Page 19 of Peer & Coco

Chapter 7

Large hands graspedCoco's hips. She came to an abrupt halt and swiveled, seeing Peer behind her.

She balanced the tray of drinks to keep them from falling. "Sorry. Was I in your way?"

"No worries." He patted her hip before letting her go. "Busy night. Be careful."

"Whatever the reason, the crowd is good for business. Everyone is bouncing off each other. The servers will be lucky to get through the shift without a major spill." She walked around the counter, dodging customers.

The loud music and extra volume of voices in the room created total chaos the servers were trying to handle. She set the tray down at Table 3. There was no use yelling her spiel while the two women in the party who were dancing grabbed everyone's attention.

She worked her way past the large group and almost collided with Heather. Leaning against the other server, she loudly said, "Do you need any help?"

Heather shook her head. "I've got it. Monica's food order is up, though."

She looked out into the crowd and found Monica dealing with the customers surrounding the pool table. Knowing she wouldn't get away for a few minutes, she went to the kitchen window and double-checked the order before gathering the plates and staking them on a clean tray.

Dinah leaned in beside her, hanging another order. "Only twenty more minutes and Peach will be closing the kitchen."

"Thank, God," she mouthed, hurrying away.

Her feet were killing her. All she wanted to do was sit down and not get up. She couldn't remember the last time The Fire Ring was overfull, and they had trouble keeping up. It had to have been before Dinah got hired and Lizzy went on maternity leave to have Hanne.

Heather rushed to her side. "What's with Peer?"

She glanced behind the bar on her way across the room and met Peer's gaze. He wore a frown and glared at her. She raised her brows, silently questioning what was wrong, and he only turned away and dealt with the drink orders.

Men lacked the ability to read female expressions. She clearly gave him the 'What's up?' look, and he hadn't even responded.

Setting down the plates, she made sure everyone had what they needed and reminded them of her name in case they wanted something else, then took her leave.

Monica met her on the way to the counter. "Thanks for covering my orders for me."

"Glad to help." She stepped behind the bar, out of the way of the others.

Heather shot her a look, tilting her head toward the cash register. She turned her head and found Peer watching her while a customer talked to him.

Her stomach fluttered. Unsure of what was going on, she walked over to him and waited until the customer stopped the conversation, but Peer turned away from the man in mid-sentence and put all his attention on her.

He leaned down and put his lips near her ear. "Go take a break."

She startled, grabbing his vest, and said, "What's wrong? Did, um, you get a phone call?"

Maybe Kelli had called him again. That would explain why he kept looking at her. He might want to talk or have her check on Tyr in the clubhouse. Or, it could be club business from earlier, she wouldn't know.

"You're tired." He leaned back, hooked his finger under her chin, and tilted her head. "You need a break."

"It's almost—"

"Coco." He frowned. "You skipped your break and have been running around the room, taking care of everyone else. Nothing they need is that important you need to exhaust yourself."

She warmed, and a yawn slipped out. Covering her mouth, she ducked her head. When she recovered, she said, "The bar closes in thirty-five minutes. I rather start working the room to get them out of here than take a break."

Peer flung the bar towel over his shoulder, his mouth tightening. A customer called his name, and he stepped away from her.

She went to visit the tables in her section, informing everyone the kitchen was closed and they should finish their drinks. To her disappointment, it took forty minutes for all the customers to leave and that only happened because Marcus pulled the plug on the music and barked out the orders to get the fuck out, surprising every server with his lack of patience.

As soon as she made it to the breakroom, Coco stumbled under the weight of Monica throwing her arm around her shoulders and laughing loudly.