Page 12 of On The Rocks

I gritted my teeth. “No.”

He simply arched a brow at me.

I pulled down two heavy boxes of glasses and shoved them at him. “Here.”

He took them with ease, and I quickly picked up the red box and followed him out. I put the box on the shelf under the bar top. “You can grab the other two white boxes and the large brown one marked glasses.”

“Got it.”

I flipped off the top of the box and slowly unwrapped the first jigger in a spun glass of yellow and blue. When I’d started working the flair side of bartending, I’d learned that my bar tool setup was as important as my technique.

It was what helped me stand out in a world dominated by men.

Griffin quietly helped unwrap the mugs and pint glasses, lining them up on the bar for a spin through the washer.

The set-up process of my bar was one of my favorite things about starting the season at Brothers Three. I’d expected tobe annoyed with Griffin in my space, but he was a competent barback.

“You used to tend bar?”

Griffin nodded. “When I was in the Navy.”

“Navy?” Surprised, I swung my gaze to him.

“Was my way out of Hawaii.” He shrugged. “I thought I’d go into SEAL training but found out I was best suited for AIRR. All that time in the ocean growing up made me perfect for the rescue squad.”

“You’re kidding.”

He laughed. “Not at all. It’s not glamorous. It was hard ass work. Nothing like jumping out of a helicopter to rescue people. Not to mention getting called in to help during storms.”

“Wow.”

I didn’t want to be impressed, but how could I not be? I suddenly noticed Kain standing at the end of the bar with a tray full of food.

“Navy?” he asked hoarsely.

Griffin set down the glass he was unwrapping. “Yeah. I wanted off the island too.”

Kain’s shoulders were stiff. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“I know.” Griffin’s voice was soft. “Jacky N’ai wasn’t interested in anything other than my mother. Definitely not some half Hawaiian kid that reminded him that he was obsessed with her enough to be careless.”

Kain lifted his chin. “Jacky was shit with women. Including my mother.”

I nodded. “He was an asshole. And I hated that he sucked her back into his orbit whenever he came around. So, I got out as soon as I could.”

“Fucking Navy.” Kain shook his head.

“Then I decided to be a rockstar.” His grin was even wider.

Kain set down the tray with a rattle. “What?”

Oh, boy. I moved the glasses out of Kain’s way. I didn’t need broken pint glasses all over the floor. Guess Griffin had decided to rip off the bandaid.

“Maybe I should leave you guys to talk.” I took one of the plates of disco fries.

They were too busy staring at each other.

I wasn’t quite sure if the vibe was menacing or just surprised. And I didn’t have any problem deserting the field.

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