Page 1 of White Charms and Dark Secrets

One

No More Bad Luck

“Hey, sexy! How about some service down here!” a voice calls from the far end of the bar. I roll my eyes and finish up with the lady I’m serving, before slowly forcing myself to walk down to the customer who’d yelled. I have no idea what his name is, but he comes in here most days. He stares at every woman in sight, most notably at their chests, and then proceeds to get so drunk, he’s practically carried out by his friends at the end of the night. After only two weeks working here, I’ve already become used to his irritating behaviour.

“The usual?” I prod in a polite tone, trying not to scrunch up my nose as I breathe in his stench. Close proximity to this guy proved a bad idea, unless you enjoy the overwhelming scent of cheap lager, stale cigarettes, and desperation.

“I’ll take that, unless you’ve got something else you want to offer me?” he suggests, as his lecherous eyes scan my body. I ignore his comment and instead opt to pull his pint in response. Apparently, it’s impossible to escape skeezball men in London. Go figure. Unfortunately, I’ve had no luck whatsoever finding a decent job since quitting my last. The only place that would hire me is this dive. Being cursed with bad luck is officially the worst thing ever.

It takes everything I have to only slam the pint down on the bar and not this guy’s head. “That’ll be four seventy-five,” I grind out through gritted teeth.

“You know, you’d be prettier if you smiled more,” he replies, holding out a crumpled five-pound note. I wait for him to place it on the bar rather than take it directly from his hand.I really don’t want to touch him.I snag the note the second he’s laid it down, putting it into the till and grabbing his change. I set that onto the bar top too, deliberately ignoring his outstretched hand. He glares at me before snatching up the drink and his change, before turning to re-join his friends across the room. I breathe out a sigh of relief as he leaves.

Fuck, I hate working here. But, I’d hate having no money to pay my electric bill even more.

“Are you okay?” a warm, familiar voice asks me. Instantly I feel better, and a smile crosses over my face as I look up at Darren.

“What are you doing here?” I ask brightly, pleased to see him here. The rest of my shift would pass by quicker with him around.

“I came in for a drink,” he lies, taking a seat at the bar. My pointed glance around the place conveys my scepticism.

“Yeah, because this clearly looks like your scene,” I scoff, pretending to wipe down the side with a rag, just in case. If by some miracle the manager decides to venture out of the office, I don’t want to get caught talking.Well, in truth, that would just be my luck.

“You working here makes it my scene,” he responds. Again, making me smile. Since Lizzy left a month ago, Darren has been the only person around for me to talk to. Considering Rhydian’s convenient absence, he was missing someone from his life as well.

When I attempted to press Darren for information about Rhydian’s whereabouts, he grew cagey. All he’d said was that Rhydian tended to come and go from his life, but that he always came back. I can’t figure out if his reticence stems from a desire to hide something or worry over something happening between me and Rhydian. Either way, when Rhydian does come back, I have a lot of questions for him.

“Can I get you something to drink?” I ask.

“You know what I like,” he answers.

“But what strikes your fancy?” I gesture over my shoulder at the bottles of liquor that line the wall behind me.

“Well,it hasbeen a long day…” he says, trailing off and leaving me to decide.

“Whiskey for you, then.” I grab a bottle of the best stuff this shithole offers, pour a generous serving into a tumbler, and push it towards him.

“How much do I owe you?” he asks, reaching for his wallet.

“How about a ride home in about an hour? If you have your car?” I counter, letting hope tinge my voice.

“I parked around the back of the bar,” he answers, grinning at me.

“Sweet. Let’s hope I make it through the rest of this stupid shift in one piece.” I flash him another quick smile in return and saunter off, heading towards the other end of the bar to serve someone else.

Despite all the tension between the two of us, since Lizzy left he’d stepped back a little. I appreciated his willingness to just be my friend right now. I haven’t felt in a place for a relationship, but as I sneak glances back at him, I must admit that I remember all the reasons I fell for him the first time. His humour, the magnetic attraction he exudes, even just the fact he came by this dive to make my shift less terrible.

“What can I get for you?” I ask the patient couple standing by the bar.

“A pint for me and double vodka redbull for the missus,” the guy answers as he curves his arm around her waist. She leans into his touch, looking blissful, as if they were in some romantic, fancy restaurant, instead of this dive. Love is blind after all. And it also seems to lack a sense of smell. This place could use an air freshener, or twenty.

“That comes to eight twenty-five,” I tell them, as I fix up their drinks. I keep sneaking looks down at Darren, who sits engrossed by his phone and oblivious to me by all outward appearances. His glass is already empty. No surprises there.

Biting my lip, I begin to once again worry what to do about my non-relationship with him. He wants to be with me, he’d made that clear even with him currently backing off to just be my friend right now. I want him too, but with the constant anxiety over what would happen to him if I change my mind crashing over me, I can’t allow myself happiness. Not if it meant he might be stuck alone for the rest of his life because I failed to commit or changed my mind.

After setting their drinks down, I take the couple’s money. I can’t help my wide smile when the guy pops the change into the otherwise barren tip jar.Maybe my bad luck is finally over?

The sound of something shattering fills the air, and I look across the bar towards the source of the noise. I spot Darren’s glass, crushed into pieces and left in front of his now empty seat.But where the hell is Darren now?

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