Her feet hurt. Not a slight pinch of discomfort kind of hurt. Not the rubbing of your typical abrasion variety which is the calling card of a blister forming. No, those were minor annoyances. This was I need to empty the blood out of my shoes, kind of disfiguring pain. The throbbing echo of each heart beat vibrating through your foot with pulsing agony shooting up your leg in a blaze with every excruciating step. Oddily enough, even the constant beat of the music being pumped through the sound system of the club, kept perfect rhythm with the pain.

"I'm going to take these boots and shove them up Jo Jo's ass when I get home," Abby moaned under her breath as she leaned heavily against the bar. She looked down frowning at the offending footwear. The boots looked innocent enough when her over exuberant diva of a roommate suggested them for her shift tonight. Shiny black leather reflected up the dim neon glows from the ceiling lights of the club back at her as she glowered at them. Groaning slightly, she turned her ankle to look at the long six inch spikes that boosted her small 5' 3" frame to almost a teetering six foot. According to Jo Jo, they were all the rage and did amazing things for her butt. Abby groaned again. If only she had known the sculpted leather knee high boots had been sexy medieval torture devices before she volunteered to put them on. No amount of extra money she made in tips because of the alluring angle of her ass caused by these satanic shoes was worth the pain. "It's a good thing they're black so my blood stains don't show," she mumbled.

Pushing herself off the bar, she managed to get her feet back underneath her without tripping. "Awesome things to my butt my ass. How sexy can I look clomping around like a clydesdale?" Snorting loudly, she grabbed her tray and started back onto the main floor cursing under her breath as pain shot up her leg and landed firmly in her hip. Thirty more minutes. She just had to make it another lousy half an hour more, then she could head home and take these sadistic boots off and burn them. Preferably with them sticking out of Jo Jo's ass. She chuckled at the visual of her roommate running around their small walk up apartment with flaming boots protruding from his derriere.

"What's so funny?" Mike's gruff voice popped her mental bubble.

"Nothing," Abby answered stiffly. Mike Briganti's voice was the last sound she wanted hear right now. Not that she had anything against her boss. She actually liked the tough talking Italian from the Bronx, but when you were only, she tossed a quick glance at her watch, 25 minutes from clocking out; running into him never bode well.

"Listen Abby, Clara showed up," Mike paused for a moment and sighed heavily, "inzuppato." He ran a hand through his spiky dark hair making him look like he had went one on one with the blender behind the bar, and lost.

"Drunk you mean." Abby crossed her arms and looked up at her boss, which amazingly enough wasn't much of an effort in these boots. "Might as well call a skunk a skunk Mike. If we can't admit it then what are the chances that she ever will?"

"Alright, drunk! Amongst other things." he snapped. "Is that what you want me to say?"

Abby's heart pulled at the roughness of his voice. Laying her hand on his tattooed bicep, she pulled him in for a quick hug. As tough as he looked and talked, Mike had a heart of gold and when it came to Clara...it was Fort Knox big.

Coming from a struggling immigrant family himself, Mike never missed an opportunity to lift or help someone up if he could. Taking strays in off the streets and giving them jobs was one way that proved how beautiful his heart truly was. It wasn't too long ago that she was one of those lucky strays and she was so very thankful. But now he needed help. Help to see beyond his heart.

"She's sick Mike. She needs to get help, but the only way she will realize it is if we stop making excuses for her." She pulled back and gave him a gentle smile. All of the staff at the Kitty Cat Club knew of Clara's drug and alcohol problems. The only one who seemed to deny it was Mike, but then again, love could make your head do funny things. Abby shivered. She, of all people, knew how love could warp a mind. Shaking the unwelcome thought off, she continued, "We are all here for you big guy. If you want to do an intervention, we will pitch in. Clara has our love and support, but what she needs now is to see the truth of her condition and what it's doing to her and those around her."

Mike looked up and blew a breath towards the ceiling. When he finally looked back down, his dark eyes were swimming with unshed tears. "You're right Abby." He scrubbed his hands over his head, making his hair stand up even further. "I just can't stand..." His voice broke.

"I know Mike. It's tough to see someone you love like this."

"Love?" He jerked his head up at the word and quickly scanned the room. Bending down slightly he whispered "Who said I was in love?"

"You didn't have to say it. We all can SEE it." Abby chuckled at his startled expression. "But don't worry, your secret is safe with me and everyone else that works here." She patted him lightly on his barrel chest.

