Page 1

Chapter one

Tara

Doug grabs my wrist and yanks, hard enough that my hip hits the edge of the bar.

"Come on, sweetheart. Give me a little kiss."

"Let go, Doug."

He grins. "Aw, don't be like that."

"I'm serious."

He pulls again, harder this time.

Fine.

"Okay, Doug. One kiss."

His grin widens, and his grip loosens as I lean toward him.

He leans in too, closing his eyes.

I grab the back of his head and slam his face into the bar.

He comes up howling, blood pouring from his nose.

"You broke my fucking nose!"

"And you ruined our first kiss."

I grab a handful of cocktail napkins and push them toward him.

"Hold those against your nose."

"You crazy bitch!"

"Ernesto!" I call toward the service station. "Get Doug's keys and call him a cab. He's done for the night."

Ernesto takes one look at Doug's bloody face and winces.

"Jesus, Tara."

"He forgot how to keep his hands to himself."

"You fucking bitch!" Doug shouts, pressing the napkins against his nose.

I turn back to my drink orders. Fucking idiot.

I spray the bar top with sanitizer and wipe it down twice. My hands are steady.

"Tina! Tina! Tina!"

The bachelorette party at the high-top by the jukebox has started chanting again. They decided an hour ago that my name is Tina, and nobody at that table is sober enough to be corrected.

“It’s Tara,” I tell the maid of honor when she leans over the bar to pay. “But for a fifty-dollar tip, I’ll answer to Tina until close.”

She laughs, a big honking laugh that makes the guy two stools down flinch. I strain the lemon drops into the sugar-rimmed glasses and slide the tray across to her. She carries it back to her table very slowly, with the tip of her tongue between her teeth, and doesn’t spill a drop. Her friends cheer like she’s won something.