“Always,” Trenton said, following me back inside.

Blia returned to the front kiosk, and then Jorie came up to relieve Raegan. Trenton was working on his fourth bottle of beer by the time Raegan returned, and he seemed more irritated after every drink I made.

“You okay?” I asked over the music.

He nodded but didn’t stop staring at his intertwined fingers resting on the bar. I noticed for the first time that his T-shirt featured two pale bluebirds, above the words DO YOU SWALLOW? His many tattoos complemented the shirt and distressed jeans, but the pink, white, and purple plastic bracelet didn’t.

I touched the plastic with my index finger. “Olive?”

He turned his wrist a bit. “Yep.” Even the mention of his best friend didn’t cheer him up.

“What’s up, Trenton? You’re acting weird.”

“He’s here.”

“Who’s here?” I said, squinting while I shook another cocktail.

“The preppy douche bag I tossed out of Skin Deep.”

I glanced around, and there he was, just a few feet down from Trenton’s left, flanked by Jeremy and Kylie. She was in another short dress, only this one was gold and a lot tighter. “Just ignore him. We’re having a good time tonight.”

“We are? I’m sitting here by myself,” he snapped.

Clay smiled at me, but I looked down, hoping not to encourage any snide comments from him that would set Trenton off. No such luck.

“Look, Jeremy! It’s the bitchy secretary!” Clay said. He was drunker than he was in the tattoo parlor.

I looked for Kody, but didn’t see him. He was likely at the entrance, where the fights had been breaking out. Gruber was on the west wall, where scuffles were also known to occur. Tuffy was on break, so Hank was probably at the entrance checking IDs and taking money.

Clay still hadn’t seen Trenton, but Kylie had. She had one arm around Clay’s back, and one hand on his stomach, the tip of her ring finger tucked into the waist of his jeans. Even though she was draped against Clay, she kept her eyes on Trenton, waiting for him to notice her.

“I’ll take a bottle of Bud, Bitchy! And you’re not getting a tip, because you kicked me out the other night.”

“Want me to do it again?” I asked.

“I can take you into a dark alley and bend you over,” he said, weaving.

Trenton tensed, and I put my hand on his. “He’s plastered. Give me a sec and I’ll have Kody escort him out.”

Trenton didn’t look up at me, he just nodded, his knuckles white.

“I’m not in the mood for your shit tonight. Go order from the kiosk.”

“Beer me, bitch!” Clay said, just before he noticed whose hands I was holding.

Trenton left his seat, barreling through a few people.

“Trent, no! Goddammit!” I jumped over the bar, but not before Trenton got a couple of punches in. Clay was already on the ground, bleeding. I fell on my knees and covered my head, covering Clay with my body at the same time.

Jorie screamed over the music. “Cami, no!”

When nothing happened, I looked up, seeing Trenton standing over us, his fist shaking and high in the air. Kylie was standing next to Trenton, looking down on us. She was simply spectating, not the least bit concerned about Clay.

Kody and Raegan were standing next to me when I stood up, and Kody helped Clay to his feet. Jorie pointed to Clay, and Kody took him by the arm.

“All right. Let’s go,” Kody said.

Clay yanked his arm from Kody’s grasp and wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve.

“You want to go again, sunshine?” Trenton asked.

“Fuck you,” Clay said, spitting blood on the floor. “Let’s go, Kylie.”

Trenton pulled Kylie against his side and pointed at her. “Is this your girl?”

“What about it?” Clay asked.

Trenton grabbed Kylie and leaned her back, planting an open kiss on her mouth. She kissed him back, and for a few seconds they were both more than enthusiastic. Trenton slid his hand down her side and then cupped her ass with one hand, keeping her neck in the crook of his other arm.

My stomach dropped, and just like everyone else, I froze until Trenton stood her upright and gently pushed her toward Clay.

Clay made a face, but he didn’t react. Kylie was more than pleased, and turned to give Trenton one last flirtatious glance while Clay dragged her by the hand toward the entrance. Kody followed them out, but not before making a what the f**k face to Raegan, and then to me.

It wasn’t until then that I realized every muscle in my body was tense.

I approached Trenton and pointed at his chest. “You pull that shit again, and I’ll have you thrown out of here.”

One side of Trenton’s mouth turned up. “The punching, or the kissing?”

“Is your ass jealous of the amount of shit that comes out of your mouth?” I said, walking around the bar.

“I’ve already heard that one!” Trenton called back. He grabbed his beer off the bar, and then strolled over to the pool tables like nothing happened.

“Not to piss all over your parade, sister, but you look angry,” Raegan said.

I began washing mugs like I hated them, because in that moment, I hated everything. “I couldn’t stand him in high school, and I can’t stand him now.”

“You’ve been hanging out with him a lot for someone you can’t stand.”

“I thought he’d changed, but apparently not.”

“Apparently not,” Raegan deadpanned, popping the top on three beer bottles, one after another.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up,” I chanted, trying to drown out her words. I didn’t want him, anyway. What did it matter to me if he was a man whore who stuck his tongue down someone’s throat just to piss off her boyfriend?

The fast pace behind the bar continued, but fortunately the fights died down just before last call. It was always a huge pain in the ass trying to get out of there when the whole place broke out into a brawl at closing time. The lights came on, and the crowd dispersed. For once, Kody and Gruber didn’t have to go into ass**le mode to get the stragglers out. Instead, they politely encouraged people to leave, and Raegan and I closed down the bar. Lita and Ronna walked in with brooms and other cleaning supplies. By 3:00 a.m., the bartenders were all ready to leave, and per policy, Kody and Gruber walked us to our cars. Walking Raegan out every night and filling those short moments with subtle charm was exactly how Kody had finally convinced her to let him take her on a date. Gruber walked me to the Smurf, both of us pulling our coats tighter to ward off the cold. When Trenton’s car, and then Trenton standing next to it, came into view, Gruber and I paused at the same time.