Penelope Douglas - Birthday Girl

Penelope Douglas

Copyright 2018 Penelope Douglas

Cover Design 2018 Pink Ink Designs

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Proofreading & Interior Formatting by Elaine York, Allusion Graphics, LLC/Publishing & Book Formatting

Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer

All She Wants to Do Is Dance by Don Henley

Bad Medicine by Bon Jovi

Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen

Guys My Age by Hey, Violet

Hurts So Good by John Mellencamp

I Love Rock n Roll by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Im on Fire by Bruce Springsteen

Jessies Girl by Rick Springfield

Pity Party by Melanie Martinez

Poison by Alice Cooper

Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard

Run to You by Bryan Adams

The Girl Gets Around by Sammy Hagar

The Distance by Cake

When you grow up, your heart dies.

-Allison Reynolds, The Breakfast Club

Jordan

Hes not answering. This the second time Ive called in fifteen minutes, and Ive been texting without any luck, too. Was he planning on still remembering to be here at two?

I end the call and glance up at the clock above the bar, seeing its nearly midnight now. Still two hours before my boyfriend thinks Im off work and need to be picked up.

And here I thought we got a lucky surprise tonight, me getting off early.

Shit.

I need to get my car running. I cant keep relying on him for rides.

The music fills the air around me, customers laughing to my right and one of the other bartenders filling the cooler with ice to my left.

Unease pricks at the back of my neck. If hes not answering, then hes either asleep or out. Both could mean hell remember me after its too late. Hes not always unreliable, but this wouldnt be the first time, either.

Thats the problem with making your friend your boyfriend, I guess. He still thinks he can get away with murder.

I grab my shirt and school bag out of the cabinet underneath the taps and slide my phone into my pocket. I pull on a flannel over my tank top, button it up, and tuck the front of the hem into my jeans, covering myself. Ill dress a little sexy for tips, but Im not about to walk out of here like this.

Where are you going? Shel asks, peering at me as she draws a beer.

I glance over at my boss, her black hair with blonde chunks piled on top of her head and a string of tiny hearts tattooed around her upper arm.

Theres a midnight showing of Evil Dead at The Grand Theater, I tell her as I close the cabinet and slide the strap of my leather satchel over my head. Ill go kill time and wait for Cole there.

She finishes pouring her beer and looks at me like there are a million things she wants to say but doesnt even know where to start.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I wish shed stop looking at me like that. Theres a good possibility Cole wont be here at two a.m. considering hes not answering the phone right now. I know that. He could be three sheets to the wind at some friends house.

Or he could be at home sleeping with the alarm set to come get me at two and his phone left in another room. Its not likely, but its possible. Hes got two hours. Ill give him two hours.

Besides, my sister is at work, and no one here can leave to drive me home. Work is slow tonight, and I got cut early because Im the only one without a child to support.

Even though I desperately need the money just the same.

I grip the strap of the bag over my chest, feeling like I should be older than eighteen.

Well, nineteen now, almost forgetting what today is.

I take a deep breath, pushing the worry away for tonight. A lot of people my age struggle for money, cant pay bills, and have to bum rides. I know its too much to expect that Id have everything figured out by now, but its still embarrassing. I hate looking helpless.

And I cant blame Cole, either. It was my decision to use what was left of my student loan money to help him fix his car. Hes been there for me, too. At one time, we were all the other one had.

Turning around, Shel sets the beer on the bar in front of Gradyone of the regularsand takes his cash, shooting me another look as she enters the sale into the register. You dont have a functioning vehicle, she states. And its dark outside. You cant walk to the theater. Sex slavers are just looking for hot, teenage girls with blonde hair and shit.

I snort. You need to stop watching Lifetime Movies.

We might be an easy distance to some larger towns, and Chicago is only a few hours away, but were still in the middle of nowhere.

I lift up the partition and walk out from behind the bar. The theater is right around the block, I tell her. Ill make it in ten seconds if I run like Im being graded.

I pat Grady on the back as I leave, the gray hair of his ponytail swaying as he turns to wink at me. Bye, kiddo, he says.

Night.

Jordan, wait, Shel shouts over the jukebox, and I turn my head to look at her.

I watch as she pulls a box out of the cooler along with a single serving box of wine and pushes them both across the bar at me.

Happy Birthday, she says, smirking at me like she knows I probably think she forgot.

I break into a smile and lift the small Krispy Kreme box open and see half a dozen donuts.

It was all I could pick up in a hurry, she explains.

Hey, its cake. Kind of. Im not complaining.

I close the box and lift up the flap of my leather bag, hiding my loot inside, wine and all. I didnt expect anyone to get me anything, of course, but its still nice to be remembered. Cam, my sister, will no doubt surprise me with a pretty shirt or a sexy pair of earrings tomorrow when I see her, and my dad will probably call me sometime this week.

Shel knows how to make me laugh, though. Im old enough to work in a bar but not old enough to drink. Sneaking me some wine I can enjoy off the premises will be my little adventure tonight.

Thank you, I say and hop up on the bar, planting a kiss on her cheek.

Be safe, she tells me.

I nod once and spin around, heading out the wooden door and stepping out onto the sidewalk.

The door shuts behind me, the music inside now a dull thrumming, and my chest caves, releasing the breath I didnt realize Id been holding.

I love her, but I wish she wouldnt worry about me. She looks at me like shes my mom and wants to fix everything.

I guess I shouldve been so lucky as to have a mom like her.

The welcome fresh air washes over me, the late-night chill sending goosebumps up my arms, and the fragrant scent of May flowers wafts through my nostrils. I tip my head back, close my eyes, and breathe in a lungful as my long bangs tickle my cheek in the light breeze.