Tuesdays weren’t any busier than Mondays, but with Erin behind the bar, I had once again been assigned the front of the house, so my section was the first to fill up. And it had been nonstop from the moment I arrived at work—only a few minutes late today, but Frank hadn’t been there to scold me.
I had come in with a goal in mind, knowing my earnings needed to total six hundred by the end of the week or I wouldn’t have enough for rent. Gran’s disability check only dented what I owed each month, and the bar made up the large difference. As for tonight, I hoped to have at least a few hundred in my apron before I was cut. To earn a little extra, I’d prepaid for some cheap shots that I kept on my tray, offering them to my tables as an add-on or to anyone who passed by, like the couple on their way to the restroom.
I moved into their path and held out one of the shots. “Sex on a Barstool?”
“Hell yes,” the man said, opening his wallet. “She’ll take one.” He set a twenty in my hand. “And two for me, please.”
I gave him the small glasses, and then I was on my way to my section when I heard my name come from somewhere behind me. An almost-faint sound as it faded into the loud music but in a voice I couldn’t forget.
I turned around, searching the faces until I found his.
Ashe.
A baseball hat covered his hair and sat low over his forehead, causing a shadow to hover above his eyes. Still, there was no mistaking who he was, and his tall, athletic build was coming straight for me.
“Hi,” I said, hearing the shock in my voice.
He stopped only inches away, his cologne surrounding me like it had when I ran into him in the hallway—a scent that was a combination of sandalwood and green apple. “Hey, Pearl.”
His smile was so powerful that I was surprised a director hadn’t convinced him to go the theater route.
“Want a shot?” I teased.
He took the small tumbler from my hand. “What is it?”
The concoction didn’t have an official name. Erin had just poured a few juices together and topped it with a splash of vodka.
“Let’s call it An Easy Lay,” I said, laughing.
His grin widened, and he swallowed the mixture. “You’ve been in my bedroom; we both know there’s nothing easy about you.”
As his words registered, a heat moved across my face.
Rather than responding, I watched him take out his wallet and place a twenty next to the empty glass.
When I tried to give him change, he wouldn’t take it, and he said, “I didn’t know you worked here.”
I thanked him for the extremely large tip and then replied, “For almost two years.”
“Dylan and I come here all the time. Why haven’t I seen you?”
“I’m sure you have; you just didn’t notice me.”
Even with the area so dark around his eyes, I felt his stare all the way inside me.
“I would have noticed … you’re impossible to miss.”
I was sure he could see my reaction by the color my face was turning.
Not knowing what to say, I asked, “What brings you in tonight?”
“Dylan.” He took a sip from the glass he’d been carrying. “He wanted to get drunk and wasn’t going to take no for an answer.” He adjusted the top of his hat, lifting it enough to show me that beautiful blue stare before tightening it over his head again. “Can I buy you a drink, or is there no drinking while you’re on the clock?”
“That’s really nice of you to offer, but I don’t drink.”
“Ever?” When I shook my head, he added, “How do you have the patience to work here?”
“The tips make it worth it.” I held the edge of the tray against the bottom of my chest. Even though I hadn’t felt his gaze move to that area, I felt so exposed when I was around him. “A lot of the servers spend all of their money here. I don’t have to worry about that, not like if I worked at a grocery store.”
His lids narrowed as his tongue slowly licked across his bottom lip. “You’re intriguing. More so each time I talk to you.”
The same was true about him.
But so was something else.
“Ashe, you’re a dangerous distraction.”
He laughed, a deep, honest noise that made him even more attractive. “That’s an interesting choice of words.”
“If you knew me, you wouldn’t think so.”
“That’s all I’ve been trying to do. But every time you’re within my grasp, you run from me.”
I held the tray even tighter, the plastic rim digging painfully into my ribs. “I’m afraid tonight isn’t going to be any different.”
His lips parted, their fullness almost taunting me, causing me to imagine what they would feel like to kiss.
That certainly wasn’t what I needed.
And that was why I stuck with men who weren’t tempted to ever call again, whom I wouldn’t ever grow feelings for.
Because feelings were the very last thing I needed.
I forced myself to take a step back and another.
“Where are you running to now, Pearl?”
I chewed the corner of my mouth, a heaviness lodging deeper into my chest the more I separated us. “I have to get back to work.” My thumb had been holding his cash, so it wouldn’t fall onto the floor. I waved the twenty in the air. “Thanks again,” I said, and I turned around.
When I reached the bar, I was out of breath. Not from the short distance I’d walked or the speed I’d used. All the air in my lungs was gone because of him. His eyes, his presence, the sensations he caused each time I was around him.
“Are you all right?” Erin asked, lining up several shot glasses to make me another round. “You look like you were just ravished against a wall.”
I reached up, flattening the top of my hair and then pressing my cold hand against my warm cheek. “I feel like I was.”
My fingers returned to the bar top, clinging to the edge. I could feel Ashe’s stare, the intensity like a fire burning me from the inside. It was strong enough that I glanced over my shoulder, searching for him in the space we had just been standing in.
But the spot was empty, Ashe no longer there.
That should have made me relieved.
Except it didn’t.