The Hardest Fall

“Like I said, we can always get rid of him or break his legs. Either way—”

“Dylan, I could use some help over here!” Lindy sing-songed as she put her hand on my arm and winked at my grinning friend.

“Don’t worry about it, okay?” I said to JP. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Don’t make me come drag your ass out of whichever bed you’re planning on falling into tonight.”

“I keep telling you, I should be your role model.” He sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Fine. See you around. I’m going to find myself a Mandy for the night.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Dude, that ship sailed a long time ago.”

Putting Zoe out of my mind, I laughed and went to Lindy’s side, helping her with the orders.

“You should take your break as soon as it slows down a little,” I said loud enough so she could hear me as we worked side by side. “Talk to your little bugger before he goes to sleep.” Lindy was a single mom who left her three-year-old at home with her dad when she came to work. She called her son on almost every break instead of smoking or shooting the shit with the waiters and waitresses.

“What time is it?” she asked, her hands busy with shaking a cocktail. Most of the customers at Jimmy’s went for cheap beers since the vast majority were college students, but there were a few fancy ones who went for cocktails every now and then.

“It’s past nine.”

She stopped with the shaking, poured the pink drink into a martini glass, and garnished it with a maraschino cherry. “Yeah, he’s probably in bed, waiting for me to call. Thanks, Dylan.”

I nodded and just as I was taking another order, my eyes found their way back to Zoe again, still dancing. At least I couldn’t spot the dick face anymore, but how long was she gonna dance anyway? Wasn’t she tired yet? And wasn’t she supposed to be shy? How did she look perfectly fine dancing in front of all these people when she couldn’t even look me in the eye for more than a few seconds?

All of a sudden, I noticed a hand sneak around her waist. A growl escaped my lips and a few of the guys sitting in front of me gave me strange looks. I offered them a chin lift. “What’s up?”

They just shook their heads and got back to their loud conversation.

I glanced past them again. What the hell did I expect from my friend? Of course he was there; of course he was talking to Zoe. She smiled at something JP said and took a discreet step back, dislodging his arm without much effort. JP leaned down to say something in her ear and when he was done, he patted her head twice, said something to her girlfriend, and walked away from them. Just as he was about to exit the bar, he turned and hit the door open with his back, giving me a thumbs up and a shit-eating grin right before he disappeared.

It was a done deal—he had basically given me permission to kick his ass the next time we were on the field. He must’ve known I wouldn’t like his hands on my friend…around her waist, touching her, feeling her body.

“Dude!” Lindy shouted from the other end of the bar, and I forced myself to look at her. Making big eyes at me, she motioned toward the mug in my hand, which was currently overflowing with beer.

“Shit!” I shook my hand and cleaned the mug with a rag before handing it off.

“What’s wrong with you tonight?” Lindy asked, sidling up to me.

“Nothing.”

Trying not to react to the eyes I could feel on me, I finished the order and started on another one. My curiosity got the better of me again, and I glanced Zoe’s way. All three of them were watching me. The guy I’d had my eyes on ever since they walked in leaned toward Zoe and got her attention. Either they couldn’t hear each other from a few inches away and the dick face had to lean even closer to her ear—which I thought was complete bullshit—or he didn’t like Zoe’s attention on me.

Cursing myself for tensing up when I noticed him pull back and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, I got back to my work.

Not even a few minutes had passed when the guy I’d just served a beer got off the stool, and suddenly I was staring at Zoe’s smiling face.

“Hey stranger, what are you doing here?” She looked around. “Are you trying to impress someone?”

There was a small smile on her lips when our eyes met. It took her only a few seconds to hide her gaze from me and get busy with propping her elbows up on the bar. Was she surprised to see me there? Maybe annoyed? Happy? Was the light flush on her cheekbones for me, or was it residue from whatever the hell the dick face had been whispering in her ear? Or maybe she was flushed because of all the dancing she had done. She was still a little breathless, after all.

There was no trace of a smile on my lips when I managed to force the words out. “What does it look like?”

She looked confused at my tone and her smile faltered, the corners slowly dipping down as she blinked at me.

“Is everything okay?”

I swallowed my annoyance and rolled my neck before taking a deep breath. All I could smell was alcohol, and underneath it, a whiff of fucking berries.

Keep it cool, man. She didn’t do anything.

I exhaled before I opened my mouth to speak again. “I’m sorry. Long day. What do you mean trying to impress someone?”

“You’re behind the bar.”

I looked down at myself and around me. “Yeah, I work here. That’s how bartending works. You stay behind the bar and serve drinks.”

“No you don’t,” she fired back.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

“No, I mean, bartending?” She looked taken back. “You’re really working right now?”

“Yup. What did you think I was doing?”

Her teeth lightly grazed her bottom lip. I watched her mouth move as she said something, but I was too busy admiring her lips and missed it completely.

“What?”

She leaned forward an inch or two and yelled a little louder. “I said, I thought you were trying to impress someone! You know how attractive bad boys are to girls, and you’re a football player on top of that. Basically, double the trouble.” She widened her eyes. “And bartenders tend to be—not that I’m specifically saying you’re hot or anything, but I thought you were just back there—”

Looking over her shoulder, I met the dick face’s eyes. Both he and the other girl were watching Zoe and me. It was his own idiocy that he’d let her come to me, so why should I be the one to stay away? She was my roommate, my friend, after all. Fuck him.

I leaned on the bar, bringing us closer, and rested my arms right next to hers. Only inches separated us. If she moved, my skin would drag against hers. She stopped rambling and took in the repositioning of my arms. Then, knowingly or unknowingly, she shifted in her seat, moving her delectable little butt from right to left.

“Zoe,” I said, my voice lower since we were now closer. “You’re rambling again. It’s too cute, and it’s completely okay if you think of your friend as hot. I think you’re hot, too.”

My arm brushed hers when Lindy walked behind me and I was forced to move forward another inch. She completely ignored the fact that I’d just called her hot—or maybe she simply thought I was joking—and leaned forward as if she couldn’t help herself. The movement was barely perceptible, and I would have bet she hadn’t noticed it herself.