lionheart

And maybe it was a little more shameless that he called off work to specifically attend this party. Alec wasn’t there for the engagement aspect, Aspen was fine, the Rabbits were fine, and Avery was certainly Avery, but he grabbed any chance to socialize and drink like there was no tomorrow. It hadn’t been long for Alec to grab a woman’s fancy standing at the gates of a house who chose the confident route by striking conversation. The two were pulled away from the main gatherings to instead enjoy the other’s company along the side of the house where prying eyes were supposed to avoid. Just when he thought the hot and heavy session was about to take the next level, Alec heard approaching steps damper the mood. The man groaned a little, moving away from the blonde he was making out with. “Come on, go find your own lip-locking spot. This one’s taken.”

    ‘  you  really  are  that  full  of  yourself  aren’t  you ? ‘ it was almost sad to see really . alec had a job . he somehow managed to get quin , the nicest guy she knew , to take a chance on him and he was pissing it all away and for what ? because life sucked ? because he was an asshole ? she shook her head as she moved to stand up , tapping her hands along the bar counter . ‘  whatever  it  is  that  is  making  you  this  way ,  although  i’m  starting  to  wonder  if  it’s  just  a  personality  trait  at  this  point ,  get  over  it .  you  have  it  good  here  and  you’re  pissing  it  all  away  when  you  don’t  have  to . ‘

“Or I’m just that drunk, who knows at this point, right?” Alec wouldn’t be the person to stand there and spill his life’s story to Boo when he knew she wouldn’t give two fucks how he was raised or the constant arguments during the span of his childhood with the only parent who tore him down every chance he received. At one point, he thought that’s what made him and Boo similar in that regard, shitty fathers and building up walls. “Kettle calling the pot black, Boo, when I’m not the only one pissing it all away out of the two of us. At least I’m not spending the rest of my life cleaning up after a father who was never around to give a shit.” It wasn’t the worst drunken statement to fall from his lips, wasn’t the best either, but a filter was useless. “Don’t tell me how to live my life, won’t tell you how to live yours.”

    ‘  you  can  call  me  a  bitch ,  alec ,  i’ve  heard  worse . ‘ it wasn’t as if it was going to hurt boo’s feelings but it was almost amusing that alec was willing to hold back . she hummed at his question before offering a shrug of her shoulders , ‘  you  shouldn’t  . ‘ and maybe that was the point . alec would go on from day to day wondering if boo finally spilled the beans . she tapped her fingers against the bar counter , ‘  you  know  what  the  solution  would  be ?  telling  him  yourself .  i  hear  the  truth  can  set  you  free . ‘

“Calling you that would just be an insult to the other bitches.” Alec shot back sarcastically, placing both palms on either side of him along the counter edge in a manner casual enough to hide the fact that his balance felt oddly unsteady. The years of drinking increased his tolerance to becoming drunk, but there were nights like tonight where the man hadn’t paid attention to his alcohol intake. “What difference would that make? He won’t give me another chance no matter how he hears it. I’m inventing a-damage-I-can’t-undo kind of stupid, so, congratulations,” He waved around his hand, “Go ahead and take my tips. I don’t fucking care.”

     ‘  i’m  a  rabbit .  stealing  or  scamming  money  is  what  we  do . ‘ and she wasn’t going to apologize for it and the fact that she could annoy alec while doing it was just icing on the cake for her . she smirked at his words , pulling her phone from her pocket and snapping a picture . she opened up a new text message making sure it was addressed to quin before adding the picture . ‘  hey  quin , ‘ she spoke while typing , ‘  thought  there  was  something  you  needed  to  see . ‘ she paused , ‘  dare  me  to  send  it ?  your  life  going  up  in  smoke  means  nothing  to  me  ,  alec .  ‘

The minute Alec knocked back the drink, he froze for a minute as he noticed the flash of the camera, his hand squeezed tightly around the glass before lowering it to the bar counter. Was he meant to be surprised, he shouldn’t have been surprised Boo of all people would use leverage against him. Well, if Alec were being honest with himself, he walked straight into this one. “You know, I really hate using the B word, but that’s exactly what you are right now.” It was enough to tempt him to grab the phone and smash it, but he refrained. “Christ, fine.” He scoffed, “I mean, you don’t give a shit about my life, so why should I even trust you’ll keep your word and just tell him either way? We’re not on that level here, Boo.”

