Behind the Bars by Brittainy Cherry

Author:Brittainy Cherry [Cherry, Brittainy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BCherry Books
Published: 2017-12-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jasmine

I saw him first, but he’d argue that was a lie.

He kept to himself, sitting in a corner booth at Daze. A pencil balanced behind his ear as he flipped through a tattered notebook and sipped on whiskey. He’d been sitting in that corner booth since I’d arrived two hours ago and hadn’t once looked up. The only person he took note of was the bartender, who wandered over every now and then to top off his drink.

I sat in the booth across from him, glancing over every now and then, sipping on my drink of choice for the night: vodka.

I used to drink tequila, but it made me too emotional.

I once tried bourbon, but it made me too sick.

So, vodka was my safest bet.

He was different in almost every way. He was huge, built, fit, and shredded. His black T-shirt clung to his body in all the right places, and his lips didn’t have a smile on them, but those eyes…

Those sweet, sad, hazel eyes were exactly as I remembered, except now they weren’t hidden behind glasses.

Many drunken women wandered up to Elliott’s booth, trying to grab his attention, but he never gave it to them. He just nodded them away and kept his head down, focused on his notebook. Every once in a while, he’d take his pencil from behind his ear and write something down.

“You sittin’ alone?” a drunken man said, stumbling to my booth, sliding in across from me.

“Oh, well, actually—”

“Let me buy you a drink,” he blurted out, reaching out to touch my hand, his covered in oil and grease. His white T-shirt was stained with the same filth, as if he’d lived under the hood of a car for the past ten years.

“No, it’s okay, really. Thank you,” I said, trying my best to keep calm while I pulled my arms closer to my body.

“Co-come on,” he begged pitifully, reaching out even more. “Let’s get a drink and have a good time together.”

My lips parted to speak, but I stopped when another voice spoke up. “Jimmy, move on.” I looked up at the corner booth, where Elliott was still marking up his notebook but speaking to Jimmy.

Jimmy sat back a little and groaned. “Come on, Elliott, don’t be a—”

“Jimmy,” he said, his voice even sterner, still looking down. “Move on.”

Jimmy grumbled but stood and walked away.

“Thank you,” I said to Elliott.

He nodded once, still looking down. “Jimmy means no harm. He’s just landed on hard times.”

“Haven’t we all at some point?” I lightly chuckled.

For a split second, he glanced my way, then he returned his stare back to his notes.

Then, he paused.

He sat up straighter.

Narrowed his hazel eyes.

Then, he closed the notebook.

When his head rose and his body rotated toward me, my heart started aggressively pounding against my ribcage, uncertain of what would happen next.

He stood up first and then I followed his suit, smoothing my hands over my leather jacket.

“Jasmine,” he said as he breathed out, his eyes filled with confusion.

“Elliott.”

“What are you…” he started, but his words trailed off.

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