Alive #4
“I think most of the bar did.” The man laughed.
“Oopsie. Yeah, I’ve been a couple times.”
“Where’d you grow up? And what’s your name?”
“I’ve lived a few places but I’m from Newark, New Jersey. And I’m Mina.”
“Nice.” The guy nodded before the rest of his group loudly beckoned him over. “I’ll be back for more in a bit.” He winked at me and walked away.
By the time I finished with the next couple customers, Ari was talking to Sean, Nate was helping the only remaining person, and Dennis was playing pool with two guys I’d never seen before.
He was about to shoot when he looked up instead. Our eyes met and my stomach fluttered. I could sense his feelings at the moment; a mixture of arousal and something I couldn’t put my finger on. He smiled before going back to the game.
“Who is that?” Friend number one asked. “I saw her get Melissa off your ass just now. It’s about time someone did.”
I leaned against the bar, watching them intently. There were no customers at the moment so I may as well eavesdrop.
“That’s my bind,” Dennis hesitated before adding, “Emy.” He took a shot and the balls scattered, sending two solids into two separate holes.
“That’s your bind?” Friend two asked.
“I think I’ve seen her around town before,” Friend one said. “Some car honked and she started yelling and kicked a tire before her friend grabbed her and they ran away.”
Dennis laughed. “Sounds about right. That must’ve been her cousin. They’re always together.”
“Must be fun.”
Dennis only smirked. He took another turn at the pool table and hit a ball in. Friend two glanced up and I pretended to clean a nonexistent spill on the counter.
“That’s your bind?” Friend two repeated.
“Yes,” Dennis sounded a little annoyed, “she’s my bind.”
“You lucky fuck.”
“That’s an understatement,” Friend one mumbled. ”I thought you were exaggerating. Guess not.” He took a shot and missed. “Didn’t you say she’s really playful? She seems…”
“Not playful,” Friend two said. “Are you sure she’s as sweet as you said?”
Rude. I didn’t appreciate being judged so hard.
Dennis studied his friends and leaned against the wall as friend two took a shot. “It depends if you’re on her good side,” he said. “If she likes you, she’s adorable. If she hates you, she might try to kill you.”
The description made me laugh. Suddenly all eyes turned to me.
Whoopsie. I smiled and waved, making friend one turn red and friend two stare like a deer in headlights.
Dennis was the only one who didn’t seem to care I’d overheard.
He walked around the table to take another shot, leaving me with no view and nothing to be nosy about.
I pouted and went back to work, falling into a groove alongside Sean while a line gradually formed. Eventually we went to break and left Nate to hold down the fort. When we returned, lots of people were in the bar but none were actively ordering drinks.
“Perfect timing. I’m off.” Nate gathered his tips and went to clock out. “Bye, guys.”
“See you later,” I said as he passed. And then I spotted Johnny arriving to replace Nate. He didn’t seem to notice me yet, so I went to Ari while it was still dead. “Johnny’s here,” I complained, flopping atop the bar.
“Shhh, I think they’re talking about you,” she whispered. “I’m pretending to text but I’ve been listening to their convo.” Her eyes subtly flicked toward two men several feet to the left.
“Ooh, fun,” I whispered back. I tuned in to hear one of them bring Johnny into the conversation.
“You missed it,” the guy was saying, “our new coworker went off on Melissa.”
“Who did?” Johnny asked.
“I think her name is Mina.” The guy nodded toward me—I could see it from my peripheral while I pretended to be preoccupied with Ari.
“Here you go, sweetie. Have a good night.”
I jumped slightly as some guy slid a twenty toward me. “Thank you,” I called after him, then placed the tip with my growing stash.
“Hey, new girl!” Johnny shouted. “Come over here.”
“Yeah?” I strode over with no smile on my face. I didn’t appreciate being referred to as ‘new girl’ or shouted at. Especially when I was already super close.
“You’re Mina?”
“Sure, why not.”
“So what happened?”
“With what?”
“Tell him how you threatened to kick Melissa’s ass,” the other guy said.
I shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell. We were just talking.”
“Stop being so modest. Melissa was harassing Dennis and she swooped in and told her to fuck off. Scared her shitless. I’ve never seen someone shut Melissa up so easily.”
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Michael. I’m off today, but I work here too.”
“You’re cute,” I said, looking him over. “This could be fun.”
He was ridiculously cute. Adorable smile, deep brown eyes, dark hair that was covered by a backward hat, and a nice watch on his wrist that somehow completed his style. I approved of all this.
“Hey new girl.” A much less cute guy was on the stool beside Michael. He looked like a nerd. “I’m Alan. I work with you too. I’ve been hearing a lot about you.”
“Yeah? Like what?” I straightened up and adjusted my top while I waited. And then I noticed it was taking forever to get an answer because Michael and Alan were both gawking at my cleavage. I cleared my throat.
“Oh. What? Uh,” Alan blinked and adjusted his thick glasses, “well I know you’re Dennis’ bind. And that you became a vamp after only a week and a half of being bound.”
“Oh cool, you guys have met Emy.” Sean joined in. “These are the rest of the bartenders.”
“I thought your name was Mina,” Alan said.
“Again?” Sean laughed.
“My name is Emery, but I tell guys my name is Mina when I’m hitting on them or vice versa. You guys can call me Emy. Well, not Johnny.” I shot him an icy look before stating, “You call me Emery. Not Emy, not ‘new girl.’ Call me by my name.”
“So you were hitting on me?” Michael asked.
“Maybe.” I smiled coyly.
“Vixen, I’m leaving.” Dennis walked past without so much as a glance our way.
“Don’t forget to come back to talk to my uncle,” I called after him.
“I’ll be there,” he said. And then he was gone.
“Now you’re Vixen?” Alan asked. “So many names.”
“That one’s my middle name. And my old stripper name.”
Johnny made a face. “I can see that.”
“Can I call you Vixen?” Alan asked.
I laughed and shook my head. “Nope. That’s reserved. Also, please stop with the judgement, Johnny. You’ve pissed me off multiple times already. If you stop now, we can start over. I don’t want enemies at work.”
“Since when do you care about making enemies?” Ari asked, moving to sit beside Alan.
“Who’s this?” Alan asked, looking her over. I was already getting pervy vibes from this one.
“That’s my cousin, Aurelia.”
“I go by Ari,” she said, giving a friendly smile.
A group of customers came to the bar, and Sean and I got back to work while Ari kept getting to know the other guys.
The rest of my shift passed quickly. I stayed near Sean for the most part, fixing drinks on my own but asking him the occasional question.
Johnny joined us behind the bar but I barely interacted with him.
Before I knew it, it was time to go home.
“Bye, Sean.” I said as I left through the swingy door. My shift was a bit shorter than his since I was still training. “Are you sure you wanna stay?” I paused beside Ari.
“Instead of riding with you? That sounds horrific. I’ll wait for Sean to get off.”
“You’re so dramatic. I’ll see you later.”
We said our goodbyes and I headed home.