19. Ellie
Chapter 19
Ellie
“Slush, can you get that carton I left on the dolly in my office?” I ask the new daytime bartender. He’s a good kid. Definitely a kid. I mean, I’m not over the hill by a longshot, but he’s barely old enough to serve. His name is Billy, but for some reason he insists everyone call him Slush or Slushie. I shake my head again at just the thought.
Maybe I am older than I want to admit.
“Sure thing, ma’am.”
I close my eyes. Oh my God! ma’am ? I am old.
“Darn it,” grumble under my breath. It wasn’t that long ago I was making boys like him beg for my attention,” I grumble under my breath.
“You don’t need a boy, you need a man.”
My gaze immediately jerks to the man that just sat at the bar. I don’t know him, and yet there seems something familiar about him. He’s older, much older than me. If I had to guess, I’d say late forties, maybe even early fifties. He wears it well. He has black hair that is slightly long. It’s a jet black which might not be natural, but is appealing. He also has a goatee, which I always thought were weird, but on him, it’s a good look.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize we had a customer. It’s usually pretty quiet in here the first hour we’re open.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m enjoying the view,” he says and his grin borders on lecherous. He thinks he’s being flirty. With his looks, I’d imagine it works for him often. It doesn’t work on me, however. I’d like to say it’s because I have Liam in my life again, but the truth is something about this guy spells bad news and not in a hot night and regrets in the morning kind of way.
I jump down off the step ladder, wiping my hands on the cut-off jeans that I’m wearing.
“What can I get you to drink?”
“Will you have a drink with me?” he asks, his eyes darkening so much that they cause chills to run over me and again… they’re not the good kind.
“Sorry, don’t drink while at work.”
“All business and no pleasure?” he asks and there goes those warning bells inside my head again. I can’t say why this particular man seems to trip every alarm I have, but he does.
“What can I get you to drink?” I ask again, ignoring his flirting.
“Beer, house tap is fine.”
I grab the one of the glasses we keep chilled, fill it up, sliding it over to him with a fake smile.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re beautiful and I want to know. I really don’t want to call you ma’am either.”
“That I’d appreciate,” I respond, trying to let my guard down a little—not much, but as manager, I’m supposed to be friendly with the patrons. The last thing I need is for someone to file a complaint against me with Harvey. I don’t think he’d listen to them, but with Harvey it’s always better to be safe rather than sorry.
“So, your name?”
“Where do you want these, Ellie?” Slush asks, giving the guy my name. I don’t know what I would have said to the man, but for some reason, I don’t like him having my name. Maybe I’ve had too much caffeine this morning and just being silly.
“Ellie, is that short for something?” the guy asks. If nothing else, I could definitely give him points for persistence.
“I’m just Ellie,” I shrug, more or less lying, but it doesn’t matter. “Slush help me get these boxes around the bar and I’ll unpack while you take over.”
“You got it.”
“Ellie is a pretty name, but you look kind of exotic. You deserve a name to match. Your parents did you a great injustice.”
“You don’t know my parents. I’m just glad I didn’t end up with a name like Andromeda.”
“They were into Greek mythology?” he asks and I blink.
“Um…no. Geeky, Sci-Fi television shows,” I respond. For some reason, he laughs. The laugh feels fake, much like everything about him.
“How about you go out with me tonight, Ellie?”
“Sorry, I don’t date customers,” I tell him at once.
“I haven’t taken a drink of my beer yet. We can throw it away, that way I wouldn’t be a customer.”
“It still wouldn’t work,” I tell him. “I’m kind of seeing someone.”
It feels weird to think of Liam like that. I mean it’s not wrong. I woke up curled into him this morning. We’re not having sex, but we’re spending a lot of time together. We’re falling into old habits, which to be honest, I missed more than I realized. I’m laughing more and so is he. It’s early and he doesn’t know…everything, but it feels like we’re finding our way back to each other. Some things haven’t changed, but maybe my outlook has. I shrug away the thoughts. I’ll think about all of it later. I can only take things day by day right now and that’s what Liam asked me to do. This is important and I can’t let my fears keep me from trying.
“I didn’t figure a pretty thing like you would be single. But, maybe I could show you I’m a better option.”
“Well, I can say that modesty is not your problem,” I laugh.
“If I don’t know my worth, who will?” he says with a grin, but I got a feeling he’s not really joking. Still, I guess he’s not wrong. His is however, arrogant as hell. He reeks of it.
“I’m guessing everyone will know, because you’re the type to tell them,” I respond, studying him closely for the first time and trying to figure out why he makes me feel so uneasy.
“You make that sound like a bad thing, Ellie.”
“Not always.”
“But sometimes?” he prompts.
