by Lauren Smith
“I’ve got that table tonight, but I’ll bring any tips I get and put them in your jar, okay?” He slapped Rodrigo’s shoulder.
“No problem.” Roderigo grinned and headed off to another table recently claimed by a group of lively University of Chicago grad students.
Matthew stalked down the length of the bar and kept a watchful eye on Aubree’s table once he’d delivered their two gin and tonics. She and her date seemed to be in an animated discussion now. Maybe he had misjudged the man. Maybe he and Audrey were hitting it off.
An hour passed before the man stormed out of the bar. Aubree half rose from her seat as if she was about to go after him, but changed her mind and sunk back down in her chair with her shoulders slumped. Her lips quivered as she brushed a hand through her hair in a nervous gesture. After a few minutes, she collected her purse and stood. When she glanced his way, Matthew crooked a finger at her and pointed at the bar stool directly in front of him.
She hesitated so he repeated the motion more firmly. She finally came over and sat down.
“God that went over well,” she muttered sarcastically.
Matthew chuckled. “Okay, what happened this time?” He reached for an empty glass as she talked.
“Well for starters, I do not like gin and tonic. Totally confirmed that tonight. Ugh.” She made a face and Matthew laughed. He liked her animation. A lot of women didn’t like to make goofy faces or even act silly. Aubree didn’t seem to have that problem and he really enjoyed that. A playful girl was a happy girl.
“Okay, then what?”
“Well, he’s into academics, which I thought was very interesting. He’s a professor of linguistics. But when I told him what I do for a living…”
“Which is?” He prompted, hoping she would share more about herself.
“I’m the Director of Equities at the Chicago Board of Trade.”
Matthew nodded and she continued. “Well, he started talking about how it was cute that I had such powerful job.” She put air quotes around the word “cute” and her striking hazel eyes lit with an indignant fire. “And that when he marries, he wants his wife to feel good about staying at home. I mean I’m all for women staying at home if that’s what the woman wants. Not because some guy thinks it’s still 1950 and a woman should be waiting for her husband with a cocktail in hand and meatloaf on the table.”
“You don’t think a person should do nice things for someone they love?” Matthew asked curiously.
“No, that’s not it. Being nice and doing something out of love is different. Antiqueluvr78 thought that this was something to be expected on a daily basis. A gift like that should be a two-way street. I make you meatloaf one night, you give me the best foot rub ever or fresh cut flowers another night.”
Matthew started preparing a drink for her and then laid a twisted orange peel across the top of the glass. With a grin, he pushed the glass toward her.
“What’s this?” She accepted it, eyeing the brown liquid openly curious.
“An Old-Fashioned in honor of whatshisname?”
“Antiqueluvr78,” Aubree said with a giggle.
“This is bourbon, a sugar cube, bitters and a thick cube of ice.”
“Wow.” She took a sip. “Not bad at all.” Her smile was infectious, and he couldn’t resist his own grin.
“So Antiqueluvr78. Is that a screen name or something?” He leaned on the bar as she held up her phone so he could see the screen.
The bubbly words Meet Cute appeared on the screen and her profile popped up a second later.
“Sailorgurl18?” He looked at her profile name. There weren’t any pictures, just info about her life.
“I like to go sailing on Lake Michigan. I grew up in Maine around boats. My dad was a fisherman. He died two years ago and when I’m out sailing on the lake, it reminds me of him and I feel closer to him?” She blushed wildly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be pouring my heart out to a stranger.”
Fuck it, the woman was killing him. Matthew extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Matthew Lawson, born in Perth, attended school at Cambridge in England, then the London school of Economics. Now… I bartend and part of that is listening to customers.”
Aubree smiled, still embarrassed as she shook his hand. “Aubree Cole. I went to Princeton. Born in Maine and I love to sail.”
“There, now we aren’t strangers.” Matthew nodded at her nearly finished drink. “Want another?”
She thought about that for a minute. “Yeah, why not. Surprise me.” She settled deeper into the bar stool and watched him get to work.
Matthew muddled a strawberry in a shaker, added some strawberry and vanilla-infused vodka, a little St. Germaine, lemon juice, and some fancy habanero bitters before shaking and straining everything into a martini glass. He then topped the mixture with a splash of sprite and edible rose petals before sliding the glass toward her across the bar.
“Meet the Ms. Monroe cocktail.”
Aubree giggled as she picked up the bright reddish-pink drink and sipped. “Flirty with a dash of heat.” She licked her lips and Matthew’s body went hard all over. What the hell was wrong with all these men on the Meet Cute app? Aubree was a man’s wet dream. She was curvy, fucking gorgeous, smart, and most importantly, she was real and approachable. It was rare in attractive women. Most beautiful women he knew were guarded. They were used to people preying on them for their looks, so they tended to lock down their hearts and act more reserved. Aubree was much more open.
“I really like this.” She drank another sip. “How did you end up a bartender?”
Matthew could hear her curiosity. “I love making drinks. I love helping people who might need a friend.”
He didn’t tell her that he was a part owner of this bar. He wanted her to see him for who he was: a man who like to serve drinks. If being a bartender wasn’t enough, then he knew what kind of person she was.
