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Without waiting for his response, I suck the stem back into my mouth and begin working it with my tongue. As I finish with my trick, Charlie spots Nolan and comes back over.
“Hey, Nolan. You’re here early. I see you’ve made yourself right at home with—”
I shake my head in his direction, warning him not to alert Nolan to my identity. Charlie gives me a quizzical look, but doesn’t continue his sentence.
“Here you go, big shot.” I grasp his hand and place the double knotted cherry stem in his palm. “Hope this answers all your questions.”
“Can I buy you a drink? Charlie, can you get my new friend and I a couple of drinks? Since Bruce didn’t know I was coming tonight, my room isn’t ready yet and I have nothing but time on my hands.”
Charlie mumbles something under his breath before walking away to get our drinks.
“Isn’t he going to ask us what we want?” I ask, although I already know the answer to my question. Charlie knows what I’m drinking, and Nolan has been drinking the same thing for as long as I can remember.
“Charlie has a way of knowing exactly what someone wants just by looking at them.”
I try to keep a straight face at his response, but after a few moments, a giggle escapes. “That sounds like the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever heard.”
“You’re right. Whenever I come here, I always get the same thing. Whiskey neat. Seeing as you already had a drink when I walked up, he’ll probably just refresh what you already have.” Nolan reaches back and rubs that back of his neck. “I’m a little out of practice with this impressing a beautiful woman at a bar thing.”
“You think I’m beautiful?” I can’t help but feel surprised.
Charlie sets down a new round of drinks in front of us, and suddenly I wish this Shirley Temple was the real thing.
“If you aren’t completely aware of that fact by the time we finish our drinks, I’m not doing my job correctly.” Nolan grabs his glass and takes a sip.
This night just got interesting.
