Two weeks ago, I was apprehensive to walk into Mag's knowing Jack was inside and now, I am terrified to walk in knowing Maggie is inside. I glance at her Volkswagon parked next to Brandon's Tacoma and wonder what awaits me tonight. She ignored me last night and focused all of her evil energy on Jack. 

I hate that we have tension, I don't have a ton of close friends in Phoenix and I would hate for our friendship to implode over a guy. She never reached out to Jack, so we were unsure if she took his resignation seriously. Jack doubled down though, posting on Instagram that we were involved after telling her he was dating someone. There is no question now that I am the girl he was talking about.

I force myself to open the back door and unhurriedly make my way to the office door. I linger outside to hear if anyone is inside, but apparently, the small room is empty. I quickly shove my purse into my locker and then run a finger over Jack's fighter pilot. My Maverick is gone. 

I assume I am at the back bar tonight so I swiftly make my way into the crowded space. ASU is playing UCLA tonight, so the bar is jammed packed. The game has already started so the actual bar isn't swarming with drinkers. It's mostly just fans loitering all around the bar, filling any space they can. The drunken body heat from all the basketball fans makes the bar stuffy and warm. 

Maggie is punching something into the POS with Missy covering the customers at the bar. Maggie has a certain menacing look about her tonight with her black lipstick, pale complexion, and dark smokey eyes. My heart and stomach squeeze as I wonder if both Valentines are going to come for me. Missy spots me first and gives me an appreciative smile. 

"I am so glad to see you. We're swamped," she says as she slides two brass mules across the bar toward her customers. She takes one step over and helps the next couple that's eagerly waiting as I shimmy behind her to get to the POS to clock in. Maggie must feel me beside her because she darts her eyes to me, but then quickly looks away. 

"Hey Mag's," I say hesitantly as her gaze is on the computer.

"Hey. Clock in." I follow her instruction and stamp my thumb finger down. I notice she's dressed in wide fishnets under her black shorts and her black lace bra is peeking out from the low-cut Mag's Bar tee she cut into a tank. Her combat boots go almost up to her knees and they are totally ass-kicking boots. 

"I assumed I was back here tonight," I tell her and she finishes checking whatever report she was looking up. She nods and then says, "Yeah, I'll have Missy stay back here with you until Jack gets here." I freeze at her words but she doesn't notice me panic. I do not want to be the one to tell her Jack is really not coming back. I decide I am not going to be Jack's messenger and get to work. Maggie darts off toward the office without saying anything else to me. 

ASU apparently does not always play during March Madness so this game is a big deal. The crowd only grows as the game continues and we have plenty of campers as they stay neck and neck with UCLA. Jack was actually glad to have tonight off because he was able to watch it at home on his couch with a spread of pizza, wings, and beer. I asked if he was going to have a watch party, but he quickly shook his head no and said he didn't want to deal with a single person tonight. I wanted to check in with him, but I was never given an opportunity to slide my phone out of my pocket. We stay steady until half-time and even then, the bar is so crammed with refills that checking my phone is out of the question. 

"Jack really isn't coming?" Missy asks me as we both land at the drafts at the same time. I keep my eyes on my pour as I answer, "He really quit Mis. He's not coming." 

"Shit," she mutters and then spins away with her pints. Maggie finally wanders into the back so I quickly move to the furthest end of the bar that overlooks the patio drinkers to avoid her. My back is to her when I hear her say, "I can't get ahold of Dalton. He's never been a no-show."  My guess is Missy did not tell her about what went down last night. 

"Luce, any word from your boyfriend?" She asks, saying "boyfriend" like it's a vile word. I glance at her and then at Missy. Missy avoids my gaze and continues dropping dirty glassware into a bin. 

"Um, yeah I don't think he's coming," I reply without looking at her. 

"Fucking seriously?" She spits but I still don't spin around. "He's seriously going to just not show up. Without a word. Why?" I'm waiting for Missy to confess. I wasn't here last night so I shouldn't have to be the one to tell her. 

"I think he talked to Missy," I mutter. Throwing her completely under the bus. She's at the opposite end of the bar so she can't hear me. 

