Page 31 of Halloween Hottie
JACOB
Dinner is going smoothly, even with how nervous I am, and the conversation is never lacking. Even in the silence of us both eating, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. I know that if I can feel comfortable with her when it’s quiet, I can feel comfortable with her anywhere.
We both order burgers and fries and we talk, laugh, and joke while we eat. We finish the meal by sharing a slice of apple pie before we load back up into the truck. It’s still early, and I’m having such a good time with her that I’m not ready for the night to end. We’re only about a block away from my place when I turn to look at her. “Are you in a hurry to get home?”
“No, not at all. You got a second part to this date planned?”
I shrug. “Not planned, but if you have some time to kill, we can go to my bar and have a few drinks,” I suggest.
“Okay, great. I haven’t been in your bar since it opened. But I have a good feeling we’ll get great service.” Elizabeth giggles. “I know the owner,” she whispers, and I laugh.
I make the drive around the block and pull my truck up front. The windows are dark and tinted, but I can see the glow of neon from the street. It lights up the bar enough that I can see there are only three people inside, the bartender being one.
I climb out and round the truck, catching her door as she opens it. I help her down and close the door as I lead her across the sidewalk and in through the front door. When the door opens, everyone in the bar glances over.
“Why you coming in the front door?” Paul asks.
I laugh. “Just wanted to be a customer and not the owner for once,” I say, sitting down in a booth across from Elizabeth. “Step, two beers, please.”
“Sure thing,” she says, hopping up and rushing to the cooler.
“Who’s your date?” Paul asks.
Elizabeth smiles. “I’m Elizabeth.”
“Nice to meet you,” he tells her before looking at me and winking. “You got yourself a looker there, Jake.”
I laugh. “I know, thank you.” I shake my head just as Step puts two beers on the table.
Elizabeth slips out of her coat and picks up her beer, taking a sip. I watch her eyes as they glance around, taking everything in.
“Didn’t you used to have pool tables in here?”
I nod. “We still do, back there in that dark section,” I say, nodding toward the back. “I moved them when we got the games. The gambling draws in more people than the pool tables, so they took priority being right up front.”
“Yeah, when I was here, this whole front section was pool tables; two, if I remember correctly.”
I nod. “Yep, two pool tables. The dartboard was right in between the tables and the seating area. I moved the seating and gaming up front and the pool tables and dartboard into the back. As you can see, they’re rarely used.”
“Does the place get busy on the weekends?”
“Usually. We have a dead weekend here and there, but for the most part the weekends are what keeps this place going. It surely isn’t Paul and his fifty-dollar-a-day drinking limit.” I laugh. “Or maybe that’s backward.”
She laughs and leans forward. “Will you show me around? I never got to go behind the scenes of a bar before.”
“Really? You want to see it?”
She nods and smiles.
“Okay, come on,” I say, getting up.
She follows me as I take her behind the bar and show her how things work.
“Hey, when I go behind the bar I get yelled at!” Paul says.
“She’s prettier than you, Paul,” I respond taking her into the back. I show her the coolers and storage room, then my office where I have a seat at my desk. She sits on the corner and her eyes find the framed photo of my late wife.
“Is this her?” she asks, picking it up and looking at it closely.
