Page 11 of Extra Grumpy
“Well,Ithink it looks good.”
He grumbles something under his breath before stepping around me to head into the kitchen. I promptly follow him. “I really, honestly think it will help, Rock.”
“Sure, whatever.” He grabs a carton of eggs out of his fridge. “Fried or scrambled?”
“I’m more in the mood for sunny side up. But I can cook my own.”
He shakes his head. “I’m making breakfast. You scuffed up my pan yesterday.”
I smile. “Control freak.”
6
ROCK
I don’t know why Emily thinks we need to change things around here. If tonight isn’t evidence that we’re doing just fine, I don’t know what is. The bar is busy tonight, and we don’t have any stupid trivia nights or flashy signs to draw people in. The locals like our bar, and I’m convinced we’ll be just fine after that obnoxiously slick sports bar opens up. There’s no need to freak out or waste our money on things that aren’t right for Blackbear.
I set two freshly poured pints in front of a couple of guys sitting at the bar, then move over to wipe down the other side of the bar, where a few seats have just opened up. As I’m doing so, a blonde in a low-cut top comes up and smiles at me, leaning against the bar to show off her cleavage.
“Hey, handsome,” she purrs.
I ignore her flirtatiousness. “What can I get you?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she says, leaning harder against the bar, as if I was too fucking dense to get it the first time. “Make me something creative?”
There’s nothing I hate more than someone asking me to make them something creative.
“I can make you a gin and tonic or a martini.” I nod toward the taps. “We’ve also got some good local beers on tap. If you want to try any of them, I can give you a sample.”
“Sure. I’d love a sample. What’s the creamiest one?”
“That’d be the cream ale.”
“A taste of that, then, please.”
I pour a little into a shot glass. She sips it and immediately grins at me. It’s obvious she didn’t give a second’s thought to how it tasted. “Ooh.Delicious.”
“You want a pint?”
“Yes, please.”
I pour her a pint, take her credit card to open a tab, and tell her to enjoy her beer. I can feel her eyes following me as I walk away, but I don’t look back. This isn’t the first time a woman has tried to flirt with me at the bar. I’ve learned the best thing to do is ignore it. Eventually they always get the point and give up.
No one else needs anything right now, and I need to restock a few things, so I use the opportunity to step into the stockroom. When I walk in there, I find Emily with a pack of napkins under her arm and her face tilted down at her phone.
For a second, my mind reels back to this morning, when I was half-awake and Emily’s body was curled up against mine. I’ve been trying really damn hard to not think about it, but it’s a battle I’ve been struggling with all day. I could have laid there for hours, just feeling her next to me. Experiencing what I can neverhave for real. It was so fucking nice to feel her curves nestled against me and the warmth of her relaxed breath against my skin.
But then she woke up and jerked away, as if she was yanking a hand from a hot stove.
“My mom is unbelievable,” Emily says, shaking her head as she tucks her phone back into her pocket.
I frown. “What’s up?”
“She’sstilltrying to set me up. Even after I told her about ‘us.’ I can’t believe it.”
Fresh irritation flares inside me. My relationship with Emily might not be real, but as far as her parents should be concerned, it is. They need to respect that. “What the hell? Seriously?”
Emily rolls her eyes. “I don’t think my mom is going to be happy until I marry one of her rich friends’ sons. Which is never going to happen.”
