Liam
My phone vibrated in my back pocket as I popped the top off a beer bottle and slid it across the bar to Jenna. I pulled it out and groaned when I saw my sister’s face light up the screen.
I slid my finger across the screen and brought the phone to my ear with a sigh. “Hello.”
“I heard you had a visitor last night.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Were you really having sex on the bar?” Madison asked.
“What? No! Is that what she told you?”
“She said she walked in and you were both stark naked in the middle of the bar.”
“We were not stark naked. We got a little carried away.”
“I’ll say. To hear Mama tell it, you had her spread out on the bar, going at it like jackrabbits.”
“Cute, Madison. Real cute.”
She laughed and I couldn’t help but smile. Last night was horrifying, but Gwen standing up for me like that was incredible. My mother was a force of nature, but Gwen held her own. I was proud of my girl, and made damn sure I showed her just how much last night—twice.
“Does this mean you’re not coming to brunch?”
I had a perfectly good out. After that little show last night, there was no way she would expect me to face her and Dad, but part of me felt it was time. I needed to show them how serious I was about my career choice, and about Gwen.
“No,” I said. “I’m not backing out.”
“Seriously?”
“We’ll be there.”
“We? You’re bringing Gwen?”
The kitchen doors swung open and Gwen came in with a tray of food balanced on her shoulder. “Yeah,” I said. “It’s time they come to terms with the fact that this is the life I chose.”
“Okay, well, it’s your funeral.”
“Thanks for the support, sis.”
“Anytime.”
“Tomorrow at eleven, right?”
“Yep,” she said.
“See you then.” I hit the end button on the phone and put it into my back pocket. Gwen slid her tray onto the bar and gave me a wary look.
“Everything okay?”
I smiled down at her, grabbed a bar towel, and tossed over my shoulder. “Never been better.”
***
Sean walked into the bar a little later, arms raised in victory. “Bachelor party!” The bar was kind of empty except for old Floyd and a few of the regulars who grumbled their annoyance and went back to their beers.
Sean dropped an arm around Floyd’s shoulder. “What do you say, Floyd. You in?”
“Get the hell off me,” Floyd said, brushing Sean’s arm away from him.
“Okay.” Sean held up his hands in surrender. “Floyd’s out.” He turned to me. “Liam?”
“What?” I asked.
“Drew’s Bachelor party Saturday night. You in?”
“I don’t know, man. Saturdays are pretty crazy around here.”
“So? Jason can take care of things and Sam’s got the kitchen. What do they need you for?” I gave him a pointed look. “Come on. This is Drew. He’s only getting married once. Okay, maybe twice, but still it’s gonna be epic.”
“What is epic code for? Strippers and a crappy buffet?” I asked him as I popped the top on another beer for Floyd. I slid it down the bar to him and watched as it sailed right past him and off the end, shattering on the floor. I dropped my head, defeated, and opened up another beer setting it down in front of him this time. Then I grabbed the dust pan to clean up the mess.
“Actually,” Sean said as he nervously rubbed at the back of his head. “The strippers are a no go.”
I laughed. “Alex put a stop to that?”
“No,” he said. “Alex was cool with it. Madison, however, was less than thrilled.”
I shook my head at him. My sister sure had him by the balls.
“So what’s the plan then?” I asked, bending down to clean up the mess.
“Party bus pub crawl. We start here at eight for the preflight, then head out from there.”
I stood up. “Come on, Sean, I work in a bar. The last thing I want to do on my night off is go to one.”
“I hate to break it to you, but the groom requested your presence and if the man says he wants you there, then you’re obligated to show.”
I sighed. “Fine, but I’m not wearing a dumbass t-shirt or flashing neon boob beads.”
“We’ll see about that,” he said, pointing at me as he backed up toward the door.
As he left he yelled “Bachelor party!” once more for good measure then headed out the door.
I shook my head and laughed as I poured the shards of glass from Floyd’s missed beer in the trash.
“Someone needs to up his dosage,” Floyd mumbled as he took a sip of his beer.
Gwen appeared at the serving station. “What’s so funny?”
Floyd smiled so wide at her I thought for sure his dentures were gonna fall right out of his mouth. I watched his eyes flick down to her chest which was thankfully covered in black work t-shirt, a tight one, but at least they were covered.
“Hey,” she snapped. Floyd and I both looked up from her chest. “Eyes up here, buddy.” She pointed to her face and I swear I saw a hint of pink flood through Floyd’s leathery skin.
Gwen set her tray on the bar and turned her attention back to me, now that Floyd had been put in his place. She leaned her elbows on the bar, pushing her boobs up and my eyes back down. “You too,” she said. I laughed and shot her a wink.
“So, what was so funny?” she repeated.
“Nothing. Sean.” The name required no further explanation.
“Sean’s here?” she asked, looking around the nearly empty bar.
“He came in to con me into going to Drew’s bachelor party.”
“You’re going, right?”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
“He’s your friend, Liam. You should go. Besides, when was the last time you actually left this place?”
“Well as a matter of fact I…”
She held up her hand to stop me. “Poker doesn’t count.” I opened my mouth again, but she wasn’t done. “Neither does football.”
She had me there. That pretty much summed up my life.
“You should go. Have fun with your friends. Cut loose a little.”
“What about you?” I asked. I folded my arms and leaned on the bar toward her just enough to catch the sweet scent of her shampoo.
A grin spread across my face as the scent triggered the memory of fucking her against the shower wall this morning. She came so hard that she dug her nails into my back and drew blood. The ache in my shoulder every time I had to reach for something made my cock twitch in response.
She bit her lip and tried to hide her grin, clearly very aware of where my mind had wandered.
“You spend just as much time here as I do.” I smiled and watched as her tongue flicked over her bottom lip.
“Where am I going to go?” she asked. “It’s not like I’m invited to the bachelorette party.”
I stood up. “I don’t know. What about your friend? What’s her name, Daria?”
Gwen laughed. My lips instantly turned up at the sound. “Dalia,” she said.
“Close enough.” I shrugged. “So call Dalia.”
With a tilt of her head, Gwen began to consider her options. “I guess I could give her a call. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll call Dalia and plan a girls’ night if you go to Drew’s party.”
“What do I get if I agree?”
A wicked grin lit her face and she grabbed her tray and walked away. The promise of my reward lingered in the air.
Floyd watched her go. His focus never left her ass until she disappeared into the kitchen. Then he turned back to the TV and took a sip of his beer. “You two aren’t fooling anyone, you know,” he said.
I smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, you do. Lucky son of a bitch.”