CHAPTER 2
“W hose bar is this?” Rory heard someone ask Linden from her spot next to the bar where she’d just carried out a box filled with paintbrushes and other supplies.
“My friend’s friend,” Linden replied.
So, Rory was Linden’s friend ? That was good. They’d met at a wedding that Linden had planned and hadn’t spent all that much time together because Rory had been a bit busy being in the wedding party, but she’d liked Linden’s approach to the whole thing. She was professional yet approachable and didn’t seem to get stressed out when something went wrong. Rory had followed Linden with her eyes that night, and when Linden had given Rory her phone number at the end of the night, saying that they could hang out sometime, she’d thought Linden had been offering to go out with her.
Of course, she’d only been twenty-two, almost twenty-three, and Linden was in her maybe mid-thirties, a lot further along in her life than Rory was. Back then, Linden had just come out to her friends but hadn’t yet told her family, if she remembered the order of things correctly, while Rory hadn’t yet come out herself. She still wasn’t sure if she would until she really needed to. It wasn’t like there was a woman in her life who made her feel like she needed to tell her family that she was gay. Candace knew, and Candace was her best friend, so that was all Rory needed for now. She could tell Linden suspected, but the woman hadn’t said anything. She probably had an idea because the few times they’d hung out, Rory had been a giggling, embarrassing mess. Linden was just her type, which sucked for her because Linden had that sexy confidence that Rory so liked but could never actually get enough courage or confidence to do anything about.
Now, Linden was with Asher, whom Rory didn’t really know all that well. She’d only met her recently, and Asher had been introduced as Linden’s friend. The fact that they were together now was a bit of a surprise, but it made sense, too. It wasn’t as if Linden would have wanted to be with a struggling twenty-three-year-old graduate student and part-time nanny.
“And we’re here instead of our regular ones because…” the woman replied to Linden.
“This place is not open yet, so it’s less crowded, plus free booze if we help paint or tear down something,” Linden said to her.
Rory looked up and noticed that the woman Linden had been talking to was also her type, though not as much as Linden, leading her to believe that she was Bryce, Linden’s friend from out of town, since Linden had described her as being just like her in a way when Rory had texted her to see if she wanted free drinks to help Candace get the bar in order.
“Hey,” Asher said as she approached them and hugged Linden from the side, which caused Rory to look away. “Is she trying to convince you to do manual labor, like the rest of us?”
“Yes,” Bryce said. “But, apparently, there’s free booze involved.”
“Where’s Soph?” Asher asked.
“Late work meeting, but she’s on her way now,” Bryce answered. “We can’t stay long, though. I’m going back home tomorrow, and then it’s back to LA in a few days, so we want tonight to be just us. I can help paint something for about an hour.”
Soph must be Sophie, Bryce’s girlfriend and another of Linden’s many friends who she’d said might stop by to help get this place together for Candace by Friday.
Rory wiped at her pants, deciding now was the time to go over and greet them since Candace had obviously let them in and had disappeared into a closet where she kept some of the other cleaning supplies. For someone who wanted to host literally hundreds of people in this bar a night, Candace could learn a thing or two about taking care of the guests who were here to work for her for free. Rory walked to the closet first and tugged on Candace’s arm.
“What’s up?” Candace said.
“Come on. Let’s talk to them. They’re here for you,” Rory told her.
“I thought I’d wait until they all got here.”
“Candace, come on,” she repeated with a laugh and let go of her friend’s arm.
“Okay,” Candace replied.
“Hi,” Rory greeted as she walked over to Linden and her friends. “This is Candace. This is her bar.” She motioned to Candace, who was following close behind her.
“Hi, everyone. Thanks for helping. I need to get this place up and running soon.” Candace said.
“Didn’t you win the lottery?” Linden asked.
“Yes. Now, I have enough to buy the place, remodel it a bit, and stock the alcohol, but I need to open it fast if I want to keep it open. I didn’t win millions, and this has been my dream for the past few years.”
Candace had indeed won the lottery. It had been months ago now, and she wasn’t someone who played regularly, but she’d bought a ticket one night on a whim and had ended up winning enough to buy a bar in New Orleans. That was about all it would cover, though, so the bar needed to be open and running soon for Candace to be able to keep it. It was a risk and not one Rory would ever take for herself, but it was what her best friend wanted, and she was here to offer support.
