job soon,” Jasper says, leaning against the end of the bar and basically sticking his nose right between us.
“I’d like to see you try my job for just a day,” I smart off to Jasper.
“I would dance circles around you, my friend. Everyone knows my hip action is much better than yours.” He winks at Mallory, who seems a little confused. “Ahh, this is your first night shift. Well, sit back and relax, Mal. You’re in for a treat.” He gives me a wide grin and shoos me away.
Reluctantly, I back away and start filling drink orders. Jasper takes the seat Shannon vacated and gets comfy beside my girl. My girl. No, I haven’t made it official, but after seeing guys try to flirt with her all night, I know there’s no fighting it any longer. She’s mine, whether she knows it yet or not.
When the timer goes off behind the bar, I stop by one last time at the end of the bar. “It’s almost time,” Jasper says, smiling so widely he resembles the Joker.
“Time for what?” Mallory asks, glancing between the two of us.
“Oh, just watch, love. You’re in for a real treat tonight,” my friend adds, relaxing on his stool beside her.
I turn my attention to the woman at the end of the bar. “Don’t hold this against me, okay?”
“Oh, now I’m nervous,” she replies with an uneasy chuckle.
As Jameson finishes his song, a round of applause echoes throughout the room. It’s immediately followed by silence as I make my way to the jukebox for our weekend ritual. I slip a quarter into the machine, as everyone waits. I already know which song I’m looking for and find it easily in the playlist. I press the correlating buttons and wait for the opening notes to play. As soon as they do, the room erupts into cheers.
“Kickstart My Heart” plays, fast and full of energy. It’s not lost on me that it’s exactly how I feel when I see her. My heart starts to pound heavy in my chest and sometimes it’s even hard to breathe when she’s near.
Bar patrons start to sing as I make my way back to my bar. This time, I stop in front of it, at the place where our servers order their drinks. Placing my hands on the hardwood, I hoist myself up to cheers and accolades around me. First thing I do when I’m on the bar is glance down to Mallory, who’s watching with wide, laughing eyes, her mouth hanging open.
With one quick wink for only her, I start to shake my hips in rhythm with the song, which is fast. I completely ignore the hands on my calves as I dip and grind. Kallie throws me a ball cap, which I place on my head backward. I start to move, my hips, but also my feet. They carry me toward the end of the bar.
Toward Mallory.
When we hit the final refrain, I reach down and steal Jasper’s drink. He knows it’s coming and just shakes his head like he does every weekend. I throw back the shot of tequila, drop the glass in his hand, and throw my arms to the side. When I belt out the lyrics I know by heart, my eyes connect with hers. She seems shocked, but excited by the scene playing out directly in front of her.
As the song nears the end, glasses are raised in the air as everyone sings along. I extend my hand down to her, but she quickly shakes her head. The happiness I saw in her eyes rapidly replaced by fear, like the thought of getting up here terrifies her. Instead of insisting she come up and dance with me, I just wink and finish my dance.
When the song officially ends and the next one in the jukebox begins, I hop down off the bar to more cheers and head their way. Jasper’s grinning, sipping the fresh drink he grabbed himself behind the bar.
“So, you’re a stripper,” she says, her eyes sparkling with delight.
I bark out a laugh. “No way. My clothes always stay on. Here.” That last word is a little lower and a whole lot dirtier.
“Walker, let’s go,” Kallie hollers, as bodies line up around the bar. This is when we get the busiest. Jameson is done playing, and the Mötley Crüe dance reminds them closing time is near.
“I’ll be back,” I tell her, tapping the bar top, and jumping in to start pouring drinks.
The last hour