Page 74 of Tease Me

Oh crap! Lady of the . . . I’m going to be sick.

“Anyway.” She opened the bottom drawer, removed her bag, and hooked it over her shoulder. “I’m off. Popcorn and movie night with the kids.” She hugged me to her chest. “Have a good one.”

“Thanks.”

The second Marjorietoddledaway, I collapsed into the chair.

A couple were asking for Memphis! Who could they be?

Oh jeez! Was it the couple I watched having sex back in April?

Or was it just a coincidence that two men were asking for Memphisat the same time?

That could be messy.

Aftersucking ina few deep breaths to steady my tumbling thoughts, I put the ‘back in five minutes’ sign on the counter and forced my wobbly legs to lead me into the bar.

The noise from both the people and the music bordered on deafening. The university students outnumbered the other slightly older patrons I spotted in the dim lights. I had a flashback to the young virgin who I’d experimented with months ago. He’d been a uni student.

I tried to recall what he looked like. Sandy blond hair,a trimmed goatee.As I weavedmy waythrough the gyratingthrongtoward the bar, I scrutinized all the blond men.

Tania was busy serving drinks, and both she and the bar manager, Pete, turned toward me as I stepped in behind the counter.

“Hey, guys. Busy night.”

“Sure is. This lot came in about an hour ago.” From Tania’s grin, I’d say she was happy with the crowd. Our usual demographic was much older than this, and I often thought Tania was out of place working in our bar. She was a pretty, petite blonde with a quick smile, and despite being just twenty-two, she had no problem handling unruly patrons who were often twice her age and size.

Asher attention was divertedto a young man at the serving station, I scanned the crowd, searching for a familiar face, but didn’t recognize anybody. Maybe they’ve gone. I wasn’t sure if I was happy or not about that, though. The curiosity alone was going to kill me. I needed to check the booths at the back to be sure.

“Would you like me to collect some glasses for you?”

Pete wiped his forehead across his sleeve. “Thanks. That would be great.”

I pushed back through the swinging gate andproceeded to gatherempty glasses dotted around the tables. With a row of empty beer glasses lined up my arm, I turned around, and the sight of the man in the corner booth hit me like a sonic boom. Bathed in a red hue from the fancy bar lighting sat the gorgeous magazine-worthy plumber from months ago.

Our eyes met, and a flood of fear ripped through me as recognition lit up his face. He waved, and when the other person in the booth turned around to look at me.

Oh farrkkk!I wanted to evaporate into thin air.

I was trapped in a mental frenzy as my trembling knees threatened to crumble me to the floor.

The plumber and the electrician were sitting in my bar. It sounded like a bad joke.

It wasbadnews, that was for sure. I forced my feet to move, and in a blur, I managed to offload the empty glasses. Despite my race to get out of there, I didn’t break any of them. After assuring Peter and Tania I’d pop in againa bitlater, Iscurriedback to my haven behind the reception counter.

But seconds later, my racing heart hit an explosive level as two of Memphis’s past conquests walked toward me.

They were stunning representations of the male species. The plumber could grace the center stage of any male revue show, while the electrician had that cute, you-can-trust-me-with-your-life look about him. They both grinned like drunken teenagers as they crossed the distance from the bar to me in long, confident strides.

“Hello, Jane,” the plumber said. “Do you remember me?”

My stomach contents were seconds away from launching upward as I shook my head and shrugged. “Sorry, no. Should I?” Hopefully, those wordsactuallycame out of my mouth.

“I’m Mickey the fixer.” His steely eyes drilled into me. “I’m the plumber you called a few months ago.”

“Oh, hi.” I waved.I’m an idiot.

“Yeah, and I’m Jackson. You remember me, don’t you?”

---