Page 28 of Spotlight
A group of guys celebrating someone’s birthday come away from the bar with drinks and shots, but a disappointed air surrounds them as they all pat the birthday boy on the shoulder. He must have been rejected.
I feel your pain, bro.
Every so often the female bartenders switch sides, so that each of them moves to work the opposite section they’ve been on. I don’t know the reasoning, but I can’t help but note that each time Olivia switches to work a new area, the guys up next in line that she leaves behind, groan with frustration.
I don’t know how long I watch this whole thing go on. I don’t even have a drink in my hand yet, but this is too good to miss. I inch closer without deciding. It isn’t like I planned to gawk at her from afar all night, but from a distance at least she can’t crush my hopes and dreams of taking her home.
Eventually a barstool frees up and I snag it. The new bartender on this side, a pretty brunette with a septum piercing, smiles at me.
“What can I get you?” she asks.
“Jack and Coke.”
She nods and gets busy pouring my drink. I lean back, staring across the bar at Olivia. The crowd is gradually starting to move outside, and the bartenders slow down a bit, taking a little more time getting orders, smiling and talking more. All except Olivia. She moves with that same hurried pace. It seems like she’s in a whole zone, not really seeing anything or anyone around her.
My drink is nearly gone when the bartenders switch again. Olivia moves toward me, only looking up at the last second.
“Can I get you another—” Her sentence comes to abrupt halt as her blue eyes lock on mine.
“Hey there.” I wave with the fingers around my glass.
She looks behind me like she expects to see Archer and Sabrina or anyone that explains my presence. When she doesn’t find anyone, she asks, “Are you stalking me?”
A small chuckle leaves my lips. “I came with some teammates. They’re outside.”
“Oh.” She tugs on the hem of her tank top.
“Purple is a good color on you. My new favorite in fact.”
“Are you expecting that line to work on me?” She raises her voice slightly to be heard over a group of noisy women nearby.
I get that familiar zing of excitement at her words. I love that she’s such a ball buster.
“That depends. Is it?”
“No.” She shakes her head, but a hint of a smile pulls at the corner of her mouth. Her gaze drops to my drink. “Want another?”
“Yeah. Thanks. Jack and Coke.”
While she pours it, I say, “You should have prepared me better for chapter twenty-eight.”
I guess I should have expected some spicy sex scenes, but as a new reader of the genre (or any genre, really), I did not.
She freezes, brows raised. “You read the book?”
“Yeah. In nearly one sitting. I’m working on the second one now.”
“I’ll let Ruby know. She’ll be thrilled to know she has a foothold in the male demographic.” Olivia places the new drink in front of me.
“I only have one critique.”
Her body language stiffens immediately. I lean forward, closing some of the distance between us. “Nine inches is not the perfect length.”
Her cheeks flush as she understands my meaning, but she keeps that haughty body language. “No?”
“Too big.” I lean back. “Chicks think they want that sort of size, but they’re never prepared for it.”
“And you know this because…”
