Page 6 of I Love Rock n Wine

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” I countered. “You owe me for nearly mowing me down.” Her jaw dropped and she shoved me lightly, causing me to laugh.“It sounds good, though, right?”For the first time in forever, I didn’t want to play the fame card to make her hang out with me. Not that I felt I needed to most of the time. After all, everyone was drawn to Jameson.

But this felt too right,too real, to go that route.

And because of that, I felt like I didn’t have to put on an act. I could be Heath. Hell, I was starting to wonder what he looked like too.

“It sounded good, yes.”

“Join me,” I told her, holding my hand out to her and nodding outside. The bar was busier than normal, and I didn’t feel like trying to yell to be heard. Besides, outside, you could hear the music a whole lot better than you could inside.

“So, Heath, since you know the owner, you must come here a lot,” she started, taking a seat at one of the high-top tables outside.

“Not as much as I should. But enough.I made their house burger famous; you know?”

“Ugh, did you tell them to put that all together?”

She made a face and I had to laugh.

“Tiff, have you tried it?”

“Why the fuck would anyone think jelly, peanut butter, and bacon go together?”

I rolled my eyes at her but laughed right along with her.

“How about this? I love the burger, so I’ll place an order and you can have a bite. Try it and I’ll ignore the fact that you tried killing me.”

She laughed again and shrugged. I was starting to enjoy that sound, and I was starting to feel like I needed it a lot more too.

“Fine, I can’t deny those terms. Though my friends have my beer, can I go grab it really quick?

“Nah, I’ll just get us some. Unless you like wine?” She quickly shook her head and shuddered. “Okay, why?”

“All the wines I’ve ever tried have given me a massive headache. So, I stay clear of them. Either hard liquor, cocktails, or beer.”

“That’s a shame. But that does it. I’ll have to get you to try some of mine in the future.” She crossed her arms and rested them on the table, watching the waitress and me as I placed the order.

“What makes you think there’s anything in the future”

“Your laugh.” I couldn’t help but grin as she just raised an eyebrow at that. “I absolutely love your laugh and have determined I just need more of it.”

“That’s a hell of a pick-up line, sir. First time I’ve heard it. But it got my attention.”

I took the beer the waitress put down and pointed it at her.

“I’m glad it did, Tiff, but it wasn’t a line. It’s a true statement. You have a great laugh, and I would love to hear it again. Beyond just tonight.”

“Right.”She took a sip of her own beer and then looked around. “You and the owners go way back?”

“We do.You could say they helped push my career.”

“You mean, Jameson?” I could feel my cheeks heat up and she grinned. “It’s hard not to know who you are. But if it helps, I like Heath a lot more.”

“Good to know.So, should I ask the boring questions?Like favorite color, food? What do you do for work? How did you get into 80’s music?”

“Purple, Chinese, and I love the 80s. My brother was a die-hard 80’s lover and got me into music. Especially the hairbands. I could say I’m a rocker at heart.” I took another swig of the beer, noticing the work question wasn’t answered, but I didn’t feel like pushing it. “Maybe like you?”

“I’ve been a rocker since I was a baby. If you hear the story from my mom, I came out with the horns sign at birth. Which only ever made my parents laugh as Dad was into Country and Mom was into classical. I was the odd man out.”

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