A Bar Tender Tale (3 page)

Still, he did himself proud. After the amount of cleaning and sorting he'd done, Gary would owe him a striptease!

Nathan wiped his brow, then ran next door to order his Indian lunch. He knew it was naughty to leave the pub unattended, but the till was locked, and the only customer he’d had was still asleep in the corner. Nathan was a maximum of two minutes, paying and rushing back the three steps into the pub, rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of food. He checked his phone again only to see that none of his friends were awake yet or they were all ignoring his plea for company.

Oh well
. Midday was early if you did bar work.

However, to the rest of the world, it was lunchtime. With a sinking feeling Nathan watched a gaggle of people emerge from the courthouse across the main road, looking both ways for a chance to cross.

Don’t you dare come in here.

A Bar Tender Tale |
Melanie Tushmore
20

A few of them hung around the court, lighting up cigarettes. Most of them continued down the hill to walk into town. Annoyingly, a handful of them came into the pub at the same time Nathan’s lunch arrived. Plastering on a smile while swearing inside, Nathan served the customers, hoping for quick and easy drinks. They were all dressed up in smart suits, so were likely over there for court appearances.

Nathan wondered about the possibility of these people having interesting cases, but it was doubtful. He knew it wasn’t a crown court, so they were probably just parking tickets or something equally boring.

He whipped up their drinks in record time, used to working behind a busy, modern bar. Also, he wanted his lunch, dammit.

A middle-aged couple were the last to be served, and they ordered Bloody Marys. Nathan cursed silently and frowned as he searched through the stocks of liquor and mixers. He couldn’t find where the Tabasco sauce was hiding.

He turned back to the bar ready to tell the couple

“Sorry, pick something else” when in walked the hottest, most gorgeous man he’d ever seen. Tall, dark, and handsome didn’t even begin to describe him. Nathan loved tall men, but tall
and
broad? What a treat! This one was in a suit, as were most of the other lunchtime customers, which made it hard to judge exactly how broad he might be under that suit jacket. Nathan tucked that little thought away for now, eager eyes taking in the rest of the man.

The eyes that met his were such a deep brown they looked almost black. Nathan loved them instantly and even A Bar Tender Tale |
Melanie Tushmore
21

felt a little jealous. While the man’s skin was light, his hair was dark, and not like Nathan’s synthetic blue-black; it was a natural color. Dark hair was another of Nathan’s favorites.

This guy’s hair was short but not that short, in slightly messy waves that made Nathan’s hands tense with the urge to run his fingers through it.

So far all the major boxes had been ticked. Tall, yes.

Dark, yes. And handsome?

Hell yes.

He was simply gorgeous. A perfect face, those dark eyes, and a strong jawline dusted with dark stubble. Not enough for a beard, which was fine, as Nathan wasn’t keen on beards anyway… but maybe just enough to tickle. He definitely wouldn’t mind that. Especially that bit of stubble above those full lips….

Nathan became acutely aware that he was staring. He blinked, turning back to the older couple and tried to form words. “Um, sorry, er… there’s no Tabasco sauce….”

“Try over there,” another old man who was propping up the bar barked at him, pointing towards the far end of the shelves. Nathan looked and miraculously found the Tabasco sauce.

“Come here often, do you?” He teased the old man with a smile but received only a mumble in reply. Nathan worked fast mixing the Bloody Marys in case the gorgeous younger man got bored and left.

When he deposited the drinks on the bar he saw Mr.

Handsome was still there, waiting patiently for his turn.

What amazing eyes….

A Bar Tender Tale |
Melanie Tushmore
22

Nathan held out his hand absently to the older lady who was brandishing her purse, his eyes never leaving the younger man. He was perhaps older than Nathan was, but it couldn’t have been by much. It was hard to tell when someone was dressed in a suit. Maybe mid to late twenties?

Maybe—

“But you didn’t say how much the drinks are?” the older lady reminded him, demanding his attention.

Nathan had to restrain himself from throttling her.

Instead he smiled politely and turned away to the till. He couldn’t even make a face at her with his back turned since most bars, including this one, had mirrors along the shelves.

