I laugh. “Hendrix got hitched and”—I wave my hand through the air—“looks like there are very few ladies in the house tonight. Lots of men, though, huh?”
“But only one Caldwell.” Tina winks.
“Just stopped in to back the bar, but Hailey here,” I say as Hailey approaches us, “would be glad to help you two out.”
“What can I get the two of you to drink?”
“We’d like a Caldwell cocktail.” Patsy smirks at me.
“Come again?” she asks.
“Wish he would.” Tina laughs. “You and your brother Jagger…Remember that time?”
Hailey’s eyebrows shoot up as she looks at me.
“You know what’s in a Caldwell cocktail, Hailey?” Patsy giggles.
“Nope,” Hailey says as she pours a shot and pushes it down the bar to one of the guys waiting for a drink.
“Well, it starts with one of us on our knees,” Tina begins.
“Then lip to tip, right, Morrison?” Patsy adds.
Fuck me. I nod.
“Then a little stir, no shaking, tongue flat. Isn’t that the instructions you gave?” Tina bites her lip.
“Take it deep, don’t gag, just swallow,” Patsy picks up where she leaves off.
“Are you two fucking seriously telling me about the blow jobs you gave him? If so, save it. Not interested. What I am interested in is your drink order, but if you’re just here to hook up, let me know so I can serve some customers,” Hailey snaps.
“Two Miller Lites,” Tina says quickly.
“You wanna get that or should I?” Hailey hisses at me.
“You go ahead, babe.”
When she scowls at me, then goes to grab their drinks, I turn back to the girls. “Look, I’m not serving those anymore. It was great seeing the two of you, though.”
Then I walk away as Hailey serves them.
It is one in the morning before things die down. Hailey talks to the customers, smiles, and even calls a few of them cabs. By the time the bar is empty, it’s two in the morning. Hailey flips the sign and locks the front door.
She doesn’t sit for a second, only keeps up her pace, and it’s obvious she’s avoiding me.
“You wanna exchange your ones and change for bigger bills before I do the till?”
“Yeah.” She sets the bar rag down and walks over to the register.
I don’t move. I want her to have to come to me. “You are one hell of a bartender.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not brain surgery.”
“That guy, the one who called you—”
“He’s harmless.”
“You sure about that?”
She whips her little braids around and glares at me. “A girl like me can spot an asshole a mile away.”
“A girl like you doesn’t deserve catcalls,” I retort.
“Well, it seems you have some ‘cats’ calling on you.”
“I’m not a cat person.” I lean in a bit and look at her lips, watch her take a short, quick breath.
She looks away quickly. “No, you’re a kid person. My daughter thinks the world of you. Actually, she talks about you all the time.”
I take a drink, trying to calm my shit down.
“About some game you only want to play with me? ‘Twitch’?”
I nearly choke on my drink. “Hailey—”
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea for the two of you to spend time together. She’s gonna think of you as more—”
“Hold up a minute.”
“No, you listen to me! She believes in those fairy tales—the white knights, the happily-ever-after, shit that clearly isn’t a reality. She needs to know she can be strong all by herself.”
“You done?” I don’t like where this is heading.
She looks away from me. “Clearly.”
She turns around, and I go stand in front of her, placing my hands on the counter behind her. Her breath hitches again, but she doesn’t move.
“She sees you and what you do. She’s gonna be a strong woman, no doubt. Now explain the reason behind you not wanting me around her.”
“What’s twitch?” she says, clearing her throat and trying to hide the desire, the way she feels when she and I are this close.
“I said bitch. Didn’t know she was there and had to cover my—”
“So I’m a bitch!” She shoves me, but I grab her hands and keep them against my chest.
“Sometimes.” I just can’t help myself, though it had nothing to do with what I was telling her.
She pushes me again.
“It’s hot, though.”
“Morrison, don’t play games with my daughter.”
“Not a game player anymore.”
“Right.” She finally looks away.
“Look at me.” She does. “I’m not playing a game.”
“What do you want from me? What do you think I owe you? What?”
“Slow down, baby. One question at a time. What do I want from you? I could ask the same question of you.”
“Of me?”
“Yes.” I lean in. “What do you want from me?”
Her chest rises and falls, her breathing rapidly increasing as I move slowly toward her.
“While you’re thinking about the answer, no, Hailey, I don’t own you. You own you. Now, wanting you…Well, I think you know the answer to that.”
I step back until her hand fists my shirt.