Sam started to say no but remembered the great day she’d had and that wonderful nap with her brother, and something in her decided to take the normally uncaring Antonia up on her rare offer.
“Sure,” she said, smiling.
Toni grinned widely and clapped excitedly, almost like a kid would. “Okay!” she said. “How about up in like… a sexy, sloppy knot.”
Sam shrugged. “I don’t think I’d know what sexy was if it bit me, Toni,” she said. “You go ahead and decide.”
Toni was behind her, looking in the mirror. “Okay…” she said, biting her lip in thought. She pulled Sam’s hair up in what she’d called a sloppy knot, and showed her, then grinned. “You could also do something a little bit more risque,” she said.
Sam raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. “And that is?” she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“Twin ponytails,” she said. “Like this.” She took some of the hair bands from the plethora on the counter and quickly put up Sam’s hair.
Sam looked at herself in the mirror and couldn’t help but smile. The ponytails were very fun looking, but with the clothes she was wearing, she looked like she was practically begging for attention. A wide smile was already plastered on Toni’s face, and Sam’s mouth joined it.
“Hey,” Alex said, coming around the corner. “Have fun at work.”
Toni grinned and winked at her twin, then bounced toward her room. All three girls had to put on a show of not letting their parents know where they worked. They all went to work wearing a shirt over the low-cut one, but when there, would shuck it and wear the required uniform. So far, they hadn’t found out, and Sam wasn’t really sure how they’d react if they ever did.
Once she got to work, she saw that Toni was working in her normal spot at the bar and was flirting with the regulars. Seeing her sister, Toni waved and went back to what she was doing.
Sam headed back to the employee area and put her purse in a locker. Tracy came around the corner and quickly thanked her for coming in.
“You’re a lifesaver,” Tracy said. “I’ve got one more favor to ask of you, though.”
Sam raised an eyebrow and looked at her without speaking for a moment. “We’re down two girls tonight, and one of them covers the adult section.
Sam grimaced, not sure if she’d heard Tracy say that on the phone before she’d agreed to come in.
“Normally, I’d never ask someone to cover that area, but Kara is covering both and is stretched pretty thin. Poor girl has been working her ass off for most of the evening and we haven’t even gotten busy yet.” Tracy spoke fast, obviously in a hurry to get things covered and on her way. She was an older woman, a little overweight and with short cropped hair that made her look like she didn’t care.
“The other girl coming in is Cammie and this is her first solo shift,” Tracy said. “I can’t really expect her to do it.”
Sam was quiet for a moment, replaying the great day over in her head. “Something just had to go wrong,” she thought. Still, the day had been great and this would be a very lucrative shift, if Kimber and Kara were to be believed.
She thought quietly for a few seconds and then smiled. “Sure,” she said. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
“Of course it will,” Tracy said. “If you have any issues, find one of the managers.”
Sam sighed, then quickly headed over to where the waitresses tended to congregate. Kara saw her coming and smiled.
“Hey Sammie!” she said, smiling widely, her red hair heavily curled and looking cute. Sam smiled, then saw her come around the counter revealing her topless condition.
“Oh my,” Sam said.
Kara snickered. “I forget I’m not wearing a top sometimes,” she said. “It’s been bought so many times today, I’ve practically been like this since I got here.”
Sam smirked. “Yeah? Well, you look great,” she said, smiling. “Anything I should know about working Kimber’s normal area?”
Kara’s eyes went wide and she covered her mouth in surprise. “You’re covering her spot?” she asked. “Tracy actually asked you to?”
Sam nodded, shrugging. “I’ll be fine,” she said, not sounding as sure about it as she’d intended.
“No,” Kara said, shaking her head. “You don’t have to. I’ll tell Tracy that I can cover both.”
Sam immediately shook her head, surprising even herself. “I’ll be fine, Kara,” she said. “Honest.”
Kara smiled. “Are you sure, hon?”
Sam fell silent again but nodded quickly. “Totally. It’s been a week of firsts,” she said.
Kara smiled. “As long as you’re sure,” she said again. “Okay, so you know that the guests can buy your top for an hour?”
Sam nodded.