I wish I could figure out why he looks familiar. I can’t. I’m still certain I don’t know him, however. I guess it’s possible he’s been in here before. He’s wearing jeans and a faded t-shirt. It’s an INXS shirt, so he’s into rock music, I guess. I never liked the band, but that’s a personal choice, I guess. Plenty did.
“Hey, El? You got a phone call,” Trina calls from out back.
Saved by the bell.
“Excuse me for a minute,” I tell the strange customer, picking up the phone.
“Charlie, you can call me Charlie, Ellie. Our names kind of rhyme. Maybe that’s fate.”
“Charlie…” I repeat.
“You don’t like the name?”
“No, it’s a good name.” It is. Liam hates it, but that’s because his first name is Charlie and he loathes it. “My ex-husband’s name was Charlie.”
“Don’t hold that against me. Maybe you just got the wrong Charlie the first time around,” he says. Then, he puts down a fifty-dollar bill beside his untouched beer. “Be seeing you around, Ellie.”
“Hello?” I hear Fury growling through the phone, pulling my attention away from the man leaving the bar.
“Hey, Liam.”
“What was that shit about?”
“What shit?”
“Why are you talking about my first name, Ice?”
“Some customer said his name was Charlie and I just told him my ex-husband’s name was the same. Geez, did Captain grouchy pants forget his coffee this morning?” I mumble, walking from behind the bar toward my office. “Holler if you need me, Slush.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he responds and I cringe.
“Liam, am I old?”
“What?”
“This new kid keeps calling me ma’am.”
“Ice,” he growls.
“I’m serious, Liam. It’s freaking me out.”
“Christ, woman, you’re not even thirty.”
“I know, but it’s out there, floating around, waiting to drown me.”
“I can’t deal with this bullshit right now. I want to know why you were telling some fucker I’m your ex-husband.”
“Because you are. Liam, please focus here. He called me ma’am !”
“I told you I’d remedy that shit. You want a paper, I’ll come pick you up now. We’ll get you a fucking paper.”
“That’s not how this is done.”
“Seems to me it is.”
I breathe a heavy, annoyed sigh into the phone. “When I drown because I’m old, shriveled and thirty, will you still be this annoying?”
“If you drown, I’ll give you mouth to mouth. No more telling loser-assholes that I’m your ex. I’m your man, period.”
“You’re my ex and maybe my man,” I argue, knowing I’m even kind of lying, but enjoying arguing with him. “Besides how do you know he’s a loser? He could have been a really nice guy.”
“He’s at a bar hitting on a woman who belongs to someone else at ten-thirty in the fucking morning. He’s a loser.”
Okay, it should be said that Liam is kind of smart in an annoying, bossy as heck, kind of way. I ignore that, choosing to concentrate on the other part of what he said.
“Belongs to someone else? You make me sound like an old bag you pack your workout gear in and take to the gym,” I mumble.
“I can give you a workout if you want,” he says, his voice deepening in pleasure.
“Tell me why I like you again.”
“My big dick?”
“Liam!”
“You going to deny it, Ice?”
“Please tell me you’re not standing in the middle of the church right now?”
“What would it matter? God knows he gave me a big dick and he knows you like it, too.”
“I may kill you.”
“You remember the way you used to cry out and moan when I’d fuck you, Ellie? Everyone knew you liked my dick.”
I squirm in my seat, trying to ignore the way his words make my panties wet and my nipples harden. The problem is I do remember and God, I miss him.
“You’re impossible.”
“I’m horny, I need you.”
“You said you were going to give me time, Liam,” I remind him, closing my eyes because I want him just as badly.
“I will, but doesn’t change the truth. I need you, Ice.”
“I need you, too. I just…” I break off, because I don’t know what to say, I just know that taking the next step with him scares me.
“That’s enough… for now. ”
I sigh. There’s so much I could say—so much I should probably say. But, I don’t. Instead, I change the subject because that seems safer for now.
“I take it that Wolf didn’t show up this morning?”
“Not so far, no. I don’t want to leave yet, though. I was just checking on you.”
Warmth fills me. “I’m good, Liam.”
“Yeah, you are,” he purrs quietly, making the warmth inside of me intensify.
What am I waiting for?
“Can you take a lunchbreak?” I ask.
“It’s probably not smart.”
“I could bring lunch to you. We could eat outside on one of the tables in the church yard, or if you need to be more covert?—”
“Covert,” he laughs and I grin into the phone.
“We can eat in my vehicle.”
“I’ll take that, even though I shouldn’t. I want to see you, Ellie.”
“I’ll be there around one.”
“Sounds good, baby,” he says, his voice soft, as then he ends the call. I hold the phone for a little bit longer.
And I do it smiling.