Seven
E
I just stare at her with my arms crossed. "You've been drinking," I remind her, and she rolls her eyes.
"Just beer, and the pizza helped a lot. I'll eat more if it'll make you feel better."
"Do you even know how to bartend?"
"No, but I'm a quick learner." She jumps off her stool. "Give me the Cliff Notes."
This isn't the best idea, but I don't have any other option, and the look on Bella's face tells me I don't have a choice.
I nod and welcome her behind the bar. She pulls her hair up in a messy bun and washes her hands before rubbing them together.
"Okay, teach me how to pour a beer."
It takes her a couple tries to get the hang of it. The beer and head ratio are about seventy-thirty, but I'm sure she'll get better with practice.
"You're going to have to be careful in those shoes. It gets wet back here," I warn her, and she smirks.
"I can handle getting wet," she vows, big brown eyes all wide and innocent as she licks her lips.
My eyes watch the motion. I vow to myself that I will not get hard behind the bar.
People start pouring in, and I keep an eye on Bella while she charms my patrons. I try to keep her on beer but she's slow and gets backed up fast.
When I get an order for a tray of lemon drop shots, I call her over and hand her a jigger.
"Trade me so I can get you caught up."
"Um."
"l'll walk you through it. They're easy."
In a matter of minutes, I've caught up on beer, and she's handing off the tray. She turns to me with a proud smile.
"I got a ten-dollar tip!" she cheers and drops the bills in the tip jar. "This is so cool."
We trade places, and I fill orders while she pours beer and chats with the customers crowding the bar.
It doesn't go without notice that the majority hanging out around the bar are men. They follow her with their eyes when she grabs a tray and rag to clean tables.
Bella doesn't seem perturbed by the attention. She works quickly and asks a lot of questions.
By the end of the night, she's limping around, and I feel bad, but she just waves it off.