Prelude: On the Rocks
I let out a long suffering sigh as I heaved a crate of bottles from under the bar onto the counter. Yet another wonderful night of work that I am already sick of and I've barely clocked in. I closed my eyes softly and took a minute to compose myself. 'Breathe.' I chided internally.
I may be exhausted but it wasn't anyone I would be interacting with tonight's fault...yet. Truth be told, the customers of the Snakeroom were a nice enough crowd and I was just always tired regardless of my shift or the time of day. It was a part of my personality at this point. Just a sleepy girl trying to get through college like the rest of them. I popped my eyes open and blew a wisp of hair out of my face as I got back to stocking the cooler with local favorites. We still had an hour before we opened but management preferred to restock and clean before weekend rushes each Friday. I say we but I had yet to see my coworker saunter his way in. I grabbed a Red Bull from the bottom shelf of the cooler and popped it open as I surveyed the small room. There was work to be done but truth be told, it might just be easier to do it while I still had reprieve from Armin's antics. I laughed dryly into my drink before setting it down and grabbing a bucket and mop from the corner of the bar. I busied myself with preparing to clean up the floor as I heard a clattering from the staff entrance and smirked. I made my way to the window and started cleaning the floor right in front of the staff hall first. 'Oops.'
Armin could be heard tossing his bag into the office and slamming the door shut as usual before heading toward the bar floor. With a knowing look, I leaned onto the mop to watch him stop abruptly before his boots could muddy the now slick linoleum. 'Sharp as a tack this one,' I resisted the urge to giggle. His toes did a little off-balance dance, and he cursed before righting himself and shooting a friendly glare in my direction. I gave a sassy little wave with my fingers before resuming my work on the floors.
"Was this really the best area to start with?" He laughed in good humor and I felt his eyes following my movements across the floor.
"Hind sight is 20-20 as they say," I started trying to keep the humor from my voice. "Guess, you'll just have to stay over there and count the drawers in the office while I sort the bar." I looked up with an exaggerated shrug and pout. "Bummer."
"Yeah. I'm sure you're thrilled I cannot come over there and tell you all about my latest dalliance into Baulder's Gate 3."
"Absolutely crushed." I tried to do Jane Austen proud and pantomimed a fainting spell.
I could feel him roll his eyes as he laughed and headed back towards the office. Armin was sweet and we got on great, but he wasn't much of a cleaner….or organizer…or bartender now that I thought about it. He was quite childish but also understood that about himself, which is good. Awareness is good and I can work with that. His talents were really in crowd control and numbers which made us a great team most of the time. I was a details and small picture kinda gal. I could get distracted by little things and wasn't the best with people but hey, I was tidy and made a mean Long Island. Half-way through getting the floors presentable I heard the speakers crackle to life and I sighed yet again. Armin did have his faults and this, THIS, I glared at the speakers, was one of them. Some videogame bard shit was now drifting around the bar and I could do nothing about it until I had finished the task at hand. 'Touche kid.'
He came back to the bar floor in good spirits, cash drawers in one hand, flipping the bar stools off tables where the floor had dried with the other. I had to admit, his gaming and bartending skills came with a level of dexterity and reflexes I could only dream of. His drinks never tasted good but it was fun to watch him make them. The ladies of Amoris seemed to agree. He was quite popular and that did The Snakeroom its share of favors. There were even times he used colored water to put on a show when the actual shots he poured for customers were premixed in a separate tumbler by me. I stuck the mop in the bucket and pulled myself up to sit on one of the tables situated in the back. 'It would seem I have painted myself into a corner.'
"Your plan has backfired, has it?" He smirked while tapping away at the register behind the bar.
"Depends on what the plan was." I answer quietly as I take my phone out of the pocket of my black jeans and scroll.
"Wow, you've got me there. Kinda genius when I think about it."
"Duh, I'm the best," I warble in a silly voice as I distractedly search through the bar's Spotify 'Friday' playlist. It's taken months for me to curate but customers have responded well if I am allowed to brag a little. Fridays were top 40's night, Saturdays rock or live bands, and Sundays indie. Armin tentatively had Wednesday nights to play whatever the hell he wanted, but I wasn't around to see if he abused the power. Just as I clicked play Armin's voice drifted over to me.
"This yours Thimble?" he called shaking my Red Bull can over the counter gently with one had and moving his thick black hair out of his eyes with the other.
