The Secret Lives of Fireflies

Pretty Girls and Hospital Visits

               We had been going to that bar for a few months when Devon met Sara Bradock. She was screwed from day one. I could see it in her eyes when she first laid eyes on that girl and walked over. Sure, to any outsider it would just look like Dev doing what she does and taking women home to blow their minds with her sexual prowess, but I could see it. She couldn't tear her eyes from that girl, and half the time she was touching her, but it wasn't touching because she wanted to touch, it was touching because she had to. I doubt she even noticed that she was.

               So Sara went home with Dev that night, and pretty soon they were dating and hopelessly in love and moving forward in their lives. And one night I went to the bar alone, one of their date nights, to talk to Luce. Seeing those two lovebirds all the time made it very hard not to think about being with Luce like that.

               I walked in the night and took a seat at the bar and waited patiently for Luce to finish up with some customer who was eying her like a dog eyes a bone.

               Stop it. Luce isn't a piece of meat. She's a person, a wonderful person who deserves a lot more than you could give her. She's mine. Except she wasn't, I just wanted her to be. She would never even know because I didn't have the balls to tell her. I wasn't ready to be turned down by Luce, who I was steadily falling in love with.

               "Well hey there, where's your shadow?" Luce asked when she finally came up to me and popped the cap off of a Saint Florian and handed it to me.

               "Out with her girl. I thought I'd stop by for a drink or two."

               "I barely ever see you without Dev over by that pool table. How am I supposed to lust after you when you're sitting right here?" She winked playfully and my gut turned. She made jokes like that without understanding what it did to me.

               I just shrugged and said, "Guess you'll have to learn to lust after what's right in front of you."

               "I'm pretty good at that." Luce said, leaning forward. It took a lot out of me not to look at her cleavage, those damn tank tops.

               "Yeah?"

               "Yeah, I tend to go after things right in front of me. I don't like trying to get things out of my reach when there's something wonderful right here. That's why I'm pretty lucky to have such a big crush on the person I do, they're right here."

               I nodded and looked away, wishing that she had meant me and not someone else. "You should go for it."

               "I would, but I need to wait until they can handle it, I don't want to scare them off."

               I chuckled, "You're pretty scary anyways, Luce."

               She grinned at me, "Don't I know it."

               "It's pretty slow tonight." I commented, changing the topic.

               "Yeah, but it's a Wednesday. Besides, it leaves me more time to talk to my favorite customer." She gave me an award winning smile.

               "Too bad I can't talk to my favorite bartender." I said with a smirk.

               "Oh, shut up you, you know you love me."

               I do. "You wish."

               "So, how is Devon and her new girl? Possible heartbreak in the future?"