Love on the Rocks (Bar Tenders) (2 page)

Tam sniffed in mock indignation, while Justin grinned. “I can feel another bet coming on.”

This time Tam snorted. “Mm-hmm. Well, you’d better hope that whoever you end up pulling doesn’t mind your spicy breath, darling.”

“What?” Justin was alarmed and raised a hand to breathe into it. The brunet bartender returned, and Justin quickly dropped his hand, forcing a smile.

Tam watched with a predatory gaze as the bartender placed three rocks glasses on the bar and started mixing their drinks. Tara leaned over the bar to watch, focused on the drinks. “May I have extra lime in mine, please?”

The bartender smiled at her. “Of course you can.”

“Thank you, hon. Sorry to be a pain. We’re bartenders too.”

“Oh, yeah? All of you?” He flicked his eyes up, and they locked with Justin’s momentarily.

Justin tasted victory already and tried for his best smile. “I am! I’m supposed to be learning new cocktails.”

“Whereas I work in fashion,” Tam added, vying for attention. “But Justin and I dance together.”

“Oh, right?” Again, the barman’s eyes locked with Justin’s.

He’s interested
. Justin picked up on the vibes and found he was interested in return.
Score!
He studied the barman closer as he mixed the drinks. He had a nice mouth, with full lips that were just asking to be kissed; his curly hair was cute, and he had dark brows to match. There was something about him that hinted at the exotic, if only that he wasn’t the usual short-haired, styled blond that was prevalent in gay bars.

He was… very attractive. Definitely.

“What sort of dancing?” he asked, having taken the bait Tam offered.

“Anything.” Tam winked at him. “We do it together.”

Justin smiled and nodded along, though he noted the bartender’s smile seemed more strained than flirty.

“I dance too,” Tara said, unaware of Tam’s double entendre. “I teach tap.”

Tam shot her a look of annoyance, but the bartender seemed amused. “Tap is awesome. Wow, I can’t believe you teach it. You look so young.”

Tara beamed. “Oh, I used to help my tutor with her classes, so I got used to it pretty early, y’know.”

“That’s still really amazing.” The bartender smiled at her, and Justin decided he had a very pretty smile.

A taller man materialized at the brunet’s side; the blond barman had returned. He flashed another dazzling smile with perfect white teeth. “Yena beat me to it,” he said, leaning on the bar. “Sorry I took so long, guys.”

Tam seized his chance to lean in, touching the blond’s arm. “Oh, no trouble. But thank you so much.”

“My pleasure.” The blond’s perma-smile turned knowing. “I’m Eric,” he said, offering his hand.

Tam’s hand shot out to grasp his. “I’m Tam. And this is Tara and Justin.”

Eric shook Tam’s hand, then moved along the bar, shaking Tara’s next. He nudged his colleague aside, heedless to the fact he was still trying to mix the drinks, in a bid to reach Justin.

Justin noted Eric’s pushiness, and something about it annoyed him, but he took Eric’s hand anyway. “Justin.”

Eric looked into his eyes as he groped his hand. His touch was warm and confident, sending electric pulses up Justin’s arm. From one touch, Justin knew instinctively that if he were to go to bed with Eric, they’d have a struggle for dominance.

Which could be fun.

“Great to meet you.” Eric’s blue eyes danced with intent. “Stick around,” he added, apparently to Justin. “It’ll calm down later on. I can make you a drink then.” With that, he extracted himself and flitted away, leaving his colleague to continue serving.

The brunet got on with mixing the drinks, placing three beautifully crafted cocktails in front of them. It wasn’t Justin’s round, but he produced his wallet, mostly as an excuse to command the barman’s attention. He took longer than necessary to find the correct money, instead putting all his concentration into flirting. “What was your name?” he asked with a smile. He’d heard Eric say it, but being an unusual name it hadn’t stuck in Justin’s memory.

Dark eyes fixed on his, though the playfulness in them had disappeared. “Yena,” he said quietly.

Justin still couldn’t get it. “Pardon?”

“Yena,” he said again, an edge to his voice.

“That’s a nice name,” Tara said.

Still unsure, Justin asked, “How’d you spell that?”

Yena looked at him, this time in disbelief. “Y-E-N-A,” he said flatly. “Look”—he glanced along the bar—“I’ve got to serve someone else, can you…?”