"Who else's would it be? Miranda's?" I shot with a snicker. Miranda was the stuffy weekday manager. Armin's parents might own the bar but he still needed supervision. As bland and unpleasant as Miranda was, she kept things running with surprising ease and left us to make atmospheric choices that might draw in crowds and be the front of house most weekends. He scrunched his nose and rolled his eyes before pulling a disposable plastic cup with a lid and a straw from the shelves behind him. His dark flannel and black t-shirt lifting as he did so to give a peek of his toned stomach. I don't know how he does it. Videogames 8 hours a day and seemingly no repercussions. Not an ounce of squish to that guy.
"You know the rules-" He turned to me and continued his familiar mantra that I heard at least once a week. "Our drinks get lids because-"
"-people are crazy," I finished for him as I hopped off the table onto the now-dry floor. I walked towards the bar and saw him pour my drink into the cup before preparing one for himself. I laughed as he took a swirling green swing-top labeled 'Armin Elixir' from under the bar pouring it over ice before snapping the lid on. I pulled the small jar around my neck off its cork with a yank and sprinkled my own black shimmer dust into my cup before stirring it thoroughly with my straw. I made Armin a custom drink for his shifts and he insisted on making it some Dungeons and Dragons themed abomination with the green shimmer dust. It was quirky and odd at first but it did wonders for us not mixing our drinks up behind the bar. Green for him and grey for me. It was weird but it was a fun thing that I've grown attached to, just like Armin himself. I warmed up to his shimmer dust but haven't quite convinced him to play witch with me and carry it around his neck. Like I said, the man had some flaws. I quickly snapped my bottle back into place on its silver chain as Armin snickered beside me. I raised my eyebrow at him.
"Made a bit of a mess there Thimb." He gestured to my chest where small smatterings of black shimmer dust had fallen onto my cleavage. "Need some help with that?" He asked with a wink.
"In your dreams." I sighed and lifted my necklace to rub the shimmer in across my chest and neck. I rolled my shoulders and looked over at him lazily. "Nothing better to keep guys' hands to themselves. I'm pretty sure you're the only one in Amoris who'd willingly get sparkles all over himself."
"These could be the hands of a killer, Thimble." His eyes twinkled with an odd look of mischief as he walked his fingers over my sewing-themed tattoos along my arm and shoulder. I swatted him away with mirth, feeling my face grow a tiny bit warm despite myself.
"Knock it off and make yourself useful." I nodded my head towards the storefront and this time it was his turn to sigh. I went into the back to grab a tray of shot glasses from the dishwasher as he meandered to the front to pull the blinds up and get the bouncers ready.
I stacked the glasses onto my tray and took a moment to assess if I was ready for this shift. The caffeine had done wonders for my attitude and my late-night sewing session had done wonders for my outfit. I was a fashion major at Anteros and loved to sew, hence Armin's little nickname for me. Well….actually that was probably because of the thimble tattooed onto my shoulder, but potato patato. I am not super confident he knew what a thimble before he asked me about my tattoos.
I took a glance into the mirror that was hanging to the side of the dishwasher and nodded in approval. Dark hair braided up the back of my head into a tousled bun. I had winged eyeliner and dark lipstick today. Bar dress code was all black and most days I took that literally as a little joke, including my lipstick. I adjusted my tight bustier top a little and tightened the laces of my knee-high boots. I liked corset tops and at this point could whip up one for myself fairly quickly. I had a closet full. My friend Rosa always chided me to try something new but I could never make any of those big dresses like she did. How does one keep track of all those layers? How do you even fit it under a machine? I shivered at the thought. 'As ready as I'll ever be.' I hoisted the tray up and held on with both hands as a particularly good song led me back out onto the bar floor. I bobbed my step a little as I got behind the bar and ducked down to put the glasses away singing quietly as I did so. Well, that might be a bit of a stretch. It would probably be more accurate to say I mumbled in a key that was in the same area code as the song that was playing over the speakers. Key-adjacent, if you will. I had my talents, but music was not one of them.
The back door banged open and I frowned. I don't know who the hell could be walking in from the staff entrance now. Miranda coming in for a weekend shift is pretty rare, especially when we don't have any events planned. I continued with getting things ready under the bar and my musical mumbles only to hear a gruff voice address me from the top of the bar.
