Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome! Big thanks to Kupkakes for helping me with this chapter. Helped me get over a big writer's block. I do not own anything in this chapter, besides Savannah and Sky, everything else belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter 26

$#%$%$^$^%$

Tonight's DJ was blaring the place wide open with booming bass and treble of rap, hip hop, and the occasional pop song to go along with the college crowd that was filtering in on the break. It was always more crowded after the holidays before school was back in. People had time to party.

Juice slung the case of tequila over his shoulder, carrying it behind the bar with ease out of the back room. He ripped it open and started refilling the empty spaces behind the counter quickly, knowing that it was a seller tonight with the sorority girls in house. Tequila, bitch beers, and diet Coke. He went over the list, checking each item before he was satisfied with the stock.

"Busy night, huh?" Trav called over to him, shaking up a margarita for a waiting blonde in a latex dress.

The girls were always over the top in here, too tight clothes, make up, and scene hair. None of them had half as much appeal as Savannah did in her plain jeans and cotton t shirts. Juice nodded, leaning down for a guy to shout his order into his ear. "Hoping I make up for my days off in tips!" He called back.

Because being off for so long to visit his family had pretty much screwed him over financially. Sure, he had some vacation time built it up, but the hourly wasn't where his money was made. The tips were. You always tipped your bartender good, it was a rule. Now he was depending on it to be able to make his tool payment next week.

He hadn't been worried about it before. Now the stress of everything was starting to eat away at him. The little paradise that had been Savannah's was left behind while he was out in the grind. The reality was slapping him right in the face in the form of late notices in his PO box on his way to the club.

Juice grabbed a Smirnoff for the redhead at his elbow, flashing her a dazzle 'em grin as he did so making her blush. The grin was everything tonight. She slid a couple of the ones back at him as he winked at her, pocketing it. Every dollar counted.

"Get me a Cosmo handsome." A sultry voice called over to him.

The hair on the back of his neck stood when he placed that voice. Mel. He grabbed a glass, rushing through the steps of making her preferred drink. It'd always been Cosmo's or wine since they'd met. He slid it over the counter, not even a hint of a smile for this customer. "$8."

Mel smiled slyly as she held a twenty towards him, leaning over so that her implants fell forward. "I was hoping you'd be here, maybe calmed down?"

"$12." He replied, counting out her change, ignoring her comment. "Anything else?"

"Seriously, Juan? After everything we've been through, you won't even speak to me?"

Juice swallowed hard, looking at the older woman in front of him. He was still pissed about her little stunt, no matter how much he understood her fear and why she'd done it. "Not interested in anything, Mel. I don't know why you even came."

Mel didn't pick up the bills he'd laid on the counter. She gave him a look he knew well. "I told you I'd pay your tools this month, didn't I?"

"I'm good." He told her, keeping a hard face on.

"It was meant as a Christmas present." Mel sighed. Reaching down the front of her shirt and then sliding the cash along with the change towards him. "And, a 'I'm sorry' present. I can be nice, Juice, you need me. "

Juice stared hard at the money, biting his bottom lip. This was tough. Really tough. "We're over, Mel."

"I know, baby, I know. I just wanted to fulfill a promise to a friend." Mel was smiling brighter now that he was talking back to her. "Please take it, I know you need it."

The money was burning a hole into his pupils as he searched for a decision until finally he reached down, putting his hand over it. "I can't take it."

She sighed, sipping on her drink. "Well, I'm pretty sure I've just distracted you from getting half of that in tips by talking to you for long."

He didn't know what was going on with Mel. He knew what felt right and what felt wrong however. And what was easy.

#$%$^&U%

Having a girls night was something new for Savannah. Skylar had come over not long after Juice left and they'd raided her closet for something for her to wear tonight. Her blonde friend had declared they were gonna hit the club as a welcome home. Home. New York was her home. It felt almost right. She had friends here, a boyfriend. The only thing she was missing was family. Then again, the Perelli's were family to her now.

