I think I want to go to college first,” I blurted out.
“College? You’ve never mentioned that before.”
“Yeah, well… the money might be good at Teddy’s, but I don’t want to work here forever.”
“Hey, I heard that!” shouted Teddy. “What’s wrong with being a lifer?”
I looked up to see him sitting at a table near the far side of the restaurant with Ben Santos, the unofficial bouncer at Teddy’s Tavern. The stack of leather-bound books in front of Teddy told me he was tallying up the weekly numbers. He winked at me and I smiled.
“Being a lifer means I won’t be able to take a month off to backpack across Europe. Mark my words—I will do that one day. But,” I drawled out in a teasing voice, “maybe I’ll stick around part-time just for you, old man.”
Ben snorted a laugh which earned him a scowl from Teddy.
“This place wouldn’t be the same without you,” Teddy grumbled.
“And what about me?” Natalia asked accusingly.
“Alright, you too,” Teddy begrudgingly admitted, but we could all tell it was in jest. “You girls keep this place running like a well-oiled machine, and the customers love you too.”
I was about to respond but the sound of a glass being slammed down on the bar stopped me.
“Hey, if you can wrap it up anytime soon, I need another drink down here!” yelled a man sitting five stools to my left.
I straightened quickly and headed his way. He was scowling, but I simply plastered a sweet smile on my face and reached for his glass—which I had literally filled just ten minutes before. I tossed Ben a sideways glance to signal we might need to keep an eye on the guy.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, sir. Another Jameson? Neat, right?”
“That’s right,” he confirmed, watching me through narrowed eyes. The guy wasn’t a regular customer, of that I was sure, nor did this seem like a place he’d frequent. Almost everyone who came to the upscale tavern looked like they just stepped off the pages of a Nordstrom catalog. The five-star restaurant reeked of class—but definitely not this guy. He was sloppy in an unbuttoned plaid flannel with a faded concert tee underneath. His hair was a mess and he desperately needed a shave. He appeared more suited for the crowd at the music festival than Teddy’s. Still, he was handsome in a rugged sort of way.
I grabbed a napkin, placed the drink on top of it, and slid it across the bar to him. I was about to ask if he needed anything else when he grabbed hold of my wrist. I tried to tug my hand free but he held firm as his gaze roamed up and down my body. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. When you worked behind a bar, getting hit on by guys who overindulged in their booze tended to be a nightly occurrence. Nine out of ten times, the best thing to do was kill them with kindness and move along.
“Would you like something to eat? The kitchen is technically closed but I’m sure I can get the cook to throw something together for you,” I told him with a sugary sweet smile on my face.
“I don’t want nothin’ to eat,” he slurred. “I heard the customers here love you. I can see why. What’s not to love about that tight little ass of yours? Gia, that’s your name, right?”
The smile I’d plastered on fell. When my strategy of killing them with kindness didn’t work, a blunter approach never failed.
“Gianna, actually. Only my friends call me Gia,” I pointed out, making it clear he was very much not my friend. When I tried to pull my hand away again, he only squeezed tighter. I took in his glassy eyes and a chill raced down my spine. He most likely started drinking well before he wandered into Teddy’s and he was giving me a serious case of the creeps. “Sir, please let go of me.”
“What if I don’t wanna?” he sneered.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ben jump from his chair. Before he could get to the creepy guy, another man with dark, wavy hair abruptly stood up. He’d been quietly sitting two stools down and I’d nearly forgotten he was even there. The dark-haired man grabbed the drunk guy by the front of his scruffy t-shirt and spun him around. Everything happened so fast yet it unfolded like a slow-motion video replay at the same time.