Adam returned with a cocktail for Ellis, and she took a sip and nodded. “He’s good. Starting to feel at home, I think.” She angled her body so she was leaning against the bar and facing Cherry. She looked amazing, casual in jeans and short black boots with a yellow sweater, but there was an elegance about her, something classy. Cherry had to make a conscious effort not to stare at her like a creepy old bar regular who’d been there since early afternoon. “Missed you at the diner this morning.”
Cherry groaned and let her head fall backward. “Ugh. Staff meeting. It was endless.” She met Ellis’s gaze. “Trust me, I would’ve much rather been in your diner drinking strong coffee and eating Cal’s biscuits.”
“God, those biscuits are life.”
“Hey, bitch.” Shea bumped hard into Cherry’s shoulder, a clear signal she expected to be introduced.
Cherry closed her eyes and shook her head with a smile. “Hey, bitch.” Before she could say more, Shea stuck her hand across Cherry toward Ellis.
“Hi. Shea.”
Ellis took the hand, shook it. “Ellis. Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, cool name.” Shea gave her glass a subtle shake when Adam caught her eye, silently asking for a refill.
“Thanks. It was my grandpa’s.” It was clear she was proud of that fact, the way her eyes lit up and she stood the tiniest bit straighter. Something about knowing this personal tidbit about her warmed Cherry inside.
“It was?” Cherry asked.
Ellis nodded. “My maternal grandpa was Ellis. My paternal grandpa was Michael. My sister’s name is Michaela.”
“I love that.”
“Clearly, my parents weren’t going to let something silly like having girls keep them from naming their children after their fathers.” She sipped her drink and looked around. “I like this place. I’ve never been here before.”
Cherry turned and tried to see the bar through Ellis’s fresh eyes.
“It’s quirky,” Ellis said. “Like it can’t decide what decade to be in, so it’s just gonna be in all of them.”
She wasn’t wrong—the bar was kind of an amalgamation of dozens of things. Not a strictly gay bar, but not straight. Totally inclusive, the decor consisting of both Pride rainbows and neon beer signs. There was a definite eighties vibe of brightly colored lights, but the actual bar itself had been updated only in the last couple of years, its surface still smooth and new. The barstools were also new, black with short backs on them, but the few remaining booths along the walls were clearly a good twenty years old, slices and scratches marring their vinyl seats, initials carved into the tables. And then suddenly, Lady Gaga’s voice filled the space, and Ellis’s grin grew wide.
“The sound system does not suck,” she said, raising her voice so Cherry could hear her.
“It’s new,” she said with a nod, remembering two years ago when the bar went from a piano bar to a place where people could dance. The dance floor was the size of a postage stamp, and people filled it up in a matter of moments, making the small Monday night crowd seem much bigger than it was.
“Dance with me,” Shea ordered and grabbed her hands.
Cherry shot a look to Ellis, who simply smiled like she was having the best time in the world, shooed her away from the bar, and lifted her glass in salute as Shea dragged her onto the dance floor, then wasted no time pulling her close enough to speak directly into her ear.
“Oh my God, Cher, she’shot.”
Cherry felt her own smile grow and her face heat up because yeah. Elliswashot. She’d known that all along, of course. But seeing her in the real world the past few times…the animal shelter, in her apartment…yeah. Her attractiveness had been impossible to ignore. And Cherry was starting to feel more drawn to her than she’d expected in the beginning.
When she looked back in Ellis’s direction, she was chatting a bit with Adam, who had his elbows on the bar and was leaning toward her. Then they both looked at Cherry at the same time.
“Somebody’s being discussed,” Shea said, clearly seeing the same thing she was. When Cherry met Shea’s gaze, she smiled at her and the teasing tone was gone. “She seems pretty great, Cher.”
“She does, doesn’t she?” The song morphed from Lady Gaga into the latest from The Weeknd, and she kept dancing. But her brain barely heard the music. The only thing it could focus on was the pretty blonde leaning on the bar, watching her dance.
What the hell was she going to do with her?
* * *
Bars with flashing colored lights and loud music were not really Ellis’s jam. She didn’t dance. She didn’t drink a whole lot. She’d much rather hang in a coffee shop or at the bar of a restaurant she enjoyed. Her presence at Coasters was a pretty good indication of what was happening between her and Cherry.
Cherry, who was dancing up a storm and, Ellis could easily admit, was fabulous at it. Her hips moved to the beat in a rhythm that was undeniably sexy. Arms up by her shoulders. Big smile on her face as she leaned forward to hear Shea and then respond. She was a sight to behold.
“She loves to dance.”
