by Natalie Ann
“Maybe she’s my girlfriend.”
He started to choke on the beer he’d just put to his mouth. Toward the end of the night, he’d start to nurse one on Friday and Saturday, those long days, since he was here from open to close most days. “Are you...”
“Am I a lesbian?” she asked, straight-faced. “Would it matter if I was?”
“No,” he said. Was that disappointment in his tone? She sure the hell hoped so.
She walked behind the bar and decided to be bold. She always was before, why not now? Why not put him on the spot? Why not let him know what she was feeling and push his buttons some more? She wasn’t stupid; she’d seen the attraction in his eyes and she was getting sick of him pretending otherwise.
“Liar,” she said, stalking him, backing him to the other end. “I know you lie when you can’t think of what else to say. You think you’re being sneaky, but you’re not very good at it.”
He stood up straighter. She’d touched a nerve and was proud of that. “Why do you think I’m lying?”
“Because I’ve seen you watching me when you think I’m not aware. I’ve seen the look in your eye when you wished it wasn’t there. I’m doing all the same things you are if you’d just open your eyes a bit more and see it.”
He blushed. Oh my God, he actually blushed. Imagine that. “What do you think I should do about it?”
He’d taken the bait and thrown down a challenge. There was a roaring in her ears. She’d bulldozed him and she was glad she did. Now she needed to back it up. “What do you want to do?”
“You should know better than to poke a rattlesnake when it’s cornered,” he said. His eyes were dark now...and a little bit dangerous. A spark and she was ready to light that flame when she’d never had the urge to with another man before.
“I don’t know what happens when you’re pushed too far. Why don’t you show me?”
“You asked for it,” he said, reaching down and lifting her up, then placing her butt on the bar. She didn’t think he could move that fast. But his strong arms on her felt like they did when he’d caught her before.
No. This felt better. This felt intense.
She didn’t have time to think before he was crushing his lips to hers and showing her he felt everything she’d been seeing and feeling herself for weeks.
Put in his Place
That kiss. What the hell was wrong with him falling for her tricky ways?
She’d pushed him and he took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. He couldn’t remember ever doing that before. Ever have a woman press all his buttons so hard and so much.
But now he got a taste of her and he couldn’t remove it from his mind. He’d tried really hard though.
That night, he’d climbed the stairs to his apartment above the bar sporting one hell of a hard-on. A cold shower didn’t even put a dent in it, forcing him to take care of it on his own.
When he woke the next morning, it didn’t seem much better, but he showered and went downstairs to the kitchen and made some breakfast, then climbed the stairs to his living room and did some paperwork. Nothing like bills to kill any type of romantic thoughts.
Romantic thoughts. Nope. They weren’t that either. It was sex. He had sex on the brain thanks to a smooth-talking, fast-moving waitress just trying to get under his skin. She succeeded.
Which was why he ignored it, or rather her, for the next few days. Saturday had been hard, but they were busy, thus occupying their time and thoughts. Closing that night, with just the two of them there, that one tested his limits, but he’d been known to have tunnel vision when he wanted it and he looked straight ahead and pretended she wasn’t there for anything other than filling orders.
Sunday, piece of cake—she had the day off. Monday and Tuesday, more of the same as Saturday. And since she wasn’t closing with him these past two days, it was even easier.
But Wednesday rolled around and he was struggling to keep up the pretense. Or maybe it had more to do with the fact some guy was flirting with her all night. His hand reached around and lay on her waist when it had no business being there.
“Is that guy giving you a hard time?” he asked when she came to the bar with her tray and order.
“I’ve got it covered,” she said back, smiling at him. Even though he’d been doing the blind monkey act with her lately, it didn’t seem to faze her in the least. Which of course only made him feel more like an idiot.
“Let me know if you need me to say something,” he said.
“I’m all good,” she said, walking away to bring the man his beer. When he heard her laugh at something the guy said, he ground his teeth.
Hours later, the war he was waging with himself and that stupid kiss wasn’t ending. And since she seemed to be moving on from him—which he couldn’t let happen—he decided to try his hand at flirting too.
After all, they were both mature adults. Both single. That kiss had been mutual. The one he couldn’t get out of his head with a crowbar.
Only she wasn’t having any of his nicer ways when he winked at her and sent her a mischievous smile along with a “you sure do look nice tonight” comment.
She sent him one of those ridiculously sensual smiles of hers and he thought, oh yeah this might be working.
Only it wasn’t when she held that smile in place for anyone to see, but her eyes told a different story and her words matched that story. “You think you can kiss me silly four days ago and then pretend it didn’t happen. Think again, bud.” She laughed and went about the bar doing her job, leaving him standing there knowing he was just firmly put in his place.
***
How dare Gavin think she was going to fall for his cocky grin and complimentary words? No way. Not her. Not happening.
