Behind the Stick

by Sandra Marie

  “I can take this in so many directions,” he said.

  “Let’s keep it PG.”

  He pointed to his cheek, how about a peck. His elbow rested on the bar and he leaned toward her. She pressed her hands to the bar and closed the distance, kissing his cheek before lowering herself back down to her stool.

  He got a cup and scooped several cherries into it before sliding it across the bar. “Jackpot!” she exclaimed and he laughed.

  The door opened and two new customers came in and Gavin greeted them with a nod. “Be right back,” he said to Lauren.

  “Take your time I have my cherries and am perfectly content.” She plopped one in her mouth and hummed as she chewed.

  He went to help the customers, falling into an easy conversation that Lauren eventually joined. He gave her a few more cherries, catching glimpses of her smiling and humming as she ate them.

  After two drinks the pair paid their bill and headed out into the night. Gavin looked at the time when he realized Lauren was the only person left at the bar and he was surprised to see how much time had gone by.

  “Want another Roy Roger?” He motioned to her almost empty glass.

  Her teeth slid over her plump bottom lip, and he tried not to focus on the sexy curve of her mouth or the way her eyes smiled more than her lips did.

  “I really shouldn’t. Have to drive and all, and it’s getting late. You should be closing soon.”

  “I don’t close until the last person leaves, and since you’re the only person here, that’s up to you.”

  She pushed her glass across the bar asking for another without words, and he quickly went about making her drink.

  “Is it usually this quiet this time of the week?”

  He shrugged. “They built a sports bar around the corner, and they have a ton of TVs and twofers every weekday until seven. A lot of people have jumped ship especially after I started doing the construction. I still have my regulars like Devin who come in a few times a week and a few other people. Not as many as I’d like, but enough to keep me afloat.”

  She nodded her head toward the disaster in the corner. “What’s going on with all that? Looks like a big job.”

  He grabbed a glass and put it under the tap of a local IPA. When the glass was half-full, he pushed the tap back into place and took a sip from the glass. “It’s bigger than I expected, going to cost more money to fix, and people don’t want to come hangout at a place that looks like it was damaged in an earthquake so…” He shrugged instead of finishing his thought.

  “Not to point out the obvious or anything, but in order to make money, you need to have a lot more people in here.”

  “Is that how it works?” he asked with a laugh. His lips turned down. “I know,” he said. “I had all these big plans for St. Patrick’s Day, thinking this construction would be done.”

  “Why can’t you still follow through?”

  “I wanted to make this place scream St. Patrick’s Day, you know be really festive with green four-leaf clover banners and green and gold beads to hand out to customers. Make it an all-day thing with brunch where I served leprechaun mimosas and Irish coffee, and for dinner, corned beef and cabbage with shamrock sours and Irish car bombs. There’s a small kitchen in the back, nothing crazy, but big enough to handle that.”

  “That sounds amazing.”

  It did sound amazing. Gavin had been thinking about it since the idea of owning the bar became a reality. St. Patrick’s Day had always been a favorite holiday of his. It was a day people went out and enjoyed each other’s company while sharing a pint. It was a day to raise a glass and sing along to songs while making memories that would stay with a person forever.

  “It’s basically a fantasy at this point.”

  Lauren’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

  “I have two and half weeks until St. Patrick’s Day is here and very little money and no employees to speak of.” He couldn’t afford to make corned beef and cabbage; hell he didn’t even know how to make corned beef and cabbage. Though, he thought he could call Dad for a recipe.

  “I can help with the decorations,” she said and his head snapped up.

  “Huh?”

  “If you want me to that is. I work at the library, which means I’m always creating displays and helping out with kid classes. I’m pretty crafty with a pair of scissors and some construction paper. Give me some glitter and forget about it. I can make you four-leaf clover banners no problem. I could even make some centerpieces to put on the tables.”

  “Centerpieces?” He didn’t even think about centerpieces. It seemed kind of fancy for the Hole in the Wall, but a little sprucing up couldn’t hurt. A centerpiece or two might actually be nice.

  “All I’ll need is some empty bottles, which I’m assuming you have a lot of and some green paint.”

  “I couldn’t ask you to do that.” While it sounded like an interesting idea that could really help give the place some life, he couldn’t expect so much from her.

