Page 14 of Stranger to Love

Ben, bless his heart, moved to help them, and Mia snapped at him, sharp and immediate. “No, Ben. Leave it.”

He shrank back instantly, jumping to his till to serve the next customer. I shook my head. That guy was just too damn nice—much like Holly.

I looked over to her, watching her laugh with her friends near the booths. A strange sense of responsibility washed over me now that my Economics table partner was actually in my bar. I wanted to make sure she was okay and genuinely having fun. I knew what some of those nights could descend into, and someone like Holly, too precious and bright, could be scarred by some of the shit I had seen in there.

Mia handed me another shot to celebrate the last hour of our shift. Holly had been back to the bar a couple of times, ordering her pink gin, and I hadn't acquisition charged her once. Mia just rolled her eyes; for a supervisor, she didn't really give a shit when I sneaked out free drinks. Holly giggled every time and thought it was hilarious when I pointedly charged her friends. She seemed to be having a good time, and I noticed Mia checking on her too—with her height advantage, she could see over most of the crowd, unlike me.

Some lads approached Mia’s till with matching cheeky grins, clearly thinking they were the shit. Mia smiled, asking for their order, and one of them leered at her, cockily answering, "Are you on the menu?"

Original. Knobhead. I glared at him, but Mia didn’t waver. Her smile turned darker. “Oh, I’m not on the menu. So, what drink can I get you, or will you be stepping aside so I can serve someone else?”

His friends laughed at his failed attempt, and I carried on serving my own queue. Mia could handle herself well enough, but given a chance, I’d have launched myself over that bar if one of them had dared to touch her. The guy was a complete sleaze.

I realised with a sickening jolt that he reminded me of Mr. Hubbard. Gross. He was clearly a teenager with way too much confidence, dressed in a button-down shirt and chinos—trying way too hard. He thought he was the shit, and he absolutely wasn't. I could smell his cheap cologne from where I stood; he’d sprayed way too much, as if that made him more appealing. Thankfully, they took their pints and left her alone, but not without the sleaze giving her a final grin and checking out her curves. I eyed Mia; she just shook her head, rolled her eyes, and started serving the next customer.

As I poured out a cider, I watched the sleaze-ball, my grip tightening on the bottle a little too hard as I saw him approach Holly.

Nope. Fuck no.

I desperately tried to stay on top of the growing line of customers as last drinks were called, while simultaneously keeping one eye glued to Holly. Her friends were still with her, thankfully, but I could see the way she was grinning and swaying slightly. She was too drunk at that moment to recognise what a creep that guy was.

I shared a tight look with Mia, who had also noticed. Her back had gone poker straight, and she was smiling less at the customers, not even trying for tips as we kept a unified watch on Holly.

The bar finally died down as it crawled toward 01:00. I felt like I could actually see again. My head was still banging as the music rang out, but the vodka shots had muffled the ache just enough. Thank God I had forced myself to drink water, so my head was still clear.

A cold, icy poker stabbed my chest. I scanned the thinning crowd and saw that sleaze—the one who reminded me of Hubbard—with his arm draped possessively around Holly. Worse, I couldn't see her friends anywhere. Had they fucking left her with him? He was grinning, whispering something close to her ear, and she looked completely lost, swaying slightly, having no idea what he was saying.

I didn't think. I just moved. Mia was right behind me.

“Sweetheart,” I said, my voice dripping with excessive sweetness as I yanked Holly away from the guy. She beamed when she realised it was me and immediately wrapped her arms around my neck. Mia instantly stepped right between us and the sleazy guy, who now looked utterly furious.

“What the fuck?” he practically yelled.

“Bar is closed,” Mia said simply, meeting his gaze, standing eye-to-eye with him.

“The room is spinning,” Holly whispered into my shoulder. Fuck. I was so glad I had intervened; this sweet girl was completely pissed. I gripped her waist firmly and angled us slightly, pulling her even further away from the creep.

“Yeah, and we’re fucking leaving!” He snarled, answering Mia and trying to reach for Holly. Mia easily stepped in, blocking him completely. He stumbled slightly, and the few lingering patrons finally noticed the scene—most just stared or hurried out. The general public, ladies and gentlemen.

This bastard looked absolutely incensed. He stepped towards Mia, fist raised. I gripped Holly tighter, yanking her fully behind me. Mia dodged his swing, but his wild fist clipped the side of my face instead.

Security rushed over immediately, yanking him back and twisting his arm painfully behind his back as he screamed that it hurt. Mia spun to face me, horror in her eyes. “Fuck, Alex, I’m so sorry!”

I winced; the side of my head stung sharply. I was still holding Holly, who was giggling and clinging to my back, acting like a confused toddler playing hide-and-seek. Mia hesitantly checked the side of my face. “Shit. That’s definitely going to bruise.”

I groaned. “Perfect.”

It wasn’t the worst punch I’d ever taken, but fuck, I really could have done without it that night.

I watched the prick get dragged out of the club. Good luck, knobhead, because Steve, our security guy, hated nothing more than lads who hurt women. Once he was out of sight, I pulled Holly back around. She looked completely disoriented, trying to get the room to stop spinning. I wrapped my arm around her waist and looked to Mia as Ben rushed over.

“Are you okay?” Ben asked, panicked.

“I’m fine,” I groaned, gingerly poking my own cheek and wincing at the lump already forming.

“Lock up for us, Ben,” Mia said, digging into her pocket and tossing him her keys.

“What?” He looked at the keys like they were about to explode.