Flips was known for their lunchtime hot-dog menu. At night, it transformed into the perfect dive bar, complete with a long bar on the far side of the room and pool tables at the back. The place was packed, and no one paid any mind to Weston and me stepping inside.
“See if you can grab a seat. I’ll get us drinks. What do you like?”
“Uh…whatever you want.”
Weston shook his head. “Always have a drink request. Someone is going to ask you what you want, and you should know automatically. I could give you something you don’t like or something full of alcohol, where one drink would knock you on your ass. You don’t want anything from that kind of guy.”
I blinked. “Right. I’ll take a Revolver.”
Weston’s eyebrows rose. “A beer?”
“Yeah? I like their Blood & Honey.” I arched an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”
“No, just pictured you as a fruity-drink kind of girl.”
“I have two older brothers,” I said with a shrug. “Learned from the best.”
He considered that for a second before nodding. “Blood & Honey it is.”
Weston disappeared in the crowd near the bar while I looked for a table. Literally every surface in the entire place was full. It was so crammed that I could barely find wall space, let alone a table. After a few minutes, I gave up on finding an open spot and shifted into a corner, where I could watch the bar.
A minute later, Weston appeared with two beers. He passed one to me.
“Thanks,” I said, taking a good long sip to calm my nerves.
“Sure. No tables?”
“Nothing. We picked the right night, I guess. It’s slammed. I could barely walk around in here. How’d you get the beer so fast?”
“I know the bartender. Pete came into the studio some when I worked there.”
“Look at you, acting like a local.”
West grinned. “Sure. Me, a Lubbock local.”
“You skipped the line at the bar,” I reminded him.
He laughed. “I suppose I did. Now, it’s your turn.”
I drained my Blood & Honey. West arched an eyebrow at me.
I tipped the empty bottle at him. “Liquid courage.”
Then, I passed it back to him and headed to the bar. I felt ridiculous. But I thought about everything West had told me. I needed to work the bar like I would if I were at one of my events. I was hardly shy on a good day, but somehow, when it came to boys, I completely froze up. Just like I had under Weston’s gaze.
I squeezed my way to the front of the busy bar. I stared up at the chalk menu as if I were contemplating what to order. Then, I shifted to observe the people all around me. It was mostly guys, but none of them were looking at me. And I didn’t know how to get their attention. Suddenly, my throat closed, and I felt so very small. How had I thought I could do this? I wasn’t ready for this big of a step. I should go home and give up on finding a guy who was into me. Or get on Tinder and suffer through bad dates. I shuddered at that thought.
“What’ll you have?”
I jerked my eyes up as Pete, the bartender, looked directly at me. I’d been stuck in my own head and not even realized that it was my turn.
“I’m still deciding,” I told him.
He nodded at me. “Sure thing.” He pointed at the guy next to me. “You?”
“I’ll take a Miller Lite.” The guy glanced over at me as Pete went to grab his beer. “Hey, have we met before?”
I met his gaze and frowned, considering it. He did sort of look familiar. “Um, I’m not sure.”
“I’m sure I’ve seen you around.”
I tapped my lip, trying to place his face, but I saw so many faces at my job that they sometimes all blurred together. “I work at Wright Vineyard. Do you ever go by there?”
“That must be it,” he agreed. “I love that place.” He stuck his hand out. “I’m Cannon.”
“Nora,” I said, shaking his hand.
Pete plunked his drink down. “That all?”
Cannon pointed at me. “Whatever she’s having.”
“Oh,” I said in wonder. I’d thought that he was just being nice. Had he been…flirting with me? Had he ever actually seen me before? Was that a line? Wow, I was bad at this. “I’ll take a Blood & Honey.”
“Good taste,” Cannon said.
Pete brought the beer to me, and Cannon dropped cash on the bar.
“Um, thanks for this,” I said.
“No problem. Me and my buddies are playing pool. If you want to play a game, come join us.”
He winked at me and then disappeared.
A small thrill ran through me as I headed back to where Weston was waiting. I did a little jig as I walked back to him.
“Oh my God, I did it!” I twirled in place, nearly falling over in my heels.
Weston laughed and reached for me. “Someone bought you a drink?”
“Yes! He’s playing pool over there. Should I go talk to him again?”
Weston glanced at the guys I pointed out and wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, probably not. This is just practice. Let’s not get attached to the frat boys.”
I snorted. “Not my type anyway. But he was nice! And he bought me a drink.”
“See, I told you it was easy once you got started.”
“I didn’t really do anything though. He did everything. I didn’t even realize he was flirting with me.”
West laughed. “Yeah. That was the story of my life, too, but you’ll be able to pick it out the more practice you have. See if you can get a guy to ask for your number.”
“How do I do that?”
“Just talk about your life.”
My eyes widened. “Uh, you make it seem like that’s simple.”
“It is.”
“You’re a musician. So, of course it is.”
He tipped his drink at me. “Fair.”
“So, just…regale them with descriptions of my plants and being a wedding planner?”
He nearly choked on his drink. “Maybe hold off on talk of being a plant lady and wedding bells until the first date.” I rolled my eyes at him. “What did you say to that guy?”
“I don’t know. I mentioned Wright Vineyard.”
“There. That’s your opening. Try that again.”
I bit my lip and glanced at the bar again as I sipped my beer. That had been surprisingly easier than I’d thought. And a little confidence boost. All I’d had to do was fake being confident, and I hadn’t even done that well. Maybe I could do this.
I finished off my second beer. “Should I try again?”
Weston brushed a strand of hair off my face. “Knock ’em dead.”
7
Weston
There was only one problem with this situation.
It was working.
Nora was shy around guys. That fact was still clear. But it didn’t seem to matter. Once I’d forced her to wade out into the deep end, she’d figured out how to swim. Every adorable stagger brought her right back to me with another beer in hand, giggling about the stupid thing that the guy had said or how she’d managed to get through the conversation. She still hadn’t had anyone ask for her number, but she was on her fourth beer, and I’d only purchased the first.