I know there's been stigma 'round me.
I know you heard things about me.

A L L I K N O W
-The Weekend ft. Future

saturday | september 20 | 1:05 am

"WHAT kind of shots do you guys want now? I need one that's strong," Talia grumbled, eyeing Matthew in the distance with another beautiful girl as she sat perched on the bar stool. She tapped her fingers on the granite stone, vexed at his popularity with the female population.

Amelia read over the drink menu and spoke, "We should definitely get the 'Lemon Drop' shots! They sound so delicious." She clapped her hands together in excitement. But, her face slowly transformed into a small grimace, "But, I just realized that I ran out of cash not too long ago and I don't want to use my card here so... I won't be able to buy them anymore."

The group nodded their heads in understanding but a shred of disappointment was reflected on their facial expressions.

"It's alright. I'll pay for it," Vic offered and everyone began to smile again. "Genesis, can you order them for me though? I don't feel like getting up. I'm a bit pooped and my seat is so comfy."

"Well, I would but the last time I checked, this fake ID didn't include a pass to order drinks from the bar. Remember, I'm not legal yet," Genesis answered in a sing-song voice.

Victoria scrunched up her face, confused for a moment, before processing her words and smiling sheepishly, "Yeah...sorry I keep forgetting you're nineteen. Thanks, anyway. Amelia, what about you? I'll let you borrow my new blow dryer from that raffle I won for an entire..."

Victoria turned her head around and was met with air in the place Amelia was previously sitting. She scanned her surroundings quickly for her best friend and found her talking to a woman a few feet away, stroking the woman's neck and smiling flirtatiously with a 'come-hither' look in her eyes.

Well then.

Vic exhaled through her nose deeply as she watched her friend, before turning her face back to the group of girls in front of her, "I guess that just leaves you, Talia. Here's the mone-"

"Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system: T-a-l-i-a is not available. At the tone, please record your message. When you're finis-"

"Alright! Okay! Geez! I understand! What can a girl do for some respectful service out here," Victoria retorted exasperatedly and plopped her purse onto Genesis's lap. "Hold and watch this for me please since it seems like I have to do the job myself. I won't be able to carry it and the drinks."

"Sir yes sir! I mean... ma'am yes ma'am! Eh, that doesn't have the same oomph, that va-va-boom, that-"

Victoria sighed heavily and rubbed her temple slowly, "Genesis, just...just... watch it."

She pivoted and walked to the other side of the bar, where most people were ordering their drinks. The crowd slowly began to trickledown and the music lowered as the morning pushed forward. She was thankful for the little bit of space to stretch her arms and exhaled calmly at the short lived reverie.

Victoria saw that the line was fairly short, and shuffled her way behind a tall man. She waited for her turn and preoccupied herself by digging further into her hangnail. It was a nasty habit that she couldn't get rid of.

After a while, someone behind her tapped her shoulder. Victoria abruptly turned around with a smile on her face, presuming that it was one of her friends.

"You're up next lady," the man grunted with clear displeasure. Victoria's smile dwindled as she mumbled a short apology and stepped up to the bar table. A twinge of embarrassment cascaded through her body. In a haste and with rose colored cheeks, Victoria spoke out loud without looking up. She sorted through the money in her hands in front of the bartender, counting the pile of dollar bills.

"Sorry about that. Uh, can I have two trays of lemon drop shots? Extra lemon. Wait, how much would that cost with the extra lemon? If it's too much just cancel it," Victoria rambled, separating the money she didn't need.

"You'll be able to afford it, considering the huge wad of cash you have in your hands."

She stopped counting and froze in place. She raised her head from the downward position it was in to settle her gaze onto the steely grey eyes of a man. It was him again. He kept eye contact with her, his lips slowly turning into a smirk at her stunned expression. Victoria felt a sudden need to grind her teeth at his presence and the sight of his pretty smirk. She didn't know what it was about him, but his personality didn't match well with hers. Maybe it was because they were both two miserable people and they naturally repelled one another or maybe she was just as unlikeable to him as he was to her. It almost felt like they knew each other before in a past life and their contempt for one another finally made an appearance.

All Vic knew was that she had to stay a good distance from him. She had enough bad energy in her life to deal with.

This time instead of just his plain white shirt, he wore a black apron with the words 'DELTA MAX' sprawled across his chest and a small name tag with 'Jesse' on it. Victoria swallowed nervously and bit her lip.

"Ok...I'd like that... please."

His face turned serious, "Sure. I hope it's not all for you though, considering you can barely keep your balance sober. And by the way, carrying that much money is a bad idea."

Victoria nodded her head, rocking back onto the heels of her feet; the first sign that she was getting impatient, "It's not all for me. Now, if you'd please-"

"I'm not finished talking. You can't just have money like that in the open at a club. It's like you look for danger. Why the hell did you bring that much anyways, unless your a stripper or something? Now, that would be a plot twist." Jesse laughed softly at his words.