“Can I ask you how old you are to have had the dream of owning a bar?” Bryce asked.
“I’m twenty-four. My uncle owned a bar before he sold it, so I grew up in the business. I went to bartending school, and I was planning on getting an associate degree in business or something, but then, I won the lottery, and this place was for sale. I snatched it up.”
“Well, I’m good with a hammer. I’m actually redoing my aunt’s place now. So, point me wherever until my girlfriend gets here,” Bryce told her.
“Cool. Thanks,” Candace replied, and she walked off with Bryce.
“I’ve got more friends coming, too,” Linden said. “I’m not sure how much help they’ll be, but there are four of them, and if you give them a beer, they can at least hold a paintbrush and aim it at a wall.”
“Thanks,” Rory replied. “I wasn’t sure we’d get anyone to help. Candace doesn’t really have any family these days, and mine doesn’t live here. She has friends, obviously, but none of them could make it tonight because most of them are bartenders themselves, so they work nights. You two look good together, by the way.”
She added that last part because it was true: Asher and Linden looked perfect together. They seemed, in a way, to be polar opposites, but in other intangible ways, they were the same. It was weird, but it worked for them. Besides, Rory had had a crush on Linden at best, and she was mature enough to recognize that a crush was all it had ever been.
“Yeah, I think so,” Linden said while she smiled over at Asher.
“So, it’s new, right?” Rory asked.
“A couple of weeks,” Asher said.
“Or, ten years, depending on how you look at it,” Linden replied and winked at Asher.
“Are you and Candace…” Asher pointed from Rory to Candace.
“Oh, no. Candace is straight. She has a boyfriend of, like, four years, I think. He’ll be by later to help.” Rory said, feeling the blush creep up her cheeks.
“But you’re not straight?” Linden asked.
‘Oh, how to answer that question?’ Rory thought.
She knew Linden was gay; Asher clearly wasn’t straight, either, given whom she was dating; and she was pretty sure that the rest of Linden’s friends coming tonight were also into women in some capacity – it would be safe to confirm that she was gay and not out entirely yet.
“Oh, I…” Rory blushed and didn’t finish that sentence, not ready to tell near strangers yet after all.
Maybe Linden, if they had a moment alone later. She’d also be fine with Linden telling Asher, but she wasn’t sure she wanted Bryce or the others to know.
“Hey, why don’t we get started?” Asher said, changing the subject, thankfully.
“Yes, I’m here. Put me to work,” Linden replied.
Asher then whispered something into Linden’s ear that Rory couldn’t hear.
“You do?” Linden asked, looking surprised at whatever she’d exchanged privately with her girlfriend. “Ash, if that was an option, why did we agree to come here to help?”
Hearing that made Rory worry that they might leave, but Asher whispered something else to Linden, laughed, gave Linden a quick kiss, and walked off to find Bryce and Candace.
Just then, the door to the bar opened, and Rory thought it might be one of Linden’s other friends. Her eyes widened when a woman stood in the doorway. She looked to be either in her late twenties or early thirties and had brown eyes and brown hair that seemed to match. God, she was so beautiful. She nearly took Rory’s breath away, and had Rory been at all in control of her thoughts, she would have told herself how lame that sounded, but this woman was androgynously gorgeous, with this short brown hair that was a little all over the place and mussed. She seemed to be hearing Rory’s thoughts because she ran a hand through it as if to put each hair back in place.
“Um…” the woman began.
“It’s not open,” Linden told her. “If you’re here for a drink.”
“Oh,” she let out and looked around for a bit as if to verify Linden’s statement. “Got it.”
Rory’s entire chest, neck, and cheeks were now a bright, hot red. Her body felt like it was humming. When the woman’s glance landed on her for a second and met her eyes, it caused her to look away because Rory couldn’t stand that level of intensity in anyone’s gaze, let alone this woman, who might just be a goddess in human form.
“But we’ll be opening in a few days!” Candace yelled from the other corner of the bar. “Come back on Friday.”
“Yeah, okay,” the woman replied.
Then, she was gone. The door closed behind her, and there was no evidence she’d ever been there at all.
