𝔸𝕧𝕒
Where do these guys keep popping up from? First the hospital—twice. Now here.
"You work here?" I ask.
"Yeah," Kieran says. "I'm off tonight, though."
I've never been to this particular bar before. I'm pretty sure the only reason Jen chose this place was that she was hoping to run into someone she has her eyes on.
"How do you guys know each other?" I ask.
"We just met," Jen chimes in, pulling up a barstool for me between her and Mike.
"Hey," I say to Mike, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"You're late," he says, not even making eye contact.
Oh good. It's gonna be one of those nights.
"Sorry," I say. I'm not even fifteen minutes late, but in this case I would rather just apologize than let it turn into a whole thing.
"Have a seat, guys!" Jen says to Zane and Kieran, gesturing to a couple of empty stools on the opposite side of our table.
Zane has a stern, tense look to him as he takes his seat. Between the eavesdropping earlier and this chance encounter, it's more likely he thinks I'm the creepy stalker.
Well, this is awkward.
"So, Ava," Mike says with an irritated voice. "Clearly you and these two are already acquainted." He scoffs and takes a sip of his beer.
This is going great so far.
"Yeah," Jen interjects, attempting to lighten the mood. "How do you guys know each other?"
"Uh, we don't really," I say. "We just bumped into each other at the hospital earlier."
"You had another appointment?" Mike asks.
"Yeah, it's no big deal. Just tests and stuff. Don't worry about it."
I try to leave Mike out of most of the details. Every time I tell him they don't have a diagnosis for me he just complains and insists I need to try harder. I'd rather not deal with that right now. Besides, I don't exactly want to share my private medical information in front of these strangers anyway.
Mike gives me a suspicious look as he takes another swig of his drink.
"And now you're all here," he says. "Crazy coincidence."
"Must be fate," Kieran says with a flirty smile.
Kieran certainly isn't helping my case with Mike tonight.
"Kay," Mike says, grabbing his beer and pointing toward the pool tables in the back of the bar. "Well, I see Jason back there. I'm gonna go play pool."
He walks off in the direction of the pool tables. Jen has resumed conversation with Kieran, but I can't help but notice Kieran's eyes on me.
"What's his problem?" Zane asks.
"Mike? Oh uh, he's just a little awkward with people sometimes."
"Does that include you?" he asks.
Mike is sensitive and sometimes insecure. It always seems worse when he has to meet new people. Yeah, okay, sometimes he's a dick too. But honestly, so am I.
"No, he's just complicated," I say. "It takes time to get to know him."
"I'll pass on that, thanks," Zane asks with an eye roll.
"What does that mean, you'll pass?"
"I mean I don't think it's worth putting in that much effort getting to know someone like that. If you start off acting like an arse, it's not my job to wait until you're tolerable."
He smirks and takes a sip of his drink.
"He's not an ass, or 'arse.' Whatever. And I think you're being an arse for saying that anyway."
He looks up from his drink, looking slightly vulnerable. For a moment, his brown eyes catch the light in a way that makes them look an almost-otherworldly shade of green. Damn, this guy is good looking. That chiseled jaw, perfectly placed freckles across his cheeks, elaborate designs inked into his arms...
What was I saying?
"You certainly aren't the first person who has said that," he says with a smile. "So you might have a point. I just speak my mind is all."
"I have a bit of that foot-in-mouth problem myself. I still prefer honest people over phony ones, so I guess if you're an ass that's okay as long as you're straight up about it."
He smirks at me and looks down at his drink. His smile is incredibly charming and he seems to know it. I follow the line of his jaw to his neck and down to a tattoo on his bicep. It seems to be a harp with a snake wrapped around it.
"I like your tattoo," I say. "A harp?"
He looks down for a moment. "Yeah, thanks," he says. "It's uh... kind of a long story."
"So you don't play the harp?" I joke.
He chuckles. "No, it's kind of a juxtaposition thing. The beauty of the song pulls you in, but the snake is waiting to bite you. It's kind of supposed to represent the danger in beautiful things."
"Or the beauty in dangerous things?"
"I haven't put it that way before, but I like it."
Kieran suddenly turns to join our conversation. "So what are we talking about?" he asks in a singsongy tone. He seems like he's had a bit too much to drink.
"Tattoos," I say.
"Yeah?" he asks. "What's the rose mean?" He points to the rose tattoo along my wrist.
"Oh, well, I read that the rose is a symbol of both life and death. I liked the paradox. Plus I was a super moody teenager and it seemed fitting for my dark, twisted soul."
Kieran laughs and I notice a few tattoos on his arm.
"What about yours?" I ask.
