"Give me an Ale on the tap and two bourbon whiskey's!" Lucas shouts at me over the commotion at the bar. I set out three glasses and fill them with their respective drinks until the froth reaches the very edge of the rim, then slide them down the countertop where they slow down directly in front of him.
"Nice glide," He smirks at me and I tip my chin at him in acknowledgement to his compliment. Since getting fired from the thrift shop I started taking more shifts at the bar and realized night shifts made the best tips. It fucked my sleep schedule even more but the pay made up for it. I'd become more efficient in my bartending skills and our manager wanted to put me in charge of more shifts because of it. Definitely not a problem for me.
Wiping down the smudges of water derived from the condensed glasses, I throw the dish rag over my shoulder and move on to the next customer. And my heart actually fucking skips a beat.
Emily is sitting on one of the bar stools looking lost in thought and completely unaware of anything around her. She doesn't even realize how fucking beautiful she is but the men around her certainly do. They blatantly check her out, eyes roaming over her body hungrily. My hands tighten into fists and I'm tempted to punch their eyes out. I don't know why the urge comes to mind nor do I have the right but shit, I'm not liking all those eyes on her. Just because I don't blame them doesn't mean it justifies my anger towards their actions.
She's dressed in clothes that showcase her curvy figure to perfection, that skirt doing incredible things for her ass and her top hinting at the barest of cleavage. Her makeup is simple but fuck, those red lips stir up boiling lust in my veins and it's all I can do to stop myself from leaning across the counter and slamming my mouth to her lush one. I feel my body reacting to my thoughts and, at this rate, I'm convinced my dick will stay permanently hard around her. I see a guy approaching from behind her, eyes pinned to her ass, and I take a step forward while shooting daggers at him. He sees the warning clear on my face and halts before fearfully walking away.
That's right, motherfucker.
I stand in front of her so that no other guy even tries to come near. She still hasn't noticed me so I finally speak up.
"Ready to order?" I ask.
Emily visibly jolts out of her thoughts and I see the clear surprise on her face when she sees me. Her eyes quickly run over my body and my chest puffs out involuntarily. Jesus, I'm acting like such a douche. Why do I feel the need to impress her? More than that, I'm actually glad to see her and I honestly don't have an explanation for that. Maybe because I'd run out on her so quick the other day that I didn't get my fill.
"You work here?" She asks and I tilt my head at the obvious question. She immediately groans and the sound rages hot fantasies of other ways I can get her to do that.
"Really?" I question blandly and force myself under control.
"Yeah," She agrees with a nervous laugh. "Stupid question."
"How about just sticking to answering mine?" I say and mentally wince. That came out rude.
"Can you not be an asshole for like two seconds?" She snaps, eyes narrowing at me. I have to fight the urge to grin. I really like her fiesty side.
"I honestly don't think I can." I deadpan and she regards me for a few seconds before her lips quirk up into a reluctant smile. This, of course, brings my attention to her mouth and I swallow harshly. Fuck, I really want to kiss her. I should've done it in the locker room before everything went to shit.
"Nice lipstick." I tell her and my voice comes out raspier than normal. I hear her inhale sharply and bring my eyes back to hers. There's shock and confusion and...desire? Interesting.
"Thanks." She says quietly and ducks her head, nervously biting her botton lip. Now I want to groan as I envision my teeth replacing hers and tugging her mouth as I slowly release it. I give another mental shake of my head, concluding that I need to get laid soon.
"I'll take one gin and tonic and one cognac, both on the rocks." She says and her order immediately arises suspicion in me. I take the bottles out from under the counter and begin assembling her drinks.
"Who's the other drink for?" I ask casually.
"Oh, it's uh...I'm here with someone." She says finally. Though she sounded unsure I'm instantly flooded with irritation. More like irritation at myself because I'm actually fucking jealous.
"Hot date?" My voice is strained and I pray she doesn't notice. Why the hell do I even care? I don't know this chick beyond what she looks like, if I truly think about it.
"Sort of. It's just a co-worker of mine from the school I teach at." I'm not sure if she's convincing me or herself.
