by Henley, Jo
Liz picked out the styrofoam container of chimichangas and presented it to Mitch. “Were you busy?”
“Just poured a fresh one for myself.” He raised his glass of beer. “The boys were quiet.”
Oscar stepped behind the counter and rinsed out the empty pint glass Mitch had left on the bar. Then he dumped out Liz’s watered down drink from earlier. “Want another?”
“Water, please.”
He filled two glasses and motioned with a tilt of the head for Liz to follow him. She grabbed a bag of food and made her way walking behind Oscar to sit at a table against the far wall to eat.
“So why do you bartend?” she asked, scooping a bit of guacamole up with a chip and munching off a bite.
“The company. I guess. I found the Buckeye while my marriage was crumbling. They saved me.” Oscar unwrapped a taco, but finished his thought before taking his first bite. “Everyone needs that someplace special that makes them feel at home. The Buckeye’s mine. What about you? Where’s your home away from home?”
Liz took a drink and thought over all that he’d said. Bill always spoke highly of this place and it seemed there was more to this bar than weird drinks and odd patrons. Everything wrapped together was an interesting situation. This togetherness and openness was something she desperately wanted to be a part of too.
“Do you not have a place?” Oscar urged her answer to his last question.
“Not anymore.” Liz snapped out of her thoughts over the bar. “In high school I went to Epperson Photo and spent time in the dark room. The amber lighting. The ammonia smell of the chemicals. Those bring back more memories then any of the photos I produced.”
“You’re a photographer?”
“I said it was in high school. Don’t know how long it’s been since I picked up a real camera.”
“You should be in front of the lens.” Oscar tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear. He morphed his irresistible smile into pursed lips and leaned forward.
“That’s a line if I ever heard one.” She placed a halting palm on his chest. “And being best friends with Bill, I’ve heard plenty of bad pick up lines.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t resist.” Not one to waste a pucker, he stole a kiss from her in the dark shadow of the bar.
Giving in to the temptation of concealment she fell into his embrace. Aroused by the possibility of getting caught, she continued with the semi-hidden from view seduction. Their hands wandered. He palmed her breasts, pulling her in closer to him. She leaned her chest fully into his.
She took in his scent, she smelled a hint of expensive conditioner, but mostly she smelled beer from the bar. He smelled like his shirt she’d been sleeping in, he smelled like she wanted him to.
Nibbling on his ear, her efforts were rewarded with a gasp of desire from him. He moved his hand between her thighs and thumbed to find her special spot to tickle. Before he could reach it, she flexed tight to stop him.
“Too fast?”
“No. We’re being watched,” she whispered. Her eyes focused on the farthest, darkest back corner of the bar. She could barely make out a shadow outline of a man, sitting alone on a barstool, and he was strangely staring at them.
“Don’t mind Bob. Besides, there’s four other sets of eyes enjoying this too.”
Liz pulled away. It was true, Mitch and the trio at the pool table had finished their snack. Whether it was curiosity or hormones, that made them watch, it didn’t matter. The show was over. Liz sat back and folded her arms across her chest.
“You are in public,” Mitch said, making a dumb face and cocking his head to the side.
He was right, she had started this and opened herself up to being watched. But Oscar turned on her buttons and the world around her had simply faded away. Just like it did the first moment she saw him walk into the bar. If this was going to be how it was, Liz was going to have to stop seeing him in public places. Or at least distract her desires with activities a little more innocent.
“Let’s dance,” she said, eyeing the music machine. It was red and much like the table top game system she’d played a game on with Oscar. This machine was mounted to the wall and was lit up with song titles scrolling past on the screen.
“Or we could close up and send these boys home,” Oscar said, his hand still on her knee.
“Not yet. Give me a dollar.”
“You sure?” He wandered his grasp, caressing up her thigh.
“One for the music.” She stood and held her hand out, palm up.
