Diego flushed and rolled his eyes.
“Just a friend who’s a boy,” I clarified.
“Okay, weirdo.”Bryn shot Diego an amused look and went back to work behind the bar.
As if I’d been the one who said it, he shot me a dirty look.
I put both hands up.
He laughed, blew me a kiss, and plunged elbow deep into the sink.
Later that night, I chugged a cold brew from Dunkin’ in the Uber back downtown.The nearer we got, the more I told myself I was insane to go out at one a.m.on a Wednesday night just because I was head over heels for some guy.
Which might’ve worked, if it was forsome guyand not Diego.Who I would’ve done far crazier things to see.
The parking lot was nearly empty, and the OPEN sign in the dark window wasn’t on, which made me hesitate.I texted Diego to make sure I had the right place, and within seconds the door swung open.He leaned out and waved for me to come inside.“It technically closes at one to the general public, but they do a thing sometimes where they stay open for food service people to get ripped.C’mon.”
I had the sensation of being allowed into an exclusive club as I slipped past Diego and into the darkened bar.The décor was Halloween-themed, or maybe just gothic vampire vibes; they had red and purple lights behind the bar, metal/electro style music on the speakers, and the bartender had his face pierced in places I’d never seen before.A few people I recognized from The Pike turned and waved, and Diego led me to them.
Bryn had a drink for me already, bless them.“Welcome, Diego’s not-boyfriend!”
“Thank you.”I made a small mock bow and accepted my drink.“How’d the night end up?”
“Got really busy between seven and ten, then died.Just like we like it,” Diego said, still scowling at Bryn.
“Hiiiiiiii,” said someone in fake lashes that looked painful, and a beautiful makeup job otherwise.“I’m Dee, I’m your server tonight.Can I get you a snack?Or you got all the snack you need right here?”They looked at Diego pointedly.
“He’s well-fed.”Diego made a kissy face.
“I bet, you little slut.”Dee grinned.“Lemme know if you need anything, baby.Drinks til two thirty.”And they whirled and strutted away.
“Don’t mind Dee; he’s just jealous,” said a purple-haired girl on the other side of Diego.She was familiar from The Pike, but I couldn’t remember her name.
“Alyssa,” Diego exclaimed, like it was an insult.
“What!Dee’s obsessed with you.”
“Well, you did fuck him,” Bryn pointed out.
“I fucked a lot of people.That doesn’t mean they’re jealous.”Diego stuck his chin out.
“Twenty bucks said if you offered to take Dee to the bathroom right now, he’d do it just to get back at Diego,” a short, remarkably handsome white person in a vest with no shirt under it said to me.
“Taran, this is Shawn.Shawn, Taran,” Diego said.“Shawn loses a lot of money on bad bets, because he’s an idiot.”
“I never fucked him,” Shawn said confidentially.“He’s so bitter sometimes.”
I laughed out loud.
“He’s messing with you,” Diego said, though a smile was pulling at his lips too.
“So hedidfuck you?”I wondered, trying to look serious and failing.
“I hate you all,” Diego insisted.“Dee!Can we get another round?”
Alyssa, the purple-haired bar back, was only twenty, so she was the DD as it turned out.Dee, despite any jealousy, kept us well supplied with cocktails, and we took turns buying rounds so that by two a.m., we were in pretty good shape.Shawn sidled up to me while Diego, Bryn, and Alyssa were talking about some drama at The Pike, and said, “How’d you meet Diego, anyhow?I haven’t seen you around.”
“No, I’ve never been here,” I admitted.
