Page 67 of Suck My Puck

I smile, flattered. “Oh gosh, thank you. That’s so nice of you say. I lucked out, my hair is naturally wavy. You should see it on a humid day though. I look like a chia pet.”

Everyone chuckles.

“You always have pretty hair, Dakota,” Sam says.

Dakota smiles at him. “Thanks.”

I collect their empty glasses. “Would you all like a fresh pitcher of beer or any other drinks?” I ask.

The guys ask for another pitcher. Maya, Ingrid, and Dakota ask for a bottle of Prosecco to share.

“And for you?” I ask Dakota’s boyfriend.

“Do you happen to serve affogato? Or segnato?” he asks.

I stand there for a second, processing the randomness of his request. “Uh, no. Sorry. We’re a bar so we don’t serve coffee.”

He frowns. “Hmm. That’s a shame. A few bars in Denver are starting to add coffee to their menus. A lot of places in Italy and Spain and France do it too.”

“Oh. Cool.” My tone comes off more sarcastic than I mean it to.Like, what the hell does it matter what bars in Italy, Spain, and France are doing? This is Colorado.

I clear my throat. I hear Braden, Theo, and Xander stifling a laugh.

Dakota chuckles while looking between me and her boyfriend, almost like she’s nervous. “Jake isn’t big on alcohol. He’s more a coffee drinker,” she says quickly.

Part of me wants to say that so am I, but I know better than to try and order coffee at a bar.

But instead, I put on my best customer service smile and look at Jake. “We’re an alcohol-only bar unfortunately. But if you want a great affogato, the gelato place in Villa Park has the best affogato in the city.”

Jake frowns. “Coffee at an ice cream place? Can it be that good?”

“Gelato, not ice cream. And trust me, it’s amazing. Italians know what they’re doing when it comes to coffee and gelato,” I say.

He nods like he’s thinking carefully about it.

“I can’t say that I know who does the best segnato in Denver,” I say to Jake. “Not a lot of coffee places even have that on the menu. But there’s an ice cream place called Sweet Cheeks and one of their new flavors is caramel segnato. It’s life changing.”

Maya beams. “You like Sweet Cheeks? My sister-in-law owns that place.”

“Really?”

She nods excitedly.

“Best ice cream in Denver, no contest,” I say. “I go there every other week, at least.”

“I’ll tell Becca you said that. She’ll be over the moon,” Maya says.

I tell them I’ll be back with their drinks and head backover to the bar. I’m in the middle of pouring beer into pitchers when Braden walks over to me.

I smile at him. “You don’t have to come get the drinks. That’s the beauty of having a server. I’ll bring you your stuff.”

“I can’t take one more second of hearing Dakota’s boyfriend talk about chord progression.”

I chuckle. “Sounds riveting.”

I look over and see that Theo and Xander are politely nodding along to whatever Jake is saying. Del is glaring at him, but then Sam nudges his shoulder. Del dials back the menacing look on his face.

“How’s Del holding up?” I ask.

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