He sighed at the sudden withdrawal of her body away from his. Standing too, he slid up against her, wrapped his arms around to her ass and squeezed. “One dance your way, then we leave and dance my way.”
“Oooh, such a negotiator.” She bent her pelvis forward. “I’ll think about it.” Wiggling her arm out, she positioned her palm up just below his jawline. He kissed it first, then stepped back to fish out the requested cash.
His wallet was leather and slim. From what she could see it contained two cards and a few bills in the center slit. Not much to it. Even his wallet is ordinary. I almost felt guilty about asking for money from him. Hmm, She realized this was the first he’d pulled his wallet out. He didn’t pay for dinner. He can afford to pay a dollar for a dance then.
Chapter Sixteen
Liz picked the song and the music escaped through the speakers in the bar. If it had been used on her first visit the crowd was too loud to hear the music. Tonight it was quiet and the melody filled the space.
She laced her arms around Oscar’s neck and eased him out into an open place to dance. Their hips swayed, feeling the rhythm of the music and the movement of their partner. She kept her arms locked over his shoulders and he held her tight around the waist. Their surroundings faded and with it, the audience of men watching them. This show she could handle putting on.
Foreheads joined, eyes closed, noses grazed, they inhaled the other’s air, and lost themselves in the bubble of their intertwined bodies. Swaying and being was all they cared about as the notes to the song filled the bar. Who sang the lyrics was as irrelevant as the meaning behind them. The beat of the music pumped up through the floor and reverberated through the lovers, seducing them to give in to each other.
Each step was a love affair and when the song ended they continued to stay in the trance of their closeness. The beating of their hearts was all the music they needed.
“Oh hell no!” An outburst from the back door halted their dance. Light flooded in with the disturbance.
With her back to the disruptor and facing the trio, Liz opened her eyes and watched their expressions. Each one transitioned from widened surprised looks to scrunched up brace for impact faces. All this within the seconds it took for Dina to fly across the bar and rip the couple apart.
“You too?” she furiously, screamed in Liz’s face.
The stench the alcohol on her breath and the smell of cigarette smoke infused in her clothes, choked Liz and she stumbled away to stand near Bill, who had entered with her.
“Let them dance,” Jim called out.
“I’ll start the next song,” Mitch said, hobbling off his barstool.
“No one’s dancing. Sit down Dina.” Oscar said, taking control of the situation. He pulled out a chair and pushed her down into it with a hand on her shoulder. “Get her some water, Mitch.”
Mitch was quick to pour the glass and hand it over.
Dina grabbed Liz’s wrist and yanked her down into a nearby seat. “I thought you were good people, Liz.”
“Bill, what’s her problem?” Liz asked, addressing him, assuming he was more sober than she appeared to be.
“She’s drunk.” Bill sat too. “And just found out her dad’s been cheating on her mom. What are you doing here so late? What are they all still doing here?” He pointed to the guys who’d gathered around closer to the action.
“Don’t be a cheater.” Dina pounded on the table with their joined hands, taking Liz’s hand down with her fist. “And you.
” She pounded again. “He’s taken and you don’t want to rile her up.”
Liz wrenched out of Dina’s grip, but stayed seated. She rubbed her wrist, where Dina’s fake nails had dug into her skin. Is she talking about her dad or Oscar?
“I don’t want your half assed watered down drinks. I need a beer.” Dina stood and poked Oscar in the chest. “One beer.”
“I’m not serving you,” he answered. “We’re closed.”
“Closed he says.” She slumped back down. “This is a mistake. She loves you.”
“Who? Your mom?” Liz asked Dina, but received no answer, so she turned to Bill. “I know she’s drunk, but will someone tell me what in the hell she’s talking about?”
“You need to—” Dina slung her head back, resting it a bit on Liz’s shoulder, she moaned then fell forward and vomited.
“Shit!” Liz jumped up, but not before her shoes were soaked with the alcoholic’s purge. They were ruined the second the liquified regurgitation splashed on them.
