The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (Hazards #1)(12)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“That makes no sense, but thanks for the job.”

“Not a problem. I think you’ll be an entertaining addition to the staff.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah…that’s a safe assumption.”

Chapter Six

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Hey Hey Hey

Dear Amy,

Dylan asked me out. I’m trying not to worry too much, but I don’t want to mess things up. BTW Kyle got hot. Oh, and you’re right. I’d win any boob competition.

Love,

Your Hotter and Bustier Cousin,

Juliet

P.S. How are things going over there?

“Here, change into this.” Reed tossed me an Al’s Pizza t-shirt.

“Now?”

“Yes, you can change in the bathroom.” He pointed to a door with a white, stenciled Marilyn Monroe on it.

“That’s okay. I can wear it over my tank.” I turned away from Reed as I pulled it over my head.

“Nice.” He nodded.

“I look fantastic, don’t I?” To be honest, the fitted girls’ tee didn’t look too bad.

“Of course.”

“Now what?” I glanced around the empty restaurant. The only job I’d had before was lifeguarding. This was new territory for me.

“We sit around.”

“What?”

“No one comes in here until at least nine-thirty or ten.”

“Why?”

“People don’t want to eat this pizza unless they’re drunk.”

“Then how does Al stay in business?” I glanced around the place. It certainly wasn’t the décor that brought people in. The booths had seen better days, and the fading paint on the walls didn’t look any better.

“College kids get drunk a lot.”

I laughed. “Why keep it open during the day?”

“That, I can’t tell you, but we never open before four thirty.”

“How are my hours going to work?”

Reed spun a beer bottle lid around like a top. “How many hours do you want to work?”

“Maybe a few shifts a week.”

“I’m guessing you don’t want to work weekends.”

“I’d prefer not to, but…”

He leaned back against the counter. “Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights from five to midnight.”

“That’s a lot of hours.”

“Most of them will be like this. Bring your books. Get your homework done.”

“Is there any flexibility if I need to be somewhere?”

He smiled. “For someone desperate for a job, you’re very demanding.”

“Sorry. I know.”

“If you need to skip a shift, we’ll talk about it.”

“Will there always be someone here?”

He put a hand in his pocket. “Me.”

“Really?” Reed seemed like the kind of guy who liked to go out. Did he really work that much?

“Yes. I don’t trust you to work alone. Besides, you’re not going to be cooking. Your job’s to ring people up and serve.”

I wasn’t sure whether to be insulted by his ‘I don’t trust you’ comment. Either way, I didn’t actually want to work alone.

“You didn’t ask, but it’s eight fifty an hour.”

“Oh, that’s good.” I’d have taken anything at that point—especially from a job that didn’t require weekends.

He smiled. “It’s better than you’ll get anywhere else around here.”

“Great.”

He pulled two stools over to the counter and sat down on one. “How’s the pledging life going for you?”

“It was going fine until I got stuck spending my day with some weird guy.”

“Well, he thinks you’re weird, too.”

“Very funny.”

“Do you like it so far, though?”

“Yeah. It’s been good.” For all I knew, he’d report everything to Amanda. I wasn’t saying anything stupid.

“Just don’t let it get you down. It’s only a few months.”

“I know. And it’s not like pledging a frat.”

“I’m sure it’s better in some ways, but worse in others.” He played with a plastic Al’s Pizza pen.

“In what ways?”

“Guys are more physical, more extreme, but girls can be cruel. Like, making you guys work for us at the house. That’s demeaning in so many ways. It’s different than asking a guy to fix something.”

“Oops.”

“What?”

“I just realized we never moved your stuff into the dryer.”

“Maybe we didn’t, but I did.”

“Oh, okay. Good.”

“I’m glad you’re concerned about my clothes. That’s sweet of you.”

I shook my head. “Don’t read into it.”

“Where’s Dylan taking you tonight?”

“No clue. We were supposed to go to dinner, but you know I was busy.”

“What are you doing instead?” Reed crossed his arms.

“Drinks, I think.”

“In other words, he gets out of buying you dinner and is going to get you drunk and into bed.”

“Not necessarily.”

“But possibly.” He studied me.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Maybe it isn’t, but I’m surprised you’re so easy to get into bed.”

“I am not easy!”

“No? It’s just Dylan?”

“He wasn’t my first—wait, why am I telling you this?”

He laughed. “I don’t know, but I was right. You are definitely entertaining.”

I pushed him, and his arm felt like a solid rock. “Are you human?”

“Umm…am I really supposed to answer that?”

“You’re not.”

“All right, Annie.”

The phone rang. “Be right back.”

I waited as Reed talked for a minute. He wrote a few things down on a note pad.

He came back to sit. “It was just about a beer delivery.”

“Oh, cool.”

“You say that a lot.”

“What?” I stretched. My back was getting tired from sitting on the stool.

“Cool. You say it more than normal.”

“I’ll try to remember that.”