, Herpes, AIDS. A lady at the nursing home got genital warts from sleeping around.”
My mouth hung open. I wanted to laugh but was too disturbed. “Oh, honey. You’re an adult, we can discuss dicks. It’s okay.”
“Um. Maybe not Jaxon’s dick.”
“He likes you, ya know.”
“He’s cool.”
She scoffed. “He’s cool. He’s scorching hot. Well, if I were your age, I’d throw caution of disease to the wind and hop right on that thing.”
“Oh my God, Celeste. Stop!”
“I would. And don’t think I don’t see the way he acts when you’re around.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He becomes a complete moron. A Neanderthal. Half the time I think he’s gonna beat his chest and carry you out of the room.”
“Whatever. He’s just my friend and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t think about me any other way. I’ve seen how he treats the girls he wants...um, romantically.”
“No. You haven’t. He treats the whores he brings home like whores. I’ve never even seen him with someone he truly likes. Poor boy had his heart ripped out by a she-devil.”
“Yeah. I can tell.”
“If I ever cross paths with that woman, I’ll cut the bitch.” Celeste wiped the tomato soup from the corner of her mouth and carried her bowl to the sink.
After that enlightening and disturbing lunch with Celeste, June called. She was off and she was coming over to go to the beach. It was seventy-eight degrees and sunny. Time to work on the tan. She took the bathroom and I took the bedroom. I’d made a special and very intricate suit for my debut at the beach. It was made from black yarn and looked like a traditional bikini, with the exception of the detailed netting that stretched from my left hip to
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