Savannah was so used to being the waitress, whether it be at the diner or at home fetching beers for the guys. Tonight they were getting the drinks served to them. They'd started at the apartment, having beers while catching up, now they were hitting the city and heading to the club. She couldn't wait to see Juice. He was working, she knew that, but maybe he could spare her a few minutes.

Glancing over, she saw Sky checking her make up again. She had flawless skin, Savannah didn't see why she needed to cake on so much make up. Savannah was more of grease and dirt kind of girl. She didn't worry about how messy her hair looked or if her make out came out right. She knew how to look nice, of course, but she didn't obsess over it.

Maybe that was why she and Sky were friends? They were polar opposites.

"So, I've got to ask. You still hung up on Ortiz or have you moved on? I didn't want to hammer you with questions right off the bat, but I've been dying to know." Sky asked, giving her a curious look. "I saw him leaving earlier, that mean he's still in the picture?"

Savannah bit her lip, like she tended to do when she was on the spot. Were she and Juice finally together? He'd said he loved her, she'd asked him to move in. That was pretty official as it got, right? Yeah, it was.

"Yeah we figured things out. He's moving in, I think." She confessed.

Maybe Skylar would give her some advice, even if she wasn't sure she wanted it. She didn't want to be talked out of this. She cared about Juice. She wanted to be with him. Was she being selfish? Of course she was. She couldn't stay in New York forever, and Juice wouldn't come to Charming.

She wasn't even sure she wanted him to. The club had a tendency of ruining relationships. It wasn't an easy life, especially for the women. Savannah wasn't stupid, she knew it wasn't rainbows and sunshine. The guys cheated, they fucked around, and most of them treated their girls like shit.

Juice was a good guy, he was decent, funny, and sweet. Juice was kind, something not many of the members were. They'd chew him up and spit him back out. She loved who Juice was now, she didn't want the club to ruin that. "Savannah, hey, you spaced. Where'd you go?" Sky asked, snapping her fingers to get her attention.

Blinking, Savannah cleared her throat and smiled. "Just thinking. Sorry, what did you say?"

Sky watched her curiously for a moment before huffing. "I said, that's a big step. You guys haven't been together long. What's the rush?"

Juice was homeless, that was the rush.

She couldn't tell her that though. It was Juice's business, not hers. It wasn't her place to tell anyone about his situation. He hadn't even wanted to tell her about it. "We haven't, but it's not like we're strangers. We've known each other for a while, we want to." She explained, hoping she believed her. "He said he loved me." She added, avoiding looking at her to see her reaction.

"Shut up. He did not." She gasped.

Savannah pulled her jacket around her tighter as a gust of January air hit them. Skylar didn't even seem to be affected by it. "And? Did you say it back?" She asked, clearly more excited about this than Savannah was.

"Not yet. I just . . . it's complicated. I care about him a lot. I missed him so much over break, but. . . but what happens when I graduate and go home? Or when he graduates this April and moves on with his life? I don't want to open up and get crushed." She confessed her worries to her friend.

So this was what best friends are for, she thought to herself. They were there to talk to when you couldn't figure something else out on your own. Normally this was something she'd go to her ma about, but her ma didn't even know Juice existed yet.

"You can't focus on the what if's, babe. They'll drive you insane. You love him, right? Don't deny it, cause I know you do." She paused long enough for Savannah to nod. "Then don't worry about all that. Just be in love with him. Who knows how long you'll be together. Better to love while you can, then to dwell on the end." Sky said, giving her a little nudge.

Savannah knew she was right. Her graduation was years away, and she was pretty sure Juice didn't know what he wanted to do after school yet. There was no way to tell when they'd be breaking up or over what. "Life's all about taking risks, babe. Love especially is a risk, but it's one you have to take. You and Juice? You guys are cute together, I'm actually a little jealous of you. You met him, you met the guy." Sky said, smiling softly as she looked away.

Savannah took a minute to watch her friend. She'd always wondered why Skylar never dated any of the guys she hooked up with. It wasn't like any of them wouldn't want to be with her, but she was definitely a one nighter kind of girl. "You know, I'm sure if you looked, you could find the guy too, Sky." She said, returning her nudge.