Victoria gritted her teeth in annoyance. This guy was pushing- no slamming on all of her angry buttons and she was getting sick of it. "Listen, let's not talk about that okay? It's none of your business anyhow. I just want the drinks and I'll be out of your way."

Jesse nodded slowly as his eyes lingered on her slightly red cheeks under the bright fluorescent light that hung above them. Victoria pushed a loose lock of hair from her face, uncomfortable. She was pretty sure the man behind her began to growl lowly in rage. Jesse held out his hand towards her. She stared at it, assuming he wanted the money now.

"Your ID."

Victoria felt her cheeks heat up even more. Of course he was asking for her ID. She checked the pockets of her dress and cursed under her breath when she came up empty handed. She reached deep into the fabric to double check that she wasn't missing it by accident but felt nothing. If it wasn't there, it would have to be...

"Oh yeah, uh... well you see...can you give me a quick moment? I think I dropped my...ring."

Victoria squatted down quickly without his answer in mortification. She remembered that she slipped her ID in her bra after entering the club for easy access and cursed herself to the moon and back for wearing a tight dress tonight; one that squeezed around her neckline. She had no clue how she was able to get the ID in there in the first place. Now, however, Vic had to dig up the small card like it was a treasure chest between her fleshy sisters in a club full of strangers.

She peaked a glance behind her to see that the line had gotten extremely long in the span of ten minutes. Victoria knew that she couldn't run to the bathroom and get back without waiting an eternity. Her friends would get upset and she would've killed the energized mood they had going. Victoria breathed deeply and cracked her knuckles determined.

"Screw it," she mumbled and hastily stuck her hand down the front of her dress. She searched for the warm card and felt her turn into a tomato from the pressure of eyes on the back of her head. At this point, she was sure that her caramel skin could no longer hide the apparent blush that coated her cheeks. Luckily, her card wasn't settled too deep in her dress and she quickly stood back up with a smile on her face, the sensation feeling weird on her lips. Jesse seemed taken aback by her sudden reappearance. He blinked a few times to regain his thoughts.

"What the fucking hell..."

Victoria tried to play it off cool. "Hey! You look flustered. What, never seen a girl do a magic trick before? Let me explain. I disappeared then reappeared before you eyes! Feel free to clap for me."

"You're a really weird p-"

"My goodness! How long are you both going to sit here and banter like children! There are other people on this line you know."

Victoria cringed at the loud tone used by the man behind her. She sheepishly shut up and turned around, ready to either apologize or cuss him out. She didn't know yet.

"Sir-" She started with, but was cut off by Jesse's loud yell.

"Kaliyah! Can you take the rest of my orders? I have something I need to do," He shouted, looking over his shoulder in search of someone. Shortly, a gorgeous women appeared on his side and patted his shoulder softly.

"Hey Jesse! Um sure I'll do the rest for you. But remember our deal about Saturday..." she purred sweetly. Jesse visibly paled while Victoria's interest instantly peaked. What could have this man so scared that his face would drain of color?

"Really? We're still doing that?" He exclaimed with disbelief.

"A deal is a deal," She shrugged, and hip bumped him to the side in order to take his place behind the bar table. She turned her gaze onto me and smiled.

"I'm guessing you already took her order?" She inquired. He murmured a, "Yes, I did," and scurried away to the bottles of drinks quickly with his head down.

Victoria moved to the side to give the man behind her some space. He mumbled a few choice words under his breath and Victoria scoffed at his vulgarity. She turned to Jesse who had his back towards her and watched confusingly as he began to make her drinks.

"I haven't showed you my ID or paid yet," She spoke out loud. Jesse whipped his head around and landed his eyes on her. He looked a little bewildered.

"Oh yeah, give them to me now," He commanded, and Victoria did as she was told. She didn't want to bother him any more than he wanted to speak to her.

Vic watched as he held her ID towards the light and nodded his head before giving it back to her. He stuffed the cash she gave him into his apron pocket and began mixing the shots. He worked with precise speed, not missing a beat as he prepared the alcohol. Jesse was in his element now, she could tell, as he flipped the glasses over with great skill and garnished the drinks with different concoctions. Victoria watched his every move and felt her mouth dry at his beauty.

She was a woman, after all, and admired a handsome man when she saw one. Even if he was in the form of a condescending prick like Jesse.

Jesse slid the trays of shots towards the end of the bar. Victoria thanked him quietly as she casted one last look at his face. He wasn't paying attention, already moving on to the next customer as he stood next to his co-worker. Knowing that her presence wasn't needed anymore, Victoria picked up the trays as carefully as she could and walked off towards the group.

•••••

Ooooh Vicky girl is having some mixed feelings about Jesse. Does she like him or not? What do you guys think is going on in his head? Also, the song I chose for this chapter is my 'get crazy' song, meaning i literally start dancing like a maniac when it comes on and I'm not ashamed of it. Thanks for reading!

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