"Man, it is dead in here. I didn't even think there was a bartender until I heard you making that racket."
I got up to see who it was and sized up the guy in front of me, if I didn't know any better I would say he was doing the same. 'Gross.' He had short brown hair, a tight black shirt over strong arms and looked to be about my age. He was leading a small group in and had a smirk on his face that I didn't quite like. 'Was that his attempt at being cheeky?' I frowned.
"That's because we're not open yet," I stated and gestured to the front door where our hours were posted and Armin was still talking to the bouncers. "7 to 3, kid. That means you still have 20 minutes. I know, numbers are hard."
I saw Armin heading my way from the corner of my eye as the guy in front of me's smirk twisted.
"How cute, or you would be if you weren't so bad at singing." He quipped clearly proud of himself. Armin sucked in a gulp of air, now next to me and the jackass's group of friends all watched us with mild interest. I fixed my face into a blank stare and I leaned forward to address him clearly before Armin could butt in.
"Well, you're wrong there, pal, because I'm not fucking cute and I am bad at singing. Actually, I'm bad at everything so maybe you should go bother someone else at a different bar because this conversation is only going to be real disappointing for the both of us." His face pinched in confusion at what was happening and Armin laughed outright next to me. Obviously I know I'm pretty, I'm not an idiot, but I don't need this guy talking to me ever again and I would have said anything to make him think I was crazy and not worth his time. I leaned back onto the shelf of liquor behind us, picking up my drink to take a sip and crossing my arms. I surveyed the group and contemplated barking at them if they didn't leave until we were fully open.
"You guys are with the band for tomorrow, Crowstorm, right?" Armin asked quickly with a smile, shooting me a playful look that I gestured exasperatedly back at, cup still in hand. 'How was I supposed to know that? Also, why would I give a fuuuuucckkk.' I sighed yet again and watched the only girl of the group giggle. 'At least someone thinks I'm funny'.
"Yeah….we thought we'd check the place out before tomorrow…" the jackass answered Armin but kept his eyes on me. I made a show of turning my head to the side as if to wink and then closing both of my eyes and blinking instead, just to hammer the bit into the ground. I'd die before I let him leave here thinking I had any redeeming qualities.
His face scrunched up and the girl snorted back a laugh. I smiled at her and she nodded her head towards him before rolling her eyes. 'Clearly I'm not the only one tired of his shit'.
"How about a drink? Where's Cas?" Armin asked and graciously took the attention from most of the group as they took seats and watched him spin a beer bottle between his fingers. He was very charming and I would always be grateful that he knew when to step in. I was a bit too coarse to smooth over my own social blunders for someone who worked in the service industry, admittedly. I took a sip from my drink again and scanned the group more closely this time. The jackass had a pair of drumsticks sticking out of his back pocket. Behind him was a tall guy with glasses and a stylish vibe. His long hair and facial hair both clearly well taken care of. A man with a grey henley and a beanie leaned against the bar and looked boredly around while a man in a blazer typed furiously on his phone. The girl had short pink hair and was wearing a green sparkly mini dress with white combat boots and a lot of gold jewelry. She glided onto the bar stool in front of me and I noticed for the first time the small diamonds glued onto her eye teeth and how small she was. She rested her head on her hand and addressed me confidently.
"Don't mind Greg, he can be a bit of a wise guy." She offered. I stepped up to the bar and leaned onto it to talk with her out of earshot of the guys.
"Well, he's in for a bit of karma, I think." I whispered and nodded my head towards Armin as he mixed them all a drink spinning the bottles expertly. She raised her eyebrows at me for more explanation but I shook my head and watched as the group took various sized sips from their glasses. As expected, macho man Greg takes the biggest gulp. Their expressions all soured and I whistled sarcastically at Armin as I pulled a few bottles and a tumbler off the wall. No telling if Armin was poisoning them purposely as recompense or in a failed attempt to smooth things over. Either way, my hero.
"I may have lied," I said grabbing her attention again. "I am good at a few things, like making drinks. Armin…not so much. Do you like things sweet…." I trailed off and gave her an expectant look.
"Riley. My name is Riley. And of course! Show me what you've got." She winked and I mixed her one of my favorites before sliding it over a few inches towards her.