Her beady little eyes were tracking his every move. He rang up the Bloody Marys.

“Eight pounds sixty, please,” he told her, holding his hand out again.

“
How
much?” the older lady griped. “That’s outrageous!”

“I know, hun,” Nathan tried to say as nicely as he could.

“But I can’t do much about that, I’m afraid.”

“Well, it’s very steep,” she muttered, but still handed over a tenner.

Nathan snatched the note before she changed her mind, rang it through, and gave the change back to her, ready to turn away and—

“Oh, have you got any cheese and onion crisps?” asked the older man who was with her.

ARRGGH!

Nathan glared but smiled at the same time. “Let me have a look,” he said between gritted teeth and disappeared A Bar Tender Tale |
Melanie Tushmore
23

under the bar. Taking a deep breath, he fished out the crisps and popped up again, placing the packet on the bar.

“Cheese and onion,” he declared. “Do you want me to check how much they are first?”

“Oh, yes please.”

Nathan
had
been joking, but now he’d offered…. Well, if the old man didn’t buy them, he’d just have to explain to Gary about the error on his till later.

“Seventy pence,” Nathan said, his eyes skimming over the couple to the gorgeous man next to them, praying he wouldn’t leave. There was a faint smile on the guy’s lips.

Nathan smiled back, pleased that he didn’t seem to be in a hurry or on the verge of leaving.

“Oh, seventy pence?” the older man said. “That’s ever such a lot for a packet of crisps….”

Waiting two beats to remain calm, Nathan said, “Pretty sure I can’t help that either, mate. Sorry.”

“Oh well… oh all right, then.”

“Twisted your arm,” Nathan muttered, still smiling tightly.

When the couple finally had everything they wanted, they shuffled off, leaving Nathan to drink in the visual feast of the man now in front of him. He was
very
good looking.

His dark eyes simply danced as he smiled back.

“You’re a lot more patient than Gaz, you are,” the man said in a voice that was both resonant and soft at the same time. There was the barest hint of a Welsh accent. “Is he about?”

A Bar Tender Tale |
Melanie Tushmore
24

“Um….” Nathan tried to think of the best response. If he said Gary was busy sleeping, this gorgeous creature might leave.

“Um, he’s just upstairs,” Nathan said, which was the truth after all. “What can I get for you?” It was on the tip of his tongue to offer something more suggestive, but he decided against the flirty banter for now.

If this man was asking for Gary then it was likely he was straight as a ruler, and there was no point scaring away the only decent bit of scenery Nathan was likely to get today.

“All right….” Mr. Handsome frowned slightly in thought as he scanned the pumps at the bar. “Let’s have a John Smith’s.”

“Sure,” Nathan answered, dying to add on a provocative line about pumps but thought better of it.

He didn’t miss the opportunity, however, to drape himself against Mr. Handsome’s would-be pint glass and work that pump seductively. Pulling pints like this had always seemed amusingly suggestive to Nathan. He just hoped Mr. Handsome was appreciating his hard work; that pint barely had a bubble of foam on it.

The smile he got when Mr. Handsome received his pint was worth the effort.

“Very nice,” he commented.

Nathan was sure he was only referring to his drink, but he smiled back all the same. He almost said “Have it on the house,” then remembered he wasn’t behind his own bar.

Nathan rang it through the till and held his hand out for the A Bar Tender Tale |
Melanie Tushmore
25

money. He felt a spark of electricity when Mr. Handsome’s fingers touched his own.

Wow, calm down,
Nathan told himself, throwing the money in and slamming the till shut. He took a deep breath before turning back and busying himself at the bar, finding small jobs to do that would keep him close by. He was elated to see that Mr. Handsome had sat down on a bar stool almost directly opposite. He seemed relaxed and friendly, not to mention gorgeous….

“So I haven’t seen you working here before?” Nathan was pleased that he'd kept the conversation open. Although the man might just feel sorry for him on his own. After all, the only other customer sitting at the bar was the grizzly old man at the far end. The other meager customers of the pub were sitting at the tables, muttering about how loud the music was today.

