Billiards and Boundaries

two: the first shift

The audacity of men never ceased to amaze Blair, and Harry's particular gall was no exception.

She had been training for her new job for the last week, coming into the pub during the day to basically learn about all the different alcoholic concoctions the pub served. Now she was about twenty minutes into her first Friday night shift as a cocktail waitress.

It was definitely different from any job she'd ever had; her shift started at 10:00 in the evening, after the kitchen closed, and ended at midnight (Niall told her she would get longer shifts when she was more comfortable with the job). Char had trained her to take an "afternoon nap" so she would have enough energy to work. Char also helped her pick out her outfit — a sapphire colored lace crop top with a black mini skirt, and pumps that matched the color of her top. Blair was definitely going to have to get used to being so exposed to the general public. Char had advised her to bring a change of clothes since she would be walking home in the dark.

At the start of her shift, Niall directed her to the section of tables she would be serving. The first table was a group of four young men, probably in their twenties. They must've been regulars because Niall seemed to know them. He introduced Blair as their "new cocktail waitress" and told them to go easy on her, to which she bit her lip in shyness. Niall then left her to do her job, standing in front of the men as all of their eyes scanned her body up and down. She figured that was to be expected, but it was still a little unnerving at first. Fortunately they were polite, as were the patrons at her other tables. But the longer her shift droned on, the more she felt like she was being watched.

When she finally had a chance to take a breather, she grabbed a water bottle from the mini fridge behind the bar and strolled back to her section to see if anyone needed their drinks refilled. She turned her head to the left after concluding that her patrons were good for the time being, her eyes landing on familiar green ones.

Harry stood with his shoulder leaning against the open doorway that led to the pool hall, smirking precariously at her, his long hair flowing in unkempt ringlets — but it worked for him. He was in all black again, Blair unable to help staring at the tight denim compressing the thick of his thighs.

She strutted over to him and gave him a once over, placing her hand on her hip. "Slow night?" She asked as she observed the pool hall was empty.

Harry licked his lips and let his eyes travel over her body before answering. "Um, I guess so. I think I'm getting a bit of a reputation for hustling people out of money." He began twisting the rings on his fingers.

"Hmm, better work on that then." She began to walk away until she felt Harry tug on her wrist.

"You seem to be having a good night," he badgered as he grazed his thumb against her palm. "Must be getting some great tips since all those blokes have been trying it on with you."

"Excuse me?" She looked at him incredulously and ripped her hand away from him. "Have you been watching me this whole time?"

He stepped closer to her so there was only a few inches between them, ignoring her question. "When's it my turn, Blair, to have all of your undivided, flirtatious attention?"

Blair scoffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder and noticed his eyes on her chest. "I'm not flirting with them, Harry, and they aren't flirting with me. I'm doing my job. It's called being nice, maybe you're just not familiar with the term."

"I can be nice," he jested coyly after a beat, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the wall.

"Oh really?" she rolled her eyes and shifted her weight onto the opposite leg. "Because I haven't seen that side of you yet."