“That’s nice. He likes you,” Natasha said. “I’m a little jealous.”
“It’s not like that,” I admitted. Jack probably felt sorry for me after last time.
She turned her body to face me. “You really are new at this. Want some pointers?”
I was embarrassed and excited at the same time. “I wouldn’t turn them down.”
“Well, first, never turn down a free drink.” She laughed. She had a really nice laugh, and the way she tipped back her head when she did it made the line of her throat look almost elegant.
Her hand motioned toward my shoulders. “You should try to keep your back straight as much as you can. It draws more attention to your chest, and sitting at the bar, that’s a good thing.”
I’d been slouching over the bar, resting on my arms, and I sat up straighter.
Her hand settled around her glass. “If you struggle, sometimes crossing your legs will help. These barstools don’t have backs, but at places that do, lean into them.”
I nodded to let her know I heard and tried crossing my legs. “Have you visited a lot of different bars?”
“Thinking about cheating on me?” Jack asked, setting the cutest drink down in front of me. It was more yellow this time, with a splash of pinkish-red only at the top, spreading around the cherry, and a pretty pink umbrella with pieces of pineapple speared on the end.
“No, I’m not ready to try anywhere else yet,” I answered. “I feel safe here.”
His brown eyes grew softer, crinkles forming at the corners. “I’m glad.” Someone on the other side called to him, and he pointed at my drink. “Let me know if you like this one better than last week’s,” he said before moving away.
Natasha’s gaze followed him, and she hummed in her throat again. “Well, if you decide you want to mix things up, there are a couple of places I like.” She started telling me about her favorites, and I listened as I sipped my drink. The umbrella tickled my upper lip, so I pulled it free to slip a piece of fruit off.
“Sorry I’m late,” Neil said from behind me, dropping onto the barstool on my other side. He’d interrupted Natasha, and she looked over at him.
“It’s no problem,” I told him. “It gave me a chance to talk to Natasha. Natasha, this is my boyfriend, Neil.”
“Hi,” Natasha said to him, her brow wrinkling as she looked at me. “I didn’t realize you were meeting a boyfriend. And here I was, trying to give you tips on the single dating scene.”
“You shouldn’t have introduced me that way,” Neil muttered at my side.
A lump rose in my throat. I’d been introducing him that way for a dozen years. It had been habit, but he was right; that would cause more confusion on our hall pass evenings. But then, not telling people we were boyfriend and girlfriend would be wrong, too, wouldn’t it? Victor and Lexi had already known, so I hadn’t had to think about that the week before.
I frowned down at my drink.
“You don’t like it?” Jack asked, and I lifted my eyes to see him pointing at the glass.
“No, I do!” I reassured him. “I was thinking about something else.”
“You’d tell me if you didn’t?” Jack pressed. “Because I really want to make something you’ll enjoy.”
I nodded, my throat tightening.
His eyes narrowed on me. “So which one do you like better?”
“They’re both good.” When he began to frown again, I added, “I really like the umbrella!” My fingers tightened on it. “And the way the colors blended was pretty, but I kind of liked the bubbles in last week’s drink better.” The last part came out softer, and my shoulders felt tight until his eyes crinkled again.
“Noted. I can work with that.”
Neil leaned in closer to me to grab Jack’s attention. “Can I order a drink?”
Jack shifted his gaze to him, his smile fading. “Sure. What are you having?”
Neil pointed at my drink. “That looks good.” He stared at Jack.
Jack’s mouth tightened.
