A Bartender in Charming

Chapter 3: Biker Crossword

Lily:
I had only been a bar tender at Teller-Morrow for a few weeks, but I already felt as though I'd been there for years. It didn't take me very long to learn all the little patterns and idiosyncrasies of the bikers since I worked every night of the week as well as Saturday mornings.
      It was those early hours I looked forward to the most. The clubhouse was quiet until noon, just a few bikers milling around, getting extra shop work done. I made coffee for them... Well, mainly, I made coffee for Chibs, who had his breakfast at the bar while we chatted idly. And once everyone who wanted one had a cup in their hand, I'd sit down across from him to get some studying done.
     "What've ye got there, lassie?" He asked me the first time I did this. I turned the text book over and showed him the cover.
     "I'm studying for a psychology course I'm taking," I explained.
     "You're gonna be a head shrinker, love?" He asked dubiously.
     "No," I laughed, "I want to be a social worker, but they require at least some basic psych to get my certificate."
     He nodded before looking back down at whatever he'd been doing before.
     "What are you reading?" I asked, peering over the counter.
     "Just the paper," He said.
I leaned over and looked down at his newspaper. It was open to the weekly crossword.
     "You're doing the crossword?" I asked incredulously, smirking.
     "Yes, you got a problem with that, ya bar wench?" He said feistily.
     "Yikes, 'bar wench?' You got me right here, Filip." I said, pointing to my heart. "Was that in your biker crossword puzzle? Two words, eight letters for the girl who makes you your drinks..."
     Chibs made a face at me. "Don't ye have some head shrinking shite to read?"
      I chuckled and looked back down at my book.
     The evenings were less pleasant, especially Friday nights. The clubhouse would get packed with patched members and the infamous crow eaters. I had quickly realized that the latter were biker groupies. Nice enough, mostly, except if they thought I was looking at their favorite biker for too long. The thought made me want to laugh. Me, flirting with a biker... Not likely. Making conversation was just a part of my job.
     Then, I arrived one Saturday to find the clubhouse a hive of activity. Though this was not customary, it didn't shock me half as much as seeing an assortment of rifles and guns spread over my bar. I saw Chibs talking to Jax. I hesitated before walking over to them but then Chibs saw me and walked over.
      "Good morning, lassie."
     "Good morning... What's going on?" I asked, eyeing the guns.
     "A bit of trouble last night... One of the crow eaters was taken." He said carefully, watching my face.
     "Taken? As in kidnapped?" I frowned.
     "Yes..." He said, still staring at me as though waiting for my reaction.
     "It was a rival club, wasn't it." I said, stating it more than asking. I'd heard about this kind of thing happening before I started working here. I'd just never thought it would actually happen...
     "You're a smart lass. In any case, we're going on lockdown and that means ye aren't leaving for a while."
     "What? Why?" I asked indignantly.
     "I know you're not used to this, but this happens occasionally. We don't want anyone else getting taken, so we gather up everyone who matters and have them stay put here in the clubhouse." He explained.
     "But... I just fix the drinks..." I trailed off, looking over at the bar—my bar—covered in weapons.
     He cleared his throat. "Be that as it may, we can't take chances. Wouldn't want ye getting hurt, now would we?"
     "Alright. This is fucking insane, but alright," I muttered.
     He cracked me an apologetic smile and began to walk away. I reached out and grabbed onto his arm.
     "Hold on," I said, letting go of him quickly. "How long do these things usually last?"
     "It depends, but it'll probably be until tomorrow."
     I sighed. "Where do I sleep, then?"
     "You can take my room, if you'd like."
     "Really? But where will you sleep?"
     "I'm not sleeping tonight, sweetheart." He said matter-of-factly before walking off. Left alone, I looked at all the chaos around me. What had I gotten myself into?