"Nice try," I said as I pushed the folded piece of paper back over the bar.
"What, you to stuck up to take a phone number?" the man said.
"Right," I nodded as I went back to cleaning some glasses. "If I take your number, and we go back to your hotel room for some good old fucking you will go back to your friends and brag about you fucking some dumb local slut, but if I don't take it, I am either too stuck or a feminist, right?"
"Whatever, your loss," the man said.
It was like this every night during peak season. Men or women trying to get to fuck some locals then dump us by the wayside as they left to return to their regular lives.
Most of the men were married and getting away for a hunting or fishing trip; they would hide their rings somewhere and try to hide their wedding finger. But it was always easy to tell them apart.
Others wanted a quick fuck and be gone before the night was done, especially the night before they went home.
"Same," one of the locals said as he pushed his empty bottle to the bar's edge.
"Now, Andy," I said as I took it and put it in the recycle bin.
"Don't give me that shit, Claire!" Andy said. "Just pulled a double at the dock, some fuckwad tore through there and now everything's gone to shit!"
"Wake damage?" I asked.
"You name it, it's fucking toast!" Andy said as I gave him another. "The thing of it was he passed over a card like it was nothing, the contact for his accountant, said he will handle everything, then he and his buddies went to shore having a good laugh," Andy said, shaking his head. "Should sue the bastard!"
"Matt won't sue, he is spineless," I said, shaking my head. "He will get the damage assessed and then contact the accountant like a good ole boy."
"Then expect us to get it fixed for half the price and in half the time," Andy shook his head.
"Hey," a man said as he came to the bar.
"Hi yourself," I nodded. "What will it be?"
He just stood there for a few moments. I flicked my fingers in front of his face. "Up here, this talks, they don't," I said, motioning to my mouth.
Even in a dark black shirt entirely up to my neck, my boobs got all the attention. "Right," the man said as he ordered his drink.
"Your boyfriend is a lucky man," the man said as he paid for his drink.
"Jason's a lazy piece of shit," I replied.
"Lucky you didn't marry the bastard, I say," Geraldine said. She worked the other side of the bar.
"Amen to that," I said as we high-fived.
It was early in the morning before we closed the bar and called it a night. Geraldine also worked at the fish market down the road, and I had to be up for my other job at the grocery store in five hours. Peak season was the best time to get overtime. Once the off-season hit, hours were hard to find.
Being a lake town was hard on everybody. There were good times, tough times, and then there were times we all wanted to call it quits and move.
More and more people were taking the last option. More places were closing for good than there were new places opening.
Of course, that didn't stop big companies from swooping up all the real estate they could get, putting in large super stores and chain fast-food restaurants.
They were killing small businesses; we couldn't keep up with their prices or their ability to get labor from out of town.
"Fucking idiot!" I yelled as I stepped into my house.
There were still clothes on the floor. The dogs hadn't been let out, so there was piss and shit all over the place. I saw their bright eyes in the corner of the room as they hid, no doubt cringing as I yelled.
"Not your fault babies," I said, lowering my voice. "Come here," I said as my two Pitbull's ran towards me. "Not your fault at all," I said as they licked and kissed me. "Let's go."
I walked them outside. Jason hadn't let them out all day. I could tell by how they ran around and smelled everything under the moon.
I cleaned up the mess and then went to the bedroom. There was my lazy boyfriend, half-naked, fast asleep. There was no point yelling at him. I could make the most significant noise, and he wouldn't wake up, but I was in the mood to yell.
I went to his computer and instantly hit the keys on the keyboard. He shot upward. "Don't do that!" he yelled.
He turned on the screen to ensure I didn't mess anything up. He was constantly downloading or in the middle of something so-called important on his computer.
"Fuck! You nearly deleted my download; told you stop doing touching my shit!"
"Talking about shit," I said as I threw him one of the bags, I had picked up the dog's crap inside, "You can take that outside, since you didn't walk them today," I said as I went towards the bathroom.
"They are your fucking dogs!" Jason yelled back.
"And your fucking clothes, fucking everywhere!" I yelled back.
Jason shook his head at me. I knew he was getting fed up with having me around. We were constantly fighting, arguing and getting under each other's skin.
It had started as a great relationship. For the first year, we were inseparable and always wanted to be near each other, on top of each other and couldn't stand being away. Now, all we wanted was to be nowhere near each other.
My mom always said it was my fault for going against my race because Jason was mixed, half white and half black. I knew it was because he was just fucking lazy.
"Thought you were going out today," I yelled, looking around the room.
"I did!" Jason shouted back as he slumped into his game chair.
I snatched up his phone before he could get to it. "Two!" I yelled.
"They were big orders!" Jason said, snatching his phone back.
Jason was in a work accident two years ago at the fish market. He nearly lost his life. Of course, he was an idiot and settled outside of court as it was a mistake made by one of the shift managers. The market paid him a considerable lump sum, and Jason took to it hook and all.
Then the idiot bought his gaming rig, this house, a new car, designer clothes, and shoes. All of it was gone within a month. Jason couldn't work long hours without his back and knees always hurting, so he was in constant pain.
"Two!" I yelled again.
I had gotten him a job with the local supermarket. He would deliver orders and get paid a good amount doing it. Something to help with the number of bills that were piling up.
Sure, we didn't have rent, but the house's upkeep was weighing on us. Things always needed to be fixed or replaced. Then there was the electricity bill and all the other bills.
"Like I said," Jason shook his head. "They were very large orders."
"Right," I nodded. "How long were you playing on your games?"
"You're not my mom!" Jason yelled back.
"That's good, because your mom would've kicked you out!" I yelled.