"Yeah... well....just remember who the boss is." He cleared his throat and straightened to his full impressive height. "Which reminds me. I know you are about at the end of your shift, but as you know, I can't put Clara on the floor in her condition, so I need you to fill in until closing." The gruff commanding boom of his voice had Abby lifting a brow. "Please," he quickly amended.

"I...." Abby heaved a breath. "I was just about to clock out," she whined as she look at her watch. "In five minutes."

"Come on Abby, it's Wednesday night and look," he waved a hand around the club and the sparsely seated people "it's almost a ghost town in here already. We only have one more show for the night and it's that Britney Spears impersonator. Nobody show's up for that. Last call is in three hours and I promise you won't have to do any close up tonight. You can leave straight after."

"I don't know." Abby hesitated biting her lip. "Can't Layla and Steph handle the last of the shift."

"Layla is new, and she can barely handle walking and chewing gum at the same time."

"She's new Mike, what do you expect? You have to give her a chance to get the hang of things."

"I am! But I can't have Steph and a new girl alone on the floor. I need one more experienced waitress and by the time I try to call someone in, it'll be too late." Seeing she was beginning to waver, Mike pulled out the big guns. "Please dolce bella," he crooned.

"Gah, Mike!! You don't play fair!" she huffed. Between his smoldering dark Italian good looks and that accent, he could probably make a nun lift up her habit. It's a good thing she never felt anything more than friendship for her boss or she would have to give Clara a run for her money just so she could be bathed in that accent of his everyday. "Fine, I'll stay till closing." Mike clapped his hands together and grinned down at her. "But, before you do a victory dance, I want off closing duties for the next three nights." That took the smirk off his face.

"Three!"

"Three," she stated firmly.

He sighed dramatically, "Fine, done. Give me your employee ID card and I'll swipe it. I need to note the over time." He held out his hand. Fishing around in her apron pocket she pulled out the key fob and handed it over. "You drive a hard bargain bella, but I appreciate you helping me out." He's eyes shot down to her ID card and stared at it. "And I want you to know I heard what you said. I just need some time to think about it."

"I know Mike." Abby reached out and patted him on the shoulder before turning on her demon heels from hell to leave.

"Hey," Mike grabbed a hold of her arm before she could turn away causing her to tip precariously, her ankle protested violently at the strange shift. She hissed in pain and fell up against Mike sending them both crashing into the bar. "Whoa! Easy there Abby!" Mike caught them both before they fell and set her upright. "You okay?"

"Yeah... it's these damn boots!" she grated as she tested her ankle. Thankfully she could still stand, but the pain of it multiplied with the agony of her sore feet made her want to sob.

"I only wanted to know why you're clocking in on Jo Jo's card," he held up the ID in front of her face. Sure enough, Jo Jo's name was emblazoned across the top and not her own.

"Holy crap on a cracker!! I must have grabbed his keys instead of mine." Running late due to the boots and Jo Jo's last minute hair adjustments, she'd bolted out of the apartment without paying attention to whose keys she was tossing into her bag. This meant, other than Jo Jo's ID, she didn't have a scrap of her own with her. Her small wallet with her personal identification was connected to her set of keys. "I should have known the difference." Putting her face in her hands, she shook her head in frustration. She was getting sloppy. Mistakes like this could be the difference between life and death, and she damn well knew it.

Chuckling, Mike reached out and twirled a finger around one of the golden locks which surrounded her shoulders. "This blond hair wearing off on you is it?" he joked trying to lighten her mood. Abby kept her face buried in her hands and groaned loudly. "I'm just teasing." he took a finger and tilted her face up until she was forced to look at him. "Don't worry about it. I have to adjust for the over time already, I'll fix it then."

Lifting her head out of his tender touch, she looked up to the ceiling for a moment or two to collect herself. He didn't understand, nobody did except Jo Jo. She was tired. Bone tired. But, no matter how exhausted she was, she would endure. "Thanks Mike." Giving him a small smile she adjusted her cat ears, straightened her name plate, grabbed her tray and set off like a lame plow horse to one of her tables.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope to have updates every other week, so keep coming back for more.

Any comments you may have will be greatly appreciated. It helps me to see how you are responding to the story and encourages me to keep going. Also, any critiques are helpful!