Page 16 of Trusting the Fall

And I wear the damn red lipstick.

I’ve got a lover boy to dance with.

7

“DoIactuallyneedto know how to pour beer? I thought I was just here to intimidate the staff into doing their own jobs properly?”

I watch as Gage pinches his nose, trying not to lose patience with his baby brother.

“Weekends are our busiest nights. You may need to step in and help serve.”

“Excuse the fuck out of me, sir,” Mason says, a hand to his chest in mock offence. “I am a drinker, not a pourer.”

Gage blows out a breath while I hide my smile behind my half-empty beer.

I’ve been listening to this for the last hour, keeping one eye on the door, hoping to see a curvy little blonde strut in, full of sass and desire. But no luck so far.

“If you’re so hard up for help, why don’t you employ another bartender?”

“I don’t need another bartender, but with me going away, my team is down one.”

Mason crosses his arms, a frown covering his usually upbeat face. “Still sounds to me like you need another bartender.”

“For fuck’s sake, Mason.”

“Hey, Keeley!” Mason shouts to another bartender as she passes behind Gage.

“Yeah?”

“You got any friends who know how to bartend and want to do a cash job next weekend?”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Gage rages.

“Solving a problem,” Mason says without an ounce of apology.

Keeley nods. “Got some people I can reach out to who I’ve done private catering gigs with.”

“Perfect! Find me anyone who can do a full Friday or Saturday night.”

“You got it.” She nods at Mase before pausing at Gage. “Don’t worry, boss. You know we got this place covered while you’re gone.”

“Thanks, Keels.” Gage straightens on Mase, folding his beefy, tattooed arms over his bulging chest.

The guy is intimidating as fuck.

There’s a silver ring through the middle of his bottom lip and another through one nostril, a bunch more up one ear. His hair is a mess of tangled, dark locks on top and faded short along the sides, only highlighting all the piercings on his face and the tattoos that stretch to his neck.

“For my own peace of mind, would you fucking be here next weekend so I can check in? I don’t want these guys stopping to answer a phone call.”

“Good god! Can you find a woman or something to take care of the obvious frustrations you harbour?” Mase waves his hand around, gesturing to the lower half of Gage’s hulking body.

“I think he knows what you mean without pointing directly at it, Mase.” I can’t help but laugh now, causing Gage and Mason to pull their attention to me.

Where Gage’s eyes are rough and hard, matching his demeanour, Mason’s are a perfect duality of his focused and whimsical sides. I’m certain the mismatch of one green eye and one blue is at least eighty per cent responsible for his popularity with the opposite sex.

“I’m sure he hasn’t used it in so long, he’s probably forgotten how to find it,” Mason says, earning a slap to the back of the head from Gage.

“I can find it just fine, dickhead.”

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