"I call it a lemon bar. A little more to it than a lemon drop." She took a sip and her eyes lit up. Before she could tell me how it was, I saw a shadow approach Riley to her right. We both looked up as a rather handsome guy in a red t-shirt and black jeans stood next to her. She smiled and pulled him closer to the bar by his arm. I looked from her hand on his arm to his face and caught him giving her a neutral expression under his wispy red bangs.
"Castiel! Glad you came! You have to try this!" Riley looked from me to Castiel quickly. She offered up her glass and he peered at it unenthusiastically.
"Something tells me Red's not a sweet kinda guy." I laughed to hide the blush that was creeping up my neck as his eyes lifted to meet my gaze. They were grey and striking. 'I've always liked grey.'
"And what kinda guy would I be?" He questioned flatly but with a hint of humor at the end. I grabbed two bottles and an old-fashioned glass from below the bar and let the framing pieces of my hair fall over my face to give me extra time to compose myself.
"You seem like a guys' guy, unfortunately. So, who is it gonna be? John, Jim, or Jack?" I asked as I dropped 2 ice cubes in the glass, and he watched them bounce. Something undecipherable danced behind his eyes as he looked up and replied.
"Bartender's choice." I turned to the wall and pulled down a bottle of Johnnie Walker before splashing a shot into the awaiting glass. I added a squeeze of the syrups I had brought out before tucking everything back in its place and plopping in an orange slice. I slid the glass into his awaiting hand and raised my cup in a mock 'cheers' to him as I leaned back into my usual spot against the shelves to gauge his reaction.
"Not bad." He said with a cocky smile. His eyes holding mine over the rim of his glass just before taking his first sip. I felt my stomach flutter. 'What an ass,' I thought with none of my usual bite.
"You haven't even tried it yet!" Riley chided playfully and he regarded her with a look as Armin came over to join us. He threw his arm over my shoulder and greeted our new guest enthusiastically.
"Cas! Great to see you! How're things?" Armin asked cheerfully. A small grin tugged at the corner of my lips despite my desire to remain aloof. I punched him lightly in the side and he let his arm fall from my shoulders. I looked at Castiel one more time before I heard the door open with customers. It was with some difficulty that I moved to the other end of the bar giving my brain a much-needed second to process. 'Get it together, Lynn geez,' I thought briefly as I rubbed my cheeks before taking orders from the group of college students who had entered.
Castiel's POV
Coming back from tour to Amoris was a welcome break, not that I would let any of my friends from back home know that. The band wanted to stop by the bar we'd be playing at tomorrow and I begrudgingly agreed to meet them. It was Armin's parent's bar and I knew it well. A decent place considering how small and boring the city as a whole was. Even so I wasn't much in the mood for dealing with crowds or people today. Our band, Crowstorm, had gained quite a following here and we would surely be noticed. Aside from that, we had just gotten in yesterday and I was back at classes for musicology at Anteros University on Monday. I really just wanted to relax a bit. Maybe going down before things got busy would satisfy them. I sent a text to everyone and began getting ready to go out. My apartment was a short drive from the bar and I shot a text to Armin quickly to let him know we'd be in. If we were lucky he might let me in and out before anyone really noticed I was there. I pulled on a comfortable shirt and jeans before tying what I could of my hair out of my face. 'Good enough for me'.
I grabbed my keys off the table and headed down to the parking garage to find my black vintage mustang.
I pulled into the parking lot for the bar and saw Riley's pink Elantra and Greg's white Jeep. I quickly checked the time and saw it was 10 'til 7. I could make just a quick appearance and leave them to enjoy themselves if all went well. I took in a deep breath before entering the bar through the back. I had been here a few times and knew my way around but even if I hadn't I could easily find the band as their voices filled the otherwise quiet space. 'Perfect, just us.'
I walked up and saw Armin talking with everyone and Riley enthralled with a cute new bartender I had yet to meet. She bent over the bar to say something to Riley and I can imagine at least one of the reasons she was hired. She was quite pretty. Well, at least I could assume so from my view of her silhouette and the fact that Riley was staring at her like a puppy. I chuckled to myself. That girl was worse than any straight man I had ever met when it came to pretty girls. Her eyes were so bright that I would guess she was staring at Ms. America. As I rounded the edge of the bar to stand next to her the bartender in question looked up and I got my first glimpse of her face. She was very pretty. Surprisingly so, even after my initial assumptions. She looked like she came directly off the cover of an alt music magazine. She straightened up and my gaze was torn from her dark green eyes to her shimmering chest and I almost laughed out loud. Well, no points for subtlety, but I bet it helped in this industry. Her arms both had half-sleeve tattoos and the sides of her low-cut top showed hints of more down the sides of her body. 'Where did they find you?' I wondered to myself before Riley pulled me literally out of my thoughts and into the conversation.
