Chapter Five – Sasha
Leaning in the doorway, I looked across the empty bar and watched as Avda chatted up that bartender.
Look, I got it, I did. She was cute. Seriously cute. Even I had noticed those sharp green eyes of hers, the way they seemed to cut through the bullshit of the crowds around her, leaving no room for anyone to try and push to the front of the queue.
I wasn’t sure why, but it was pissing me off, seeing the way Avda was coming on to her. The nerve he had, talking shit to me about kicking that guy out the other night, and now he was here, spending his time on shift trying to get this random woman into bed. Hell, maybe he needed me to get in the middle of it and remind him exactly how he should have been conducting himself...
Or maybe I just didn’t like him paying so much attention to someone else. I had to admit, there was something fun about pissing him off. Which, yes, was truly childish, but who could blame me? He wanted to do everything by the rules, and that had never been who I was. No, I was the guy who pushed up against the boundaries.
I strolled over to join them and noticed the tension in the air between them – oh, it was obvious that he was hoping something was going to happen here. My lips curled up into a smile as I sat down at the barstool opposite her, and Avda flashed me an irritated look.
”You need something?” he asked me, and I shook my head.
”No, I’m fine,” I replied casually, and I turned my attention to the woman behind the bar. ”How’s it going? I’m Sasha, by the way.”
”Jo,” she replied, and I extended my hand to her. She hesitated for a moment before she took it, but eventually, she did. Her fingers were slim and soft, even though she was likely working with her hands all day. I liked that.
Her eyes lingered on mine for a moment. I could tell she was trying to figure out exactly what I was doing here. Hell, it must have been weird, having me just turn up when Avda was so clearly shooting his shot, but I worked here, too. I was as much allowed to be a part of this as anyone was, right?
”Good to meet you,” I remarked, and she offered me a quick smile in return, sliding some glasses back into their place below the counter.
”So, you guys know each other?” I asked, shifting back in my seat slightly so I could see both of them.
”Sort of,” Jo blurted out. I cocked an eyebrow.
”Sounds like there’s a story there.”
”There’s no story,” Avda fired back, trying to shut me down.
”What do you think, Jo?” I asked her, ignoring him. ”You think there’s a story?”
She eyed me for a moment, then shook her head slowly.
”No, no story,” she agreed with Avda. I could tell from the way she was looking at me, though, that she didn’t really believe it. Hmm – interesting. Had the two of them hooked up before, and they were just trying to play it cool, make it like it had never happened? My eyes flicked between the two of them. They would have made a hot couple, that was for sure.
”Sounds like you guys are trying to cover something up,” I teased lightly, and Jo chuckled.
”Oh, trust me,” she replied. ”I can’t keep my mouth shut about anything. I’m always blurting out stuff I shouldn’t be.”
”Oh, yeah?” I asked her, grinning. ”Like what?”
”Oh, you know,” she replied, waving her hand vaguely. ”Just...just letting myself spill gossip that I would have been better off keeping to myself.”
”Yeah, but that’s the best kind,” I pointed out. I could feel Avda glowering at me, clearly trying to silently will me away and leave him and Jo to it, but I pretended like I didn’t notice.
Now I was here, in front of her, I had to admit, she was seriously hot. Up close even more so than from the distance I’d seen her before. I could imagine plenty of guys spending more money than they had intended when she was serving them, just hoping she would give them a little more of her time for their troubles.
”Not when I piss people off in the process,” she protested.
”I have a hard time believing that anyone could really hold a grudge against you,” I replied, and she laughed. Her cheeks turned slightly pink, and she glanced away from me.
”I wish that were true,” she replied. I settled into my seat and glanced at the beers lining the inside of the fridge behind her.
”I’ll take one of those,” I told her.
”Aren’t you working?” Avda asked me, his voice low. Damn, he was really annoyed – he wanted me out of here, and if anything, that was just making me more intent on sticking around.
”Not really, not yet,” I replied. ”My shift doesn’t start for another couple of hours. I can have a little drink before then, right?”
”You could,” Jo agreed, as though she didn’t want me to go anywhere.
”Hey, Avda, why don’t you get one too?” I suggested. I knew he didn’t want to, probably wanted to keep his wits about him, but he wasn’t going to let me look more chill and laid-back than him.
”Sure,” he muttered, and Jo grabbed us both a bottle of beer from the fridge behind her.
”Here you go,” she murmured, as she pushed the bottles across the table towards us, flashing us both a smile. I wasn’t sure exactly what they had been talking about before I came over here, but right now, I didn’t care. I just wanted to stick around a little longer, maybe get to know her a little better in the process – I didn’t know exactly where this was going to go, but I was enjoying Avda’s annoyance – and Jo’s attention – way too much to give up on this quite yet.
”To Jo,” I remarked, grabbing my beer and tapping it against Avda’s. ”Right, Avda?”
”Right,” Avda replied, his voice terse.
”Best bartender in town,” I added, and Jo’s cheeks flushed a little darker.
”Oh, I don’t know about that,” she protested, but she was smiling. She clearly enjoyed the flattery. And, to be honest, I liked flattering her. There was something about seeing her cute little reactions that turned me on, seeing how easy it was to get her a little flustered.
I knew that Avda wanted something from her. Hell, probably the same thing that I did right now. But honestly? I liked a little healthy competition. I felt like it kept things interesting. And I wasn’t going to let myself get scared off by someone like Avda, someone who was used to throwing his weight around and getting everything he wanted.
No, I wasn’t that easy to get rid of. And I wasn’t going to let his glare push me away from Jo. I lifted the beer to my lips and locked eyes with her as my mouth caressed the top of the bottle, and noticed how she darted her gaze away from me, her teeth resting on her bottom lip.
Oh, yeah. I got the feeling that this was going to be fun. The kind of fun that might land me in trouble, sure – but that was, as far as I was concerned, the best fun you could have.