I observed him more intensely now to try to get a read on what his drink might be. Dark brown hair that fell to his jaw, well-trimmed beard, muscles for days. His clothes were nice though, dark wash jeans and a teal Henley that made his eyes pop. He looked like he was in his early twenties, but something about his eyes made me think he was an old soul.
He was like lumberjack met surfer dude.
“What’s your name?” I pursed my lips, trying to get a read on whether or not he might dig scotch.
“Brayden.” His husky voice warmed my belly. That name was justsoperfect.
He wasn’t a mixed drink kinda guy, I could just tell. Guys named Brayden didn’t drink scotch. Reaching out, I pulled the spout of a local India pale ale, filled a cold glass, and then set it in front of him.
He hadn’t taken his eyes off me since we’d first spoken, and now I was transfixed by him. I stared as he put the beer glass to his lips and took a long swig.
I watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed and my body broke out into a fever again. Heat overwhelmed me and I swallowed hard.
It was time for my next dose of antibiotics. Giving the dude a friendly smile, I turned and walked to the middle of the bar, where my purse was tucked into a cubbyhole.
Geez, Averly, you practically eye screwed him. Get a grip.
Hot guys came into work all the time, but there was something different about this guy. Something intense. I popped two more pills and chugged them down with some water, but the entire time I could feel the guy’s eyes on my back.
Standing, I turned, and sure enough he was watching me.
“Yo, are you deaf?” Someone rapped on the wooden bar top in my section. “I asked for two cosmos!” the guy yelled to the right of me and I froze.
Bastard.
I turned in the guy’s direction, ready to tell him to screw off, when Brayden flew from his seat and grabbed the jerk by the back of the neck. The guy’s eyes widened and I clutched the soda sprayer, preparing to soak the both of them if they started brawling. Brayden whispered something in the dude’s ear and he nodded fearfully, looking at me.
“I’m sorry. I… apologize for speaking to you like that. I’ll go home now,” he mumbled.
Brayden released him and the guy ran out of the bar faster than a cat with its tail on fire. I stood there in shock as Brayden tipped his head to me and walked back over to his seat at the bar and sat down.
The nerve of this guy! For some reason the fact that he thought I needed to be saved pissed me off.
Stomping over to him, I leaned on the counter and got in his face. “That was real chivalrous, but I can take care of myself.”
“Can you?” he asked, and his gaze flicked to my bandaged arm.
I gasped.Bastard!
I was about to retort when he reached up and rubbed his temples as if this was giving him a headache. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. What’s your name?”
“Averly.” I waved at him with my dishtowel, then felt stupid and dropped it in the soap bucket.
“Woman, give me two beers, STAT!” a familiar female voice called and I grinned, turning away from Brayden and moving to give Leah a hug. She squealed and leaned over the bar top, pulling me in tightly as she wrapped her arms around me. She’d brought a few friends from her journalism class and I gave them Shirley Temples and soda. I wasn’t about to lose Ronan’s liquor license over my underage friends sneaking in. Clara, who was twenty-three, always turned a blind eye to their fake IDs and let them in, but we didn’t serve them alcohol. It’s just that there wasn’t much to do in this town and so this was the hangout.
When I turned back around, Brayden was gone. My heart plummeted. For some reason I didn’t want him to go yet, even if he was a bit intense.
Only when I did a scan of the back of the bar did I notice Brayden had claimed a two-top and was staring at me with a burning intensity.
Weird.
As the night passed and I made last call, I glanced over to catch Brayden still watching me. How could someone stare at you for three hours straight and not be some kind of deranged psycho? It was a shame, because other than his staring problem and overly protective instincts, he was my dream guy.
“Yum,” Clara said beside me.
I startled, not realizing she was even beside me.
“Oh yeah. He’s cute. For an axe murderer.”
