“I don’t know why. I helped him out once.” Tawk cleared his throat again and turned the coaster toward her.
Annoying.
She popped the cap off the beer and turned the coaster back toward him before she set it on there.
She didn’t miss the faint smile that tugged at the corners of Tawk’s lips. His dark beard was thicker today, like he hadn’t trimmed his beard since she’d seen him last.
“Financial Management,” he said.
Was he…was he trying to make small talk?
“It’s nothing,” she said, and then turned to a couple that just sat down at the end of the bar top and got their orders. She made their drinks and then became very busy ignoring Tawk. Not because she was being rude, but because she had that awkward feeling again, and didn’t know what to say to him. The man was humongous, and so damn fine. She didn’t know if she liked him or hated him, but she did know one thing—he was devastatingly hard to ignore.
She began to prepare another order and needed a frosty glass from the mini refrigerator right in front of where Tawk was sitting. Tammy stooped and dug one out, and when she stood, he caught her eye. He was staring at her. He cleared his throat like he wanted to say something.
“Need another beer?”
“Your bangs look nice.”
She froze, just staring at him, unblinking. “Thanks?”
He swallowed hard and pulled his baseball cap lower over his eyes, then nodded.
Utterly baffled by this man, she slowly made her way to the station to make the new drink. She glanced over at him twice, but he had busied himself with slowly spinning his beer on the coaster. Her cheeks were warming up, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why. She wasn’t a blusher. Never had been.
She delivered the drinks and planned to make herself very busy cleaning the bar top, but got to him with the rag, and let it drop to her side. She had to know. “Was that a compliment? Earlier? About my bangs?”
“I think so.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I can’t read you. I can’t tell if you’re fucking with me. You…”
He cocked his head and removed his baseball cap, slicked his mohawk back and replaced the cap. She couldn’t tell if he was too smooth for his own good, or nervous around her.
“I what?” he asked her.
“You confuse me.”
“Well, that makes two of us. I am also confusing the hell out of myself right now.”
“If your animal gets angry when you’re drinking, please refer to the sign.” She pointed to the chalkboard sign at the entrance of the bar.No Shifter Shit in Here, it read in neon blue chalk. Her boss wrote it out every happy hour for the Cold Foot Crew.
He nodded absently and then swung his gold gaze back to her. His eyes seemed to be glowing from within now, and right near his pupils was a reddish tint. “I told you the animal is not an angry drunk, but I can see you’re still thinking on that. What do you want to know?”
“If you’re going to burn me to a crisp? I have good things happening in my life right now. Things I’ve worked very hard for. I can’t be getting eaten by a dragon right now. I have shit to accomplish.”
Tawk lifted his chin higher into the air. “I can leave if you want. I’m not here to scare anyone.”
“Why did Wreck say you’re sick?”
“You hear pretty well for a human.” Tawk dropped his head, held still for a few seconds, and then reached for his back pocketand pulled out his wallet. He pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and set it next to the coaster, picked up his beer, and spun the coaster toward her just to piss her off before he walked over to the Cold Foot Crew.
There it was. There was the shut-down.
What did she care?
Tammy glanced away to see if anyone was watching that exchange, but thankfully it seemed like no one was paying attention.
“Miss?” Pendleton Straight called from the end of the bar.
