Page 10 of Liquid Courage
“Right, right. Forget I said anything.”
Just what Kat needed. Her own boss reopening that old, bitter wound. Because it wasn’t bad enough that Shari was a constant sore on Kat’s ass, but Shari’s latest victim had also dumped her last night!
Nope. Kat wasn’t bitter. Seriously. She wasn’t. Not like she had made other plans. That bit about maybe going to see someone else last night was a big lie. In truth, Kat had to be up early to do some extra work over at the docks. That coincided with her afternoon shift at the bar. Really. Vivian had done her a huge favor by letting her get to bed early. Even though Kat spent most of the night tossing and turning, going over everything she had done that may have possibly sent Vivian screaming.I’m not rusty. I’m not. Stop it, brain.So what if Kat hadn’t seduced someone in months? Okay… a year? So what if she was choosing to focus on her everyday life instead of dating? After years of fruitless searching for a good girlfriend, she had joined the thirty-something club of “if it happens, it happens.” That’s how she was told it always worked. The moment a woman stopped looking, love fell into her lap.
Yeah, right.
Shari was one of those women she thought she had something with. Once, long ago, before anyone even knew the name “Shari” and everything it entailed. They had gone out three times, each time falling into bed with mirth and hope that this could lead to something more. Kat had let her feelings blossom into something more, all right. Because when Shari dumped her because she was “a bigger butch than I’d like to be seen with,” Kat spent two whole weeks locked up in her apartment, eating ice cream and drowning her bitter-hearted sorrows on booze.
When Shari emerged several weeks later, it was with a huge chip on her shoulder and a million hearts about to be broken on first dates for years to come.
At first, Kat had been convinced that Shari was bringing her dates by this place of business to get to her. Then she realized that Shari didn’t remember her at all. That’s how much of a narcissist she fucking was.
“Welcome!” Beverly called to the only customer to walk in that past half hour. Between lunch and dinner, hardly anyone came into the bar. It was usually a dead zone when the staff did most of the behind the scenes work and occasionally served a light cocktail to friends hanging out and chatting. Since the bar didn’t serve a lot of food, it wasn’t a hip dining spot. “What can I get you?”
“Actually,” came a familiar voice, “I was hoping to leave this message for one of the other bartenders.”
Kat looked up from the paperwork again. No way.
“Sure. Who’s it for?”
“I think her name was Kat. She was working here last night.”
Don’t do it, Bev. Don’t do it.
“Oh, she’s actually in the back right now! Want me to get her for you?”
Was that pause super pregnant because it was eight months along, or because Kat’s heart thumped in her chest and her throat went dry?I’m a shell of my former self.How quickly things changed in just eighteen hours.
“No, that’s fine. You don’t have to…”
“Hey, Kat!” Beverly bellowed. “Someone here wants to talk to you!”
Kat took a second to reorient herself before pulling her burgundy beanie down past her ears and getting up from the rickety chair. “Be right there,” she muttered.
Vivian stood on the other side of the bar, dressed in conservative office wear that was a far cry from the sexy cocktail dress the night before.Nope. Still see her tits.There they were, hidden beneath a frosty blue silk blouse and a black blazer.Had my face in those tits last night.Had things not gone south, Kat would be relishing in the memory. Instead, she had to force herself to look as nonplussed as possible when she leaned against the open doorway and wiped her hands off on her band T-shirt.
“Hey,” she said.
Vivian was as white as the papers Beverly shifted around her clipboard. “Hi. I, um… I was just gonna drop off a message.”
Beverly glanced between them. “I’ll be in the back,” she announced, loudly enough for both women to hear her. “Let me know if you need help out here, eh?” She shook Kat’s shoulder on her way back into the office, where she left the door only slightly ajar and Kat’s music still playing on her phone.
Kat surveyed the empty bar with mild amusement. “Not sure what she means by that, because this place is hopping enough to be a graveyard, yeah?”
Vivian let one smile cross her face. “I was worried that maybe you guys were closed.”
“It’s dead this time of day. I keep telling her she should close up between lunch and dinner, but the boss is stubborn like that.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt you at all. I didn’t even think you would be here.”
“Hoping to miss me after you kissed me?”
The words were out of her mouth before Kat had the chance to cinch them behind her lips.Good job, dumbass.Vivian’s smile disappeared, claimed by the pink blush making its way across her cheeks.
“It’s not like that!”
Right. Not like that. Because what happened the night before was a mistake.Right.
