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“I need two more pitchers for table four, Bobby,” I said as I dropped my tray onto the bar top. “And make it snappy.” I clicked my fingers, laughing when Bobby raised an eyebrow at me.
“You know, just because this is your last shift don’t mean I won’t fire your ass.” Bobby grabbed an empty pitcher and pushed it under the pump before throwing me a smile to show he was joking.
“Aaah, you’d never fire me.” I smirked.
“Keep that smart mouth of yours yammering and we’ll find out.”
I chuckled, turning to look at Katie, one of the other barmaids, as she came over. She was a thirty-something flirty little thing with short blond hair and the smallest waist I’d ever seen.
“A pitcher and a JD when you’re ready, Bobby.” She bumped her hip against mine and smiled. “I can’t believe this is it,” she said. Her smile was wide but her eyes were sad. We’d grown close this past couple of years and I was going to miss her like crazy.
“I know,” I agreed. “You could still come with me, you know,” I pleaded.
“Not a fucking chance!” Bobby interjected, slamming the pitchers of beer down on my tray. “It’s bad enough you leaving me high and dry like this, but you’re not taking my best waitress with you.”
“Hey,” Beth, one of the other barmaids on shift, whined as she came from behind the bar tying her apron around her neck. “I thought I was your best waitress!”
Bobby looked her up and down, his gaze filled with lust. “You’re definitely one of the best, Beth.”
We all knew they had a casual on/off relationship, but that’s all it was: casual and on/off. Bobby was not the sort of man to be tied down to one woman.
“You’re disgusting,” she said, slapping at his hand when he reached for her. She winked over her shoulder at him and headed over to a busy table.
Yeah, Beth wasn’t the sort of woman to be tied down to just one man either.
I shook my head and turned back to Katie as I picked up my tray. “You sure I can’t change your mind?” I tried again.
“Sweetheart, I would love to come traveling the world with you. It’d sure beat this shitty little town, but”—she stared around her and sighed—“this shitty little town is my home. I can’t imagine ever leaving it. Not even for a year.” She patted my hand and I headed over to my table with the beer.
I was going to miss Katie.
And even Bobby and Beth.
Hell, I was even going to miss this place—The Laughing Moose. I’d been working here since I’d left school. Saving up every cent I could so that one day I would get to see the world. And now that day was here…and I was as much terrified as I was excited.
The plan was a year, but who knew if I’d actually ever come back. If I could get work, it could be longer. It could be forever. I planned on starting in Europe. I was desperate to watch the sun set over the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the coliseum in Rome, eat pizza in Naples, cycle in Holland, and ride a gondola in Venice. There was so much in the world that I wanted to see. So much that I wanted to experience. I refused to believe that my life would always revolve around this one small town.
I wanted more.
Needed it, even.
But mostly, I’d promised myself as a little girl that I would have more.
That I wouldn’t settle like every other girl here did.
That I would go out and experi
ence everything that life had to give me.
And tomorrow, I would.
Just one last shift at the Laughing Moose stood between me and my childhood obsession of seeing the world.
Nothing had mattered these past couple of years but this one, singular goal. I’d given up so much—a social life, boyfriends, even friendships—because all I’d wanted to do was work my butt off and save as much money as possible so I could get the hell out of here and go see the world. And if I did come back, it would be on my own terms and with a heart full of fulfilment.
I smiled at the nervous fluttering in my stomach and headed to my table.
“Beers up, boys,” I said, cheerily handing it over. “Can I get you anything else?”
