Free Something for the Pain (Pain #2) by Victoria Ashley

to my feet and grab my apron out of his hand. “Always thinking ahead. You’re too damn good to be true, Alex.” I throw an arm around his neck, in a quick hug, before jogging down the stairs. I need to be at the bar in time to do all of the opening procedures and we’re really starting to push for time. The night waitresses never leave the station stocked, so I end up spending most of the time refilling sauces and crap.
    I beat Alex out to his truck and quickly hop in, buckling my seatbelt before Alex can say anything. He hops in about two seconds behind me and quickly backs out of the driveway.
    He groans when we pull up at the bar to see Daxleaning against his black Mercedes, most likely waiting on me. “What a fucking douche.”
    “He’s not that bad, Alex.” I lean over and plant a quick kiss on Alex’s cheek. “I’ll see you later. Stop worrying about Dax, and thanks for the ride.”
    I hop out and slam the door, right as Alex mumbles bye back. He waits until Dax and I are walking in the door before taking off and heading to the tattoo shop.
    Overprotective much?
    Dax raises an eyebrow, while flipping on the light switches. “I guess your boyfriend is worried I’ll make a move on you?”
    I shake my head and walk past him. “We’ve already had this discussion. He’s not my boyfriend.” I laugh and set my purse down. “But yes. He probably thinks you’re going to make a move. He’s just really protective of me, and for some reason . . . he doesn’t like you.”
    “Yeah, well if you ask me, he might as well be your boyfriend.” He opens the door to his office and stops to look back at me. “He already acts like it anyways. And by the way . . . if I knew that you wanted me to, I would.”
    “Good to know.” I tease. “You would know if I wanted it, but I’m good.”
    “Alright. Just pointing it out,” he says teasingly. “Let’s get things ready and fast. I have a feeling that we’ll have an early rush today.”
    Without another word he disappears into his office, leaving me to set up the waitress station.
    My boyfriend. Alex as my boyfriend.
    My heart skips a beat at the thought.
    If only it were that easy . . .

I’M SITTING IN MY ROOM at the shop, cleaning off my equipment, when I hear someone clear their throat from the doorway. It doesn’t even take me looking to know who it is. I’ve heard that annoying sound for far too many years of my life.
    I smile from my seat, but don’t bother looking up. “Memphis . . . what’s up, big bro? Miss me already?”
    I hear his footsteps as he enters the room, stopping behind me. “Fuck no.” He squeezes my shoulder, causing me to look up from my cleaning. “Lyric is busy at the studio, so she asked me to stop in and check on you.”
    I can’t help but to grin. “So she misses me . . . is what you’re getting at?”
    He slaps me on the back of the head before taking a seat in the other chair. “Surprisingly so.” He flashes me a smile, before getting serious. “I suppose I do too. It’s going to take a while before I can trust that you won’t just fucking take off somewhere.”
    “I’m not going anywhere, man. Chill.”
    It’s silent for a few moments as I finish putting my things away, before Memphis speaks again. “You been staying away from the alley?”
    Standing up, I look down at him while leaning against the table. “I’ve stopped in to watch a couple fights. That’s it. Nothing big.” I nod my head toward the door, letting Memphis know that I’m ready to get going. It’s been a long, stressful day, and all I can think about is relaxing with a nice, cold beer.
    He stands up and follows me to the door. “Have you been to any of Trevor’s fights?”
    “Yeah. I caught the end of one a couple nights ago. He’s getting pretty damn good. Won by KO.”
    “Yeah,” Memphis says. “Maybe we’ll have to stop by one night and watch a few fights for old time sakes. As long as we’re both on the outside of that ring,