Read Online Torn - Part 1: The Torn Series by Ellen Callahan - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ellen Callahan
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Working out at the gym with Surly? Preparing for a fight?
Was he thinking about me at all?
I shook my head. Keep it cool, keep it casual.
Practice ran late but I had to leave for my shift at the bar.
I was working at a little tiki-themed joint called Coconut Cup only two stops away from my own neighborhood. A blessing, I knew. One of the most common bar gripes were people's commutes.
I was lucky to have the job. Most people had to start as bar-backs, cleaning glasses and wiping down tables. But I'd jumped right to bartender. I showed up for the interview with three different frozen drinks for them to try, transported in a cooler that was almost too heavy for me to carry. I think they were more impressed by my effort than the drinks, but either way, I got the job.
"You’re late," Mitch grumbled. The grizzled old owner put on some grumpy airs but was a teddy bear at heart.
"I'm almost on time!" I exclaimed. I quickly stashed my bass in the tiny office just off the kitchen before taking up my post behind the bar.
The tiny place was dark but clean. It was long and narrow, with only a few booths parallel to the bar and two high tables near the front windows. Decorated with palm leaves and coconuts, it tried to be cheerful but it failed. Not enough natural light - or much light at all, really.
Mitch patted my shoulder as he passed, heading back to the office and leaving the front of the house in my hands. The kitchen was open but the bar was mine alone - it was never very busy on Tuesdays and time passed slowly as I served the few patrons that wandered in after leaving their jobs for the evening. I poured more beer than the frozen drinks the owner wanted his place to be known for.
I had fallen into a casual rhythm of delivering drinks and washing glasses, so when he entered the bar it didn't even register right away. "What can I get you?" I was already grabbing a mug, assuming he'd want whatever was on tap just like almost everyone else.
"I'll take your most complicated and decorative beverage, thank you."
I know that voice. A smile broke out on my face and a light blush warmed my cheeks. "A Jellyfish Jubilee? Coming right up. Just gotta fetch a fish out of the tank in the back."
Mallet’s eyes went wide. “Don’t tell me you put fucking fish in the drinks.”
“Hey, fish oil’s good for your hair and your skin,” I winked, pulling the ingredients out of the fridge beneath the counter.
"That's disgusting and you'd better be joking."
"I guess you'll find out!" I said brightly, then I fired up the blender. I might have been playing it cool and collected on the outside, but internally I was doing backflips. He came to see me! He remembered where I work and he sought me out! We had a connection, I just knew it. Sex couldn't be that good if there was nothing else there.
Mitch trundled out at the sound of the blender whirring and stood over my shoulder. "Just another fifteen seconds," he muttered. He was very protective of his concoctions and very exact about them. Under his supervision, I'd have to use the jiggers to measure everything out.
I turned the blender off and he hustled me out of the way. This wasn't the first time he'd elbowed in to make a drink but I huffed with annoyance. I’d wanted to make this one for Mallet. Even if he was joking and wouldn't actually drink the sickly sweet slushy, I wanted to do it for him.
Mallet shot an amused look my way as Mitch poured the pink icy mix into a tall glass and finished it off with fruit garnish and a tiny pink plastic jellyfish on a toothpick.
The things were custom-ordered and utterly ridiculous.
"Good?" he asked, leaning across the bar expectantly as Mallet took his first sip.
"Tastes good," Mallet said. "It's lacking a woman's touch, though." Then he winked at me.
Mitch only frowned. "Twelve dollars."
We were finally alone again once Mallet paid up. Mitch grumbled his way back to his office. The other patrons in the bar hadn't emptied their beers yet
Was he thinking about me at all?
I shook my head. Keep it cool, keep it casual.
Practice ran late but I had to leave for my shift at the bar.
I was working at a little tiki-themed joint called Coconut Cup only two stops away from my own neighborhood. A blessing, I knew. One of the most common bar gripes were people's commutes.
I was lucky to have the job. Most people had to start as bar-backs, cleaning glasses and wiping down tables. But I'd jumped right to bartender. I showed up for the interview with three different frozen drinks for them to try, transported in a cooler that was almost too heavy for me to carry. I think they were more impressed by my effort than the drinks, but either way, I got the job.
"You’re late," Mitch grumbled. The grizzled old owner put on some grumpy airs but was a teddy bear at heart.
"I'm almost on time!" I exclaimed. I quickly stashed my bass in the tiny office just off the kitchen before taking up my post behind the bar.
The tiny place was dark but clean. It was long and narrow, with only a few booths parallel to the bar and two high tables near the front windows. Decorated with palm leaves and coconuts, it tried to be cheerful but it failed. Not enough natural light - or much light at all, really.
Mitch patted my shoulder as he passed, heading back to the office and leaving the front of the house in my hands. The kitchen was open but the bar was mine alone - it was never very busy on Tuesdays and time passed slowly as I served the few patrons that wandered in after leaving their jobs for the evening. I poured more beer than the frozen drinks the owner wanted his place to be known for.
I had fallen into a casual rhythm of delivering drinks and washing glasses, so when he entered the bar it didn't even register right away. "What can I get you?" I was already grabbing a mug, assuming he'd want whatever was on tap just like almost everyone else.
"I'll take your most complicated and decorative beverage, thank you."
I know that voice. A smile broke out on my face and a light blush warmed my cheeks. "A Jellyfish Jubilee? Coming right up. Just gotta fetch a fish out of the tank in the back."
Mallet’s eyes went wide. “Don’t tell me you put fucking fish in the drinks.”
“Hey, fish oil’s good for your hair and your skin,” I winked, pulling the ingredients out of the fridge beneath the counter.
"That's disgusting and you'd better be joking."
"I guess you'll find out!" I said brightly, then I fired up the blender. I might have been playing it cool and collected on the outside, but internally I was doing backflips. He came to see me! He remembered where I work and he sought me out! We had a connection, I just knew it. Sex couldn't be that good if there was nothing else there.
Mitch trundled out at the sound of the blender whirring and stood over my shoulder. "Just another fifteen seconds," he muttered. He was very protective of his concoctions and very exact about them. Under his supervision, I'd have to use the jiggers to measure everything out.
I turned the blender off and he hustled me out of the way. This wasn't the first time he'd elbowed in to make a drink but I huffed with annoyance. I’d wanted to make this one for Mallet. Even if he was joking and wouldn't actually drink the sickly sweet slushy, I wanted to do it for him.
Mallet shot an amused look my way as Mitch poured the pink icy mix into a tall glass and finished it off with fruit garnish and a tiny pink plastic jellyfish on a toothpick.
The things were custom-ordered and utterly ridiculous.
"Good?" he asked, leaning across the bar expectantly as Mallet took his first sip.
"Tastes good," Mallet said. "It's lacking a woman's touch, though." Then he winked at me.
Mitch only frowned. "Twelve dollars."
We were finally alone again once Mallet paid up. Mitch grumbled his way back to his office. The other patrons in the bar hadn't emptied their beers yet
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