Page 35 of Back Room Host

As if that wasn’t enough excitement, the photographer and the curly-haired guy also returned and approached Juri. However, he remained quite calm. Although I only caught bits and pieces of what was happening when Juri and the photographer exchanged numbers—Noé had disappeared—it seemed like tensions were easing and the two guys took off.

“What was that about?” I asked once the rush had finally subsided.

Juri waved it off with a casual gesture. “Nothing much. My buddy took off, and those two are just freaking out. But he’ll turn up again.”

When the third band joined the stage, it was dead quiet at my station, so Nici came over and told me I could call it a night. After cleaning up everything at the bar, I went to the back office to handle the accounting. My emotions bubbled over as I retreated to the club, and Juri was still sitting at the bar.

Is he waiting for me?

“You’re still here,” I said, walking over to him.

“Of course. Where else would I go?” He swiveled on the stool to face me.

“Where are your friends?”

He nodded toward the crowd. “Somewhere in there.”

“Do you want to have another drink with me?”

There was a greedy sparkle in his eyes, and as he licked his lips, something stirred inside me that I couldn’t name. Damn it, man! My cock twitched! He nodded, a gesture so profound it felt as if the ground had momentarily vanished beneath me.

What’s this guy doing to me?

I made my way over to Nici behind the bar and poured myself a post-work beer at her station. I then sat on the stool next to Juri and clinked glasses with him, trying my best to ignore the fact that our knees were touching.

“Your friend can really sing,” I said, unable to come up with anything better.

“Yeah,” Juri shifted on the stool, appearing slightly nervous. “And … um … what have you been up to these past few days?”

I smiled at his awkward attempt to start a conversation. “My life is boring. You know that.”

“Oh, really?”

“Always the same. Training, working, and this damn concept keeps swirling around in my head.” Feeling slightly irritated, Irealized I wasn’t quite telling the truth here. Since last Tuesday, Juri had taken a prominent place in my thoughts. “Can I ask you something?”

“What?” he asked, amused.

“Is Clé your boyfriend?”

“What?” His voice almost faltered, then he burst out laughing. “No! Heavens no! He’s not into me! Why would you think that?”

“Well, I saw you … um … kiss him.”

He made a puzzled face. “I kiss many people, but Clé gains nothing from it. He’s into women, for heaven’s sake.”

“You … What? What do you mean you kiss many people?”

Juri peered down at his half-full glass, seeming somewhat sad.

“Would you kiss me too?”

I wondered where I had gone wrong to seriously ask him something like that. But knowing that Clé wasn’t his boyfriend made me brave, even though I had no idea what I was hoping to achieve with this question.

Juri was to blame. He brought out this side of me. I was flirting, damn it, and I didn’t understand myself anymore. It’s not like Juri would fall in love with me. And yet, my heart raced as he turned to face me, scrutinizing me with a probing gaze.

“You know my rates,” he said mischievously.

I frowned in surprise. “You have a strange sense of humor.”

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