Page 73 of Bastard Bartender

Chapter Nineteen

Wine is fine when you have a glass or two.

A bottle and a half is a recipe for a headache.

I roll over with my head in my hands as I fight off a splitting pain in my temple.

The clock shows it’s past my usual wake-up for a Saturday, and there’s a bottle of water and two Tylenol on the side table next to me. I pop the pills and drink the water before thinking about what the magic hangover fairy left me.

“Ugh!” I groan loudly, remembering that I got sick last night.

For a girl who likes to look her best at all times, I might have relished in being casual around the guy, but last night was definitely not something I ever wish to repeat.

Tossing the covers off, I see I’m still in my clothes from yesterday, so I do a quick change and then brush my teeth—twice. The runny mascara has to go, too, so I scrub my face and try to look as presentable as possible.

Feeling fresh-ish, I walk into the living room and find it empty. The kitchen is vacant too.

My shoulders fall at the realization that Nic left already. I should be relieved because some water did not fix my disaster of a face, but it would have been nice for him to still be here.

Despite the horrible situation, he was so sweet. Who knew he was a caretaker at heart?

I make a cup of coffee and text Nic.

Thank you for taking care of me last night. I promise, it’s not my MO to be the drunk damsel in distress.

His response comes quickly.

Your drunk ass is cute. Open the fridge.

I do as he said and see a Bloody Mary on the top shelf.

“How in the world …” I mutter to myself as I take the red drink out of the fridge and stir it with the celery stalk garnish.

Sammy has the ingredients upstairs. I mixed it before I left this morning.

My bartender hero.

Take care, Evette.

I smile with a slight grimace. What a strange thing to write. I’m hoping he meant it more like, Take care of yourself today,instead of, That was fun. See you sometime in the future.

Will do. I have a long day of Netflix with a blanket on the couch.

You wanna join me?

There’s a long pause before he texts again.

Going to a retreat with Logan. Don’t know when I’ll be back.

Do you have to work?

Thursday.

Well, that would be when he has to get back. I know Nic has a need for space. He’s been very up-front with that requirement, so I try not to push him even though I’m dying to.

KK. See you when you get back.

He doesn’t respond. It takes everything from me to keep from overanalyzing. And since I have zero willpower when it comes to things I can’t control, I overanalyze because that’s what I do.