LED lights flash on beat with the electric guitar. Everyone is practically screaming, singing along with the band's cover of "Heaven's On Fire" by KISS. VIP night was technically supposed to be over an hour ago, but everybody is having way too much fun for me to end it now. Plus, I'm getting mad tips.

And I'm fairly certain that a few people snuck in alcohol, but I'm going to pretend I don't notice. Ash took Syd home an hour ago and agreed to watch her, so what do I care if people get a little rowdy. Except Zach. I'd be alright if he dialed it back a notch and kept his hands off Florence's body for five seconds.

God, I wish I could be drunk right now.

"Y/N, hey! These nights don't usually go this way!" I hear someone yell from behind me. I turn around to face them, and see a beautiful woman giving me a hazy smile.

"Oh, hey, Willow! I didn't know you were here!" I yell back over the music. Willow goes to school with Ash, and we may or may not have worked together at a certain club in the past. I've always loved hanging out with her, but I guess I've never thought of pursuing anything more.

"Yeah, I got here a couple of hours ago. It's been way too long since we've hung out. You wanna go grab a drink after this?" she asks as she steps closer to talk over the music.

"Uh, I don't know if I should. I mean, Ash is watching Syd and..."

"Come on, they'll be fine. Knowing them, they're probably already asleep. Just one drink."

I mull it over as my eyes travel across the room, spotting Florence dancing with Zach. With a sigh, I reluctantly agree. "Yeah, okay. Why not?"

"Yes! I promise you won't regret it," she celebrates.

"You better hope not," I joke with a small smirk. "I'll have the band wrap up and then close down, okay?"

"Deal," she says with a wink, sauntering back off into the crowd.

Laughing, I cross the room and beckon over one of the band members. I tell them to play one more song and they agree, so I walk back to the cafe bar to shut everything down. When the music stops, David turns the lights back on and I send Ash a text.

Me: Hey, I'm going out for a drink with Willow. I don't know when I'll be back so just put Syd to bed, please.

Ash: Willow as in the hot chick you used to work with at the club?!? Get it, girl!

Me: I'm gonna kill you. It's just a drink.

Ash: Oh, right. I forgot you have your heart set on the Brit. Don't worry about Syd, she's already out for the count. Don't forget to use protection! ;)

Me: That's not how that works. But thank you.

Florence comes up to the counter and says, "Hey, we're gonna head out. Tonight was a lot of fun."

"Good, I'm glad. Will I see you tomorrow?"

"You can count on it," she promises with a sweet smile.

Just then, Willow waltzes over to the counter and drawls, "You ready to go? I believe I promised you a night of fun."

Florence smiles bitterly at Willow, sending her a glare before turning around and walking away. She stops at the door and says, "Don't miss me too much," with a flirty wink. What the hell was that about?

"Damn, my bad. Didn't mean to piss off the illicit affair," Willow quips.

"Wait what?"

"She was totally jealous. Look, I don't wanna step on anyone's toes here-"

"You aren't, I promise. She has a boyfriend."

"Well in that case, can I buy you a drink?"

"Maybe once we actually get to a real bar. You might wanna save some of your moves for later, cowboy."

"Oh, don't worry. I've got plenty of moves I'd like to show you," she practically whispers, her eyes darting between my eyes and lips.

I clear my throat and say, "Yep, that's- that's good. Great, so we should get going."

Fumbling with my keys, I lead her out of the store and lock the doors behind us. We spend the next few hours at a bar downtown, laughing and singing and drinking way more than we probably should.

I walk her to her apartment since it's only a few blocks down from mine. Pausing in front of the doors, she looks down at her feet and says, "I had a lot of fun tonight, Y/N. It's nice hanging out with you outside of...that environment."

"Yeah, it's nice to be fully clothed and not have creepy men slipping dollar bills in our thongs," I deadpan. "Honestly, though, tonight is the first time I've gone out in a long time, and it was really fun, so thank you."

"Anytime," she whispers with a smile. I take a step back to walk away, but she asks, "Wait, can I- can I kiss you?"

Instead of answering verbally, I cup her cheek and pull her into a gentle kiss. It's slow and sweet, and everything a first kiss should be, but there just isn't that feeling of fireworks and warmth. It doesn't feel the way Florence makes me feel every time she looks at me.

I pull away and say, "Goodnight, Willow," before walking away.

"Goodnight, Brandy," she teasingly calls after me, using my former stripper name.

I spin on my heels and yell, "No way. Do not call me that, asshole! If my legs aren't wrapped around a metal pole, then Brandy is not my name."

She laughs and I flip her off, walking backwards down the street toward my apartment.

~

The next morning, I awake with a loud groan, followed by, "Ash, turn off the fucking lights!"

"That's the sun, sweetheart. Can't exactly turn it off. But I can give you advil," she says, plopping down next to me on the bed and handing me a bottle of ibuprofen.

"Ugh, you're a godsend. I could kiss you right now," I mumble as I take the pills with a swig of water.

"I know. Speaking of which, how did last night go?" she asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

"It was fine. We had fun. Hence the hangover."

"Don't hold out on me now, Brandy. Did you kiss? Fuck? Buy a house and get married?"

"Oh my god, what is it with everyone calling me Brandy lately? And we kissed goodnight. But that was it."

"Really? You don't sound very excited."

"Yeah, I mean...it was nice. But-"

"But you'd rather be locking lips with the hot blonde Brit?" she finishes for me.

"God, you're so weird. C'mon, I need to get ready for work."

"I had David open it up, since you were slightly incapacitated. So take your time."

I took a quick shower and got ready for work before waking Syd up and forcing her to get ready. I ended up having to carry her to the car because she fell back asleep.

Eventually, we made it to the store. And only an hour late. I really need a better alarm clock...

"Morning, David. Sorry I'm late," I greet him.

"Mom refused to wake up. It's all her fault," Syd accuses me.

"Yeah, right. Don't lie; we're late because you wouldn't get your ass out of bed," I correct her.

"You said ass! That's a dollar in the swear jar."

"We don't have a swear jar. And you said it, too."

"It's fine, guys. And don't worry, your favorite customer hasn't stopped by yet," David interjects from behind the counter.

"Thank you, David," I sigh, ushering Syd to go do something while I put my bags in the back room and get ready for the day.

The bell above the door rings as I walk back out into the main area, and I look up to see Florence with a tired smile adorning her face.

"Good morning, Florence," I greet cheerily, before noticing that she looks kind of upset. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's nothing. Just tired, that's all. How was your night?"

"It was alright. Not worth how tired I was this morning, though," I joke as I make her tea.

"So...Willow, huh? She seems nice. She's very pretty."

"Uh, yeah, she is. We aren't- I mean her and I aren't, like, together or anything," I stutter uncomfortably.

"Right," she mumbles under her breath.

I turn around and grab a sharpie, writing "I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys" on the paper to-go cup. She barely even looks at me as she pays. She leaves without so much as saying goodbye, and I sigh heavily. Why is she so upset?

"Hot damn. Trouble in paradise?" David says with a low whistle.

I scoff and mutter, "What paradise?"

~

"Secrets I have held in my heart

are harder to hide than I thought.

Maybe I just wanna be yours,

I wanna be yours."