"Missy? She didn't mention it." An eager college student dressed in ASU apparel is waving to me from the patio, so I dash over to help him before Maggie can ask more questions. I stay busy with his beer bucket order but I notice Missy and Maggie now having a spat near the drafts. I drop the bucket off and as I am sliding Brett Merrit's credit card through the reader Maggie pounces. 

"Jack seriously quit because I was mean to him last night?" Maggie asks in disbelief. "Really?"

"Um," I start, not really wanting to get into the whole, you-keyed-his-car part of last night. "Maybe you should just call him or shoot him a text."

"I had no idea he was such a baby bitch. I would have tenderly played with his balls if I knew they were going to be in such a bunch over roll-ups," she says with a scoff. She pushes away from me, but the comment about playing with his balls hits a nerve. She's being crude to mask her anger, but I shouldn't be the recipient of it. I should find my own balls and tell her to keep any snide comments to herself, but I am such a weenie when it comes to confrontation. Especially because she's my friend. 

Maggie stays away from the back bar as the rest of the game plays out and I am grateful that Missy is a great bartender. If I couldn't be back here with Jack, at least it's with her. When we finally get a lull, I slide my phone out and see I have a few texts from Jack, one from my mother and about twenty from Stella. I quickly scroll through Jacks, which are just quick ones checking on me and informing me he was nice enough to save me a beer and some slices of pizza. I tell him I'd understand if he's passed out by the time I get home, but I secretly hope he stays up for me. I then notice my mother confirmed Tucson for Thursday and offered to have me stay until Friday. She doesn't know I am bringing Jack, but it would be nice to not have to drive the two hours back the same day we drive down. He won't fit in my old twin bed so I might suggest staying in a hotel down there. I feel that suggestion all over my body and I know what staying in a hotel would imply. I'm not against finally sleeping with him, but I don't want the pressure of having something so planned out either. Maybe it should happen before the hotel stay then, something more spontaneous so I can't dwell on it all day. 

I don't get the chance to scroll through Stella's texts as Missy comes over with a bucket and tells me to start busing. We're both eager for this night to end so we quickly jump onto our closing tasks. 

I finally spot Sabrina and Hannah for the first time tonight as they saunter toward the office, so they must be all closed down in the front. We had a few lingerers, but since ASU lost, a lot of the crowd cleared out as soon as it was apparent that ASU wasn't going to close the gap. Missy bluntly cleared out the rest of the campers and since she had been here since two, I didn't blame her. I'm supposed to be off tomorrow, but I wonder if Maggie will ask me to cover Jack's shift now that she's fully aware he's not coming back. I had already planned my day out and I don't want to put off shooting a video again. I've only uploaded my pathetic single serving of cake in a mug video since I've been back. I can now make baking more of a priority since I don't have rent money hovering over me like a dark cloud.

Missy finally clears me to go clock out and I pause in the threshold of the office's doorway when I find Maggie sitting in the office chair. She's typing something into the computer but she must see me in her peripheral because she says, "Don't want to get the hell out of here?" She then flicks her gaze to me and gestures toward the thumb pad. I nod and then stride over to her. I press my finger on the pad but she doesn't say anything else. I move toward my locker and am fiddling with the lock when she finally says, "So when were you going to tell me about you and Jack?" I yank the lock down and then look over my shoulder at her. 

"I don't know. When I realized we were actually something I guess," I tell her and decide to not take all the blame in this. "When were you going to tell me about you and Jack?" I slide my purse out and then turn around and look at her. I lean my back against the lockers as she says, "When I figured out if you were still crushing on him or not." 

"So you were aware of my feelings for Jack?" I ask adding a light breath of a laugh. 

"Everyone is well aware of your unrequited love, Luce. You didn't hide your lust as well as you thought," she tells me and then adds a bitchy smirk. 

"That didn't stop you from making a move though?" She gives one shake of her head before she replies, "I didn't think I needed to pause seeing you were engaged."

"Okay, but now that I am back here and Jack finally has feelings for me, you'd think my friend who has known of my lust would be happy for me. And not pissed over it. Or be mad at Jack, but don't be mad at me," I tell her, wondering why I am receiving such an attitude. 