"Castiel! Glad you came! You have to try this!" Riley practically sang as she looked from the bartender to me expectantly. She offered up her glass and I looked at it skeptically. I could smell how sweet it was. Before I could voice my opinion, Riley banged her clunky boot into my shin in warning.
"Something tells me Red's not a sweet kinda guy."
My attention was back on the bartender as a twinkly laugh escaped her black lips. It might have been the lighting, but was she…blushing? And is she talking about my attitude, or my tastes, or both? 'Only one way to find out.'
I did my best to mask my amusement and keep my usual stoicism. "And what kinda guy would I be?" I asked flatly. I saw her eyes dart down in thought before she bent down and rummaged through the shelf below the bar for a minute. My eyes flickered to her ass and Riley's boot met my shin yet again. A growl rumbled through my chest and Riley shot me a look. I shot her one back. She had probably already done the same though she'd never admit it. Our silent bickering ended as we noticed the bartender standing up, squeeze bottles and glass in hand. I felt my face snap into what I hoped was an unreadable expression and could feel Riley do the same though I'm sure hers was more bubbly than blank.
"You seem like a guys' guy, unfortunately. So, who is it gonna be? John, Jim, or Jack?"
A sharp clinking sound stole my attention from her eyes and I watched two ice cubes rattle around the glass in front of her to avoid staring at her face again. 'Ice cubes, fascinating.'
"Bartender's choice," I replied with a good amount of nonchalance.
She turned to the wall and pulled down a bottle of whiskey before splashing a shot into the awaiting glass along with a bit from each of her syrup bottles….bitters bottles…? I don't know, I'm not a bartender. What I do know, is that her long delicate fingers with their long, tidy, black manicure and thin silver rings were just as captivating as the rest of her. She plucked an orange from a jar on the bar and tossed it roughly into the drink. A bit aggressive or clumsy but, either way, it was cute. She passed the glass expertly along the bar into my hand and not a drop splashed out. 'It would seem she's not clumsy. I like what that leaves me with,' I thought with a smirk as I watched her raise her cup in a sassy 'cheers'.
"Not bad." I said before lifting the glass fully to my lips.
"You haven't even tried it yet!" Riley said in exasperation. ' She thought I was talking about the cocktail.' My eyes never left her as I did take my actual first sip. It was indeed very good. Before I could tell her so, a familiar face burst in, draping his arm comfortably around her shoulders and I had to consciously stop myself from frowning.
"Cas! Great to see you! How're things?" Armin asked cheerfully and for the first time in a while I found myself unhappy to see an old Sweet Amoris alum. Despite what I might publicly admit to, I have a soft spot for most of them. They all saw me through some rough times and stuck with me. Even now they mostly treat me the same despite my success.
'They seem to be more than coworkers.' I thought dryly as she smiled at his antics before she punched him in the ribs, clearly not trying to do any real damage.
His arm dropped from her shoulder to his side and I took a small breath that I didn't know I had been holding in. Before I could reply to Armin, the door to the bar pulled open and a small group of students shuffled merrily inside. Without prompting, the bartender smiled politely at me to excuse herself to go help the new customers and I watched her walk away for a few seconds longer than was probably necessary before turning my attention back to Armin.
"Things are good, man. How's the bar." I answered.
"Things are good here too. Glad we could have you down to play again. It's been too long!"
No kidding, It's probably been over a year. Time flies though Armin hasn't changed much. Possibly in more ways than I had recently considered if he's as flirty with his new co-worker as he had been in high school. I did always envy that about him. He was direct and fearless when it came to things like that and his approach often seemed to fare better than my sarcastic and moody one. If I didn't play guitar I would have left high school a mean virgin surely. Be that as it may, it had never quite been something I was jealous of.
Riley kicked me again but this time with the full power her 5 ft frame could muster. I swore and glared at her only to be met with an expression that was somehow both sickly sweet and vaguely threatening. She batted her eyelashes and it seemed to loosely translate to ' include me or else.' I looked back at Armin and winced.
