Running Back to You (The Running Series, #1) (34 page)

W
hen we arrive at Evan’s, my phone rings.  I look down and see it’s
Reese.  I promised her days ago I would call her back, but I never did.  “Evan,
do you mind if I take this?  It’s Reese.  She’s been calling me for days now.”

“I’ll be in my office going over a few things for work.  Take your time,
baby.”  Evan slips away and I decide to step onto the deck for some privacy.

“Hey, Reese.  What’s going on in the Badger State?”

“You know, same shit, different day.  There’s absolutely nothing going on
here.  How about you?  How’s the new man in your life?”

“If I tell you something, do you swear not to say anything to anyone? 
Not even Sara?” 

“Of course.  Are you okay?  Did something happen?”

“I’m fine.  Better than fine, actually.  It’s about my boyfriend.  Here’s
the thing.  I told you his name was Evan right?”

“Yeah, Evan Michaels or Evan Roberts, or something like that, right?”

“Close.  It’s Evan Thomas.  It turns out that Thomas is his middle name. 
His full name is Evan Thomas McGuire.  Have you ever heard of him?”

“What?!”  Reese is screaming at the phone, I can barely make out what
she’s saying.  I think she’s heard of him.

.

“H
ey, Jette, it’s your lucky night tonight.”  Marcus is already setting
up the speed rack on the patio bar.  I haven’t worked with Marcus in a few days
and I’m glad he’ll be behind the bar with me.

“Lucky?” I replied with a forced smile.  I can’t help but feel extremely
anxious tonight.  Each incident with my stalker started here at work.  I’m sure
there’s a connection, but I don’t yet know what it is. 

“You bet!  We’re going to have fun tonight, kiddo.”  God, I hope he’s
right. 

I turn around to start wiping down the bar with some club soda as Derek
comes striding towards us.  “Hey guys, what’s up?  You ready to rock it
tonight?”  It looks like it will be the three of us on the patio tonight. 

“Guys, listen, Evan’s coming tonight, so please be cool around him.” 
I know I’ll feel better when Evan gets here later.  I told him not to come
until after ten or eleven o’clock since he’s staying with me until closing. 

Customers start filtering into the bar even before the DJ finishes
setting up his equipment.  Tonight’s Karaoke night, so there should be a lot of
energy in the room. In my short time here, I’ve learned that good entertainment can
dramatically increase the positive energy in a bar. When the guests are
properly entertained and happy with the music, tips go up and time crawls a
little faster.

As the crowd grows thicker, I begin to release the stress that I’ve been
carrying with me and start to enjoy myself behind the bar again.  Marcus and Derek
have been teasing me and trying to get me to loosen up, and it’s beginning to
work. 

Suddenly, one customer begins singing Bon Jovi’s ‘
Livin’ on a Prayer’
and
the crowd erupts, singing along and sometimes even screaming along.  The three
of us enjoy singing, too, as we pour drinks.  When everyone is singing, it
doesn’t matter how good or bad of a singer you are.  What counts is how much
enthusiasm you put into your performance, and we give it all we’ve got.

The next song selected is ‘
I Wanna Dance with Somebody’
by
Whitney
Houston
.  Unable to miss an opportunity to flirt with me, Derek gives a
little bump and grind each time Whitney sings, ‘
I wanna feel the heat with
somebody’.
  I dramatically push him away, give him the universal gesture
for
shame on you
and feign shock each time, but in truth, it is a lot of
fun.

The customers are enjoying themselves tonight, too.  I’m getting a lot of
smiles and compliments on my drinks.  One customer hands me a business card
from a bar in Asbury. 

“If you want to make some real money behind the bar, honey, come see me. 
We take good care of our girls at Pinocchio’s,” he tells me.  I love that bar. 
It’s one of the first bars I ever went to once I turned twenty-one.  Their
slogan is, ‘
The Place to Come and Tell Lies’
.  My friends and I would go
night after night during the summer, dance for hours, and hardly ever did we
have to buy our own drinks.  That’s when Auggie started calling me Jepetto.

