Page 108 of Choose the Bears

“I will.” I left my cue propped against the pool table. “My heads not in the game. Someone else can take over.”

“Because you’re in looove…” another guy cackled.

But that wasn’t it. Daisy was gorgeous, but I didn’t feel the pull towards her like I had Maddie. Looking at the barmaid was like looking at a perfectly restored vintage car. I could admire her beauty while knowing I was never, ever going to get myhands on her. Right now, I focussed on carrying the empty glasses over, both Phil and Daisy looking up as I approached, but with completely different expressions.

“Hey, Jesse.” She blushed when I got close, then took the glasses from me. “You didn’t have to do that. I was coming over to grab the empties.”

To give her an excuse to get the fuck away from this prick.

“Saved you the trip,” I said, pushing them closer.

“So, is there anything else I can get you?”

I saw it all, everything she was offering then, both spoken and unspoken, and so did Phil. Those piss holes in the snow he called eyes narrowed, his mouth forming a thin line. Wanting him even more fucked off, I put on my best smile and answered Daisy.

“Let me drive you home tonight?”

I knew what she was thinking. I could almost smell the sweet scent of her surprised arousal as she stared at me.

“Oh, OK, yeah, that’d be amazing. I get off around twelve.”

“I’ll be here,” I promised, raising my voice just enough to make sure that dickhead heard me, then I rattled off the drink order.

“I’ll have another beer,” Phil said, shoving his warm one away from him with so much disgust it slopped on the bar.

“In a sec,” Daisy replied, barely sparing him a look over her shoulder. My order was prioritised, each drink lined up before I paid for the lot, then I turned and carried the drinks back to the pool table.

“She’s into you, that girl,” Greg observed as he sipped his fresh beer. “If you come in late to work tomorrow morning, I won’t dock your pay.”

“Daisy’s not the girl for me,” I replied as the others made ribald jokes. I met my boss’ green eyed gaze head on. “I’m not sure any girl is anymore.”

“Roxy will be pleased to hear that,” he said, turning back to the table to take his shot, but that had me frowning.

“Why the fuck would Rox give a shit about my love life?” I asked, but he just shrugged.

“Why the fuck would she ring me up, begging me to take on a new apprentice when I had no need for one?”

Mum always said don’t answer a question with a question, but that was all I was getting. Greg potted his first ball, then his second, moving around the table to finish the game in a series of economical strikes of his cue. The bloke who’d taken over from me groaned, but then the next competitor racked the balls, ready for the next game.

By the timemidnight rolled around, most of my companions had gone home, and so had much of the bar. Not Phil, though. He sat with the beer he’d ordered when I was standing there, only taking a few sips from it. I still had a pool cue in my hand as Daisy called for last drinks, starting the closing procedure, and I didn’t put it away. They made a reasonable weapon of sorts, and if push came to shove, I’d shove the end of mine right into Phil’s face, breaking his nose. I almost wanted that to happen, but he stayed right where he was, pushing his glass forward to be emptied when Daisy and one of the other barmaids cleared away all the glasses.

She wasn’t his focus.

The cues were subtle, but there if you needed to look. When Daisy bent over to get something from behind the bar, many a bloke stared into the deep V of her cleavage, but not Phil. It was when she was closing out the till that he really perked up. Phil looked like he counted each bill out, just like she did. I was moving without a thought, coming to stand by the bar when she looked up.

“You want the stools up on the bar?”

“You don’t have to do that,” she said with a shy smile.

“It’s OK. My brother…” My throat threatened to close at the mention of Bjorn. I hadn’t heard from him since I’d left town, and why would he contact me? I’d fucked him over in the only way I could. “My family owns a bar in the city.”

“Yeah?” Daisy cocked a hip. “Maybe I’ll have to go and have a drink there next time I’m in town.”

I nodded in response, moving fast to stack stool after stool on the bar. Part of me liked the way it created a wall between her and Phil, though the stools wouldn’t provide any real protection if anyone tried to attack her. I kept on stacking stools until I came to his.

“Look at you.” His sneer was supposed to intimidate me or something, but there was nothing a weaselly little prick like Phil Jackson could do that would hurt me. “Fucking beta cuck. You think doing her work for her will get you into her pants?”

“That what you think?” I stepped closer, making clear just how much younger, taller and fitter I was than this fuck. “Why am I not surprised that the only time you do anything for anyone is when it’s so you get something in return?”

---