Ari lifted an eyebrow and took a cautious sip. “It’s good.” He licked his lips. “Surprisingly good.” He drank some more.
Jax grinned, rapped the bar, and stepped back. “Doors’re opening, so I’ve got other people to serve. But don’t go too far, yeah?” Hope bubbled in his belly. He really wanted an opportunity to see where things might go.
Jax made the rounds with a few stacks of coasters as the patrons came in, but then he got back behind the bar to fill orders. Table three needed beer, and then he took a large order from an adorable hipster with pigtails, thick-rimmed glasses, a toque, and a too-big flannel. Jax kind of wanted to take her home and snuggle her. Any other night, he probably would have leaned in and offered to help her finish off her drinks. But her allure didn’t hold a candle to Ari at the end of the bar, quietly sipping from his glass.
Jax licked his lips. He knew himself pretty well, and he doubted he’d be looking at anyone else anytime soon.
As soon as he was able, he slid back down the bar and leaned in. “Still enjoying that drink?”
“Hm.” Ari took another sip, which Jax took as an affirmative. “So, I owe you something.” He pulled a folded paper out of his pocket and handed it over.
Jax snatched it, lips quirking. “Are you passing notes? Will I have to check yes or no?”
“It’s a check,” Ari said dryly. “For your… services the other day.”
Jax grinned and slipped it into his pocket. “Thanks. Not necessary, but thanks.”
“I told you—”
Jax waved that off. “That you always pay your musicians. So thanks.”
Ari licked his lips—an unconscious echo of Jax’s deliberate flirtation?—and leaned forward. “I was wondering—why did you become a bartender?”
Not a surprising question.Everybody always wanted to know that, especially once they learned more about him.
“Well,” Jax drawled. He crossed his arms conspiratorially on the bar top, and Ari did likewise. “Years ago, a small baby was left in a basket on the back steps of this very bar.” He tipped his head toward the back door. “Poor Murph—scared the living daylights out of him when he found it in the morning. What could he do but take the child in and raise it as his own?” Ari narrowed his eyes, and Jax grinned. “As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, that child was me, and now I help out around the place in repayment.”
Ari gave Jax the flattest of looks. “It’s truly amazing. First, that Murph was running a bar at the age of twelve or thirteen.” Jax’s grin grew. “Second, that I never noticed you in all the years I worked here.”
“Did I mention that I’m very good at keeping a low profile?”
“Now that,” Ari said, an actual smile threatening the corners of his mouth if Jax was not mistaken, “is the most blatant lie I have ever heard. And I just heard you mythologize yourself as a barkeep’s Moses.”
Jax laughed and threw one hand over his heart. “A direct hit.”
The smile did come out now, and it was every bit as devastating on Ari’s sharp features as Jax had suspected. Despite his stiffness and formality, Ari had a rather expressive face. “I bet.”
“More seriously,” Jax said with a shrug, “I like making people happy, giving them what they want.”
Ari nodded and, to his credit, accepted the rather vague answer. Thank God, because the truth was embarrassing and frankly no one’s business but Jax’s.
Still. Jax smiled and fluttered his lashes. All things considered, his seduction of Ari was going very well indeed.
ARI’S PULSEjumped as Jax leaned into his space. His startlingly blue eyes shone with interest, and when he lowered his lashes, shadows played across his sharp cheekbones. Ari wanted to caress those shadows.
“What about you?” Jax asked. “Why music?”
Ari took another sip of his drink as he pondered how best to answer. “I like making people happy.”
“Touché,” Jax murmured with a pleased little half smile. Ari’s heart skipped a beat.
Before Ari could figure out what to say next, Jax ducked away to pour another customer a drink.
Ari’s seat provided an excellent view of Jax as he worked, and it was a magnificent one. Not least because he was so frequently afforded a very favorable view of Jax’s not inconsiderable ass.
Said viewing was interrupted by Murph, who was apparently taking a break from pouring beers.
“G’day. Been a while since you were here for a drink.” He eyed the cocktail glass. “Not exactly your usual fare.”