"Oh, I am mad at Jack. I don't enjoy being used, lied to, or played with." 

"Okay well, I agree with you there," I tell her, hoping this tension doesn't escalate. 

"You lied to me, Lucy. So did Jack. He said he was dating someone I didn't know and you made it seem like you were still wallowing over Blake."

"We didn't want to tell anyone. This all just went down on Friday."

"Your feelings for each other obviously did not just start on Friday."

"I just found out they were mutual on Friday, Maggie! I had no idea he wanted to date me until Friday night!"

"But you're still going to date him? After knowing this?" She asks and she finally spins the chair around to fully face me. She doesn't stand though. "After knowing he just so callously tosses women aside?"

"I...Yeah...I am," I answer. "I didn't think you wanted to date him or had feelings. He made it seem like you two just kissed a few times for shits."

"I don't have feelings for Jack," she says with a scoff. 

"Then why are you so angry? Can we stop talking about Jack and start talking about you and me? Why are you so mad at me?"

"I just don't get it," she says flatly with a shrug, "You bitched to me about what a piece of shit Blake was every day after you figured out he was cheating and then you come back here and get with Jack? The biggest philanderer in all of Phoenix? Like come on Lucy, be smarter than this."

"If Jack is such a piece of shit, then why were you so mad he cut things off with you before they could go anywhere? If you're looking out for me, what's with the hostility?"

"You two just made me look like an idiot and I don't appreciate it."

"How?" I ask, exasperated. Nothing she is saying makes any sense. She's mad he's dating me and didn't go for her. He didn't break his rule for her and she hates it. Maggie has never been denied when she's wanted something bad enough. 

"Jack let me hang all over him knowing he wanted nothing to do with me. You didn't say a word about your relationship with Jack even though you're one of my best friends."

"And we're back to where we started. You didn't say anything to me about Jack either, even though we are such good friends. You know, I am tired of talking about Jack. It's all anyone wants to talk about. Including me and I need to stop letting him be my only focus. Now, I am dating Jack. I'm taking him home to meet my parents on Thursday. I'm living with him. If you don't like it, then I don't know what to tell you, because he's my boyfriend. If you can't move past this, then I should probably not come back here as well."

"Maybe you shouldn't. Jack's gone so it's not like you actually want to work here anyway." Her comment throws me off and I am sure my confusion is written all over my face. 

"I love working here. I mean, I don't love the work, but I love my Mag's crew."

"You loved Jack. You're peppy and snappy when he's here and when he's not, you're mopey and slow."

"Missy and I were hustling tonight. Neither one of us could afford to be slow," I snap back. We're interrupted by Missy and she glances between us and then asks, "Did I just hear my name?" She looks to her sister who is leaning forward in the chair and I am sure she is wondering what she just stepped into. 

"Yes, do you think I was slow and mopey tonight?" I ask her and once again she checks in with her sister before saying, "No. Why?"

"Is it possible for me to work here without Jack? Or am I only a decent bartender when a man is helping me out?" 

"That's not what I said," Maggie quickly snaps at me so I quickly add, "I am only a decent bartender when I have Jack to ogle at."

"Maggie knows you're the best we've got. It's why she was so eager to hire you back," Missy confesses and I smirk at Maggie. 

"So the real question is, can you allow me to work here if Jack is my boyfriend? Or are you going to let your ego make the best bartender at Mag's quit?"

"Maggie, she can't quit. We're already down Jack. So get over yourself and don't let an average dick fuck over all your other bartenders." Missy tells her sister. 

"Don't let a guy come between us, please," I ask, but apparently that was the wrong thing to say by the way her dark eyes narrow. 

"I didn't. You did. Now, how about you clock out and I'll see if there's room on the schedule for you on Wednesday," she says with a phony smile and a cock of her head. Missy's face drops and I am sure she doesn't want to have to fill in for both Jack and me. 

"Fine, Maggie. Be pissed. But I am not dumping Jack and you're going to be down one friend and two bartenders. Decide if your anger is worth it," I tell her and sling my purse over my shoulder. She glares at me, so I storm out of the office without another word from either of us.