She wasn’t stupid. She knew it was because someone else was paying attention to her tonight. That was the fire ant that bit him in the butt. He could go soak in Epson salt for all she cared, but she wasn’t softening at all.
Maybe she was completely wrong about him and all he wanted was a roll in the sheets like all those other losers wanted from her before.
When eight o’clock rolled around, her back was killing her from trying to keep her spine stiff and let him know his actions didn’t affect her in the least.
“My last order was taken care of and I cashed them out. Misty has the rest of the room for the night,” she said, walking behind the bar and giving him a wide berth as she retrieved her purse and coat.
She was hoping to make a fast exit, but he trapped her in where she was slipping her jacket on in the small area off to the side. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
“For what?” she asked. He looked like he didn’t know what to say, which only set her off even more. “Have a good night.”
She went to walk by, but he grabbed her arm. She looked down at his long fingers, and he dropped them away fast. “Never mind.”
“No. You stopped me. You say it. Be a man.”
“You’re good at pushing my buttons,” he said, his eyes flashing something at her right now.
She’d be wise to be cautious, but sometimes wisdom had to take a backseat to pride. “We all have to excel at something.”
He burst out laughing which was not the reaction she was expecting. “You’re something else.” He held his hand out to hers. “Truce?”
She took it, just to see if that spark was still there. It almost burned her fingertips right off. “I’ll think about it.”
So she did all day Thursday while she was off. When she went in on Friday for her shift at three, Gavin was waiting on customers. He smiled at her and said hi, but nothing else.
She sighed, thinking they were back to square one again and she just didn’t have it in her to play these types of games.
But as the night wore on, Gavin actually was nicer to her. He was talking more or at least trying and he was smiling with a few little laughs thrown in.
When it came time for closing, she decided to give him one more chance. Th
is was it in her eyes. If he was going to be stubborn and only be attentive when it suited him, she was done. She wasn’t going to be there for him whenever he wanted it.
She could work for him and feel nothing more. Liar.
“How about a drink?” he asked when the last person was out the door.
“Sure. I’ll take a beer.” She didn’t often drink before she left, but tonight just seemed like the night for it. Especially since he offered.
“Pull up a seat and get off your feet,” he said.
“I’ll keep cleaning while I drink this. Get you out of here faster. You haven’t had one day off since you opened, have you?”
It’d been almost six weeks since Fierce had been open for business. Six weeks she’d been employed by him. Six weeks of time in his presence making her heart go pitter-patter when it never had before.
“No,” he said, wiping down the bar. The place was always clean and she loved that he put so much effort into that. “I live upstairs so it’s not like I’m that far away if I wanted a day off.”
“You do?” she asked. “I didn’t know there was an apartment up there.”
This building was massive. There was a huge amount of untapped space in the back too, but she was guessing he didn’t want to go too big to start.
“There is. There wasn’t, but I put one up there. Well, I put a bedroom, bathroom, and living room up there. Three rooms I finished.”
“No kitchen?” she asked, putting chairs on the tables so that the floor could be swept and mopped.
“No need when I’ve got a huge one downstairs. The stairs to my apartment are in the back past the kitchen, and it’s not like anyone can see me coming and going when I want something.”
“Makes sense.” And was smart if she did say so herself. Great way to consolidate costs. But if she’d learned one thing about Gavin, it was that he was determined. A trait they both shared.
When the bar was cleaned up for the night and her beer finished, she walked behind the bar to get her coat and purse, preparing to leave. “Want to see my apartment?” he asked.
“Is there a hidden meaning in there?” she asked, smirking at him, because it was the only thing she could think to do.
“There doesn’t have to be. Just offering to show it to you. Nothing more.”
“Then sure, I’d like to see it before I leave.” She just wanted to make herself clear.
He flipped the lights in the bar, double-checked that everything was locked up tight and then escorted her through the kitchen and then the unfinished space in the back.
“Are you going to do anything with this area?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Right now I just want to focus on the bar and what I can handle.”
“You could have a bigger restaurant back here. There is so much you could do with this building. It’s got enormous amounts of potential.”
“Maybe someday. Let’s get through this first year of business and then I’ll think of a more long-term plan.”
It was the most they’d talked about any topic other than filling orders. Though this was still about work, it wasn’t the same. This was more about goals, plans, and ideas, and she liked that he was sharing them with her.
They climbed the stairs and walked down a long hallway. “What’s behind those doors?” she asked. There were two on each side.
“More empty space. I haven’t even touched them. No reason to. Just cobwebs at the moment.”
Once they got to the front of the building where the hallway abruptly ended in an open room, he flipped a light on. The hallway had been lit up when they climbed the stairs. It was a nice big living room. Just a couch and chair, with a TV on a stand and lots of space.