He didn’t say
hurry up
, but Justin heard it clearly. He felt slightly deflated at being rushed. “Oh, sure. Sorry.” He handed over a note, which Yena whipped out of his hand before he had a chance to say anything else. As he marched off to the till, Justin glanced at Tam, frowning at him in confusion.

Tam shrugged in answer. Either he didn’t know
why
Yena was cross, or he didn’t care.

When Yena returned with the change, Justin decided to lay on the charm. “Keep it.” He smiled warmly. “Put it towards tips.”

Yena looked surprised. “But there’s over five quid here.”

Justin waved it away. “Please.”

“All right.” Yena glanced at him, unsure. “Thanks.”

“You’re wel—”

Yena turned away, and that was that.

“—come.” Justin snorted. “
Well
.”

Tara was already sipping her drink, oblivious to Justin’s troubles. “Mm, these are good.”

“You bet.” Tam raised his drink, catching Justin’s eye. “Cheers, dears.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Justin picked up his glass to down a large amount. Cocktails always made things better. He scanned along the bar, looking for Yena.

What’d happened? Had Eric’s interruption annoyed Yena somehow? Or was it something else? Justin couldn’t work it out.

Chapter Two

A
S
E
RIC
had promised, the bar’s patrons did thin out as the night wore on. As it approached one a.m., the bar staff weren’t as rushed and were able to slow down and chat more.

Well, Justin noticed that Eric did most of the chatting. He guessed Eric was the supervisor, from the laid-back way he asked his staff to carry out jobs, confident they wouldn’t say no. It left him free to mix drinks slowly and flirt for all he was worth.

Eric flitted back and forth to their spot a number of times, managing to keep up a conversation with them. He oozed confidence, and was
very
good at eye-fucking. Even though Justin noticed Eric doing it to a number of his male customers, including Tam, when Eric turned his intense gaze on Justin, it was hard not to succumb.

But someone else kept drawing Justin’s attention, and that someone appeared to be keeping his distance. In contrast to Eric’s overconfidence, Yena was almost shy. They couldn’t have been more different; Eric had height, good build, sculpted arms, perfectly styled blond hair, and the straight nose and sharp cheekbones of a model.

Not all that different from
himself
, Justin thought. If he were more buff, more middle of the road, he’d probably be an Eric. Whether they’d be a good match in bed was tempting to find out. All the drinks had made Justin’s body warm and wobbly anyway; if he was going to bottom tonight, Eric looked promising.

But….

Justin couldn’t stop gazing at Yena. There was something about him. Justin’s instincts told him that if he went to bed with Yena, then he’d be the one to top the cute brunet—and Justin liked that thought, he had to admit. He wasn’t sure what it was about Yena, if it was the vibes he gave off, but he’d be willing to bet money Yena was more submissive than dominant.

Those thoughts, and watching Yena behind the bar, had Justin’s cock hard. He wriggled atop his barstool, adjusting himself. But his attempts to chat with Yena kept meeting a brick wall.

“Do a shot with me,” Justin asked, before Yena could rush off again.

He paused, and just when Justin thought he might refuse, Yena agreed. “Okay. What do you want?”

“Whatever your favorite is,” Justin insisted, at his charming best.

“My favorite happens to be the most expensive on the menu,” Yena returned, deadpan.

Damn
. “That’s fine.” Justin fished in his wallet. “You, er, take cards, right?”

An amused smile spread on Yena’s face. “Yes.”

“If he’s buying, we’ll all have shots,” Tam pitched in. Justin glared at him but didn’t refuse. Yena began to make the shots, using a mixture of spirits and liqueurs.

“So.” Justin turned back to Yena, determined to make him talk. “Where are you from?”

“Croydon.”

“But… okay, I meant, where are your family from?” Justin floundered. “I mean, with your name an’ all.”

“My mum is half Indian.” Yena concentrated on the drinks, rather than Justin.

“Ooh, like me,” Tara said. “I look like I’m tanned, but this is my natural color.” She offered her bare arm on the bar, and surprisingly Yena joined in, setting his hand beside her. Their caramel skin tones were remarkably similar. “Aw, twins.” Tara giggled.

Yena smiled at her, and Justin felt jealousy twinge in his gut. His own skin was milky white; peaches and cream. By the time Justin had gotten over his annoyance and figured out something new to ask Yena, the drinks had been dispensed, and Yena was waiting to be paid. Justin handed over his card, wincing at the thought of his expanding overdraft.

