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“Ethan, go run Bethany’s drinks,” Luke said.
Ethan, who had just rolled up to the bar top with an order of his own, glared daggers at Luke. His gaze dipped to where Luke’s hand still rested on my hip and his eyes narrowed further. “Fuck you, man.” But he grabbed my tray and hustled back to the floor.
I furrowed my brow. That wasn’t like Ethan at all. “Is he—”
“He’s fine,” Luke said. “He just hates people, that’s all.”
That was true, sort of. Not that Ethan hated people. He hatedcrowdsof people. It made him grouchy.
Luke turned me gently so I was facing him. The song ended and the Lady Killers launched into a romantic ballad. The hard, pounding rhythm turned smooth and silky. Luke pulled me tight against him so our bodies were pressed together, our legs alternating between each other’s.
“What do I do with my arms?” God, I felt so awkward. Like a preteen at a middle school dance. I assumed, anyway. I’d missed all that and quite frankly, I didn’t think I was missing much.
“Put them wherever you like.” When I shyly looped my arms around his neck, he grinned. “There you go. Now we move like this.”
We swayed together, moving in a slow circle in the tight space behind the bar, Luke putting gentle pressure on my hip to guide me. I eased into it slowly, trying to find the rhythm, my stiff movements contrasting with Luke’s easy glide.
Luke chuckled softly in my ear. “I know you can do better than that, Red. Think about how you felt in my truck. Sitting on my lap.”
My skin erupted in gooseflesh, tingles shooting from my scalp straight to between my legs. I would have clamped them shut if his thigh hadn’t been there to stop me. But without even trying, my hips suddenly found the rhythm.
“That’s it. Just like that.” His breath was warm against my skin. I leaned into him, wanting more.
And then he grasped my wrist, twirled me around, and twirled me back into his arms. I giggled and he grinned. The bar burst into hoots and whistles, making me blush even more.
“Okay, my turn!” shouted a woman.
My head whipped in her direction. “Absolutely not,” I snapped before I could think better of it.
The woman sized me up, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger. “Luke’s not the kind of man you can keep all to yourself, sugar.”
She wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know, but I still wanted to prove her wrong. I put my hands on my hips. “Customers aren’t allowed on this side of the bar. Sorry,sugar.” I wasn’t sorry at all.
When I turned back around, Luke grinned at me. “I like it when you’re jealous. It’s cute.”
“I’m just following rules,” I defended myself.
He cocked his head, studying me. “Funny, because when it comes to you, all I seem to be doing is breaking them.”
Chapter 14
Luke
“Bottomsup,y’all.Wesurvived.” Jasmine lined up four shot glasses and filled each one nearly to the brim with whiskey.
Ethan, Jasmine, and I each took a glass and tipped it back in one swallow. Bethany was a little slower. I could tell by the way she took a quick sniff of the amber liquid before draining it that this was another first for her. She coughed as it went down, but I didn’t laugh. It felt too special, bearing witness to one of her firsts.
Sure, Ethan and Jasmine were here, too, but they didn’t know what they were watching. For some reason, I felt some kind of way about that. Protective. Possessive. Which was stupid. The first-time list was Bethany’s, not mine. But still, I didn’t want to share.
“Oh, lord, I’m tired.” Jasmine yawned as she capped the whiskey and placed it back on the shelf. She did a full body shake, like she was trying to wake herself up. “Okay, boss. Give me a chore.”
The clock read two a.m. Jasmine and Ethan had been here all day, covering the lunch shift while Bethany and I were at the community center, and staying on through the show. We had closed the kitchen at ten p.m. and Ben and Amber had cleaned up before they left. There was still plenty to do now, but it could wait until tomorrow.
“Go home. Go to bed. You, too, Ethan. I’ll take Bethany home.” Ethan was halfway to the door before I’d even finished talking. “Be back at four tomorrow,” I called after him and he grunted in response. We were closed Sunday until five, when we would open for dinner, which meant we all had the morning off.
“Yay.” Jasmine yawned again. “Actually, if it’s okay with you, I’ll crash here tonight. There aren’t any hikers in the rooms, right?”
We hadn’t had a through-hiker since October. “Knock yourself out. Grab some fresh sheets from the closet, though. The beds aren’t made.” I glanced at Bethany, whose eyes looked suspiciously bright. That shot of whiskey had hit her hard. To be fair, Jasmine had poured doubles. “You’re welcome to a room, too, Red. We have plenty.”
