2. Pixie Dust and Liquor

TWO

PIXIE DUST AND LIQUOR

Fire For You, Cannons

Santiago

“Here, why don’t you drink some whiskey, like a man?” the spitfire bartender quips. I have never been more annoyed and turned on in my life by a single statement. This little blonde seemed to be friendly with everyone, especially locals, but then she came over here and gave me a run for my money. Calling her doll struck a nerve, but it was the closest thing to what I wanted to call her without sounding insane.

The minute I walked to the bar, my eyes kept drifting toward her. She couldn’t be more than five foot three, but she was commanding this whole place like a queen. She’s standing behind the bar, wearing jean shorts no longer than the rag she holds in her back pocket, and a black top that looks painted on her body.

She has her blonde hair up in a ponytail and piercing blue eyes—I swear those reached my soul the minute they met mine. She’s also wearing checkered Vans. For some reason beyond me, I find it incredibly hot. There’s something about someone being so comfortable in their skin they don’t need to follow trends or social status that gets to me every time. Like wearing Vans in a country bar. She seems like the type of girl who likes something and goes for it; fuck what everyone else thinks.

I was not expecting that mouth on her, that’s for sure. She chugged the whiskey like water and returned to tending to the other people waiting on their drinks.

“Dude, she doesn’t play,” Joey says, putting his hand over my shoulder with a big chuckle.

“Yeah, yeah, I figured.”

“You need to fix this shit. Roe makes the best drinks, and we can’t be on her bad side.”

“What am I supposed to fix?” I ask, dumbfounded by what he’s implying.

“Whatever it was that pissed her off. She usually is pretty nice and sometimes even playful. She didn’t even bring you the Roe Flight.”

“The Roe Flight?”

“Yeah, every time someone new comes, she reads their ‘vibes’ – her words not mine. Then she brings six small drinks. You get to try them all and order one of them. It’s hard to narrow it down because she’s so damn good at the choices she makes for you. We all have a favorite drink here thanks to her,” Joey finishes, nodding in her direction and keeping his eyes on her.

I follow his gaze and see her laughing with someone who has a fresh drink in front of them. Her smile is blinding—making me wish I was closer so I could hear her laugh too. Her lips are full, too; without an ounce of lipstick, I notice. Clearly my dick notices too as it twitches in my pants. Apparently, we like Roe.

With my whiskey in hand, I walk toward the other end of the bar. There’s an empty stool by the tap, keeping it partially isolated from the rest of the place. It will give me space to either keep watching her or fucking leave if I can’t figure out exactly what I want. I can’t stay long considering I have to be at the track bright and early tomorrow to practice. The same reason why I didn’t want to drink tonight, but whatever drink this is, I need another one. Maybe her drink-picking superpowers worked for me without giving me a flight. Maybe she somehow knew I hate making choices and it is easier for me to just be given straight answers.

Another bartender approaches, giving me a great smile and pushing her breasts up to show more cleavage. On an ordinary night, this would be something I’d go for, but my eyes are set on the blonde behind her.

“What can I get you, hotshot?” she asks with a sultry tone.

“You can get Roe for me, she’s handling my drinks,” I reply with a dry tone and serious eyes. I’m not here to flirt with this girl.

“You got it!” She turns around to grab Roe.

Uh? Maybe she wasn’t interested after all. I’m getting old and losing all my game.

When the girl reaches Roe and starts talking to her, I can see her visibly stiffen and roll her eyes. The fucking sass. It makes me want to turn her around and spank her until she’s rolling her eyes for completely different reasons.

She walks to me, hands on her hips, face straight. No smiles for me, that’s for sure. Standing in front of me she asks, “What can I get you?”

“I heard there’s a secret Roe Flight I was supposed to get.”

Now that she’s closer, I can see her tattoos even better. I could before, but I didn’t take time to appreciate them. She has a full sleeve, a couple kissing her collarbone and little wisps of another one peeking from her shorts. They’re stunning. The designs are incredible and seem to fit together. I would pay good money to whoever did those to get some on me. I bet they look even better in the daylight.

“Yeah, but then you ordered a Miller Light and there’s only so much I can do for plain beer people.” She crosses her arms over her chest and looks me dead in the eyes like she didn’t just try to insult me.

