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“Cheeky. Great,” he muttered from beneath his palm.

“Shut it. You own a mirror, use it. Now…one of your points is that I’m good at football. Yeah, that’s true, but there are sports you’re good at.”

He slowly lifted his hand away from his mouth. “Am I allowed to speak now?”

“You may.”

“Wow. Thanks.” Another eye roll. “I don’t know how you concluded that I’m good at sports, since you don’t even know me, but yeah, I’m good at football myself. I really wanted to join the uni team, in fact, but I needed a job more, and I needed to make sure I didn’t commit to anything else before I got one. I needed as many hours free as possible, y’know?”

He stared at me almost defiantly, his lips pressed together as he held my gaze. Picking up my pint, I took a swig, tearing my gaze away from his. He was right—I didn’t know him, despite the fact that it felt like I did, but I was fairly certain I was reading him correctly.

“I get it,” I said, turning back to him and seeing his whole body relax at my words. I hid my smile in my pint glass. “My housemate was the same. Kind of. There was a tabletop gaming club thing he wanted to join. I dunno exactly what it was. SomeDungeons and Dragonsshit. He was doing shifts at the student union bar the same night it was on, so, yeah. He couldn’t join.”

“I’ve—”

“Are you still looking for a job?”

His mouth snapped shut, and then he nodded. “Yeah. Uh, I do shifts in the library, but it’s not many hours, so I’ve been looking for something else I can fit around that and my lectures. Why?”

“I just remembered Jonas mentioning that they were gonna advertise for a new bartender to cover a few shifts in the student union. Want me to find out?”

“Yeah. If…if the subject comes up.”

“Charlie. I’ll ask.” I unlocked my phone and slid it across the table to him. “Give me your number so I can let you know what he says.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“It’s no problem.” Finishing up my pint while he input his details, I held up my glass. “Want another?”

Glancing at my empty glass and then to his, he downed the remainder of his drink. “Yeah, but I’ll get these. You got the last ones.”

I watched him cross the floor to the bar and then picked up my phone.

Me:

Did you say the student union is looking for new bartenders?

Jonas:

Yeah. Why?

Me:

Charlie’s looking for a job

Jonas:

Who the fuck is Charlie?

Me:

The person your app set me up with. You owe us both MASSIVELY

Jonas:

I don’t think I do. It’s been over an hour since you text me last which means you’re having a good time

Me:

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