"You remember Riley." I mumbled.
"Lovely as always," He chirped with a smile and Riley beamed. "I see you two have met Thimble. What a doll." I felt my eyebrows scrunch together.
"She's the best! She's beautiful!" Riley gushed in a pitch so high and borderline shrill that I wish I had recorded it to play for our manager the next time he requested we perform a duet.
"No arguments here." He responded quickly looking over his shoulder at her as she worked. His gaze lingering in a way that didn't sit quite right with me.
"She your newest flavor of the week?" I asked with a bit more venom than intended. 'Nice job Castiel, super fucking normal, super cool way to talk to your friends.' Riley stared at me with her mouth agape and Armin nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Cute couple."
Somehow, my attempt at repairing the situation had made it differently bad. 'Woooooww…..I'm an idiot.'
"You might be on to something but she is a friend of mine, Alexy and Rosa's. She is in the fashion department at Anteros." He said with an awkward laugh. "I can't claim to be so lucky."
I knocked back what was left of my drink to hide my growing unease. I'm tired and clearly have had enough socializing for the day. I said my goodbyes to Armin and the band. I left to my car being careful to avoid drawing any of the new patrons' attention.
Armin's POV
Castiel left in a hurry and I exchanged a look with Riley.
"I see he's just as nice as he was back in the day." I said with a grin which she returned. "Need another?" I pointed casually to her now empty glass. And she wrinkled her nose cutely.
"I think I'm good until Thimble has a minute thanks." A small laugh bubbled out of her throat and I feigned offense.
"Am I not pretty enough or had tale of your friends' untimely downfalls reached your ears?" I asked in a hurt voice. I threw a glance over to the rest of the band now all nursing bottled brews. Their scotch glasses in front of them largely untouched.
"I do think you did that on purpose and that you wouldn't dare do such to me. I'm your favorite." She grinned knowingly and I had to agree. The rest of Crowstorm were a bunch of hotheads and took things way too seriously. Riley was fun and now, most importantly, polite to Thimble.
"There's no getting anything past you I see." I smiled and took a sip from my own drink. "I also don't blame you for wanting the pretty girl to make your drink." I winked and she giggled. Riley was the gayest thing since Alexy and that was highly evident by how much they DID NOT get along. You know what they say about gay men and gay girls, nothing in common outside of being in the alphabet mafia.
"I'll leave you to your friends then and I'll send Thimble over in a bit if you promise they'll behave," I said with a mock stern look.
"I don't think they will. Best not to take any chances, anyway. You can keep serving the boys while I have Thimble to myself. I know, I'm a saint. No thanks necessary." She flipped one side of her curly bob and I laughed.
Jokes aside she might be on to something. If I remembered correctly, last year the same guys giving Thimble sass had almost run off my previous coworker. I felt a bit protective of Thimble and really enjoyed working with her ever since she started over the summer. No need to give her extra hassle if I could mitigate it. I enjoyed having her around and intended to keep her here as long as possible. She was witty and fun. She made great drinks and great conversation if you could get her to open up. As much as I had tried to brush off what Castiel had said I still felt my heart flip at the suggestion. It felt silly to admit it but I had a bit of a crush on our beautiful little Thimble. Life would never be dull if I could convince her to let me have more of her time than this bar already took up. For now though, I was content to keep watch and spend time with her every weekend.
Occasionally I felt myself trying to reach out and test the waters with her but I had no way of knowing how she felt or what she was thinking most of the time. It wasn't quite worth the risk of her kicking me in the dick to find out just yet. She would too, I've seen her do it.
I thought back to the time a guy grabbed her and she kicked him in the groin without even turning around, her aim that of a girl who was well-practiced. He had doubled over and she only then faced him to whisper something in his ear that I'm sure had just as much emotional sting as the physical blow did. She always talked about how I was popular with the girls who visited because I was cute but I think she underestimated how much she also had to do with our demographic becoming increasingly female in the span of a few months.
Sure, a cute boy will draw in a few, but a girl who is willing to humiliate a man if he steps out of line with any of the female patrons? In this social climate? God-tier allure. Who knows? Some of the men who have seen her in action have become recurring customers and they might be the type who are into that.
I frowned. I didn't want to think about that. For now I would go about my shift with Thimble in eager anticipation for what has easily become my favorite part of the weekend. Closing with her.