Page 62 of Cosmo

Chapter Eighteen

Abs helped Liam dressto look his best. He wore a tight green tank under a black mesh shirt, tight pants he knew would split right up the back the moment he tried the move on the bar he’d been practicing all day long.

“God, why can’t I just steal cars?”

“You can steal cars, but you can’t only steal cars.”

He grumbled, “That’s what I meant.”

“I know, but we’ve all been there, Cosmo. When you’re doing it with the crowd all watching and cheering you on, it’s different. They’re gonna just love you.”

Cosmo. The name he was becoming used to. The name meant he was part of something bigger than himself. He never thought the day would come that he wanted that so badly. To want to be part of a family.

Watching Abs smiling however, it reminded him of his little brother. The shining blond hair and big eyes of that kid that followed him everywhere.

The kid that wanted to go with Liam and their dad that fateful day. But Liam had wanted to go alone with their dad. He’dwanted to be away from his other siblings, just for a little while, to maybe feel a little special. Being special and unique was a hard road in a family with so many kids.

The regret had chased him all his life after. If he’d just let his baby brother come along…

“You okay? Where’d you go?”

Liam smiled sadly. “Somewhere I’ve been maybe too often. Time to live in the present.”

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah. Yeah, let’s go.”

The crowd was bigger that night than the previous weekend, and Liam felt his stomach knot. Those faces, all eagerly waiting for the hot bartenders to do their tricks and perform for them, and the others were waving, kissing cheeks in the crowd, and Hippy even let a couple of guys slap his ass before heading behind the bar.

Goldie immediately climbed onto the bar with a microphone Murphy handed him. “Dear people of Murphy’s Pub, welcome to the weekend!”

A cheer that could break all the windows in the place came out and Liam flinched a little. Abs was clapping for his best friend, and Haze was already taking drink orders. Liam figured he could jump in and do the same, so he started at the end of the bar and got orders for ten bottles of beer, two pitchers, and seven shots of Crown Royal.

While he got the order ready, Goldie went on, “Give generously to your bartenders, drink up, have fun, and be safe!”

Liam knew it was coming, but he still laughed as all but he and Haze got on top of the bar with Goldie and they danced in sync.

Four at a time on the stage was usually the norm. Haze was the best actual bartender, able to pump out drinks so quickly, it seemed supernatural. Liam kept up much better than the firsttime, and as soon as he pushed the drinks to the patrons, he was getting bombarded with more.

After the song, the others got off the bar to help catch up, all while smiling, flirting, and talking to those hanging over the bar to order drinks.

Liam got into a rhythm, getting shots poured, pitches of beer overflowing, getting the Irish dark beer poured into the large mugs, pushing them to the patrons with a smile.

Tips were getting left for him to stuff into his pockets, but the time that he’d have to do his own time on top of the bar was quickly approaching.

“Hundred-dollar shot for Cosmo,” Hippy yelled. “Get up there and pour that hundred dollar shot, Cos!”

It was time. It was his turn to do the dance and pour the double shot, and he felt himself freeze. Goldie wouldn’t allow that, and he got behind Liam and lifted him like he was half a sack of flour. “Get to it, buddy.”

After taking one glance back at them, they all nodded, encouraged him and with that, he swallowed and nodded back at them. He climbed up onto the bar from where Goldie held him and he moved onto the balls of his feet, trying to think over the din of the crowd, all cheering wildly and chanting his name.

“Cosmo, Cosmo, Cosmo, Cosmo!”

He cringed inwardly, but once he looked up, across the room, there stood Taran, and suddenly the rest of the crowd was gone, and it was only him, the guy that had come into his life like a sledgehammer.

Surging with the desire to not fuck up in front of Taran, he fell smoothly to his knees as the man who’d offered the hundred dollars shot backed up to the bar, bent backward so the top of his head was laying against Cosmo’s knees.

He was handed the bottles, and he looked to find Taran in the crowd, but there were too many between them for him to see the man. Still, just knowing he was there was enough.

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