I also always paid cash because it was easier to pay and tip that way.I didn’t want to risk forgetting my card, getting ripped off with unnoticed charges, or cheating the bartender because the servers didn’t always get the full amount of their tips if you tipped on a card.
“Here you go, man,” he said as we traded the cash and beer.
“Thanks,” I replied, but before he went about his business, I decided to pick his brain.“Hey, the girl that just left...Rya?Do you know anything about her?”
The bartender eyed me, and I could appreciate his wariness.“You’re partying with her friend,” he pointed out.“Why don’t you ask her?”
“Because I don’t want to be obvious, and even if I was that clueless, I seriously doubt that she’d tell me anything,” I answered honestly.“She’s not as flighty as she pretends to be.”
The guy just smirked.“Look, I’m not about to go spilling the dirt on our customers.But what I can tell you is that she pops in here every random Wednesday, and I can also tell you that you’re not her type.”
My head jerked back a bit in surprise.While I’d been expecting him to be tightlipped, I hadn’t expected him to call me out like that.“Wow...straight to the point, I see.”
I watched him sigh before saying, “Rya’s a good girl.She doesn’t bother anyone, so she doesn’t need whatever bullshit you’re about to bring to her doorstep.”
“What in the fuck does that mean?”
Just then, the other bartender called out to him, so he just shot me a look before getting back to work, leaving me to wonder why he’d say such a thing.I mean, while I understood that I wasn’t a regular here, I still wasn’t sure why he’d assume that I’d cause problems for Rya.Not only was it untrue, but it was also an unfair assessment of my character.
Forgetting about him, I headed back to the table, wondering if I should just bite the bullet and ask Leandra what all she could tell me about Rya.Yeah, it reeked a bit of desperation, but I just needed to know if she and Dalton were a couple or not.If they were, then that was that.However, if they weren’t, then I could figure the rest of it out.
When I finally got back to the table, Teddy was nowhere to be seen.“Where’s Teddy?”
“In the bathroom,” Natalie drawled out.“I’m not sure why he insists on going so hard as soon as we get here.
“Yeah, he always ends up drunk too early,” Aaron added.
I didn’t say anything as Joseph and Leandra were now sitting next to each other, and it looked like it was going to be Teddy’s loss.Granted, it wasn’t like I felt sorry for the guy, but it always sucked when you were stuck babysitting a sloppy drunk, not that I was going to take responsibility for him.He was Ivan’s friend, so Ivan could see to him.
Trying not to sound too obvious, I said, “I gotta say, now that you’ve mentioned Shakes and food, we’re definitely going to have to hit a drive-thru after this.”
“Well, Rya and Dalton will be gone way before we leave here, so I wouldn’t recommend Shakes,” Leandra replied just before her eyes widened in embarrassment.“I mean, not that you guys aren’t...uhm, I didn’t mean that you guys aren’t tough enough-”
I put my hand up to stop her rambling.“It’s fine, Leandra.We weren’t thinking that.Besides, it’d make sense that Dalton would do anything to protect his girlfriend.”
“Oh, no,” she said, grinning.“Rya isn’t Dalton’s girlfriend.They’re just best friends, but...but the kind of best friends that are too close for most people’s liking.”
My brows immediately furrowed.“Meaning?”
She grimaced a bit.“They’re a package deal, and a lot of people that they’ve dated in the past couldn’t handle it.”
While I believed that it was possible for males and females to be friends without any sexual undertones to taint the relationship, how close was too close?
