Page 152 of The Bartender Special

Jack knew his love for it had nothing to do with the building and everything to do with the man he’d bought it with the month before.

He waved that man over now to the open barstool next to him. Jack clapped, knowing he’d broken his own bartending code by becoming a little tipsy himself to celebrate.

Benny De Carlo, all cute in his button-up and jeans, was laughing.

“Have I told you that's my favorite thing you do?” he asked after a quick kiss. “I’m sorry but I think you’re just going to have to do this every year on our anniversary for, like, ever.”

Jack arched his brow high.

“And here I thought, your favorite thing I did was that twisty thing I do in bed. You know where I move you like⁠—”

“Jack!”

Atomic. Cherry. Red.

Benny swatted at him as Santana cackled behind the bar. Tipsy Jack didn’t mind the attention. Not after his, apparently annual, performance in front of a crowd to declare his love for The One Who Always Said A Lot.

Dixon, however, lost his focus as it drifted to one of Felicity’s cousins.

She was one of many women who were still all about Cassidy’s tampon selection. To Jack’s utter surprise, it had truly been a PR boost for the bar.

One of many since the internet had followed along with the story of Jack and Benny.

Jack wasn’t sure about the rest of the world, but he’d been pleased to see the people of Arbor Bay seemingly lose interest in the shiny new allure of The Drinking Spot. Old regulars had returned, new regulars had appeared, and to his surprise, the Robertsons had become the most vocal of patrons.

All of them.

“I still think you should add some new dance moves,” came Carol's voice from next to them. She waved at Dixon who kept his conversation going with another patron while making her drink. “You know, maybe throw in a split to really wow the crowd.”

Benny laughed.

“I’m not sure about a split, but I think we should just make those short shorts from last year an official uniform for the performance.”

“And finally drop the leg routine, Knox,” Cotton threw in, moving past them with a Cassidy’s Special in his hand. “Even a year later my lady is still talking about your damn legs.”

Jack laughed, Carol smiled.

Had it been the year before, Jack and his legs would have hated the sight.

Now, it had become somewhat normal.

Especially over the last few months.

The poisonous snake of Arbor Bay had become their poisonous snake.

“She’s still trying to figure out who she is, outside of all of the small-town and family expectations,” Benny had told him one night in bed. “It’s a hard thing to do, even if the internet isn’t staring at you.”

Jack would have held back his dislike for the woman if only for Benny’s sake, but, when she started helping them renovate Benny’s home office a few months later, Jack finally let his anger go.

A helpful decision, considering Benny would go on to ask her to join his event planning business once he decided it was time to take the leap. Queen Bee, beneath all her pretenses, decided she actually did like flowers. She bought into the florist shop with Benny, and Jack went from seeing her at the bar occasionally to seeing her in his home with arms full of flowers more often that not.

Before all that, Carol simply took her drink and a conversation about Jack’s leg routine back to the table she’d been sitting at with Cal and his girlfriend. Justus was with Ms. Peggy, who also had voiced plenty of opinions about Jack’s legs over the last year.

Something else, he realized, he’d gotten used to.

Benny rolled his eyes.

Ethan’s laugh pulled their attention to the booth Dewey and he had claimed after the ceremony.