"You're a teacher?" I find myself asking. I need to stop. I don't need to know anything about her.
"Yes, elementary." She responds, her eyes coming alive and I'm suddenly glad I asked because she's stunning when she beams like that. "I teach 3rd grade English. It was a win-win job for me because I love the subject and I absolutely adore kids. I was lucky to land a job that meets my passion." She laughs then. "Sorry. I'm rambling."
"I don't mind." I tell her and realize it's true. Why is that true? I don't conversate with women. I fuck them and I leave them.
Yeah...I really needed to get laid.
"Have you started training yet?" She asks and a small part of me is glad she wants to know about me. Again, why? I make my personal boundaries clear as day. Emily must realize this at the same time as me because she immediately retaliates. "You don't have to tell me. It kinda came out."
I ignore her hesitation and go about answering her question.
"No, actually, your dad still has me on cleaning duty. The guys said I'm the longest to have been assigned this beginners ritual." I say, annoyance lining my tone. Both at the reality that Coach is still making me his bitch and that I'm conversing with his daughter. His hot-as-hell daughter that I most definitely should be staying away from. It's why I walked out of the locker room so fast the day he caught us. My attraction for Emily was - is - off the charts and I can't be pursuing shit if she's clearly forbidden. So far, I'm not doing a very good job at taking my own advice.
"It is," She agrees and I'm surprised to see both sympathy and anger on her face. Is it directed at me, or her dad? "You should take initiation of the situation and turn it around. Show him this is not a light matter to you." She advises.
"How do you know it's not a light matter to me?" I ask with genuine curiosity.
"It's devastatingly clear how much Sam means to you. My father is wrong to be messing with that." She says with heated conviction and my gut twists from her supportive words.
Stay away from her. She's getting under your skin way too fast.
She braces her arms on top of the counter and leans forward. My eyes drop to her tits as they come into view and fuck me, I want to know what they'd feel like in my hands. When I drag my gaze back to her face, a more difficult task than it should be, she's watching me with keen interest. This just proves how careless I'm being with my normally reserved self and I realize I need to a put a stop to things now. If she wasn't Coach's daughter, I know for a fact we would've had sex already. Multiple times. The circumstances, however, just don't work in our favour and the sooner that goes through my head, the sooner this internal war with myself will end. Perhaps it's the fact that she's forbidden that I find her so appealing. We want what we can't have right? But I can't act on it.
I'm about to resume to my jerkish ways when we both hear her name being called. We turn to see where it's coming from and I see some preppy dude making his way over to us. The guilt on her face says it all; that's her date.
"That your co-worker?" I confirm what I already know even if a part of me wants to be wrong.
"Yes." She nods and that earlier jealousy returns. "Tim Felds."
My clusterfuck of emotions is momentarily forgotten as I snicker at the douche's name.
"Tim Felds?" I repeat with a snort. "Sounds like a country singer who grows corn."
She whips that murderous glare at me and my dick twitches in my pants. Nice.
"Emily." The douche says when he reaches her and he warily glances at me. "Everything okay? It's been ten minutes." His words are almost accusing and the surprise is evident on both Emily and I. Were we really talking that long?
"I'm so sorry. I got caught up talking to a client of my father's." She apologizes and I clench my jaw, thoroughly disliking how she referred to me in such an impersonal manner. That talk was anything but professional. Is she brushing it off for the guy's sake? I'm not too hot about the way she places her hand on the douche's arm, either. He looks visibly relaxed at her reassurance. Fucker.
"We were actually just talking about you." Emily notifies him and his eyes light up like a puppy starving for attention. I want to strangle him. "This is Jaxon Cage." She introduces me.
"Hey, man. Nice to meet you." He shakes my hand firmly and I tighten my grip, majorly satisfied when he winces a little.
"Likewise, Tom." I return and he frowns.
"Tim." He corrects. I pretend to regard him with interest.
"Hey, I have a few buddies in Canada that are always going on about this coffee shop called Tim Hortons. That what you're named after?" I ask. He clearly doesn't see where I'm going with this.
