Play With Me - Brittany Cournoyer Page 0,2
her way behind the bar as we waited for our first customer to enter. We didn’t have to wait long.
Clancy’s had quite a clientele, something I’d never known because I hadn’t stepped inside until my initial interview. Applying for the job had been a whim, but I was grateful it’d worked out the way it had. I really liked working there so far, and the tips had been incredible. When Mina informed me that we split the tips, I didn’t think I deserved any since she did most of the work while I stood by and watched, but she’d insisted. And after going home my first night with a nice wad of money in my pocket, I felt the grip around my lungs loosen a little. Things were finally looking up, and since the Jennifer fiasco, I finally had hope that everything would be okay.
Mina kept a watchful eye on me as I pulled the first beer from the tap, instructing me on how to hold the glass just right to reduce the foam. And then I heard the smooth sounds of the brush sticks on the drums before the piano joined in followed by the upright bass. The only reason I knew any of those instruments was because I figured I needed to know at least a little bit about jazz if I was going to work at Clancy’s. So learning the proper names of the instruments played helped me appreciate more of what I was hearing.
Mina and I worked together to serve a few more customers as they trickled in, and soon the entire main area was filled with people spread out as they sipped on the drinks we filled and waitresses carried them different dishes they ordered. The entire time the band played the smooth music that somehow provided the perfect tempo to keep our rhythm going.
“You’re doing great,” Mina encouraged me with her wide smile before turning her attention to a group of women who’d just approached.
While I wasn’t versed on mixing numerous concoctions, I could make easier drinks like margaritas, daiquiris, or shake a martini. I was slowly learning everything else. If we had a huge crowd, Mina would delegate the easier ones to me, and if we only had a customer or two, she’d allow me to mix up the harder ones. George was right, though, I was learning. And I hadn’t had any epic failures—yet.
The next hour flew by, and aside from a few glimpses of the band, I really didn’t have much time to pay attention to them. The crowd was growing, and Mina and I were too busy filling drinks and taking orders for me to really care what they looked like. But the music they played was good, and the customers seemed to be enjoying it as well.
“This crowd seem bigger to you?” I asked her when she leaned over me to grab a bottle of tequila off the top shelf.
“It’s because of them,” she answered and jerked her head toward the band.
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Okay, maybe they did have a following, and the crowded bar proved it. But I used it to my advantage. I winked until my eyelid twitched. Smiled until my lips hurt. And flirted until I had a pocket full of numbers. Not that I’d use any of them. I’d put off dating for the foreseeable future, and it didn’t matter how many of the women at the bar were my type. I just wasn’t interested. Not until I straightened up my messy life, anyway. But that didn’t stop me from flirting and winking so I could get some tips, and hopefully in the process it made the women feel desirable for the few seconds of attention I threw their way.
I was shaking a martini when a sound I could only describe as pure sex filled the air. The sultry sounds had everyone stopping in their tracks to take notice, and all eyes were trained on the source—including mine. With my hand frozen mid-shake, I whipped my head toward the stage to find the source of the seductive sound.
The lights had gotten dimmer, something I had barely noticed since it happened a lot and I’d gotten used to it during the week, with a spotlight shining down on the sax player. The light was glinting off the golden saxophone in his large hands, which were covered in tattoos. His hair was pulled back in a messy bun, with a few loose, sweaty tendrils