Page 10 of Halloween Hottie
Margo laughs. “He’s not seeing anyone that I know of. Not since you. I think all the girls here know how he is. He’s been banished to ourdo not touchlist.”
“That’s good. I’m happy to hear about his blue balls.”
She laughs. “There is someone here that I want you to meet, though.”
I groan. “Margs, I don’t want to be set up.”
“Ugh, why does everyone keep saying that? I’m not setting anyone up tonight. It’s just a guy I know, and I think you two would have a good time hanging out. You said you didn’t want to be alone all night, right?”
“Yes,” I breathe out, rolling my eyes. I should’ve known this was a setup.
“Good. Let’s go find him,” she says, standing.
Margo leads the way back to the kitchen. “Oh, there he is,” she says just as a guy steps into the room.
I’m hoping and praying it’s not the guy that just walked in. That guy is way too cute to just be friends with. He’s tall and fit. He has dark hair that’s slicked back since he’s dressed as a vampire. and he has thick stubble growing across his jaw.
“Jake, this is my friend Liz,” Margo says as she comes to a stop in front of him.
His blue eyes move from her to me and a smile forms on his lips. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jake.”
“Elizabeth,” I say, shaking his hand.
Margo looks up at him. “Liz is a nurse at the local grade school here in town.” She looks at me. “And Jake owns Wellmen’s Bar. Talk, converse!” she says, rushing away, leaving us both shaking our heads and laughing.
“Margo is something else, isn’t she?” he asks.
“She sure is. She wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed to come tonight,” I tell him.
He laughs. “You want to get a drink, and we can sit down and talk? I feel like it’s mandatory at this point.”
I laugh and agree. “Sure.”
The two of us grab a fresh beer, and Jake leads me through the house and to the game room. The room has several people in it, but it’s not as crowded as other areas of the house. There’s a couple of guys playing pool, a few people on the couching playing Xbox, and another couple sitting down the bar from us.
“So, Margo said that you’re a nurse at the grade school here in town?”
I nod. “I am. I’ve been working there for about a year.”
“One of my bartenders had to call in the other day. She said she got a call from the school and her son was sick.”
“Oh no. I’m not sure which student it could be. There’s a lot of kids at that grade school.”
He nods. “She said he tested positive for the flu. Bad part is, she ended up catching it, too. I’ve had to fill in her shift.”
“Oh, I bet it was Tommy.”
He points in my direction. “Yes, her son’s name is Tommy.”
“Poor kid. He hasn’t been to school all week. Even missed the homecoming parade yesterday.”
“So, were you born and raised here?”
“No, I was raised up north around the Chicago area. I moved down here to attend SIU for college. I liked the small-town quiet life, so I stayed. I worked at a coffee shop through college, up until I landed a nursing job. That’s how I met Margo.”
He laughs. “Yeah, Margo is a coffee freak.”
“Well, thanks to that job, so am I. So you own a bar? Do you work there, or is it more of an investment that you just operate from a distance?”
