Page 15 of Waiting for Sunshine

Wanna pack up your dick and come unlock this door?

I look up to see Tucker standing outside the front door of the bar.

“Fuck me,” I mutter under my breath.I’m never hearing the end of this. My eyes snap back up from my phone when I hear the softest voice say,

“Careful what you wish for.” When my eyes meet hers it’s like they’re burning a hole right through me. I take a step back and clear my throat.

“You should get going.” I open the door to the kitchen, gesturing for her to leave. She glances over her shoulder to see Tucker standing outside the bar window. He gives her a shit-eating grin and waves, so. Fucking. Big.Good God, Tucker.

She turns back around and I notice the flush to her cheeks, just as she hops down and grabs her jacket. “Right. Um. See you tomorrow.” She says in a hurry.

“You’re not working tomorrow,” I say, watching her in her little frenzy again. She stops and looks up at me.

“Oh, well I’ll see you – later.” She looks between my eyes and then hurries out the door.

I walk over to let Tucker in the front door, threatening him as I do. “Not a fucking word,” I say, my voice firm.

“Yeah, fucking, right my dude.” He says in a much too enthusiastic tone. He is grinning ear to ear and it makes me wish I could take back the last five minutes of this night. “Are you fucking the new bartender?” he asks as he sits down on a barstool. I spin around to face him, my jaw now clenched. “No.” I bite out and he lifts his hands defensively.

“Alright. alright. Down, boy. What’s the deal then?”

“No deal, Tuck. We were just closing the bar.”

“Mhm..” He looks at me with a smug look. I sigh and further explain,

“Ruby had to leave to get Hendrix, so I was stuck helping her rookie ass tonight.” I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince that what just happened was nothing, Tucker, or myself.

“You’re so full of shit, Maxwell.” He smiles wide as he chews on some peanuts. If there’s one thing I hate more than Tucker calling mebarkeep,it’s when he uses my full name.

“I swear to god, Tucker, call me that again and I’m throwing your ass out.” I finish getting the receipts sorted and hand him a beer.

“Wait, why are you even here?” I ask, pulling my head back. Just realizing that I wasn’t expecting him to show up tonight.

“Ah, yes. The reason for my untimely interruption,” he lifts his brow and dusts his hands off. “I need to borrow your truck this weekend. Tank is back and needs some help moving stuff to his new place. The bronco just doesn’t have enough space for all his shit.” He rolls his eyes, even though I know it’s just for show. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for Tank.

“Yeah man, of course.” I agree.

His younger brother, Tank, just got out of the service and moved back home. He is five years younger than Tucker and Me and has been serving for the last five years. He suffered a minor back injury during duty this past year and was honorably discharged. I knew he wasn’t handling it well, and that Tucker was really worried about him.

I had mentioned that if he needed a job, I would hire him at the bar. Tank has far too much pride to take a job working for his older brother, but he and I have always gotten along so I figured the bar would be an easy job for him to take without feeling like a charity case. If anyone understood the need of having something to keep your mind busy after getting out of the service, it was me.

“Let him know I’m looking forward to having him working here as well.” I glance up and Tucker gives me a nod.

“Will do, thanks again, brother.” He says as I toss the receipts down on the counter.

“Why don’t you come back to grab my spare keys real quick so you can pick up the truck this weekend whenever you need it.”

“You sure man?” he asks, standing from his barstool.

“Yeah. I’ve got my bike, and sinceI’mnot stuck helping move shit around town, I’m set.” It’s been forever since I’ve gotten on my bike. I usually take Riley with me wherever I can, so the truck is always my first option. It may be a nice change of pace to cruise a little this weekend.

* * *

SHANE

I got out back and hopped in my Jeep. My head was absolutely buzzing, and it was not from the half of a beer that I drank. No, I believe this buzzing would be from the fact that my insanely sexy, frustrating, hot, and cold boss just had me caged in on the counter, whispering in my ear, and giving me a nickname that made my stomach flip.

What the hell is wrong with me?

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