He looks confused for a moment.
"I didn't even notice those!" Jen says, at a volume she only thinks is appropriate because she's a bit tipsy.
"Oh yeah, uh... these are just random designs really. No meaning or anything." He blushes and looks down. Zane's mood has suddenly shifted and he's now casting a glare in Kieran's direction.
"Hey Jen," Zane says abruptly. "What type of drink is that?"
That was weird. Why is he suddenly asking about her drink?
"Oh, it's um," she looks down to remember what she ordered, "a Manhattan I think."
Zane reaches for Jen's hand and casually brushes it.
"Would you mind if I try some?" Zane asks.
She seems flustered, but smiles and passes him her drink. He takes a sip and hands it back to her.
"I was interested in trying it, but yeah, not for me," he says.
Kieran is eyeing Zane with a questioning expression. There seems to be a silent conversation happening between them. Jen takes another sip of her drink and Kieran quickly resumes conversation with her. The whole interaction seems a bit odd, but everyone is already moving on.
A smile comes across Jen's face and she's blushing hard. With a giggle, she leans over to whisper in my ear.
"Aaavvvaaaaa..."
She points toward the bar. A buxom bartender with a shoulder-length messy bob is pouring beer out of the tap.
"That's herrrrr!!" she whispers not-so-subtly.
This must be the woman she was telling me about. I didn't realize she was a bartender here, but it explains why she's been getting so chummy with Kieran.
"Isn't she beautiful??" she mumbles, practically drooling. "I'm going to talk to her."
In an instant, she stumbles off her barstool and walks over to the bartender.
What the heck?
This is not like her at all. Jen has always been somewhat of a slow mover, but the liquid courage must be having a serious effect on her tonight. Zane and Kieran look at each other a bit stunned before Kieran bursts out laughing.
"Well, that's not how I saw this going!" he says through his fit of laughter.
ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖
Okay, that—in hindsight—was not my smoothest move.
I watch as Jen approaches the bartender. She's rosy-cheeked and her eyes are wide, pupils dilated from the venom I left behind from my sip of her drink.
What am I doing? Why am I desperate enough to keep Kieran away from this girl that I'm willing to practically throw him at anyone else?
I turn back to the table. Kieran is still chuckling as he sips his drink. He looks up at Ava like he's sizing up his dinner.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
"So your friend has a thing for the bartender?" he asks with a laugh. "And by bartender I mean, not me."
He chuckles again and allows his arm to rest on the table, exposing his newly 'tattooed' skin. He's acting like he's not going for her but his body betrayed him. Even though he didn't intend to, his body was shifting ever so slightly to make him more attractive to his prey. I've rarely seen him lose control in this way. He must be really interested in this girl.
"Yeah, I guess so!" she says, with a slight blush appearing on her face. "Jen told me we were coming here because she wanted to run into her crush, turns out it's the bartender. I don't know what came over her just now. She's usually a, um... slow mover?"
Ava's expression turns to one of shock and disgust as she stares over my shoulder. I look to see Jen and the bartender kissing in an aggressive way that is slightly hard to look at, practically prying each other's lips open with their tongues.
Yeah, that's awkward.
"Wow," she says, her face reddening. "Yeah, I guess she had a little more to drink than I thought."
She uncomfortably chugs the rest of her drink, trying her best to look away from the bar.
"It looks like you could use another one of those," Kieran says. "What are you drinking?"
"I don't know," she says. "They ordered drinks before I got here. This is, um... not the best. Maybe a rum and coke instead?"
"You got it," he says, smiling back.
I don't want him buying her a drink, but I'd rather stay here with her than leave them alone together.
"So, love," I say. "Based on the way you downed that drink, would it be safe to assume you're not having a great time?"
"Sorry. It's not personal," Ava says with a sigh. "I don't go out a lot and I kind of thought I'd be spending time with Jen and Mike tonight and well..."
"You're stuck with me," I say with a smirk.
"No, no," she says in a flustered, apologetic tone. "I didn't mean it that way; I just meant... sorry."
She sighs and bites her lip, looking downward and fiddling with her glass.
"So you're British?" she asks, clumsily changing the subject.
I resist the urge to make another sarcastic remark.
"Yeah, sort of. I've lived in a lot of places, London for the longest. I guess I picked up the accent."
"I dunno, not sure I hear it," she says, a cheeky smile flashing on her face.
"Oi, a sarcastic one. I like you."
"Back with drinks!" Kieran says. "Gotta admit, it was hard to, uh, get the attention of the bartender."
He gives us a wink and chuckles. "Had half a mind to try and get an invitation to that party, but it seems like they're having plenty of fun on their own."