“Damn! Take her to the bathroom, Bill,” Oscar yelled, lifting Dina up by her armpits. “Use the men’s room.”
Bill wobbled away with Dina.
“Sorry, Liz. I’ll buy you a new pair,” Oscar said, turning the corner to follow the drunken couple to the restrooms.
“I need to go rinse these.” Liz kicked off her shoes and held them by the heels with the tips of her fingers.
“Use the ladies room,” Mitch said, returning to his beer at the counter.
She rounded the corner and bumped into the man from the barstool in the shadows. He was larger and older than she’d imagined. A real stout man with a balding head of gray hair. She supposed he had to be about Mitch’s age.
“Excuse me, Liz.” He nodded, shuffling a mop bucket out to mess.
In the bathroom, Liz pondered the odd man’s sudden inclusion in the bar happenings. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might be a regular, like the others she’d met. Or that he would help out if needed at the bar. His apology rang back, he knew my name. This puzzled her, although it shouldn’t have since it was announced at her arrival. But it was the way he said her name, like they were friends or that someone had been talking to him about her.
She washed her shoes in the sink and kept thinking about the stranger of the shadows. For the most part he stayed out of the action, but stepped in to clean vomit off the floor. Astounding. His strange behavior and the way all the others acted as one without regard for roles, positions, or compensation amazed her. Mitch watched the place even though he wasn’t a bartender. Oscar took inventory of the liquor on his night off. And now the man of the shadows. Maybe there really was a special bond, holding this place and these people together. If there was, she wanted to be included.
Barefoot, with wet shoes in her hands, Liz returned to the bar, welcomed only by Mitch. The trio and the man from the shadows were gone. Oscar, Bill, and Dina were also no where to be seen.
“Is it just us?” she asked, joining Mitch.
“Oscar was real put off by Dina’s outburst. He’s driving them home. Front door’s already locked.” Mitch spoke matter of factly and took her shoes. He placed them in one of the plastic bags from Berto’s. In another bag he stowed away the left over tacos. “Don’t get those two mixed up.”
“I won’t.” Liz shook her head.
Mitch led them to the back door, switched off the lights inside and pulled the door shut behind them. In the alley he locked the door and tucked the key in his pocket.
“Of course you have a key.”
“For emergencies. Oscar’s real sorry he didn’t get to say goodnight.” He rubbed his elbow against her side. “Guess that means you’ll have to come back again tomorrow.”
“There are easier ways to get women to return to the bar you know.” Liz leaned on Mitch and carefully tiptoed barefoot to her car. “I have a spare pair of sandals in the trunk. I could put them on and walk you home.”
“I’d love that.”
Liz changed her shoes and the two turned up the alleyway.
“Smell that air.” Mitch stared up into the cool autumn night sky.
“Why do you come to the Buckeye?”
“That’s an easy one.” Mitch grinned. “I feel more at home there. More then I do in my own house. Why should a man that loves life and characters of all kinds sit at home alone?”
“Would you be alone?”
He reddened and continued. “They’re my family. Angela’s like a daughter to me. I watched her grow from a teenager to a young woman.” Mitch stopped at his gate. “Oscar was much like Bill when he first came to the Buckeye. He drowned his ambitions in alcohol and never acted on any life goals. We put him to work and the gamble paid off. Now look at him. Stable, sober, and in love.”
Now Liz was blushing. “I don’t know about that.” She nervously tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“I do. Trust me. I know what is and isn’t love. You two are on your way.” Mitch pulled up the latch and swung open his gate. “Can I keep these?” He shook the bag of leftovers.
“Before you go. Can I ask? Who did Dina say was not going to be happy?”
“Don’t you worry about the rantings of an alcoholic. They never mean what they say. Don’t stay away too long this time, Liz.”
“I don’t want to make any trouble.”
“I’ve been at the Buckeye since it opened. You my dear, are the best thing to happen to us all. Follow your beautiful heart.”