“So, you followed your passion. I like that,” Aubree said after another drink of her cocktail.
“Exactly.” From the corner of his eye, he saw a man waiting for him at the end of the bar. “Hang on.” He left her, hoping this time she’d be there when he returned, and saw to the other customer. He didn’t dare look back at her, but the heat across his skin made him think she was watching him as he poured and served. When he finally turned toward her, she was finishing the drink he’d made her.
“Thanks, Matthew. You made tonight much better.” She smiled at him and for a second, he forgot how to breathe.
“You’re leaving?” Matthew knew he sounded like a hopeful kid and not a grown man in his mid-thirties.
“Yeah, I’m calling it a night. I only live a block away, but I don’t want to be too inebriated to walk home.”
“Let me call you a taxi,” he offered instantly. It was a common thing to call for a cab when a customer had a little too much to drink.
“Thanks, but I’ll be all right.” She pulled on a knee-length elegant red cashmere coat. “I like walking in the snow. It’s kind of nice with all the quiet and the way it muffles sounds—even the traffic.” Her face reddened again. It was clear she wasn’t used to talking about how things made her feel, at least not to strangers.
“Me too.” he said quietly as their eyes met. “About the snow. It’s nice. Like walking in an empty church. There’s a solemn reverence.”
“Yes, exactly.” Aubree looked down at her feet and back up to him. “Well… I should get going. I’m sure I’ll see you later.”
“I hope so. Bring any more bad dates here and drinks are on the house.” He flashed her a smile and she grinned back.
“It’s a deal.”
When she walked away, Matthew felt as though she’d ripped off a small piece of him and was carrying it away in her hands.
Fuck, he was falling for this woman he barely knew. He glanced at his phone and suddenly had an idea. He opened the phone and searched the app store until he saw the Meet Cute app. He downloaded it and hit the “Create Account” bu
tton, then he searched until he found her profile.
He couldn’t stop smiling. This was going to be fun.
3
The French Kiss
Three days later…
It was a bit after eight PM when Aubree’s phone beeped. The little heart shape on her screen meant she had a Meet Cute notification. She opened the app.
“Vesper1 has sent you a hanky-panky challenge,” She read aloud.
Aubree snuggled deeper into her couch and pulled her cup of hot peppermint tea toward her. She tapped on the question mark icon next to the words hanky-panky to read more about what it was.
“A hanky-panky challenge is a steamy challenge issued by one user to another. The challenge can be completed in person or online with whoever the user receiving the challenge chooses. The user can ignore challenges or accept them.”
“Huh…” Aubree hit the button to read the challenge.
“Vesper1 challenges you to French kiss a stranger with an accent.”
It was kind of cute; she had to admit she liked the idea. Maybe because the first guy she thought of was Matthew, the hot Aussie bartender. Aubree stared at the screen for a long moment with her heart racing wildly as she considered if she should accept or not.
“Oh, what the hell.” She hit the green accept challenge button. Little kisses flew up on the screen. Aubree checked her watch and glanced outside her tall apartment windows. It was dark and snowy, but the walk to Love Potion #9 wasn’t that far. She threw off her cozy blanket and headed to her walk-in closet. After trying a dozen outfits, she finally picked a dark green knee-length long-sleeved dress, black tights, and cute little black ankle boots. Before leaving, she pulled on her coat, a scarf and a knit cap.
By the time she reached the bar, it was almost nine PM and the place was full of customers. Aubree saw three bartenders, including Matthew, working hard to fill orders. She hesitated, half hidden behind a tall wall that separated the bar from the restaurant portion of the large room. Matthew grinned as he shook a metal shaker and poured the contents into two glasses before topping them with cherries and umbrellas. It was clear he truly loved his job. But it still puzzled her a little that a smart man like him had left the business world just to make drinks. But if someone loved something, shouldn’t they do it? As tough as her job was, she liked it a lot. Its challenges were fascinating; the way the trading floors worked had always been so interesting to her.
Aubree wondered if she should go home since the bar was full, but as Matthew’s eyes swept the crowd, he spotted her and lifted his head in a silent greeting. When she didn’t move, he waved her over. Her heart gave another wild excited bump as she approached.
“Have a seat.” Matthew nodded at the only empty bar stool and looked at her expectantly. His blue eyes were so bright and intense.
“Just water, for now.” She blushed and ducked her head. How did a girl ask a guy to French kiss her? She didn’t really want to do that in a crowded bar.
“You eaten dinner yet?” He called out over the hubbub of the surrounding customer conversations.
She shook her head. She’d actually forgotten about dinner tonight; she been busy working late at home on project for work.
“If you can wait ten minutes, I have an hour break. There’s a great pizza place next door.”
“Sal’s?” She nodded eagerly. She loved Sal’s deep-dish pizzas.
“Great.” Matthew moved further down the bar to prepare more drinks.
Ten minutes later, he handed off his black bar apron to another young man and grabbed his charcoal gray peacoat from the coat rack behind the bar. He put a hand on Aubree’s lower back as he guided her out the front door, and her body burned from that single touch. They walked to the restaurant next door and ducked inside as wind blew down the street, showering them with fresh snow.