"No. I'm named after my grandfather, actually."
"Bummer." I say with fake disappointment. Then I snap my fingers. "Maybe you should move to Canada." I suggest.
Emily launches out of her seat and her glare screams murder. Tim looks utterly offended and I have to fight a laugh.
"Let's go back to our seats, Tim. Lead the way." She tells him and he obliges. When he's a few steps in front of her, she turns around to face me.
"You can't just tell my date to move to Canada." She hisses. I smirk in my amusement and push her drinks toward her. "Have a nice night, Emily."
She bites the inside of her cheek, irritated. When she grabs the drinks and saunters off I watch the sway her ass the entire way. Lucas sidles next to me and whistles when he follows my line of sight.
"Damn. Who's she?" He asks with clear interest.
"None of your fucking business." I respond smoothly and he laughs, putting his hand up in surrender.
"Sorry, man. Didn't know she was your girl."
"She's not my girl."
"You have a funny way of showing that. But I'll stay away." He claps my shoulder and returns to the customers while I do the same, all the while trying to ignore the truth in his words.
The rest of my shift is pure hell because I'm too busy watching in on Tim and Emily to focus on my job. If I lean forward enough, I can see their booth at the back since it faces front, and into my line of vision. I'm leaning forward so often that Lucas threatens to shove me off the counter if he catches me like that one more time. I tell him to suck my dick.
I actually manage to go fifteen minutes without looking at them but I still feel restless. Are dates even supposed to be this long? My resistance breaks and I glance over, my jaw ticking when I see Tim speak in Emily's ear. The ass is probably using the loud music as an excuse to get that close. Would I get fired if I lower the music? I watch as Emily throws her head back in laughter and I'm stunned at how pretty she looks in this moment. Why the hell does she have to be so attractive?
"Can I get a tequila, handsome?" A girl calls out to me. I turn my attention to her. She's a leggy redhead and definitely giving me a thorough eye-fucking. I dial up my charm all the way, recognizing an opportunity for tips.
"Sure thing, gorgeous." I grin at her and pour her desired drink into a glass. I hand it to her with a wink and she giggles in response. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulls out a couple of bills and hands them to me. I glance at the money quickly, not wanting to seem eager, and note the twenty dollar tip. Fuck, yes. She reaches into her pocket once more and hands me a crumpled paper. I unwrap it and see that it's a phone number.
"I hope you plan to make use of that." She purrs, leaning forward and thrusting her chest out at me suggestively. I can't help but compare that move to how Emily did it, without even realizing what she'd done, but stop my train of thought. Don't go there. Instead, I take the girl's hand and give it a quick kiss that causes her to blush.
When she walks away with her drink, I look back to Emily and Tim's booth and see that it's empty. What the hell? Where did they go? I dart my eyes around the bar and finally spot them at the exit, making their way out. My hackles rise at the sight of them leaving together. Were they going home together? Did he plan on fucking her? Would she let him? Just as quick I banish those thoughts and trudge through the rest of my shift. I successfully get through the remaining night without paying mind to any thought Emily related. And that's the way it should be. By the end of my shift, I've long since stopped thinking about her and conclude that my thoughts were just jumbled due to my insane physical attraction to her.
When I get home later that night, I go into Lizzie's room instead of my own. I barely get to see her because of my newly given late shifts and this doesn't sit well with me. I never want Lizzie to feel abandoned by me. I was not my parents. So, I make it a point to sleep in her room from time to time just because I miss her. When I change out of my uniform and lay beside her, she automatically turns around to snuggle into me and I hold her close. I feel that familiar determination to do right by her and my mind wanders off to how I'm still not getting anywhere with this boxing thing. Emily's advice comes back to me. Take initiation. I mull over it for a minute and decide what needs to be done. With a new plan in mind, I drift off to sleep, not a single nightmare to be found.
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A/N
So how are you guys liking Jaxon's thoughts and jealousy over Emily?
Did you guys enjoy the banter between him and Tim? That was so entertaining to write, haha!
What are your thoughts on Jaxon and Emily's increasing attraction?
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Thank you :)