Johnny nodded, sliding onto the stool next to him. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
Papa scoffed, ripping two bottles out of the crate and tearing off the caps. “Not that bad, eh? Go on, then. Drink up,” he said, pushing the bottles towards them.
They both eyed the drinks, then one another before picking them up and tentatively clinking the necks of the bottles together. “Cheers,” Taylor said, raising the bottle to his lips. Johnny did the same, but didn’t drink. Neither did Taylor.
He gave Johnny a look that said‘You drink it,’to which Johnny replied‘No way. You fucking drink it.’
Luckily, they were saved by the sound of the toilet door opening and two more people joining them at the bar.
“Hello again!” came a soft male voice. “Fancy seeing you tonight.”
It was Theo, the omega from a few nights prior, and at his side was Emily, the girl with the shitty date. They were dressed up to the nines—Theo in a billowy salmon pink shirt and Emily in an extremely low-cut dress with a jacket around her shoulders. They were all sparkly and smelled like strawberries, and Taylor had to manually push his jaw back into place at the sight of them.
Johnny slowly put the bottle on the bar and looked over. “Evening,” he said, letting out a quiet breath.
Theo beamed, his perfectly straight teeth surrounded by perfectly glossed lips. A strand of Emily’s hair fell over her shoulder as she glanced down at the bar, a faint blush spreading over her cheeks. Taylor took a swig from the bottle, trying to disguise the fact that he was staring, but immediately regretted it when a glug of Kofi’s home brew sloshed down his throat.
He coughed, then spluttered, and soon Johnny was having to smack his back as the drink nearly sprayed out of his nose.
“Eve–ning,” he coughed, turning his head as he blew into a napkin.
Johnny smirked. “Smooth, dude. Smooth.”
“Fuck you,” Taylor said under his breath.
Theo was laughing, but Emily gave him a sympathetic look as she leant over and handed him a tissue from inside her purse. Women really did just have everything inside those tiny bags.
“Thanks,” Taylor said, wiping his nose.
“So, are you on table service again or is it your night off?” Theo said, plucking the olive from his glass and sucking it off the cocktail stick. He held it between his lips just long enough that both his and Johnny’s eyes drifted to his mouth. Theo smirked around the olive before hooking it into his mouth with his tongue, and Taylor found that he’d taken a sudden liking to olives.
“Night off tonight,” Johnny replied, nodding to Papa as he handed both him and Taylor an actual beer. “Unless Maman decides she needs another pair of hands.”
“Maman?” Theo said, playfully cocking an eyebrow. “You actually speak French, then?”
Johnny’s mouth opened and closed before he said, “Yeah, it’s the national language of Cameroon.”
“Well, that’s just sexy as hell,” Theo replied, placing the cocktail stick between his teeth.
Wow, the guy really was going straight to Chatupsville. Taylor could respect that—no sense in hanging around.
Johnny nodded and took another drink. “If you’re into that, I guess.”
He examined his nails, acting like he didn’t give a shit that there were two bombshells sitting next to them. Taylor looked between him and Theo, then kicked Johnny’s ankle under the bar. “Stop playing hard to get,” he whispered against his ear.
It’d been over two months since either of them had seen any action, but the way Theo was giving Johnny the eyes and Emily was twirling her hair told Taylor that it was abso-fucking-lutely game on.
“So…” Taylor said, flicking his eyes to Papa, then to the omegas’ nearly empty drinks. Papa gave him a wry smile and started mixing. “Any more shit dates you need saving from?”
Taylor rested his arm on Johnny’s shoulder, giving his cheek a little pinch to force him to look up.
Emily blushed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She was a real cutie. “Um, no, thanks. No more of those for a while, I don’t think.”
Taylor smiled, flashing them both some fang. “No? What if Prince Charming came and swept you off your feet tonight?” He pinched Johnny’s cheek again, which only earned him a scowl. “Come on, dude.”
Johnny sighed, running his tongue over his top lip before lifting his pint to his mouth and downing the entire thing. Sliding the glass towards Papa, he finally lifted his head and smiled.
That was definitely more fucking like it.