Aubree laughed as she brushed snowflakes off her nose and her heart stilled when she looked at Matthew’s face. His eyes were bright and clear, and his lips were curved in a playful grin as he pulled her up against him. She gasped, a little shocked that he would touch her like that, but she had to admit she liked it.
And then she saw the rush of people passing by them as they left Sal’s. Was he was just trying to make room for the others? She’d hoped he wanted an excuse to touch her. Once the flood of exiting customers was gone, he continued to hold her against him, just a moment longer than was necessary. Her body responded with a rush of heat and excitement.
“Come on, let’s grab a booth.” He curled an arm around her waist as they moved deeper into the restaurant. The pizza joint was noisy at the far end where a few men were watching a basketball game. Matthew chose a booth in a quiet corner.
A portly waiter came over and handed them laminated menus.
“Could we split a pizza?” she asked Matthew.
“Absolutely. I’ll eat just about anything,” he said with a boyish grin.
She looked up at the expected waiter. “A medium pineapple and sausage pizza please.”
The waiter didn’t even bat an eyelash as he wrote it down and left.
“Okay. I’ve heard of pineapple and Canadian bacon, but sausage?” Matthew reached for his glass of water and took a drink.
Feeling impish, Aubree responded. “Well, what can I say? I’m a girl who loves to get her mouth around a good hunk of meat.”
Matthew spewed out his water and Aubree couldn’t resist laughing at him.
“Sorry, I don’t normally crack jokes like that, but the look on your face was priceless.”
The sexy Aussie actually blushed red almost to the roots of his hair. “You definitely got me.” He winked at her. “Is this how all your other dates go?”
Aubree bit her lip before replying. “Is this a date?”
Their gazes met and she saw his expression was completely serious now; there was a burning intensity in his eyes as he replied. “It can be whatever you want. Dinner with a friend, a date, or even just dinner with your neighborhood bartender.”
Aubree relaxed. He was letting her choose how this relationship would go as though he sensed she needed some control over it. God, Matthew made her so at ease. Yet, he turned her on like crazy. Sitting so close in the booth, she couldn’t deny the chemistry between them was more than just sizzling. Whenever he looked at her, she couldn’t help but picture him kissing her, then pinning her against the wall as he made her feel small and feminine while he mastered her with his body. He looked like the sort of man who knew just how to send a woman over the edge again and again.
She straightened her shoulders and prepared to ask him her question.
“Well, friendly neighborhood bartender, I need your advice and maybe your help.” There. That sounded logical, not too propositional.
He waited, seemingly patient to let her continue at her own pace.
“You remember the Meet Cute app I showed you?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, they have these challenges you can issue to other members, like sweet or sexy challenges.”
“Okay.” Matthew leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on the table.
“I’ve never gotten one before and normally wouldn’t accept one, but then I thought what the heck. It lets me choose who to do the challenge with.” So far this was going okay. He hadn’t run out of the restaurant screaming yet.
“So, what was your challenge?”
“To French kiss someone with an accent?” She ended her sentence as a question because she still expected him to get up and leave.
“Well, good thing you’re taking me out to dinner after making a sexy demand like that.” He teased her.
“Oh God, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you that. It’s just…” She floundered for words.
“Hey, I was only kidding.” He reached across the table and grabbed one of her hands, holding it gently. “So, the challenge is just to French kiss?”
“Yeah, no biggie, right?” She tried to act like it was nothing.
“
It can be. Kissing is important.” His voice was low and soft, almost a caress. “A kiss can be light or deep, heartfelt, seductive, sincere or comforting. How someone kisses tells you who a person is.” He met her eyes as he spoke and in that moment, she glimpsed a part of his soul—the part that believed in the magic of what love could be and that a kiss held the power to change the world, not just one person. The intense way he was looking at her was something she’d already dreamed of.
His words were poetic and potent in a way that somehow the idea of kissing him didn’t seem so casual anymore. It was suddenly so much more than that. Before either of them could speak, the waiter brought their pizza and it was a lot easier to eat and talk about everything but a French kiss.
She learned a lot about Matthew. He liked rock music from the seventies and learned to ride horses on a farm in rural Australia where he grew up with his grandparents. His parents had died in a car accident when he was only eight.
“Do you miss Australia?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Sometimes. The place you live in for a large part of your life will always hold significance, good or ill. I still visit once a year. But I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would. I’ve been so excited about starting my life here.” He paused. “Bartending has become an important part of who I am. I love guessing what a customer’s favorite drink might be. I love making pieces of art inside a glass and seeing someone’s face when they take that first sip. It’s an ephemeral thing, but not all wonders are endless you know. Some beautiful things are fleeting but no less stunning.”
“I agree,” she said. “Like butterflies. They are incredibly beautiful, yet they last barely a season and then they’re gone. It doesn’t make their value or their beauty any less.”
“Exactly.” Matthew brushed his hair out of his eyes and an almost bashful look on his face stole her breath.
Aubree couldn’t help but fall for him a little more each time he shared something about himself, and she loved watching the way his eyes lit up when he spoke with passion.
“What about you? What brought you from Maine to Chicago?”