Even though I’m not interested right now, I pocket his card.  Auggie is
always talking about the importance of networking and you never know when I’ll
need to make a professional connection in the future.

I’m also starting to get to know my regular customers.  There’s a group
of girls a few years younger than me that come three or four nights a week. 
They remind me of my college friends.  They aren’t overly flirty or
ostentatious, but they get plenty of attention from the male clientele. 
Tonight, one of the girls whose name I don’t know seems down in the dumps. 
She’s sitting at the bar watching her friends carry on and have fun.

I pour her another glass of wine and try to talk with her a little bit. 
It turns out her name is Maria and she’s a student teacher.  She just found out
one of her students is seriously ill with Cystic Fibrosis.  His prognosis is
not good.  There’s no way I can cheer her up, so I just listen to her story. 
It’s obvious she’s a very caring educator and she’s very deeply affected by her
students.  I’m sure she’ll make a great teacher someday.

Suddenly, ‘
Don’t go Breaking my Heart’
begins booming from the
speakers and something happens to Marcus.  It’s like he’s having an out-of-body
experience that overtakes him and he grabs me to sing with him.  He hands me an
empty beer bottle as a microphone, and I’m swept into performing a duet with
him.  I don’t mind singing with Marcus, I know he’s deeply in love with
Camilla, and it’s all in fun, so I really start to get into it.  I’m singing my
heart out and giving Marcus my best puppy dog eyes.

Derek is obviously feeling left out, because he’s actually pouting on the
other end of the bar.  Pouting.  The female customers are taking pity on him
and it looks like he will survive.  A few of Maria’s friends are trying
earnestly to cheer him up. 

As we finish our performance, the customers seated around the bar give us
a rousing round of applause.  We turn to give a proper bow and courtesy. 
Quickly, we rush to fill the empty glasses that are lining our side of the
bar.  There’s a young attractive man dressed in a suit.  If I had to guess, I’d
assume he just got done with work.  He’s got cash on the bar and is trying to
get my attention.

“Hi, what can I get ‘ya?”  I ask the Suit.

“I’d love a cold Sam Adams.  And your name.  You look great tonight, by
the way,” the Suit adds.

I grab him a cold Sam Adams, hand it to him, and take his cash.  When I
bring him his change, I try to be as polite as possible, “Here you go.  My
name’s Jette.  Let me know if you need anything else.”

“As a matter of fact, Jette, I’d really like to get your phone number. 
Maybe we can go out together one night.”  He looks at me with a hopeful look
and a confident grin on his face. 

“I’m so sorry, but I have a boyfriend.”  I move onto the next customer
who asks for a glass of the house Chardonnay.

The Suit won’t take no for an answer.  He follows me as I make my way
down the bar.  “Oh, come on, Jette.  I’ll show you a good time.  No one has to
know.  I won’t tell.”

Trying my best to be firm but professional, I tell him, “I’m really
flattered, but the answer’s still no.”  The Suit turns away from the bar and
I’m hoping he got my message loud and clear this time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Evan and Adam making their way
through the crowd towards me.  I toss my bar rag on the bar and slip out from
behind the bar to greet them.  “Guys, I’ll be right back.  Cover for me?”

Evan seems like he’s in a good mood tonight.  He’s laughing with Adam and
I can see those million dollar dimples.  Tonight he’s wearing a black Genesis concert
tee that shows off his broad shoulders.  When he sees me approaching, he smiles
a little brighter.

“Hey, beautiful,” Evan says as he wraps his arms around my waist and
pulls me in for a kiss.  He lifts me off my feet momentarily and I can’t help
but giggle.  “Are you on a break?” he asks.

“No, I just wanted to come say hi.”  Adam and I exchange a quick hello
and the boys follow me back to the bar.  They find a couple of empty seats and
settle in for a while.

I go straight over to talk to Marcus.  He’s the only one of my close
friends that Evan hasn’t met yet.  Things are quiet at the bar for the moment,
so I take advantage of the opportunity.

