She peeked over my shoulder to make sure our group was out of earshot. “The weekend pass is ticking to its end so do what you have to.” She leaned in. “You have an all-access pass.”
Her words turned me inside out while the grin she wore was a dare I planned to take her up later. “You know, I think we should talk about that.” Even though our hands were barely touching, I felt electricity bouncing between us.
“What about it?”
“If I can be honest, Fern, I don’t want the weekend pass anymore.”
Her playful grin dropped, but I watched her try to play it cool as she nodded. “I see.” She motioned to the bartender who hopped right over. “Please bring me a cup of your strongest alcohol right now.”
I waved my hand in the air. “Water. Bring this lovely lady water.” I couldn’t fight my smile. “I meant I don’t want the weekend pass anymore because I don’t want just that. You see what I’m saying?”
“Yes, I see.” She chewed on her lip for a second. “No, actually I have no fucking clue what you’re saying.”
This time I looked around to make certain we were alone. “Fern, I know you’re going for a new nursing gig, and I’m in the middle of hockey season, but I want us to promise we’ll meet for a weekend within the next month or so.”
The bartender slid a glass of water across the bar to Fern, and she gushed at him. “Thank you so much, Mr. Bartender. You must get so much fulfillment from bringing all this joy to people. Right?” She leaned forward. “You’re like the booze wizard.”
He nodded. “Sure.”
She squinted her eyes. “Your shirt says Bangin’ Beers. I want a shirt that says Bangin’ Beers, too.”
Anything she wants, she must have. I am her hero. “Hey bud, do you sell those shirts?”
“No, just the staff has them.”
Fern slapped her hand against the wooden bar. “Well, this blows ass. I love that shirt.”
Get the beautiful woman what she wants. No option. “I’ll give you one hundred bucks for your T-shirt.”
His eyes went wide. “What? For my shirt?”
“You got it, but the offer lasts ten more seconds, and it’s off the table.”
The boy whipped off the shirt and handed it to Fern while I grabbed my wallet and passed over the cash.
She turned to me as she held the shirt over her heart. “You’re my hero.”
I did a quick jump. “I just said that in my mind!”
Her laughter wrapped around me. “You did? Really?”
I believe I felt the last Captain Morgan and Coke flow into my blood stream. “Yes! I totally said I needed to be your hero, and I am!”
She pulled the tee over her head, before throwing her arms around my neck and hugging me. As amazing as it was, I quickly peeled her off me and put her hands back on the bar. “I’m nobody’s hero if Dave kills me tonight.”
She held her finger up. “Yes, my brother is here and would likely murder you in a horrific way, and then the whole bridal party night would be ruined.”
The bartender, who I hadn’t realized was watching us, slid the tip jar to Fern, and she instantly dug in her pockets, pulled out a wad of cash and tossed it into the tip jar. “You deserve all of my dollars, fine sir.”
The bartender walked away and I fished out forty of the fifty dollars, and shoved it in Fern’s jean pocket without her realizing. “So what do you think?”
Her head flipped towards me. “About what?”
“What I was saying about the weekend pass?”
“What were you saying about the weekend pass?” She giggled.
“I said I wanted us to have another weekend even though you’ll be at your new job, and it’s hockey season. Maybe on a bye weekend or something, we could have more time together.”
