Page 18 of Cherry Beats

I felt a hand slip around mine—the one that was now numbed by cold water, unable to do anything as the glass slipped from my fingers and bounced on the bottom of the sink. I snapped my eyes open and stared at it, expecting it to be shattered to pieces, but all I could see was one long, single crack that ran from the base to the rim, like a scar that had been slashed in place, making it weak and unusable for anyone else ever again.

Just like me.

“Tess,” Bourbon whispered. He was close—right by my ear. “You did it again. You zoned out.”

I quickly schooled my face and turned to him, my hand hanging out like I wasn’t in control of it. Bourbon grabbed a towel and wrapped it up, rubbing to generate some heat. “Sorry, love,” he said, turning to the waiting customer at the bar who was swaying on her too-high heels. “She cut herself. I need to get her in the back and administer first aid.”

I hadn’t cut myself anywhere.

“But I want another drink.”

“Then you’ll have to go to the bar down the road. We’re done for the night.”

“Hey! You haven’t rung the bell for last orders yet.”

Bourbon reached behind him without hesitation and grabbed the rope that hung from the bell, tugging it three times before he called out, “Bar closed! Manager emergency. Sorry, folks.”

The woman huffed and turned away.

“You didn’t have to do that. You should have served her.”

“This is the third time this month, Tess.”

“Third time?”

“The third time you’ve heard that damn song and gone somewhere else in your mind.” He looked up through worried eyes, and I couldn’t help but let my body sag as I stared at him. My sweet boss, who already had one daughter and didn’t need another one, with his innocent, dark grey eyes, his too-long brown hair, and his boss-next-door smile. “What’s going on?”

“It’s a trigger,” I admitted. “That song. All of them.”

“For the rock star?”

“Fucking stupid, isn’t it?”

“Not really. I was the same with Fliss’s mum. She stole my heart, rode on it for a while, then tossed it away when she decided I wasn’t worth riding for life.” He rubbed my fingers one by one before he threw the towel on the side and put his hands on his hips. “I’ve never been the same since, so I can’t stand here like a thirty-seven-year-old hypocrite and tell you to get over it because I never did.”

“You’re thirty-seven?” I faked a gasp of surprise, rubbing my fingers back to life with my good hand. “Shit, I thought you were at least forty-five.”

“Don’t make me fire your arse, dolly.”

“Like you could cope without me.”

“Like I’d want to.” He winked and leaned against the back shelf. “Get out of here.” He jerked his chin up and glanced towards the back rooms. “I’m locking up tonight, no arguing.”

“But—”

“Redundancies happen, Tess.”

“Fine.” I huffed. “But Iamsaying one thing before I leave.”

“Of course, you are.” He rolled his eyes.

“I think we should turn this bar into an ’80s themed one. No Youth Gone Wild music around. That way, me zoning out won’t be a problem anymore. We don’t play his songs, and I don’t have to have an out of body experience every time Satan dressed in leather appears via the medium of a music video in every corner of this bloody place.”

“That Satan dressed in leather is making me rich.”

“Yeah,” I sighed, turning to leave. “And he’s making me miserable.”

Chapter Six

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