Jack & Lucy

Jack

We've managed to get through the first wave of drinkers without any hiccups. Lucy fell right back into the swing of things and it felt as if she never left- with the exception of her not saying a word to me while we worked in tandem. She stayed busy with drink orders and when there was a lull, she went right into stocking or cleaning. She didn't lean against the counter and try to shoot the shit with me like she normally would. There were many times I opened my mouth to say something to her, but small talk seemed stupid. I want to really know what happened with Blake, why she is back at Mag's and not in a bakery, and if she still hates my guts. However, none of that seemed appropriate while pulling the draft handles. 

It isn't until the happy hour crowd dies down that she finally mutters words to me.

"I hear Brandon is a great barback," she says with a tilt of her head. She's still avoiding eye contact, but she's let me know that her trip to the keg room was needless.

"He is. Changes the kegs over in half the time you did," I retort, leaning against the bar to give my legs a break.

"Guess I am outta practice."

"You weren't changing kegs in New York then?" I ask her, even though I know she left so she could quit the bar scene. I almost make a crack about being busy with wedding planning but that would be low, even for me.

"Changing out pastry bags more like," she says and I know she's referencing the bakery, The Magnolia she worked at briefly out there. I don't admit I know this because that would mean I would have been diligently paying attention to her Instagram.

"At least you were baking then?"

She lets out a loud "Ha!" before crossing in front of me to toss a wet rag in a dish bucket. A younger woman comes up to the bar with her ID in her hand and Lucy swirls around me to go help her. I watch as she leans into the counter and tilts her ear to hear the woman better. She shakes her head before coming over to me.

"You know what a motor oil shot is?" She asks me quizzically and this might be the first shot Lucy doesn't know. She used to try to stay up to date with all the fancy and frivolous shots that made the rounds on social media. I nod to her and wander over to the woman. I lean into her and ask, "You want a motor oil shot?"

I watch the smirk tug her lips to one side before she answers, "I want whatever you'll make me." She hands me her ID and adds, "My name is right there." Sometimes I flirt back with the cute college girls, but tonight I'm not interested. Not with Lucy back. I find her D.O.B and give her a small smile as I hand the card back to her. I'm not going to be a total dick since I need the tips.

"Thanks, Allison," I say and I let my eyes linger a second longer than they should. I scoot down the bar to grab the Jager and Goldschlager and Lucy watches as I start to pour. I then grab the Malibu and Peppermint Schnapps and mix them all together.

"That's a motor oil?" Lucy asks and I nod to her before placing the shot in front of Allison. I ask her if she wants to start a tab or closeout and she smiles again before answering, "I'll start a tab. That way I have a reason to come back for more." She leaves her card on the sticky counter before taking her shot glass back over to her group. She glances behind her and I watch as two of her friends look over at me.

"One of your lake rats?" Lucy asks and I note the disgust in her tone.

"Nope. A new admirer." 

"Oh, I should tell her she'll be one of many." 

"Yes, one of the many twenty-one-year-old admirers that I actively avoid." 

"Oh, you have an age limit you avoid now?" She asks with a smirk and a feisty tone. "I don't remember that being the case when you cheated on Audrey with that high schooler." 

I frown at her as I start toward the computer, "Krista said she had just graduated and was wearing ASU gear. It was reasonable to think she meant college and not high school," I reply as I input the tab into the computer. That happened years ago, so I am surprised Lucy still remembers that embarrassing incident.

 Another girl comes up to the bar so Lucy strides off. I watch as the girl scans the alcohol shelf behind us and Lucy glances between her and the bottles. I hear Lucy suggest a lemon drop and that is our go-to when someone has no idea what shot to order. Lucy then flicks four shot glasses onto the counter and starts mixing everything together. I know I am staring, I can feel my eyes wanting to peel away from her, but I can't. I didn't realize how much I missed her until she was back shaking a shaker in front of me. I can tell she's going through the motions, having done this a million times before but something about the look on her face is off. Like she's realizing she has done this a million times before.

She slides the glasses over and the girl hands her a fifty. As Lucy makes change, she says to me, "You know that line, in Dazed and Confused. Where Matthew McConaughey says like, that's why I like high school girls. I get older but they stay the same age?" I nod and she adds, "I think I feel that way about college girls. But I hate them instead." She closes the drawer with her hip and I grin as she drops the crumbled bills down on the counter. The girl leaves a two-dollar tip on a twenty-dollar tab and Lucy holds the bills up with a nod.

"One for each of us," she says before stuffing the bills into the tip bucket. The distaste that's been splashed across her face since she first walked over here still lingers and she's not having fun like she used to. I am sure I am part of that. I want the ease we had between us back, I want these shifts to be a breeze and not torturous.

"We'll get busy here soon enough. And then you'll miss these quiet nights," I tell her, as I remember how I would love the quieter nights because that's when I'd get to talk to her. She flicks her gaze to me and holds mine for a moment. I wonder if she's also reminiscing by the way her eyes finally soften. But then her jaw clenches and she looks away from me.

I spot Hannah jogging over to us and when she reaches the well, she breathlessly begs, "Hey Jack, can we steal you for a minute? The front just got hit with a bachelorette party and they want some eye candy. Come bring us in some tips." She bounces on her toes which causes her boobs to bounce with her. I look back to Lucy, not wanting to leave her back here but she looks to Hannah and says, "Yeah. Take him. I'm perfectly fine alone." She spins around to go help an older man in a suit and Hannah tugs on my arm.

"Come on, come on!" She tells me as I lift the panel. She grabs my hand as she pulls me toward the front room. When I cross under the doorway that connects the two spaces, I spot the massive group of women in tutus and tank tops. They all look like Scottsdale girls and I wonder why they are at a small bar in Phoenix on a Sunday night. I follow Hannah behind the bar and I spot the bride in a tight white dress leaning over the center of the counter. Her boobs are spilling out of her top and her Bride tiara is askew on her blonde head.

"Slippery nipples!" She yells to me and spins her finger in a circle above her head, "Twelve of em!" Her eyes are droopy and I can tell this is going to be a shitshow.