Astrid: You should be here to see my greatest eye roll of all time. Oh, shit! I need to go meet your brothers. I’m going to offer to treat them to ice cream. We may be late.
Parker: Actually, a video of you licking ice cream off a spoon works as flirting too. Hit me up with that, okay?
Astrid walked briskly toward the movie theater where people were just now exiting. Finding the twins, they quickly accepted her offer to treat everyone to ice cream.
The ice cream store was one of those that added mix-ins to your order. Sitting down at the table, she closed her eyes, moaning at the first bite of the banana/chocolate concoction they made her.
“Dude, what are you doing?” Astrid opened her eyes to look at what Ronan was talking about. He had stopped holding the cute little blonde's hand but had remained practically glued to her side.
“Parker asked for a video of Astrid eating ice cream,” Liam answered, sending something out on his phone.
“Why?” Ronan asked. Well at least he hadn’t matured too much, she decided.
“I don’t know. But now that I’m watching it, I have my suspicions,” Liam answered, turning a slight shade of pink. Astrid returned to eating her ice cream. It was too good to care what they were doing. She would just have to remember to give Parker hell about it later.
It was fun listening to the high school kids. They were a good group that all knew each other through a couple of the extracurricular programs at school. They cut up, gossiped about teachers, and complained about the oppression of curfews. Typical fifteen-year-olds. When they finished eating, they thanked her for the treat before parting ways to waiting parents.
“Thank you, Astrid,” Liam said when they pulled back up to the bar. “Parker never has time off, so we try not to whine about going out too often. Do you think we could call you again to bring us to another movie?”
“Absolutely. Maybe next time we can talk Parker into tagging along.”
“I doubt it,” Liam answered with a snort.
“Parker doesn’t have the staff to take time off. He pretty much lives in the bar,” Ronan added.
“Your dad’s the owner, right? Why doesn’t he hire more bartenders? Then Parker would have more time off,” Astrid asked. The brothers looked at each other. She knew she had stepped in something when they both turned back to face her.
“Parker is the owner. Dad signed it over to us when he had his stroke,” Ronan answered quietly.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. Thinking back, it struck her that it had only been the four of them in the apartment upstairs.
With a shrug, Ronan pushed open the door and climbed out. Liam followed on his tail. She was lost in her thoughts as she followed them through the back door. The noise struck her immediately.
“Sounds like a full house tonight,” Liam yelled before plunging into the back hallway. Astrid was stunned to see the bar packed with people. Not only was it full of regulars, but there had been a game tonight too.
She spotted Parker with his head down at the bar filling drinks as fast as he could go. Andrea was also rushing around the room trying to wait on tables. Astrid didn’t see anyone helping her. Fighting her way to the bar, she finally managed to commandeer a seat at the end.
“Hey, sugar. Back already? What can I get you to drink?” Parker asked when he worked his way over to her.
“It’s packed. Where is all of your help?”
“New girl didn’t show and one of the others called in sick,” he answered, grabbing the glass next to her to refill it for the customer. Looking around at the crowd, Astrid made a crazy decision.
“Hand me one of the aprons and a tray,” she told Parker. She got back a confused look in response. “I waitressed at a diner at home during the summers for extra money in high school. I can help since you’re shorthanded.”
“Why? You’ve done enough.” Parker said, shaking his head. He turned to walk back down the bar when Andrea rushed up.
“Just give her what she asked for, Parker. I can use the help.” Turning back around, he scowled at Andrea for a moment.
“That doesn’t work on me,” she answered, ducking around the end of the bar. She handed Astrid an extra apron and divided up the room with her before heading to the tables.
“Wait,” Parker said, stopping Astrid before she could leave the bar. “Thank you.” They stood staring at each other for a minute before he grinned at her. The appearance of his dimples almost brought her to her knees. With a mental shake, she headed for her tables.
Astrid couldn’t remember ever feeling as tired as she did by the end of the night. Her tables had remained filled through the entire evening, keeping her on her toes. It helped when the twins started delivering food and busing tables for them. Then she only had to keep up with filling orders.
Liam walked Andrea to her car sometime around one thirty. The crowd had dwindled to a reasonable size that Astrid could handle on her own. Both twins went to bed shortly after that and the cook headed out about the same time. Parker finally locked the door behind the last customer. Astrid slumped into one of the chairs in exhaustion.
“No, don’t sit down. You’ll never make it back up,” Parker said with a laugh. Pulling her up, he spun her until she faced the back of the bar. “Go take a shower. You can take my bed again tonight since it’s so late. I’ll be up after I finish closing up.”