“Good. The minimum that Kimber and I let them get away with is $100 bucks for one hour, or if I’m feeling flirty, $50 for thirty minutes. The problem is that you get too busy and start to forget that you’re topless, believe it or not, and before long, it’s been an hour and a half and they only paid for thirty.” Kara walked her over to their sections. “Other than that, it’s mostly the same gig,” she said. “Don’t be surprised if you get compliments on your girls,” she said, smiling.
Sam blushed and shrugged at the same time, more than a little nervous. They walked over to the entrance of her room and she gave her the breakdown of what tables were needing what. Sam made quick mental notes and nodded.
“I should be good,” Sam said, finishing jotting down what Kara had told her. “Good luck, hon,” Kara called, turning around. “Call me if you need anything!” She took a deep breath as Kara disappeared around the corner into her own section. The sound of cheering came from the room and she heard someone say, “There she is!” as the redhead entered.
Sam smiled, turning and heading for her own section. As she entered, she saw the tables Kara had described. There was a large table of businessmen in the middle, and about eight booths around the outside. The hostess brought another in, then looked up, surprised. “Oh, Sam!” she said. “I didn’t know you were working this section.”
“Yeah, I got called in,” Sam said. “Kara’s section is the next room over.”
“I’ll update the waitress board,” the hostess said, smiling and turning around to the two men behind her.
“Kara’s not working two sections anymore,” she said. “It looks like Samantha is working one of the adult sections and Kara is working the other. Would you still like to sit in Kara’s section?”
The two men looked past the hostess at Sam, who was turning around to go start work. She heard them say, “No, we’ll go ahead and sit in Samantha’s section.”
She smiled and went to check on her tables.
“Good evening. My name is Samantha,” she said. “I’m helping out Kara this evening. Can I get you anything else? It looks like you guys are about done.”
The man and woman smiled and nodded. “I think we are. Tell Kara that she’s a great lookin’ gal,” the man said, grabbing a cowboy hat in the booth beside him.
“I sure will,” Sam said, smiling as they filed out past. A busboy came out of seemingly nowhere and started clearing the table. Sam grabbed the bill and change and put it in her pocket to give to Kara.
The next couple of minutes, she went around the room checking on everything for all the guests. They all had their food and were eating and conversing quietly. She guessed that the cowboy that had left was the one that had bought Kara’s top, or that it was one of the ones in the other room. She began to wonder if one room had bought her top and the other hadn’t, would she put it on before going into the other room?
She shook her head and focused on the present, heading over to the table with the two newcomers.
“Good evening, Gentlemen,” she said. “My name is Samantha and I’ll be looking after you tonight. What can I get you guys to drink?”
Both men smiled and stared directly at her top, something she was relatively used to from working here. It was their credo to “Let them look,” after all, and it was something she’d said to all the new people that came to eat when she was still working as a hostess. Tips were so much better as a waitress, though, so she didn’t miss it at all. The hostesses tended to get a percentage of the total.
They both ordered beer and she went off to the bar to get their drink order in before returning to take their food order. She turned, seeing the hostess pass her section with a group of older men and frowned. They could be a really good source of tips, she knew. All she normally had to do was bend over the table or pretend to be interested in what they were saying. It was relatively easy money.
She focused on the two men in front of her and answered their questions as they asked about the food, then ordered something.
“Alright guys,” she said, “I’ll get these in and check on you in a bit.” She made a few rounds after turning in the food order and then came back to the table with the two men. They smiled and looked up at her.
“I haven’t seen you in this section,” one of them said. “New?”
Sam shook her head. “I’ve been here about three months now,” she answered. “I just don’t normally get a chance to work here. Usually Kimber and Kara have it claimed.”
The man smiled. She conversed for a minute or so, laughing extra at his jokes and smiling as they talked.
“I’ll be back to check on you in a few,” she said, smiling and winking. Turning, she saw the hostess bring in a group of guys, and she suddenly felt her stomach tie itself into a knot.
“Samantha?” Marley said. It was the guy she’d had History class with. She groaned internally, but waved nonetheless.
Behind him, Kev, Murphy, and another guy she didn’t know, followed in behind their friend. She waved sweetly but kept swearing internally. This was all she needed, guys hitting on her at work. She realized after the thought entered her head that that was precisely what always happened, and that nothing had really changed, except that she would be seeing them in class three days a week.