“Yeah, I’m not really working,” Nathan said. “I mean I am, but I’m just doing Gaz a favor. I work in another bar.”

“Oh right.” Mr. Handsome frowned. “I thought you said Gaz was upstairs?”

“Yeah, he is…. He just had to do something,” Nathan thought fast. “He’ll be down soon.”

“Ah, right.” Mr. Handsome nodded. “I’m Auryn, by the way.”

“Sorry?”

“Auryn,” he said again. “Like aw-rin, right? It’s Welsh.”

“Yeah, I guessed that. I can hear your accent. Just a bit, I mean,” Nathan babbled. “It’s nice. Not as strong as Gaz’s….

Not that his isn’t nice. Oh, you know what I mean.” A Bar Tender Tale |
Melanie Tushmore
26

“Do I?”

Nathan tried to read his look, caught in those dark eyes.

Auryn seemed perfectly calm, and the faint smile seemed genuine. Nathan decided the best he could do was to keep talking.

“So are you from Denbigh as well?”

“Ah yes,” Auryn smiled. “Good old Denbigh. I went to school with Gaz and his brother, you know.”

“Really? Any stories?”

“Oh, millions!”

Nathan decided that he really liked looking at the man in front of him. When he caught himself staring at Auryn for slightly too long he tried to snap himself out of it. “Um, so any you’d care to dish? Dirt on Gaz is always good.” Auryn waved his hand as he took a sip of his pint.

Placing the glass back on the bar he said, “Oh, I don’t want to talk about Gaz! I’d much rather talk about your amazing T-shirt.”

Nathan glanced down to remind himself what he was wearing. Oh right, the Must Eat Brains one.

“This?” he grinned like a fool. “That’s just me in the morning.”

“Zombie fan?” Auryn asked.

“Yeah, big time.”

“I liked that
Walking Dead
. Did you watch that?” Nathan blinked in surprise. “You mean,
The Walking
Dead
? Are you kidding? I love it!” A Bar Tender Tale |
Melanie Tushmore
27

“Yes, I thought they did a pretty good job. Lived up to the comics, and you don’t get that often.”

“You read comics?” Nathan asked in disbelief.

“Now and again. I’m a bit of a nerd, I’m afraid.”

“I’m sure I could outnerd you!” Nathan was confident for once he was right.

“Oh really? Well, that depends in what area. Are we talking TV, films, comics, or computer games?” Nathan was surprised. He’d lost already. “You’ve outnerded me! I don’t do computer games.”

“That’s a pity.” Auryn said.

Nathan’s heart skipped a beat. “I, um,” he stammered, looking away and fumbling with a glass, pretending to clean it. “I’m not anti-gaming or anything. I just… haven’t before.”

“So, you are game?”

“For most things, yes.”

Nathan felt heat rising in his cheeks as soon as he’d spoken. Slipping into flirty banter happened all too easily, and usually it didn’t faze him. Today, however, was a different story.

“That’s good to know.” Auryn took another sip of his drink, eyes still on Nathan.

Staring back at him, Nathan’s mind stumbled over what to say. He wanted to say something witty or clever.

There
were
flirting, right? Or was this all in his head? It was so awkward trying to chat to guys outside of gay clubs.

That, and Nathan’s uncanny ability to always fall for the straight ones anyway….

A Bar Tender Tale |
Melanie Tushmore
28

Auryn placed his pint on the bar and eagerly suggested,

“Korean horror films!”

“Er, what about them?”

“You said you’re game for most things? So, what about Korean horror films?”

“Well, yeah!” Nathan replied. “Have you seen
Dark
Water
?”

“Yes! We had a water tank like that back home. I tell you I couldn’t go near it again after watching that.” Nathan laughed. “I’m not surprised! They’re the kind of films you think are fine to watch, but the creeps catch up to you when you least suspect.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“Experience hiding behind the sofa? Er, yes! I love it!”

“Some of the computer games I play are like that,” Auryn said. “I have to peek around the sofa with my controller to keep playing!”