Page 22 of Penalty Kick

“See, Bonita, nothing to worry about,” Dash said, thumb pressed down on the incorrect button on the soda gun.

“Except you’re filling that with Coke, and that ticket says they ordered Diet Coke,” she quipped.

“Mierda!” Dash muttered. Dumping the cup out, he started over, this time with the correct soda.

Sighing softly, Talia gave him an appreciative smile. He was stepping up big time by doing this, and she did owe him a thank you. Somehow, words didn’t seem like enough though.

She was just going to have to think of another way.

* * *

An hour later, Dash felt like he was starting to get the hang of this. Sort of.

He’d at least learned which buttons on the soda gun were which. He could now refill a soft drink without having to look. That had to count for something, right?

It wasn’t that he’d thought that bartending was easy. He’d watched Talia enough to know that there was a lot to it. Including having to know the correct combinations of all kinds of cocktails. Listening to some of the names being rattled off, he was thankful that Saxony was handling those and all he had to worry about was the “easy” stuff. Although, for as busy as Bunz was thanks to trivia night, the sheer volume of “easy” was making it tough.

The smile Talia was giving him though made this all worth it, no matter how sore he might be tomorrow from using his muscles differently. There was a sparkle in her eyes that he hadn’t seen before, and he desperately wanted to believe he was the one who put it there.

“You’re doing surprisingly well,” she commented, the corner of her mouth quirking upward.

There was a lull in what felt like the frantic pace they’d been keeping since he’d gotten here, coming off a massive rush during a break in the trivia questions. For the first time since his practice shot, Dash felt like he could breathe. There had been a handful of requests for him to perform the Tricky Lickys that were ordered, pulling him away from the bar—and Talia—for a moment. None of them had been nearly as enjoyable at that first one though. The memory of it hit him again, his pulse starting to race, negating that calm he’d been feeling.

“You thought I would fail?”

“No, but it’s a busy night, and that can be a lot for a first-timer. I’m impressed.”

“What can I say. I am good with my hands.”

He gave her a wink, taking her in as her cheeks pinkened. Fuck, was she cute. He liked getting this reaction from her. He liked it even more that she wasn’t rolling her eyes at him—which for months had seemed like her automatic response to anything he said.

“Indeed.”

“I could always show you again what I can do without using them though.”

The flush on her cheeks deepened, her eyes darting away from him. Every ounce of him wanted to reach across the bar and kiss her. His whole body ached to pull her against him, to feel her softness underneath his hands. Just like he had the night of the auction. But now wasn’t the moment. He would kiss her again. The moment had to be right though.

No, not right. Perfect.

“Hey T, how’s the ankle?” a tall, well-built guy with dark red hair greeted.

By the looks of him—or rather, his state of undress—Dash guessed he was a member of the Bunz staff. Or at least he hoped so. He’d spent a lot of time in this bar, specifically at a stool not far from where Talia was sitting currently, watching her as she worked. Never, not once, had he seen this guy. Devlin, Link, a few of the others…he knew them. But not this guy.

Judging by the way her whole body seemed to light up at the sound of his voice though, Talia most certainly knew him. And Dash didn’t like it one bit.

“Hey!” she squealed, throwing her arms around him and giving him a tight hug. “What are you doing here? It’s, like, ten o’clock. Way past bedtime!”

Bedtime?

Something flared inside Dash, forcing him to a halt. He wasn’t sure if that was anger or jealousy, or maybe both. Whatever it was, he didn’t like it. Why did Talia know this guy’s bedtime?

Standing up straighter, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. It wasn’t working.

“Sleepover.”

The one-word answer did nothing but make Dash’s blood simmer more. Jealousy—this was definitely jealousy. He just didn’t understand why it was rearing its ugly head with such strength. Yes, he wanted Talia. That wasn’t a secret. But it wasn’t like she was his. At least not officially.

“On a school night?”