Page 18 of Embriagado

“Ever thought about getting braids?” Imani asked while mixing up a cocktail in a shaker.

With my back against the wooden bar, I looked away from the ocean to glance at her. “What’s wrong with my hair now?”

“Nothing.” She shrugged, then poured the cocktail into a tiki-style glass that was used in the beach bar. “Just thought you’d look hot with them.”

“Hitting on me again, huh?” I teased with a half grin when she flipped me off.

“In your dreams, babe.”

“More like in yours.”

She already knows I like cocks.

She gave the cocktail to a waiter, then moved closer to me. “One, I’d make your gay ass straight.”

I snorted.

“Two, you’re hot but not my type.” She winked at me, and I shook my head before looking back at the ocean.

One of the perks of working here was the gorgeous view, and whenever I had a break like I did now, I came down to the beach.

“You’re hurting my feelings.” I pretended to pout, and she laughed.

“Cry me a river, Santi. I know you’ve only got eyes for Ariyan.”

Over the last two weeks since I’d started working here, Imani and I had become sort of friends. That girl was perceptive as fuck because on my second day on the job, she’d already caught on to my little crush that had only deepened since. The sad part was? Ariyan hardly even glanced my way, which made me want him so much more. At this point, I felt like a dog dying to take a piss on the new carpet, knowing it would only get me into trouble.

“Did you try talking to him again?” she asked, a know-it-all smile on her face.

I grunted, thinking back to yesterday’s disaster when I tried talking to Ariyan and somehow managed to pour a mai tai all over his brand-new suit.

“Go ahead, rub salt in my fresh wounds.”

Grabbing a wet cloth, she began cleaning the bar. “If you only listened to me⁠—”

“Yeah, yeah.” I cut her off. “I don’t stand a chance.”

She paused her wiping and frowned at me. “Not just you, Santi, but all of us.” She waved around, even though we were currently alone in the bar. “He’s unattainable. Just accept that he’ll never be yours and move on. Speaking of moving on, I heard Steven from the kitchen asked about you.”

Closing my eyes, I tilted my head back with a deep groan. “I don’t give a shit about Steven.”

“Why not? He’s hot.”

“Sure, but he’s not Ariyan hot. It’s like settling for meatloaf after seeing filet mignon on the menu.”

She snorted a laugh. “That, sweetheart, is your problem. You think he’s on the menu to begin with.”

I turned to frown at her when she shrugged.

“What? I’m being honest, and you, you’re being picky, babe. It’s unhealthy.”

Before I could tell her off, my phone rang, and I pulled it out of my pocket to check it.

“Hola, Nacio,” I said to my brother after picking up.

“When ya going shopping?”

My brows pulled close. “The fuck you mean?”