“Where’s your bedroom and bath?” He lifted an eyebrow at her and she amended, “Just curious. Don’t be getting any ideas.”
He laughed and put his hands on her shoulders to turn her. On the right, there was a door that was open and she could see a bed in there past where his TV was perched.
“There’s a door on the other side of the living room where the bathroom is. I found it easier to put it over the plumbing downstairs and just run the pipes up.”
“Did you do all this work yourself?”
“I did. I worked construction for ten years. I did most of it and had help from some friends.”
“It’s impressive.”
“Thanks.”
There was silence now and she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do or say. It seemed he wasn’t either.
She looked around some more, the nosy person that she was. His place was pretty bare, but there was a picture hanging on the wall. “Is that your family?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“You’ve talked about your mother and brothers before. What about your father? That’s him, right?”
The man was huge. Even though Gavin was a kid in that picture, she could see that his father was bigger than Gavin right now.
“He was a firefighter. He died fighting a fire when I was a kid.”
She turned and looked at his face. She’d heard the hurt in his voice, still, after so many years, and she went with her gut and put her arms around him and held him tight.
“I’m sorry, Gavin. That had to be hard.” And now she was wondering if that was the tug she’d felt when she thought he needed some help. A childhood loss?
“It was. It is. We were close.”
“I can’t imagine.”
He didn’t say anything else though. Just lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her tenderly. Not hard and fast and urgent like last time. But gentle with his lips moving back and forth over hers. His tongue coming out to trace her lips and the corner of her mouth.
She opened for him. Like she had a choice because she didn’t. She wanted to feel him, taste him, and let him know that she was feeling something more for him than she could express.
He held her tighter, kissed her harder, and they stayed like that for longer than she’d ever kissed another person.
When she finally found the strength to pull back, she did, and said, “I probably should let you get some sleep. You’ll be up early to open the bar.”
He looked disappointed. She got that. She was too. But she wasn’t the type of girl to come to his place and spend the night after one spectacular kiss. Well, two if she counted the one last week.
“I probably should. I’ll walk you down and out to your car.”
When they got outside, he kissed her again, letting her feel the same disappointment she’d seen in his eyes.
Take Patience
Saturday afternoon Jolene came into work with a bigger pep in her step than normal. She’d told herself she was going to give Gavin a chance. That after looking around his place last night and seeing the only evidence of a life was that lone family picture on the wall, that she had to find a way to help him.
He may not think he needed help, but her radar had been right on point like it always was. She was hoping she could figure out what was wrong and bring him some happiness. But if there was anything she learned from her parents it was to never merely hope for anything because you’re better off going after it to make sure it happened.
There were times Gavin was short with her, grouchy even, though he tried to cover it up. Mainly when she hit on some nerves she didn’t know were exposed.
But those times when he opened up more—when he was willing to put himself out there—he felt the same as she did. He felt something deep down in the recesses of his bones that only someone with the same emotions as she’d been expressing could feel.
She understood him. She knew. Now she just needed to convince him of that.
It was going to take work. It was going to take a will of steel. And it was going to take patience.
Too bad she was lacking in the patience category.
She opened the front door and saw the place was hopping. She had to admit she was a bit in awe at how busy he was here. But it was a good location, the atmosphere was pleasa
nt—thanks to her—and the cook did a good job with keeping the food simple but tasty.
It wasn’t a bar for people to come and hang out in at night while trying to pick someone up. It was more than that.
During the day it was more of a family pub vibe and she found it was pretty unique for the area. That might be why he was thriving so much.
Though it did seem like he knew a lot of the customers. Probably friends and word of mouth, but many were repeat customers and that was how you kept a business going.
She walked behind the bar to put her stuff away and grabbed an apron. Gavin made his way down to pick up a bottle of liquor and she said softly for his ears only, “Hey there, cutie.”
He looked startled, but winked at her, then went back to mixing his drink at the other end of the bar. She would have preferred he’d said it back. Or at least said hi, but she’d take the wink and call it a win, reminding herself to have patience.
He wasn’t really shy. At least she didn’t think so. It was more that he was stubborn. But she could be more so if she put her mind to it and that was what she was going to do.
By the end of the night, she felt she’d made some progress with Gavin. He’d actually carried on a conversation with her now and again when she made her way to the bar, but he was still keeping it simple.
She was placing her order down on the table for a couple of men, then turned when she felt a hand on her backside. She must be losing her touch because so far that hadn’t happened once. Sure she’d flirted with the customers once in awhile since it always resulted in better tips.
But this one guy tonight didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer, no matter how many times she’d said she wasn’t interested. Must be he didn’t understand the tight smile through gritted teeth she was sending him with her rejection. But she hadn’t wanted to be mean and insult him.