Chapter Eight
Riley
I hadn’t expected to get along so easily with Silas. He’d seemed nice the first time we had met, but I’d worried afterward that it might be awkward. But since the moment he walked in, the two of us had not stopped talking. I was actually a little sad to leave after having lunch with him. I would much rather have spent the evening getting to know him instead of going to work.
When I arrived, the entire staff was there. The pub was closed, and I took my seat in an empty chair and waved to Paisley across the room. Our boss held these meetings once a month, which were always incredibly dull for me. He mostly went through what changes were going to be made, most of which never happened, and detailed how the previous month had been in terms of sales. I don’t know why he thought we cared. Sure, he ran the pub, so it was important to him. But most of us were just working to make some money until we found something else to do with our lives. Nevertheless, I did what I normally did at these meetings. I plastered on a smile and nodded throughout his speech as if it were the most interesting topic in the world. I kept eyeing the drinks behind the bar and wondering how much better the meeting would’ve been if we had all been allowed a glass of wine to see us through.
When the meeting was over, I went to speak to Paisley. I made a face.
“I hate meetings,” I said.
“Same. Talk about a snooze fest. So, tell me everything!”
I frowned. “Tell you everything? About what? The meeting? Weren’t you listening? Although, I’m not the best person to ask. I wasn’t really listening much myself,” I said and giggled. I looked around to make sure my boss wasn’t close by.
She rolled her eyes. “Not the meeting! I want to know all about your new roommate.”
I laughed. “Oh. Sorry, I’m clearly not thinking straight. Well, he seems nice. I don’t know him very well yet. He only moved in today. But we already get along. He’s cool. He seems like a very genuine guy. I get a good vibe from him.”
“Is he good looking?”
I immediately thought of those green eyes and the beautiful lips that were always turned upwards, and smiled. “Oh yeah. He’s gorgeous.”
“And you’re sure he’s not some weirdo?”
“I’m not sure. I mean. He doesn’t seem like one. He seems nice. But I guess you never know.”
“Riley! You’re not supposed to say that to me. You’re supposed to reassure me that he’s fine. Now I’m going to be worried again. What if he really is some complete weirdo and you’re going to be all alone with him at night. What if right now he’s going through your underwear drawer? What if he is a serial killer and he wants your skin to make a lamp to add to his collection?”
I burst out laughing. “Paisley! Your imagination is beyond wild. I have no idea what he’s really like but I seriously doubt that he is any of those things. I think it’s safe to say he’s probably sitting in his room right now going through his boxes. If he is snooping around the house, I wouldn’t blame him, though. It’s the sort of house that makes you want to snoop.”
She sighed. “Well, I hope you’re right. I’m going to have to come over one of these days to meet him. I need to give him a talk so that he understands that as your best friend I am going to be watching his every move.”
“Don’t scare the poor guy. Just come over and talk to him like a normal human being. Just now he’s going to be the one scared of living with me.”
“Good. We must keep him on his toes.”
I chuckled. “You’re crazy.”
Our boss suddenly appeared behind us and made me jump. Thankfully he hadn’t walked in earlier when we were talking about him.
“Okay, you two. Enough chatting. Time to get to work.” He smiled at Paisley and frowned at me as if I were the culprit and she was the innocent one.
The moment he was out of earshot, I turned to Paisley. “That man loves you.”
“Only because I flirt with the men. It’s good for business. Although, there is something to be said about your method too. Some of the guys like the chase that you provide.”
“I don’t do it so that they can chase me. I do it so that they can leave me alone.”
She laughed. “Trust me, some of the guys like that about you. Come on; we better get to work. Doors are open.”
I peered toward the front door and groaned. How were there already so many people streaming through when the pub had only just opened? Did they queue outside? I still had no idea what was so special about this pub over all the others. It just had a good reputation, and because of this, it was always busy. A guy came up to me and smiled, asking for my number.
“I can give you a drink, but not my number,” I said and smiled sweetly at him. “What will it be?”
He grinned. “How about you get me whatever you want,” he said and handed over some bills to me, “And slip in your number without your boss seeing? I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
I took the bills and walked over to the bar to get him a drink. Did he really think that I was just going to give him my number like that? I was impressed with his confidence but not enough to make me want to go out with him. I came back and handed it to him and told him that my number was nowhere to be found behind the bar.
“You’re a funny one. It’s okay. I don’t really need your number because I know where to find you. I’m more than happy to follow you around and pretend like this is our first date.”
I laughed. “That’s the strangest first date I’ve ever heard of. I’m sure you’ll find someone here that will actually go on a date with you, though. No offense or anything, but I have to work. If you need something else to drink, just call me.”
He started to protest, but I quickly moved away. I knew it wouldn’t be the last time that I heard from him. Paisley was right: the guys here loved chasing after me when they thought they couldn’t get me. I don’t know why they bothered. I’d never once given into any of their flirtations. It wasn’t that I was a prude or anything, but I knew that they were the sort of guys that would get with any girl that came their way. I didn’t want to just be some random pick for a guy. I wanted a guy to want to be with me because he actually liked me. I often felt like working at the bar had put me off guys for life. I’d seen far too many things I wished I hadn’t seen.
It was a long night, but I made some good tips. I knew I would. Friday was the best night to work to make money, with most of the staff fighting for a spot. We locked the door, and I sat with Paisley going through our tips.
“Wow, you made a lot today,” she said as she admired my pile.
I laughed. “Yeah, more than usual. But still not as much as you.” As usual, she had made probably double the amount that I had. She was so good at this job. I had told her on so many occasions that even when she stopped bartending that she should make sure she dealt with people. She was good at it.
“What can I say? Some of us know how to flirt.”
“That one guy was flirting with you a lot,” I said. “And I must say, you’re my friend, and even I thought you looked like you were enjoying it.”
“Where do you think I got most of this money from?” she said and chuckled. “And yeah, he was actually one of the better ones of the night. Although, he got to be a bit much near the end. I hate the end of the night. The drunk guys are the worst. That’s when I stop enjoying the job. So, are you ready to go home to your new stranger?”
I laughed. “I’m sure he’s fast asleep. It’s pretty late.”
“Or maybe he’s sitting in your room without any clothes on, just waiting for you.”
I laughed. “You seriously need to stop watching these creepy movies.”
“Okay, but call me if you suspect anything strange going on. Promise me?”
“I promise you.”