Page 29 of Love Medley
“Have you seen Luke?” I ask.
“Yup, he’s stocking the bar.” Eddie waves me through.
As I walk towards the bar, I pass by the small wooden stage up front, which is really just a step-up platform, not a true stage. On the platform are two grand pianos, old Yamahas that have seen better days, scratches and dings clearly visible on their black surfaces. At least they’re tuned once in a while; it can be really frustrating to play an out-of-tune piano. Still—the sight of them fills me with affection.
The wooden front bar stretches across the entire left side of TNT. Only Luke’s back is visible, the sounds of clinking bottles echoing underneath the bar. He’s probably stocking the bar well.
Down at the far right of the bar top, Priya, one of the newer barbacks, is replenishing the garnishes. She lifts her hand in a wave, and I give her an upwards nod in greeting.
“Yo, Luke,” I call out, and he straightens up with a smile, wearing his usual backwards Blackwell cap.
“Jake!” Luke grins. “Hey, man! Haven’t seen you in a hot minute.”
“Yeah,” I say, taking a seat at the bar. On really packed nights, staff remove these stools so more people can mingle and order drinks. “It’s been kind of crazy. Wait, why are you even out here? Aren’t you supposed to be in the back doing bar manager type of shit?”
Luke rolls his eyes. “Sebastian sprained his ankle yesterday trying to do some ollies on a halfpipe. So guess who drew the short end of the straw.”
“What the fuck? Was he trying to impress a girl? I didn’t even know he was a skateboarder.” Something unclenches in me at the easy way we slip into our usual rhythm of ribbing each other.
Luke shrugs, flinging a towel over his shoulder. “Well, apparently he’s not.”
I snicker. Luke giving Sebastian some major shade cracks me up. Sebastian is the youngest bartender on the payroll at TNT, and he still hasn’t grown out of his dumbass phase.
“How’s the new job treatin’ ya?”
I fiddle with a cocktail napkin. “It’s not bad. Shift-work is my style.”
“Sounds kind of like here.” Luke wipes his hands on his apron.
“Yeah, exactly.” In fact, I’ve always loved the flexibility that comes with shift work. It lets me be a nurseandmoonlight at TNT. And while I enjoy the lightning pace of the ER, here I can truly relax and be myself.
My leg starts jiggling up and down in a frenzied manner. I’m not sure why the reminder of my other vocation is hiking up my blood pressure.
Luke clocks my leg and raises his eyebrow. “Want something to drink? Looks like you might need one.”
I immediately force my leg to stop moving. “Nah. I just wanted to stop by to say hi.”
Luke takes out a rag and starts wiping down the surface of the bar, which will probably be sticky with different liquids at the end of the night, although Wednesdays are pretty slow. “Uh huh. Whatever you say.”
I sigh. Luke clearly doesn’t believe me. “Okay, you got me,” I admit. “Can I pick your brain on something?”
Setting down his rag, Luke folds his arms and shoots me a shit-eating grin. “As I live and breathe! Is Jake Whitlock actually asking me for advice?”
Luke knows me too well—I feel like a bug under a microscope. Sure enough, he reads all my thoughts on my face.
“Don’t clam up now,” Luke smirks. “Tell me everything.”
I scowl at him. “Asshole. You are enjoying this way too much.”
“Yes, I am.” Luke’s smile only grows bigger. “And that doesn’t change the fact that you’re gonna talk anyway.”
Well, fuck.
“During one of my shifts, I met this woman.” The term “this woman” doesn’t even start to describe Lucy. I’m also already regretting that I brought her up.
Luke crows. “Good for you. It’s time to get back into the dating scene.”
“Hold on,” I protest. “That’s not where I’m going with this.”