  “You’re not. I’m offering. Let me worry about the décor, and you focus on the drink menus and specials. You don’t have to spend much money to get people in the door. You just need to get word out so they know where to come.”

  “But what about that mess.” He waved his hand to the mess that he despised more and more every day. “I don’t want to get sued if someone hurts themselves.”

  She tapped her finger against her chin. “What about a curtain?”

  “A curtain?”

  “Yeah a curtain. You can suspend rods from the beams in the ceiling and hang curtains from it. I think that should be enough for people to know to stay away from the area.”

  “I guess that could work.”

  “Can I ask the obvious question?”

  “Shoot,” he said.

  “Why don’t you ask your brother for the money?”

  Gavin ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the short ends. There was no use lying about it or coming up with some lame ass answer. He had a feeling Lauren would see right through his bullshit. He met her light brown eyes and shrugged. “Let’s call it a pride thing.”

  “Okay,” she said, and he loved how she didn’t try to dig further. “So about those centerpieces.”

  They sent the next two hours discussing construction paper and glitter.

  The library was Lauren’s happy place. The minute she stepped inside, the familiar smell of old paper, an earthy tang with a hint of vanilla and a slight mustiness, filled her nostrils. To her it smelled like heaven and not the actual source of cellulose decay. Such an ugly word for such a glorious scent. A smile immediately pulled at the corner of her mouth as she walked through the first floor, waving to Stacy at the check out desk and going straight to the stairs.

  Downstairs was the children area where she worked. Helping to grow young minds through books and sharing with them some of her favorite characters from her own childhood was one of the many reasons she adored her job.

  The library was also the place where she found her own salvation as a kid when she was dealing with the fact that her parents abandoned her. Grandma used to take her to the library after school every Tuesday, and Lauren would long for Tuesdays so she could race into the aisles, surround herself with possibilities, and carefully select what friends she wanted to join her for the week. The library gave her a sense of normalcy when everything in her life seemed to have crumbled around her. For that, she would always hold it in her heart with the deepest regard.

  Her eyes landed on the display she finished the other day. In yellow cut out letters against a green background, it read Irish I had More Time to Read. Next to the words was a leprechaun that Lauren was very proud of, from his red beard to his black boots. And next to that a rainbow extending across the wall and leading the way to a display of green books.

  For each green book read in the month of March, the child earned a point, and if they reached four points by the end of the month, they were allowed to pick an item from the treasure
chest. She could easily recreate the leprechaun, but she didn’t think Gavin would be too keen on the childish decoration even if it was really cute. She would stick to four-leaf clovers and green paper flowers for the centerpieces.

  But maybe if he decided to go with the curtain idea, she could turn the curtains into a rainbow. She liked that idea, and she got giddy as she envisioned how she would make it come to life.

  Her phone buzzed as soon as she placed her bag down. She fished it out and looked at her screen. A smile bloomed on her face. Speak of the devil.

  Just wanted to say hi and hope you have a nice day.

  Could he possibly be any sweeter?

  She tapped into the box and wrote a reply, then decided to delete and send a blushing emoji instead followed by: Thanks, you too.

  I also wanted to ask if you were busy tonight.

  She wanted to say no. Since the minute she left the bar last night, all she could think about was him. Even when she got home, she had no desire to take out her book and lose herself in some fantasy world because she was doing perfectly fine living in her own. When she closed her eyes, his face was like a welcoming light, guiding her toward a peaceful sleep filled with visions of him and that ridiculously sexy smile. It wasn’t a bad way to fall asleep.

  Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t going to work for her. She typed back.

  I can’t. After work I go straight to school. I don’t get out until after ten.

  She was in the process of getting her master’s degree so she could get promoted to librarian.

  Her phone vibrated within seconds. Loooong day! I hope I didn’t keep you out too late last night.

  Not at all. I had fun. I wish I could have stayed later. She hit send before she could overthink it and delete it. She waited for his text, but it didn’t come nearly as quickly as the last. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that. She didn’t want to come on too strong and ruin any chances that they had. She liked him too much for that.

  She debated sending a follow up message, just kidding or something to not look like a stage five clinger, but her phone vibrated.

  I wish you could have too. Next time you can stay all night.