“You okay there?” Linden asked.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Rory said, obviously lying. “So, let’s get to work. This place opens on Friday,” she added that last part rather quickly.
“We’re here,” a woman Rory didn’t know announced as she burst through the door.
“Hi,” another woman said, following her in. “Kyle and Mel are outside, too. We saw them parking as we were walking in.”
“And Sophie is right behind you, so maybe don’t let the door slam in her face,” a third woman said, pushing the door back open.
“Shit. Sorry, Soph,” the first woman replied. “Didn’t see you.”
“Babe!” Bryce yelled and waved the third woman over.
That must make her Sophie, Bryce’s girlfriend. And if the aforementioned Kyle and Mel, meaning Melinda, were outside, that meant the other two were Bridgette and Monica, most likely. God, there were a lot of them.
“We’re here to help, but I’m getting my girlfriend out of here in one hour. It’s her last night in town, Linden. I want her all to myself tonight,” Sophie said to Linden.
“Understood,” Linden said, laughing as Sophie walked over toward Bryce.
“You have a lot of friends,” Rory noted.
“Some new. Some old. You can borrow them anytime if you want. Now, let’s get started. I have to get home soon. Asher has plans for us, apparently, and I can’t wait to get to all of them.”
“Was our Lyft driver just in here?” the second woman asked Linden.
“Huh? I don’t know. Why?” Linden asked.
“We got out of the car when she dropped us off, but Bridgette got a call, so she took it outside. I thought I saw our driver coming out the door.”
That made this woman Monica, who was engaged to Bridgette. It was all very confusing. Rory hadn’t ever had this many friends in her life, and somehow, Linden was able to manage it with relative ease.
“There was a woman, yeah,” Linden replied. “We just told her the place wasn’t open. This is Rory, by the way. Her friend, Candace, is the one who owns the place.”
“Hi. I’m Monica,” the second woman introduced herself, holding out her hand for Rory to shake. “And this is my fiancée, Bridgette.”
“Hey,” Bridgette said.
Rory shook Monica’s hand, wondering at her elegance in just a handshake, and then gave Bridgette a nod since she appeared to be a little less formal.
“Are you okay?” Bridgette asked. “You look a little red.”
“Oh. Yeah, fine. It’s just hot in here. Summer is already upon us, isn’t it? What’s the humidity like out there?” Rory rambled to cover up the fact that she was clearly flushed because a beautiful woman had just walked through the front door of Candace’s unopened bar.
“I am also not a big fan of the humidity around here,” Monica shared. “I’ve lived here through one summer now, and, God, it’s a lot.”
“Yes, it is,” Rory said.
“So, how can we help?” Bridgette asked.
“Candace has an idea of what she needs to focus on. I think tonight is mainly about moving everything away from the walls and giving them a fresh coat of paint. She’s already stripped off most of the old stuff, so it’s just primer and paint and maybe carrying some of the old furniture outside.”
“Yeah. I’ve got the junk people coming tomorrow, so that would be a huge help,” Candace added, walking over to them. “Hi. I’m Candace. This is my place. Thank you all for coming.”
“No problem,” Bridgette said. “Where’s Jill?” she asked and looked around the bar.
“Jill?” Candace asked.
“Our other friend,” Linden explained.
“You have more friends?” Candace asked.
“Several, yeah, but only a few close ones,” Linden said. “She told me she’d be here.”
“Hey,” yet another woman said as she walked through the door.
“Hey, Mel,” Linden greeted.
Then, a woman who must have been Melinda’s fiancée, Kyle, followed her in because she took Melinda’s hand.
“Hey,” Linden greeted her, too. “We were just about to get started.”
“Have you seen Jill?” Bridgette asked Melinda.
“She should be here soon. She’s just closing the office today,” Melinda replied.
A few minutes and yet another round of introductions later, Candace shared the story of her winning the lottery with everyone before she relayed what needed to be worked on tonight. Then, Kyle headed over to join Bryce and Sophie, who’d just lifted a table off the floor and were about to carry it outside. Not long after that, Jill, whom Rory had met briefly once prior to today when she’d run into Linden at a bar, walked through the door, and the introductions were done a final time for the night. They all got to work on their assigned jobs. Rory was busy cleaning up behind the bar, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the woman who’d walked in before and left just as quickly.