Page 3 of Liquid Courage
Chapter 2
“Who was the pretty girl with the long face?” Harriet asked, her elbow on the bar and her glass full of freshly mixed gin and tonic. The friends she came in with took their drinks to the pool table while Harriet remained behind to shoot the breeze with Kat.It’s all right. She’s one of my favorite mid-week patrons.Harriet worked at an auto shop down the street. Wednesdays were the worst, she always said. People who tried to make it through the week with sputtering cars ended up giving up by Wednesday. Perfect day to come in for a quick drink to unwind.
Kat poured the beers for Harriet’s friends. “One of Shari’s most recent victims, if you can believe it.”
Harriet scoffed. “I believe it! I tell you what, that woman’s gonna ruin dating for the rest of us. If she keeps upsetting every cute girl in town, I’ll have no one but my dog to cuddle at night.” She took a sip of her drink. “Not that my dog isn’t cuddly, mind you. But sometimes it’s nice to have some human companionship.”
“I hear that.” Kat placed the large glasses of beer on a small tray and left it on the edge of the bar. Harriet flagged down her friends to come get it.
Yeah, Shari, quit ruining shit for the rest of us.It was hard enough getting a date around there. None of the regulars needed the newbies ran out. Not on a personal front, and definitely not on the professional! Kat didn’t own the bar, but she saw the bottom line every week. It was the fresh blood that kept the coffers full. Not every woman who came in was interested in other women, but even the straight ones didn’t need the likes of Shari’s attitude plaguing the place.
“Before you said it was Shari’s problem, I thought maybe you had gotten yourself a new girlfriend who had stopped by to flirt.” Harriet helped herself to the complimentary peanuts.
“What? Nah.” Kat rolled up her sleeves and continued cleaning the area behind the bar. This was as big of a rush as she would get on Wednesday night, so she might as well start the cleaning now so she could get home as soon as her shift was up in half an hour. “You know I ain’t got no girl.”
“I’m just saying. You don’t normally flirt likethatwith customers. Bet she didn’t even leave you a tip.”
Kat grinned. “A whole five bucks. I’m rich.”
“How many drinks she buy?”
“Three. Maybe four. Girl was tiny but no lightweight.”
“Five bucks for four drinks? You’ve gotta be kidding me. You two were definitely flirting.”
“It’s not a big deal. Shit’s watered down here anyway.”
“Nowyou tell me!”
Kat laughed. “She was cute though, yeah.”
“Knew you were crushin’.”
“Whatever. She ain’t coming back around here again. Not after Shari tainted this place for her.” Too bad. Not just because Shari had run off another customer, but because Vivianhadbeen cute. Kat had no idea what the fuck she meant when she said she was too skinny or not athletic enough to be attractive. That adorable black dress perfectly matched her bobbed hair and the deep brown of her round eyes. Sure, she was a bit thin, but Kat wasn’t exactly a body builder herself. She lifted on the weekends, but her physique came from being on her feet all day.
“When’s the last time you had a girl, anyway?” Harriet laughed into her glass. “And Idon’tmean a lady who lasts a night and you never call her back again. I mean an honest to God girlfriend.”
“Oh, I dunno.” Kat tossed her dirty rag into the hamper in the back room. “Two years ago? You know I ain’t got time for girls.”
“Liar, liar. You were seeing that rich girl from California a couple of months ago.”
“By ‘seeing,’ you must mean seeing her tits, because that was the extent of that relationship.”
“Woof. It must be that shining personality that keeps them coming back for more.”
Kat scratched her chin, her other hand grabbing her hip. “Can’t say I’m looking for anything serious. Besides, I’ve got stuff going on.”
“Name one thing you’ve got going on.”
A shrug jostled the flannel on Kat’s shoulders. “School.”
“School?You haven’t taken a class since I first met you!”
“I dare to dream, I guess.”
“A sweet little certificate that says you’ve studied enough general ed to be considered for a promotion. What does that get you here? Head bartender?”
“Har har. It could mean a promotion down at the dock, though.” This was technically Kat’s evening job. Her day job was sorting live fish down at the docks, a mere hour after the fisherman came into port and sold their daily catch. It was gross work, but after a while, Kat swore she stopped smelling fish every time she changed her clothes. Lovers claimed otherwise.
