Chapter 2 #2
I’m impressed by the stoic demeanor Cato takes on.
“If that’s your excuse for cheating, it’s a weak one.
If you were a real man and a decent person, you would’ve confronted me.
Not found another dick to suck. You make me sick.
” He sticks out his hand. “I’ll take my extra apartment key too.
Anything of yours that’s at my place, I’ll arrange to have sent back. ”
Kyle reaches into his pocket, pulls out his keys, and after removing one, gives it to Cato. After grabbing his computer, he starts to walk off, but Cato calls his name.
“Did you ever love me?”
Kyle glances at the floor then back up again. “I think so. I guess I just wasn’t ready.”
He walks off, leaving a devastated Cato standing in front of me, shell-shocked. I do what any bartender worth his weight would and pour him a drink.
“On the house.”
He looks at it, grabs it, and slams it back, cringing as he swallows the tequila.
“Thanks.”
“I’m sorry, man. For what it’s worth, I had no intention of hooking up with him.”
Cato guffaws. “Why? Everyone else does.”
“Not my type. I’m more of a brunette guy.”
He smiles slightly, sliding onto the barstool. “I’m so stupid. I knew our relationship was failing, but I dug in and booked this romantic vacation to try to reconnect. I had no idea he was cheating on me.”
“You’re not stupid. Happens to the best of us. Happened to me too.”
“No way. Someone cheated on you? You’re…”
“What?”
“You know. You meet the bartender face code.”
“The what now?”
“Bartender face code. It’s a fact that all bartenders are hot. It’s a law or something.”
“Uh, thank you?”
The sound of a suitcase rolling through the lobby catches our attention. Kyle looks into the bar, regret all over his face, then turns and walks out the door.
“He’s gone,” Cato says, his voice catching in his throat. “Two years I invested in that guy. Oh well. I’m still young. Sort of. I’ll figure it out.”
I pour him another drink. “You’re young and very attractive. There will be something great out there for you.”
“Yeah.” He slams the tequila back. “Thanks for the drinks. I guess I’ll pack up and get out of here too. Maybe in a few hours so I don’t have to see him. With my luck, we’ll be on the same plane.”
“You should stay for the weekend. Decompress. It’s nice here.”
“What would I do alone?”
“Dude. This is San Diego. There are a million things to do.”
He shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“Hey. Don’t decide right now. You just went through a lot.” I study him for a second. He’s gorgeous, even with the sad face. Kyle is a dumbass. “I get off at six today. We could have dinner, and I can fill you in on all the cool things you could do.”
“Dinner?”
“On me. Least I can do after unintentionally exposing your boyfriend as a cheater.”
He laughs softly. “I think you did me a favor in the long run.”
“I do too. What do you say?”
“Sure. Why not. I’m already here, and you seem okay.”
“High praise.” I wink. “What room are you in?”
“Three hundred.”
I nod. “Meet here at six-thirty? It’ll give me time to put on street clothes.”
“That works. Uh, sorry I made a mess.”
“No worries. It was needed.”
Cato smiles, and it’s the first one that isn’t tinged with sadness. “See you later.”
“Later.”
Cato walks away, and I get to cleaning things up when Howie and Fitz come in, glancing around at the spilled fruit on the floor and the bar stool dripping in orange juice.
“What the hell happened in here?” Fitz asks.
The man hates for things to be out of order.
As the grounds manager, he has an astute eye, which mirrors his buttoned-up personality.
He catches people off guard with his striking looks, jet-black hair cut short to his scalp, bright-blue eyes like the sky on a clear day, and a jawline that could cut glass.
He’s hit on constantly, but his standards for dating are as high as those for the property.
“Public breakup. I was the eye of the storm.”
“What did you do?” Howie asks with his hands on his hips.
I raise my hands. “I’m innocent. I’m just a hot bartender doing my job.” I fill the guys in on what went down and how I plan to cheer up the guest and keep him here all weekend.
“How unfortunate he’s in the room he was sharing with his boyfriend,” Fitz notes.
“Yeah,” I agree.
Howie’s face lights up. “We should give him a room upgrade.”
“Can we?” I ask.
He nods. “We have the Sunset Suite available. Do you think that would lift his spirits? No one deserves to be cheated on.”
Howie is such a sweet, endearing man and a total romantic at heart. “I think it would.”
“That’s genius,” Fitz adds. “It’s got the gorgeous views, the sitting room, and that bathtub. That was a nice upgrade after the old one cracked.”
“It’s settled,” Howie says. “I’ll go tell him.”
“Uh, can I?”
Both men look at me with questioning faces.
“What? I feel responsible in a way. Plus, I talked him into staying. Let me be the hero.”
“Fair point,” Howie says.
“I’ll watch the bar,” Fitz says, stepping behind it with me.
“Great.” I remove my apron. “And if you see Oscar, tell him his dibs was a total loser.”