“Evan, I want you to meet Marcus Chase.  Marcus, this is Evan McGuire and
Adam Cooke.”  They shake hands and begin chatting.  I try to cover the bar and
give them a chance to become acquainted.  I cannot hear what they are
discussing, but all three of them seem very animated about whatever the topic
may be.  I’d guess the topic is sports related.

I look across the bar to see if anyone needs a drink, and I spot The Suit
eyeing me. The glass he’s holding is filled with an amber liquid.  He’s moved
from beer to hard liquor.

Derek interrupts my thoughts.  “So, Jette, I guess you and Big Mac kissed
and made up?” he asks.  He doesn’t seem too happy for us.  I know he wishes
things turned out differently.

“We did.  And I couldn’t be happier.  Will you please try to be happy for
me, Derek?”

“So long as you’re happy, that’s all I care about, Jette.  But ... if you
don’t get back to work soon, I’m going to be really pissed off!”  He snaps a
bar towel at me.  I get the message and get back to work.

Maria and her friends reappear at the bar asking for a round of Mind
Erasers.  I carefully pour the vodka layer first, followed by the Kahlua and
ending with the seltzer.  It’s a wonderful creation when you can see each
individual layer.  I place the straws in the glasses and watch the girls as
they prepare for their challenge.  One of the braver girls starts the
countdown.  “3 – 2 – 1 – go!”  All five girls start sucking on their straws,
bringing up each layer one at a time without stopping.  I watch to see whom the
last one is to finish.  That’s the one who will pay for all the shooters.  I’m
pleasantly surprised that it’s not Maria that finishes last, but one of her
friends who begrudgingly pays the bar bill.  Maria’s mood seems to be lifting
with the help of her friends.

As I make my way up and down the bar, I can’t help but overhear a few
conversations among the customers.  A pair of young women has spotted Evan
sitting across from them.  They are talking about how hot he is and how much
they would like to go home with him tonight.

They start daring each other to go up and talk to him.  I even overhear
them discussing potential pick-up lines.  They range from the pathetic like, “Do
you come here often,” to the raunchy, “Do you want to melt in my mouth or in my
hand?” 

I know it doesn’t mean anything, but my blood is beginning to boil.  I
want to scream at them, “Dream on, bitches.  He’s going home with me tonight!” 

Everyone who walks into a bar does so knowing full well that they are
likely to get hit on.  When you factor in the allure of a painfully handsome
pair of young, eligible men sitting alone at the bar, then you have to accept
the fact that women are going to flirt and tease.  I know that, I’ve seen it. 
Hell, I’ve even been on the receiving end of it from time to time, including
tonight, but watching it with my own eyes is excruciating. 

Besides the women that are swooning from afar, there’s a pair of girls
barely old enough to drink trying desperately to get Evan and Adam’s
attention.  They are practically attempting to crawl onto their laps.

I walk over to check on the boys and get them a cold beer. 
Unfortunately, I’m confronted with these overly enthusiastic girls continuing
to throw themselves at the guys.  I try to smile and be understanding, but
inwardly, I want to bash their skulls in.  I know that sounds a little extreme,
but it’s honestly how I feel.

Marcus’ words from a few nights ago come crashing into my mind.  He
questioned how Evan was going to be able to stay faithful to me when he’s
travelling with the team.  I teeter between anger and jealousy, and it’s hard
to hide my reaction from Derek and Marcus.  I toss bottles back into the speed
rack with a little too much force.

“Hey Jette, you okay with all this?  I can call the bouncers to get the
girls off him if it will make you feel better,” Marcus offers. 

I grab a few Buds out of the reach in, slam it shut, and bark at Marcus,
“Don’t bother.  As soon as they leave, two more will take their place.”

He pulls me to the side, away from the spectacle.  “Listen, Jette, you
knew exactly what you signed up for.  He’s always going to get this kind of
attention.  If you can’t handle it, it’s best you get out now.”

He’s right.  I look over to Evan and he’s watching for my reaction.  I’ve
got to calm down and show everyone, myself included, that I can handle this. 
In that exact moment, my attention is drawn by the flashing of lights as the
girls snap pictures of my boyfriend.  What the hell?  He’s not posing for them
or encouraging them in any way, but it still upsets me.