“Flatterer.” She kissed Mitch on the cheek and lingered in the scent of his cologne. “I’ll be back,” she said in his ear.
Mitch flashed his cheshire grin. “See you tomorrow,” he said as a statement, not a question and stepped into his yard.
Liz closed the gate and walked back down the alley to her car, turning every few steps to see that he’d gone inside. She drove by on her way home, he’d stopped at the back porch and waved out to her. That was good enough.
Chapter Seventeen
Oscar rose before sunrise to prepare breakfast for his daughter before she left for high school. He didn’t normally get started so early in the morning, but since meeting Liz he couldn’t sleep. She took up all his thoughts day and night. “I have to get some shit done today.” He told himself pouring a cup of coffee.
“It’ll pass you know,” Stacie said.
“Get going.” He handed his daughter her backpack. “How many hearts have you broken?” He kissed the top of her head.
“Not enough.” Stacie answered a text on her phone and rushed to the door. Before she left she turned and said, “Dad, if you like her that much. Introduce her to Nana.”
She was right. Oscar’s grandmother was an excellent judge of character. Which was good for him. Since becoming a single billionaire he’d attracted too many fake people. Oscar strived to surround himself with those he could trust. If he was ever unsure, all he had to do was take a trip to Westin and his Nana would straighten him out.
I’ll take Liz to meet Nana soon. She’ll love her.
Even though the mansion sized home had multiple bedrooms, a study, an office, a media room, a den, and a sitting area in his master suite, Oscar chose to work from home sitting in his breakfast nook. The light was plentiful in the mornings and he could see out into the back gardens. It was chilly in November, but in the spring he’d open the windows for a nice breeze.
As a bonus it was near the kitchen and the adjacent media room where Stacie frequently hung out after school when she was home.
Oscar regretted not fighting harder to get partial custody of Stacie when she was younger. But he was on the road a lot back then and there was his drinking. It was a time in his life he would’ve blocked out all together if it hadn’t been for his little girl.
Her love and finding the Buckeye Bar years ago saved him and sobered him up. It also got him in the right track to purchase his first restaurant, then the next, and the next. If it hadn’t been for Mitch’s good word to the owner, well Oscar dared not t
hink of which direction his life would’ve taken a turn for.
Now with Mitch’s investment in his life and Oscar’s investment in other’s lives through buying family owned restaurants, he had the security in the bank he needed to support his family. That meant Stacie lived with him in the city and visited her mother on the weekends. She’d moved back to their home town, Westin and he even helped her start her own business. They’re relationship was cordial, but he preferred not to see her much.
Taking care of business for his corporation, Westwall could usually be done with phone calls and video chats during the day. He checked in, approved inventory orders, marketing budgets, and remodeling specs for his locations. Decisions he gladly made and footed the bill for his sometimes indecisive owners. Being hands on wasn’t always the case. If needed he was a silent investor in many of the cornucopia of restaurants he owned a stake in. Many of the locations from steakhouses to dessert shops had well rounded owners, they just needed the support of a billionaire to push them to improve their earnings. Oscar was happy to fill in any role that was needed to see success for his investments.
Done. Now . . . he pulled up the photos of Halloween on his phone. Zooming in on Liz he took in her features. Why did you walk into my bar?
His screen changed abruptly to a shot of Mitch and his number.
“Hello,” Oscar said, answering the phone.
“I need your help. It’s my PC again,” Mitch said on the other end of the call.
“You want me to come over? Then we’ll go to lunch.”
“Sounds good, but we’ll eat in. I have some Anasazi beans cooking in the crock.”
“Sure thing. See you in thirty.”
When Oscar arrived at Mitch’s he let himself in through the alleyway gate. Mitch was sitting on the back porch swing. “Hey stranger. Tell me again what you need looked at.”
Mitch lifted his laptop of his knees and shook it. “Keeps flashing damn ads at me.”
