Page 42 of Clichés & Curses

‘Yup, just water.’ I shook the half-empty cup, the water inside sloshing around.

‘You’re telling me you didn’t drink anything else from the menu?’ he said, his tone slightly serious.

Raising a brow at him, I said, ‘Why do I feel like I just committed a crime?’

‘Because you were. But not to worry, we can still fix this. You’re not leaving until you try the best drink in this place.’Then, turning to Tracy he said, ‘Tracy, I need two chocolate milkshakes.’

Tracy let out a small laugh. ‘Two chocolate milkshakes coming right up,’ and left us, carrying the dirty plates with her.

‘Two chocolate milkshakes?’ I pointed out.

‘You didn’t think I was going to let you drink one alone, did you?’

I let out a light laugh. ‘Definitely not.’

‘Do you mind if I sit?’ Colton said, gesturing to the empty seat across from me.

‘If you must,’ I playfully sighed.

Colton gave me a playful grin before taking his seat.

‘So, to what do I owe the pleasure of running into you here on a Saturday night?’ I asked him.

‘Do you see the bar over there?’ he said, pointing to the bar I had been thinking of going to.

I nodded my head. ‘Yeah?’

‘My aunt and uncle are the owners. They told me one of the workers couldn’t make it tonight, and needed some help, so here I am,’ he explained.

My eyes widened in surprise. ‘Wait, you have an uncle and an aunt who own a bar? That’s so cool.’

He just shrugged, his way of shyly accepting my compliment.

‘Do your friends know?’

‘Some of them do, but not a lot of people,’ he said sheepishly. ‘It’s not something I like to parade about, since people think it means I can get free alcohol for a party.’

‘That makes sense.’ I nodded in understanding.

‘Plus, the bar is more geared towards older people than college students. So, I rarely run into anyone there when I do go and help out.’

‘Do you go help them out often?’ I asked.

‘Every once in a while. They only started asking me recently since I just turned twenty-one before the semester started,’ he told me. ‘I was actually there last—’

But before he could finish his sentence, Tracy was back at our table. This time holding a chocolate milkshake in each hand.

‘One chocolate milkshake for the lady and one chocolate milkshake for the gentleman,’ Tracy said, putting down the drink on the table one by one.

We both thanked her as she left our table, heading off to take the order of a new customer that just walked in.

‘Prepare to have your mind blown,’ Colton said.

I raised a brow at him. ‘You seem pretty confident I’m going to love this.’

‘Trust me, you will.’

‘Well, here goes nothing,’ I said before taking a sip.

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