The blonde made a face of disapprovement at the idea. "Let's just keep it at, been there, done that. Not planning on doing it again any time soon." Sky said, her eyes locking suddenly on the ground.

It was then that she realized how very little she knew about her friend's past. Her life before school was a mystery to her. Did not ever asking make her a bad friend? Skylar had never brought it up before, so there was no need to.

"You got a bad ex story you haven't told me about?" Savannah teased, though from the look she was giving her, Sky could tell she wanted to know.

A look of hurt flashed through her eyes, something that didn't go unnoticed by Savannah. It was gone before she could question it though. "Something like that. It's nothing. I'm so not gonna be the one to kill our girls night. Come on, we're here." Sky brushed it off, motioning for her to follow her inside.

Savannah knew there was more to that girl, she'd figure it out one day, but tonight was not that day. With a deep breath, she followed her in.

She felt like she'd been thrown back four months to the first night she was in New York. The lights were flashing, the music blaring so loud the room shook. People were everywhere, packed together as they danced.

Savannah could honestly say she missed this. Missed the cold air and loud music. It was familiar. It wasn't so much of a culture shock as it had been the first time. The cold air was more than she was comfortable with, but nothing she couldn't survive through. Especially with knowing she'd be snuggled in with a heater.

Juice had the body temperature of an oven, there was no way she'd survive this cold weather without him.

Speaking of the man in question, she wondered where he ended up. She knew he was working, and he'd text her saying his break wasn't for another half hour. Meaning he was on the floor or at the bar.

When she didn't see him by any of the exits, she turned her search to the bar. Bingo, there he was. He was pouring a couple drinks for a group of sorority girls. She fought the urge to roll her eyes as he brought out the big guns with his megawatt smile. That smile of his was dangerous, she would know. Panties dropped at the sight of it, and these girls were no different as they laughed at whatever he was saying to them.

"You alright with that?" Sky asked, nudging her to get her attention.

Savannah felt like laughing at the sight of those girls falling all over him. She wasn't threatened for a second. This was his job, and she knew he depended on those tips. Given she didn't know how badly until tonight, but it wasn't the first time they'd joked about how laughable these women could be when he flashed them a smile.

"With him flashing his grin? Oh, yeah. Definitely." Savannah said, nodding her head with a shrug of her shoulder.

She trusted Juice, and she knew this was just about the tips. Just like it'd always been. He flashed that same smile at the diner when he'd take orders. This was nothing new to her, it was amusing if nothing else. "Come on, he should be going on break soon." Savannah said, tugging on her hand to pull her through the crowd.

The two girls approached the bar dancing their way through the crowd. Juice was able to go on his break early and by the time they got to him, he'd come around the bar and was counting his tips. Savannah had to admit she was surprised at the size of the stack in his hands, but maybe he'd just been having a good night. College girls were easy money, especially the rich daddy girls.

"Well, look at you, Mr. money bags." Savannah teased, announcing their presence.

She could have sworn she saw guilt flash in his eyes, but it was gone before she could know for sure. He was quick to pocket his cash and a smile lit up on his face as he pulled her to sit on his leg. "I was wondering when you'd show up." He said, nuzzling her neck before glancing over to see she wasn't alone. "Hey, Sky."

"Hey, Ortiz. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were doing some live entertainment for that kind of money." Sky said, motioning to the cash in his pocket.

Skylar and him were no longer weird around each other. Their hook up felt like years ago. If Savannah could be friends with her, there was no reason for Juice to pretend she didn't exist. He felt nothing for the blonde, and he knew she felt nothing for him.

The fact she knew the cash in his pocket couldn't have been just from tips unsettled him though. The last thing he needed was her letting Savannah in on that fact. He knew he shouldn't have taken the cash from Mel, but he had to make that next tool payment. He couldn't pass it up. "Yeah, uh, it's been a busy night. A few of the girls must have slipped me a twenty without realizing it." He lied.

He knew Savannah wouldn't understand. All she'd understand was he was still in contact with Mel and everything he just got with her would blow up in his face.

He couldn't risk it. So he lied.