Page 22 of The Barkeep and the Bro

I wasn’t sure who Jennifer Lawrence was, but I nodded my head yes. She wasn’t interested in what I thought, though.

“Charlie, come on.”

“No, you come on. All of your customers are waiting for you.”

“They need their drinks, so they’re waiting on you,” she said.

She tossed her hair behind her shoulder in a move that brought me back to my straight high school days flirting with my now ex-wife.

“Coming right up.” Charlie flashed her his trademark megawatt smile, making her blush and me fume with frustration.

“Penny, two of your customers are out of water.” I handed her a pitcher.

“Oh, I guess they were thirsty.” She let out a breathy laugh.

“Yeah.” I did not laugh back.

“I’ll be back for those drinks,” she said to Charlie while walking away.

“I’ll be back,” he responded in a goofy Terminator impression.

The whole cringeworthy scene made me grateful for being proudly single and proudly homosexual.

“Charlie,” I said once she was out of earshot.

“What up, Boss?”

I got a fluttery feeling in my stomach when he called me boss, but I ignored it. “Just so you know, there’s an unofficial non-fraternization rule at the restaurant. It’s frowned upon for staff members to date.”

The last thing I needed was romantic entanglements among my staff. I had enough drama to handle.

“That seems like a strict rule.” He wiped down his station and began making the drinks for Penny’s table. He already knew his way around the bar.

“I’ve been burned in the past when co-workers began dating. It starts off sweet and romantic, but then they’re sneaking off during their shift.”

“How many people have you found having sex in the supply closet?”

“More than you’d expect, and I couldn’t unsee any of it.”

Charlie snorted a laugh.

“But after the highs comes the inevitable breakup, which turns the workplace into a war zone. And this is a small workplace. Tight quarters. I don’t need staff members not speaking to each other or crying at the sight of the other. Which again, I’ve seen more than you’d expect.”

After thirty years at this bar, I’d seen pretty much everything.

Charlie opened and closed his mouth and gestured at Penny. “Boss, I—we’re just friends. Nothing is happening but friendship there.”

I breathed a bigger sigh of relief than was necessary. “It seemed like you two were flirting.”

“You call it flirting. I call it being friendly. People like receiving compliments. I thought her hair looked nice.” He returned to pouring an Arnold Palmer and vodka cranberry for Penny’s table. “I think your hair looks nice, too.”

“What hair?” I self-consciously ran my fingers over the prickly black hairs of my buzzed head. I’d stopped trying to grow out and style my hair as soon as Ellie hit her terrible twos. My time was better spent.

“No, I mean it…the buzz looks good on you. You don’t have to deal with product.”

“I take it you’re the opposite?”

“Guilty.” Charlie’s hair had the artfully tousled style of someone that wanted you to think they just ran their fingers over the top and called it a day. “My dad says putting shit in my hair will make it fall out faster, but I take after my mom’s side of the family where the men keep their hair.”

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