“Mm, something tells me we started on the wrong foot. Let me try again. Hi, I’m new here, what do you recommend?” I reply with a smile. Her eyes dip to my lips and I know I’ve got her right where I want her.

“Fine,” she replies, stomping to the wall behind the bar and grabbing different bottles.

She returns with six tall shot glasses, all different colors. They all seem like liquor. Interesting. I ordered a beer and she decided I’m more of a liquor guy. The funny thing is, she isn’t wrong. Usually when I go out, I opt for liquor. But when I go to a new place, I prefer playing it safe, and beer typically tastes the same regardless of where I am. So, beer was the easy choice tonight.

She keeps her eyes on me while her hands rest on top of the bar. I raise an eyebrow at her stance in wonder.

“I need to study your expression to know what to get you next. So, get to it, I don’t have all night.” The music is loud, and people are dancing around. I could easily shift my eyes from her but it’s impossible when she looks at me so attentively.

Me cago en la madre ? 1 . This girl and her attitude. I usually don’t give into the chase of women who are not interested. It’s one thing to have back and forth banter with someone, and then there’s blatantly showing you’re not interested in someone. In this case, I’m not sure this is either. I feel a pulse. I might not be the only one interested here and this is more than physical attraction. She’s hot. Actually no, she’s more than that. She’s stunning, and her sass might be a turn-off sometimes, but in this instance, it adds to the appeal. This girl can hold her ground. She’s acting like she’s unimpressed or like my purpose here today is to annoy her. Makes me want to prove a point and find out if she’s truly indifferent to me or if she’s as intrigued as I am.

Game on .

I try the drinks and they’re all fantastic. I opt for the dark-colored one and she nods. She walks back and brings me another short glass with ice and whatever liquor it is.

“I was right the first time. Smooth whiskey is your drink.”

“Would you pour one for yourself too?” I ask, lifting my glass to her in invitation. Offering her an olive branch. “Have a drink with me,” I add, smiling at her while refusing to break eye contact.

She scans me, up and down, stopping at my lips while licking hers. “Nah, I had my fill already. You enjoy, alright?” She tries to walk away, but I get up, quickly reaching over the bar and grabbing her hand. Electricity courses through us instantly, making us both look at where our skin is connected. She lifts her eyes slowly and when her gaze meets mine, I recognize the lust in her eyes, the same way I’m sure mine look too.

She pulls her hand away and walks around the bar to where I’m sitting. I assume she’ll get security or something because I crossed the bar line and touched her, usually a big no with female bartenders. But she does the last thing I expect.

She stops before the hallway that seems to be leading to the back of the bar, turns around to look at me, and asks, “Are you coming?”

Holy shit.

I walk toward her confidently, whiskey in hand, and smirk knowingly. For someone so small, she walks damn fast. The hallway has three doors. Two bathrooms across from each other with ‘gals’ and ‘pals’ written on the door in gold. The door at the end doesn’t have a sign showing what’s behind it and looks different than the other two. It also has a scanner by the handle. I assume you need some sort of key to get in.

Roe stops in front of the door and turns her body around to look at me, her back pressed against the door and her eyes full of mischief. I place my hand above her head on the door, leaning forward and closing the space between us. She has long thick lashes that she peers up at me through, her light blue eyes darkening with desire before placing her hands on my chest.

I lower my head to her ear, my other hand brushing her neck, and whisper, “Lead the way, doll,” thinking that will piss her off more and give me some light on what the fuck is happening here, but it doesn’t. She just grabs my hand and pulls me through the door.

I was not expecting that. Again.

The room is dark with only a small lamp in the corner, allowing me to see bits and pieces. The dim light illuminates a desk full of papers and dark shelves around it. The floor is checkered, unlike the dark wood that covers the rest of the bar, and there are plants hanging. Dropping my hand the minute we’re inside, she shuts the door behind her and pulls me toward her by my shirt, placing herself between me and the door. Her pouty lip is between her teeth and her eyes are blazing fire on mine. Oh shit.

I stare at her, a little shocked at the turn of events but it doesn’t take long for me to snap out of it because this gorgeous sassy little thing says, “How about you use that mouth of yours for more than just calling me a doll?”

I give her what she wants and kiss her.

1 ? Me cago en la madre: can mean different things but in this case it’s like fuck my life