Page 68 of Whiskey Neat

“Lowen thinks he’s in a Paris café still,” Ridley says, but his tone is full of affection for his friend. “We were trying to get him to realize we need something to hide the inevitable wear and tear.”

“Sorry, Lowen.”

He smiles. “It’s fine. I’ll give you this if you give me the light fixtures.”

Kit groans. “Seriously, Low?”

“How about we compromise?” Indy suggests. “You can put them in the bathrooms.”

Lowen scrunches his nose. “How is that a compromise?”

“It’ll be nice,” Indy says. “Like a…” He waves his hands. “An elegant break from the main bar.”

Ridley pushes a small cardboard picture toward me. “He wants those chandeliers and wallpaper.”

I look down at the swatches. The wallpaper is black with silver geometric swirls on it, and the light fixtures are very pretty, but definitely don’t read small town queer bar.

“I think it could be cool, Lowen. No one would be expecting swanky bathrooms in a place like this. We want to attract a diverse crowd from locals to students, so it would really appeal, especially to women.”

Lowen glances around the space for a moment before his face lights up. “I think I can get on board with this.”

Indy rubs my back before pulling his hand away abruptly and clearing his throat.

“Fine,” Lowen continues. “We can do the black fixtures for the rest of the place.”

Oakley approaches us. “Small update, guys. We can finish the office drywall today and get the new floors laid tomorrow if that works for you.”

“It does,” Lowen says, his tone all business now. “I have a side quest for me, Salem, and Indy.”

“What’s that?” Indy asks.

“We’re going canvassing. We’re gonna visit the other businesses in the area and talk to them about any potential partnerships and what their struggles are. I also have a business consultant coming to talk to us tomorrow. She’s agreed to give us a few quick and dirty lessons on running a restaurant.”

“Quick and dirty, just how I like it,” Kit says with a grin.

Lowen simply shakes his head. “Head in the game, Kit.”

“Oh, it is.”

“Why do I have to go canvassing?” Indy asks.

Lowen tilts his head before placing his hand under Indy’s chin. “Have you seen your face, gorgeous? Not that Salem and I can’t charm the masses, but our target market is different from yours.”

“You’re using me for my looks?”

“Absolutely. Leverage all your assets.” Lowen bats his mascaraed lashes. “The three of us cover all bases, plus the ladies like you. I wouldn’t know what to do with a woman’s attention.”

“Same.” I chuckle.

“Guess I’m going canvassing.”

Three hours later, Lowen, Indy, and I stumble into a local restaurant for a food break. We’ve covered most of Willow Bay and part of Clearbrooke, and I’m tired and hungry, but I’m also having a blast. Lowen and Indy together are pure comedy. Lowen is a diva in the best of ways, while Indy basically coddles him and gives in to his whims. It’s charming.

The restaurant has seen better days and smells like old grease, but I need some carbs, so it’ll do. A teenager walks over to our table, handing us sticky menus and looking like he’d rather be anywhere but here. That is, until he focuses on Indy. His face lights up and his acne-dotted cheeks turn pink.

“Hi, guys. I’m Paul. Can I get you some drinks?”

“Do you have sparkling water?” Lowen asks as Indy scoffs a laugh.

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