Fall Away

“Ellie! I need four shots for table six.”

I grabbed a bottle from the shelf above me and stuck four glasses on a tray. I quickly filled each shot glass with the dark liquid before sliding the tray across the counter to the waitress standing there.

“Thanks,” she called over her shoulder as she moved across the crowded room with the tray.

I didn’t bother to reply, knowing my words would just et lost in the noise filling the club. I grabbed two empty glasses from the bar and put them in a dish bucket, wiping down the area that had just been vacated. I knew it would be filled again in a few moments.

That was the beautiful curse of Bella on Friday and Saturday nights. The two nights brought in enough money to make up for the lack of customers the rest of the week, and also kept the coffee shop part of the place in business. It even gave us a small big of money to set aside each week, in hopes of eventually expanding. Until then, we had to make do with the small space available.

It wasn’t always easy. There were often more people than chairs, even with the crowd on the dance floor. The constant throng of people kept us on our toes, shuffling drinks and empty glasses back and forth and around the crowd.

“Welcome to Bella, what can I get you?” I said automatically with a fake smile directed at the man who had just sat down at the bar in front of me.

“Just a beer,” he called over the music.

The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but I didn’t worry about it. Lots of voices sounded familiar in this town. I filled a mug with the foamy liquid and set it down in front of him. “There you go,” I said cheerfully, wiping my hands on my apron.

“Thanks.”

I lifted my gaze to meet his and did a slight double take as I recognized him. It was the same man I’d seen on Wednesday night, the mysterious newcomer. He nodded at me, acknowledging our previous meeting. I gave him a quick smile before I moved down the bar towards another customer.

An hour later, I was at the end of my rope. “Trevor,” I called. “Can you take these down to those guys?”

My fellow bartender leaned against the counter, smirking at me. “Do I get the tip?”

“Be my guest.” I made a sweeping motion with my arm, indicating three very cute, very drunk boys at the opposite end of the bar.

“You know, I think they’d tip better if it was you,” he teased.

“Read my lips, Trev. I. Don’t. Care.”

He continued to smirk at me, not hearing – or just ignoring – the snap in my voice. “If you’re sure you want to pass up free money…”

I rolled my eyes and waved him away. He picked up the tray and moved down the small area behind the bar to set the drinks in front of the men. I let out a sigh of relief as they appeared puzzled for only a moment before they all took large sips of their drinks.

“Tired of them, huh?”

I glanced around until my eyes landed on the speaker. The man from Wednesday night. I really needed to find a better name for him.

“I’m Soren,” he told me, holding out his hand. Well, that solved that problem.

“Ellie,” I replied, casually shaking his. “Sorry, I didn’t think I was that transparent.”

He shrugged. “You don’t want to serve some drunk boys who want to feel you up? Shocker.”

I found myself laughing at his wry tone, which was a bit of a surprise. I normally didn’t do anymore “socializing with customers” than I had to. A fair amount of the time they were too wasted to carry on an intelligent conversation.

“Well, I think they missed you, but their drinks seemed to help them recover from the loss,” Trevor announced.

Case and point. I had no interest in being a toy for boys to practice their moves on while they drank themselves silly. “Thanks, Trev,” I sighed, smiling at him. “I owe you.”

“And I’ll be sure to collect,” he called over his shoulder as he moved to help another person.

I returned my focus to Soren, realizing Trevor had interrupted our conversation. “Can I get you anything else?” I asked, not really knowing where our dialogue had been going.

He shook his head, raising his half-full glass. “I’m set for now.”

There was a moment of silence and I was about to leave and do something productive when he spoke again. “Do you ever want to be on the other side of the counter?”

I opened my mouth, then shut it again. “Not really,” I finally said.

“You don’t want to dance? Hang out? Feel like a kid again?”

I shook my head.

“Don’t you ever miss it?” he asked softly, gaze focused on the dance floor.

I shrugged awkwardly. “You can’t miss what you never had.”

Soren met my eyes, understanding in his gaze. “I know,” he said softly. “I never had it, either.”