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“Hey, sugar, you got something sweet back there, just for me?” He winks, and it makes me want to gag. He thinks he’s being flirty, but he also wants a Malibu Sunset. Short of drizzling some simple syrup on top–which he has actually asked me to do before–it doesn’t get much sweeter than that. It’s gross. Just like him.
I pour orange juice over ice and top it off with a splash of grenadine and a tiny shot of Malibu. I don’t even bother adding the cherry before I slide it across the bar top at him.
“That wasn’t very sweet,sweetheart.”
“Neither is not tipping me.” I shrug. As I turn toward the group of girls who are clearly here for a 21st birthday–based on the black and hot pink sashes they are wearing–I catch him reaching across the bartop and grabbing a handful of cherries on his own. God, I hate this guy.
Shaking him from my head, I give my full attention to the girls who have zero clue what they want to drink. They must all be newly 21 and new to drinking. While they debate, I yank the elastic out of my fallen blonde ponytail, gather my hair up and re-secure it. “How about I make you all something special?” I offer since they still haven’t decided.
A few heads nod as I line up five glasses in the well. After dumping a scoop of ice into all of them, I turn to reach for the Blue Curacao, catching a glimpse of blond as he walks through the door. My heart thumps in my chest the way it does when I’m stressed, but I’ve managed to stay calm throughout the chaos of this shift up until now. It’s not that it didn’t cross my mind when he asked me where I worked, but I didn’t actually expect him to show up, especially so soon. I should not have kissed him again. I know better than that. I’m partially convinced that I just need to sleep with him and get this out of my system.
I turn back to the well, scooping ice into the glasses. What the fuck am I doing? I already did that. I tip the first glass to dump some of the cubes out before grabbing the vodka and tequila in one hand and the gin and rum in the other. I tip them all upside down, letting the alcohol pour out of the spouts as I drag it along my row of glasses. Using the soda gun, I add just enough Sprite and sour mix to make the drink tolerable before topping it off with Blue Curacao and moving the drinks to the bar space in front of the girls.
There’s a reason I have so many regulars and make the kind of money I do. I might not love LA, and bartending isn’t something I want to do forever, but I’m very good at my job, and outside of the assholes, I enjoy it.
By the time I turn to put the Blue Curacao back on the shelf behind me, I can’t see Troy anymore. When I twist back to the well, he’s standing in front of me. He leans in ever so slightly while pushing up the sleeves of his black sweater before leaning his forearms on the bar, his muscles on full display. His blond hair is perfectly in place, and his smile reaches his gray-blue eyes. Is it hot in here?
“Hi.” My arousal fades when I notice the perfect strawberry-blonde next to him. Her little black fit and flare dress makes her boobs look great, and her green eyes contrast both her outfit and her curls perfectly.
“Hi. We’ll have two of whatever you made all those girls, please.” I nod, turning back to get what I need again. “How’s your night?”
“Better now that I picked all of the wadded up straw wrappers out of my cleavage.” I laugh in an attempt to appear unbothered by Troy’s arrival. Todd may be a douchebag, but he has good aim. I’ll give him that.
He immediately knows what I mean. “Last week, a girl tried to get my attention by sticking her hand up the back of my shirt while I was at the table next to hers.”
The girl with him chimes in. “At least your bar is enclosed so they can’t get to you.” She’s got a peppy voice, but it’s friendly rather than annoying. Ironically I’m annoyed by that. She must work in the industry too.
“Doesn’t mean they don’t try.” I shake my head recalling the time Todd tried to hop over the counter to “help me out” after his drunk ass flung his drink onto the floor behind me.
She smiles sweetly at me as I hold their drinks out for them, and Troy makes eye contact with me. “Keep my tab open?”
“Yeah.” I turn to my next guest as they walk away but not quickly enough to miss his hand falling to her lower back as they do.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TROY
WhenIshowedupto the bar where Lexy works, I was a little hesitant. I’ve driven by this place before but never stopped because the building looks like trash. The black paint is faded. The marquee sign is rusted, and the clear plastic tiles spelling the name of the band for tonight are chipped at the corners. But inside is a completely different story. The square black bar is sleek and sexy, trapping both the alcohol and a beautiful blonde inside it. The crowd is still a manageable size, the cement floor yet to be covered in bar napkins and straw wrappers. The band sets up to play on the polished wooden stage that takes up the entire length of the room.
I will say, overall the music scene is much better in California than it is in Oregon, where there aren't a ton of options for places that hold a stage bigger than the back corner of a bar. Nolan and I go out a lot, so I’m surprised we haven’t tried this place. Lauren hasn’t either, but she’s easy to convince.
I texted her this morning when I woke up with Lexy already invading my thoughts, conceding to her accusations from the other day that maybe I might be a little interested. She insisted we come here so she could assess the situation herself.
The second I saw her, my mouth went dry. She’s fucking hot, with her perfect ass in cutoff jean shorts and a tight black tank top that I want to rip off to reveal the lace bra peeking out. She mentioned her cleavage, and now I can’t stop imagining her perky breasts in my hands. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a spunky ponytail that skims across her bare shoulder every time she turns her head. She’s wearing a lot more makeup than she was the other night. She doesn’t need it, but that’s not the kind of naked I’m daydreaming about. Fuck. I drag my hand across my mouth at the thought of her under me.
“Troy.”
Lauren pulls me out of my thoughts. “Hmmm?” I hesitantly meet her gaze.
She laughs. “You’re a goner.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve never seen you check out a girl like that. That says a lot considering we’re together all the time. Thank God I’m not your girlfriend.” She laughs again, and I roll my eyes. I’m irritated. Yeah, Lexy is hot, but she’s clearly not interested in me. Even if she was, the whole situation feels complicated even though I know Nolan and Maci wouldn’t care at all.
Lauren’s hand squeezes my forearm playfully. “The thought has never crossed my mind I’d go home unsatisfied after we hang out, Troy, but that girl needs you to fuck her a hell of a lot more than I do.” She smirks.
“You don’t even know her. We’re just friends, if we are even that. And you know I’d never leave you unsatisfied.” I wink for good measure.
