“You do bar work?” he echoed. “I thought the lab was your domain.”
“I did it throughout my undergraduate.”
I’d worked at the local bar just to eat up time. The money had been a bonus. My inheritance had seen me want for nothing.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I said, turning away from Gray when a customer caught my eye. “What can I get you?”
“I like to host people back in Elysia,” Gray said to me as I grabbed a pint glass.
His voice was close enough so that only I could pick up what he was saying, but that also meant his body was uncomfortably close to mine. The heat rolled off him in waves and my mind strayed towards the gutter and dived right into the memories of last night.
I handed the pint over to the customer and put the cash in the till, trying desperately to ignore the recollection of how his body felt pressed against mine.
“Personal space, Grayson,” I reminded him quietly.
Gray’s response was to stand behind me and play with the frayed edges of my denim shorts. Rough fingers skimming across my thighs, and I ached with longing for his fingers to be elsewhere. It was worrying how quickly my afternoon with Matthew had slipped from my mind now that Grayson was around.
“Wrong side of the bar, beautiful,” Matt said, taking a seat.
“Ty asked me for a favour,” I answered him.
“Do you need another pair of hands?”
“I think we have it covered,” Gray said. I made to move away from him, but he pinched my shorts and kept me in place. “I’ve got this. How about you go collect glasses?”
I wanted to argue with him, but he’d let go of my shorts and I left to collect the empty glasses from around the room so we could have some space. Every so often, I looked over to Gray to see if he was behaving with Matt, and thankfully, he’d been served and Gray moved on.
When I’d finished clearing the tables, I walked back to Matt.
“I’m sorry,” I apologised. “I know we were meant to sort of continue our date.”
“It’s fine,” Matthew told me. “We can still spend time together, though, that might mean you’ll have to carry me home by the end of the night.”
I laughed as he snaked an arm around my waist. Charlie stood behind the bar, and I flushed pink at the pointed look she shot us.
“I should probably get behind the bar,” I mumbled, trying to untangle myself from him. “Can I get you anything else?”
“I could use a kiss.”
He looked up at me earnestly, and my cheeks burnt. We hadn’t kissed yet. As well as both of the dates had gone, the physical chemistry felt like it was lacking.
“I’m not sure Tyler serves those,” I joked uncomfortably.
I couldn’t figure out if requesting a kiss in public was a calculative move on Matt’s part. The naïve stance would be to think it was just an innocent request, but I was a cynic and hated being forced into anything.
“Good thing I’m not asking Murphy.”
He pulled me in closer, and I noticed Gray was watching us from the other side of the bar, expression unreadable.
I owed it to myself to date properly, and that included a physical relationship. Staying celibate for the rest of my life was not an option, and I didn’t want meaningless sex for the rest of my days, no matter how mind blowing it was. Deep inside, I craved the stability and love that you discovered in a relationship.
Cupping Matt’s face, I leaned down and pressed my lips against his. His tongue ran across my bottom lip, and I took a moment before deepening the kiss. He tasted of beer and the kiss was… nice.
It was nice, and he was a decent kisser. Even so, I couldn’t help but compare it to Gray. I quickly pushed those thoughts out of my head, and when we broke apart, Matt was grinning at me, dimples visible in his cheeks.
“I guess I can let you go back to work now,” he said.
He pulled me down again and brushed his lips against mine before letting me go.