While Yena fed the card into the handheld machine, he knocked back his shot before Justin had even grasped his. Uncertainty quashed Justin’s usual confidence. He wasn’t used to men
not
wanting to flirt with him.

Maybe Yena wasn’t gay?

Yena finished the transaction and handed Justin his card and receipt. As Justin reached for them, Yena’s fingers brushed his. Justin looked up in time to see Yena looking at him before he focused back on the bar. A brief smile teased those plush lips and disappeared.

It struck Justin at once.
He’s shy
. But his mouth worked faster than his brain, and the next thing he blurted out was “What time do you finish?”

Yena looked at him in surprise, dark eyes blinking. “What?”

“What time do you finish?” Justin repeated.

“Umm, late.”

“What time?”

“We shut at two,” Yena said. “I’ll be cleaning till three.” He stared back at Justin, almost like a challenge.

Justin
liked
a challenge. Smiling broadly, he said, “That’s cool. I’ll wait.”

Yena returned the smile, though it had an edge to it. “Hang out if you want. I’ll be going straight home when I’m done.”

With that, he walked off. Justin was left staring after him, not sure if that’d been a yes or a no.

Tam, too, seemed confused. “Did he just shoot you down?” he hissed along the bar. “What the fuck kind of answer was that?”

“Goodness,” Tara said, grabbing Justin’s arm. “Don’t faint, Justin. Someone just turned you down.”

“Umm, excuse me.” Justin frowned at both of them. “Can you two butt out? That wasn’t a
no
. He’s obviously playing hard to get.”

Tara laughed hard, and Tam joined in.

“Shut up.” Justin’s frown turned into a glare. “He did
not
turn me down.”

“Does this mean you’re not into Eric?” Tam looked up like a meerkat, searching for the blond bartender. “Because I’d love a ride on
that
.”

“Fine, I release my dibs, if you release yours.” Justin couldn’t care less about Eric at this point. Yena had gotten under his skin, and Justin wanted to scratch that itch.

“Ooh.” Tam winked at him. “That keen, are you?”

“I could say the same for you,” Justin grumbled back.

“
Justin
,” Tara said in surprise. “Stop grouching and cheer up, would you? Have a little patience.”

At that, Tam laughed again. “Patience?
Him
?”

A
S
IT
turned out, Tam didn’t hang around until closing. He received a text from a mysterious booty caller, downed the last of his drink, and made to leave. “See you at rehearsal on Monday!” he called to Justin before dashing off.

Tara groaned. “Do you want me to leave, too, Justin?”

“No,” Justin said. “Let’s hang out. If I wait here on my own, it’ll look too desperate.”

“Thanks a lot.” She laughed. “Buy me a drink, then, before they call last orders.”

Despite all the flirting that’d gone on before, Justin was surprised when Eric didn’t follow up on anything or
anyone
. After last orders were done, he closed down the tills and took the drawers of cash away, disappearing through a door behind the bar. Justin assumed he was doing the cashing up.

A few minutes later, the music was shut down and the lights turned on bright. Patrons grumbled and tried to order more drinks, but the bar staff weren’t serving any longer. They began a methodical cleanup of the bar, chatting among themselves. Justin recognized the obvious relief at having a busy weekend shift over and done with.

He watched Yena working, noting the differences in him. He seemed more animated, chatting and joking with his colleagues as they tidied up and scrubbed down surfaces. Yena really did have a beautiful smile, and when he was relaxed he smiled a lot. His voice was still soft, even in the vacuum of quiet that the music had left. Justin had to strain to hear him at times, though his laugh was easier to hear; Yena had a low, dirty chuckle. Its sound produced wicked images in Justin’s mind, except he feared he was far too drunk now to do much about that.

Even Tara was flagging, almost dozing off at the bar. One of the other bartenders poured out a pint of water, leaving it in front of Tara with a wink. “Thanks,” Justin said.

The evening wasn’t exactly going according to plan. He made one last ditch attempt to flirt when Yena came close by. “So, Yena,” he ventured, enjoying saying the man’s name. “You gonna come out and play?”

Yena gave him an amused, wry smile, but it wasn’t encouraging. “I’m going home,” he stated, as if it were obvious.

Too drunk to feel embarrassed, Justin pressed on. “Where do you live?”