The Bartender

Chapter Three

Max

"Hey, Max, looks like you've got a customer down at the end of the bar," Ella said as though she knew something I didn't, shooting her eyes toward the end of the bar I usually tended.

"What are you—," I began as I turned around, my sentence completely lost when my sight caught a man with strawberry blonde hair, wearing an Army Pride t-shirt. "Iggy!"

As fast as my feet would take me, I ran around the bar and threw my arms around my boyfriend.

Iggy stood up and turned around, winding his arms around my waist as he looked at me.

"Well, hello there, beautiful," Iggy smiled, leaning forward to place a quick kiss on my lips.

"I'm so going to hurt you! You told me you weren't going to be home until Tuesday!" I pouted, smacking his shoulder before hugging him to me tightly again.

"Technically, I told you I wouldn't see you until Tuesday. I didn't tell you when I was getting back into the area. I wanted to surprise you, and by the looks of it, I think I did," Iggy laughed, pecking my cheek with another kiss.

"I can't believe you're actually here!" I cheered, pulling him closer to me, as if to prove to myself that he was, indeed, home.

I excused myself from Iggy's hold so I could go to my boss' office and ask to be let out early so I could spend as much time as possible with Iggy before he had to leave again.

"Jeb?" I asked as I pushed my boss' door back, revealing his office, which looked nothing like any offices you'd see on TV... But then again, that may be because he owns a bar in a town so small, it's not on the map.

"Hello, Max, how are you this evening?" he asked from his desk, running his fingers through his light blonde hair.

"Very well, thanks. Look, I know I'm working, and it's incredibly unprofessional to ask something like this, but Iggy just came in, so he's home. And I was wondering—"

"You were wondering if you could take the rest of the night off to see him?"

I nodded, biting my lower lip, looking down at the black, high heeled boots I wore.

"Usually, I would say no. But because you're a great employee and you never miss work, and you are the main bartender I get compliments on for being so incredibly nice and helpful to the customers, yes, I will let you off early to spend time with Iggy. Just let Ella know you're leaving."

"Thank you so much, Jeb!" I chirped, smiling brightly before bolting out of his office and weaving my way through crowds of people.

As usual, I reached underneath the bar to grab my tips and car keys before heading over to Ella's side of the bar to let her know I was leaving.

"Ells, Jeb's letting me off early because Iggy's home. Sorry, but you'll probably get paid double for the rest of the night. I'll let you know how everything goes tomorrow," I winked and gave her a quick hug goodbye before heading back over to Iggy to drive us back home.

Fang

"Ella? Where's Max?" I asked once I sat down at the bar next to a woman with a skirt that was so short it could have been a belt, and a man who I could tell desperately wanted to get drunk off his ass.

Like Max said, usually guys come in because of girl problems, and clearly, that's why he was there.

"You don't know?" Ella asked, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow as she collected abandoned glasses and bottles from the bar.

"No?"

"The other Scott boy showed up tonight. Max left with him about an hour and a half ago," Ella informed, grabbing a bottle of beer from the mini fridge and slid it across the bar for me.

I popped it open on the edge of the bar and downed about a quarter of it in one go.

"You mean the brother I haven't seen for six months told his girlfriend he was home before he told me? Y'know, suddenly, I'm not in the mood to drink," I snapped, tossing the amount of money I owed for the quarter of the beer I drank onto the bar and stomped out of the bar.

Usually, if I was completely wasted like I would have been, I would have called Max and yelled at her for no reason at all, and then made her pass the phone to my brother so I could yell at him for not telling me he was home.

However, since I was not drunk, I knew exactly who I was going to call. And I knew she'd pick up because she always did.

"Hello?" the squeaky voice of Lissa Tanner asked from the other end of the call.

"Lissa? It's Fang. Wanna come over?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll be right over!" the girl cheered before hanging up the call.

Lissa Tanner was the girl I'd taken home with me the night I found out Max and my brother were together. And though we still slept together pretty often, she was also a friend. She knew almost as much about me as Max did and was always there if I needed something when Max was busy with Iggy.

Ten minutes later, I was back at my apartment, waiting for Lissa to show up.

When she did, it didn't take us long to get from point A to point B, if you catch what I mean.

"You know, Fang, I'm sure your brother was just excited to see Max. She is his girlfriend for Pete's sake. His girlfriend he hasn't seen in six months, mind you. I hate to be the voice of reason, but maybe you should cut him some slack. He is your brother, after all," Lissa said around the toothbrush she had in her mouth.

I rolled my eyes and reached over to my bedside table to pull out the cigarettes and lighter that I'd recently bought since mine were confiscated.

I always loved the sound the lighter made when it was used. Maybe even more than I loved the actual cigarette I was smoking.

Once Lissa was finished brushing her teeth and fixing her hair, she exited the bathroom, wearing only her under garments and one of my button-ups, before climbing back in bed with me and snuggling herself into my side.

Without another word to me, Lissa plucked the cigarette out of my mouth and took a long, slow drag of it.

"You'd think a med student would be opposed to smoking," I joked, stealing my cigarette back.

"And you'd think that a guy who preaches about how important it is to remind people how much you care about them, because one day, they might be gone, would take his own advice," Lissa retorted.

"Low blow, Lis."

What Lissa had meant when she said I should take my own advice was that I lost both of my parents when I was seventeen and I always regretted not telling them how thankful I was to have them before they went out for that Sunday Drive—their last Sunday Drive.

Furthermore, because Iggy, my only brother, was in the army and could be hurt or killed at any moment, I was always careful to remind him of the fact that I would do anything for him, if need be.

"Hey, it's true. You're completely in love with Max, you just wont admit it," Lissa reasoned.

"I love Max, yes. But I am not 'in love' with her. I do not fall in love."

"Right. You just sleep with random girls because Max won't sleep with you. No, that makes total sense. Did you ever stop to think about the fact that she's been with your brother for three years, and that she may love you both, just in different ways? I've never personally met Max, and I doubt I ever will, but you can't fault her for loving someone. Think about how this would be if the situation were reversed: Max being madly in love with you, and you being with her sister. What would you do?"

"Probably stay with her sister because clearly, I wouldn't have the same feelings as Max."

"Right. So, maybe you should just lay off Max for a little while? I'm not saying to just completely drop her like a hot potato, but I am saying that you saying how much you love her and wish she would break up with your brother probably hurts her. You may not realize it, but in a way, you're making her choose between her boyfriend and her best friend. I know you wouldn't like it if she did that to you, so why do you do it to her?"

"Because I can't let it go that I wish she had chose me."

Hello, eveyone! (: Yes, I've returned from my two week excursion, and now I'm back to update for you all! (:

Ironically, this chapter reminds me somewhat of something that happened when my plane got in to where I live. I ran over to my parents as usual, and then got a call from my boyfriend, during which he said, "Guess what!" and then hung up. Once he hung up, he came bolting out of the bathroom that was behind me and surprised me at the airport. My mom and him had been planning to do that for about a week and I had no idea! Is that not the greatest way to surprise someone at an airport or what? (:

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed as usual, and will review.

xoxo,

K.J the Returned Traveler