     ‘  this  isn’t  an  eventually  thing ,  alec .  i’m  pretty  much  giving  you  a  loan . ‘ quin wanted to help as much as he could , especially when it came to his bartenders , but he wasn’t stupid just because he was kind . quin shifted as he pulled out his checkbook , writing out a figure and ripping the check from it’s binding but he didn’t hand it to alec right away . ‘  and  we’re  not  exactly  doing  this  the  right  way . ‘ he pressed his lips together before sighing . ‘  three  weeks .  a  month  at  most . if  i  don’t  have  a  check  in  my  hand  or  cash …  well .. it  was  nice  working  with  you . ‘

“I’ll get you the money back, I swear.” Alec wasn’t positive he would find a way to do it or if he’d even manage to pull off returning whatever amount Quin allowed him to have when he was already skating on very thin ice. His mother hadn’t left a cent in the bank account when she died and he knew his father refused to find a job on his own to contribute anything, so Alec was flying by the seat of his pants. “A month. That’s going to take-” Oh, he was screwed. And he was screwing Quin over in the process. “Okay, fine, a month and you’ll have everything paid in full.” Alec clenched his jaw, pushing away the overwhelming guilt twisting his insides, “I don’t see how in the hell you’re so nice to me. I don’t deserve it.”

     boo seemed to pause for a moment in thought . ‘  you  know  what ,  it  may  not  be  my  business  about  you  screwing  over  the  boss  but  i  think  my  price  went  up .  you  know ,  for  keeping  my  big  mouth  shut  .  you  know ,  if  i  say  something  and  carl  hears ,  he’ll  tell  debbie ,  who  will  tell  aspen ,  who  will  tell   kieran  .  you  see  where  i’m  going  with  this . ‘ she leaned forward , ‘  so  in  exchange  for  me  keeping  my  mouth  shut ,  i  want  ,  lets  say  ,  ten  percent  of  your  tips  until  you  grow  a  pair . ‘

    ‘ well ,  you’re  not  my  type  for  one .  i  don’t  know . loyalty  is  kinda  sexy  to  me . ‘ boo almost wanted to roll her eyes , ‘  quin  is  gonna  find  out  eventually  and  when  he  does ,  you’re  gonna  lose  this  job . ‘ someone could only be pushed so much and quin was about the nicest guy aikens had to offer . alec would fuck himself over eventually . someone was bound to snitch even if that someone wouldn’t be boo . ‘  this  isn’t  my  business ,  alec .  but  i  do  think  you’re  an  asshole  for  not  at  least  feeling  guilty  for  fucking  over  quin  because  eventually , ‘ she motioned towards the bottles , ‘ the  small  bit  you  take  is  going  to  equal  loss  of  money . ‘

“Ouch.” Alec slowly put down his glass, feeling the shift in their conversation suck the playful atmosphere from the entire room and causing his appetite for drinking dwindle faster than anything he’s faced before. And that was rare for a man who grabbed at every excuse to consume any booze placed in front of him. “No, you’re right, it’s not your business to tell me what I already know.” He took both glasses from the counter and turned around to place them in the sink, wanting that to be the end of discussion, but something caused Alec to turn back around, “Do you really think I don’t feel guilty for sneaking a drink every now and then? Or that my reasons having fun are screwing me out of the only decent job I’ve had? Yeah, I feel bad I’m biting the hand that literally feeds me, Boo, but I can’t think about that.”

     ‘  like  tonight ? ‘ quin asked as he turned to look back at alec . he sighed , running a hand down his face .  ‘  even  if  i  could ,  and  i’m  not  sure  if  i  can ,  it’s  like  a  loan .  you’d  have  to  pay  it  back . ‘ not a lot of people asked for their pay check in advance . he could probably count it on one hand but he understood alec’s situation . another sigh escaped his lips as he turned to shrug off his jacket to go back into the office . ‘ let  me  see  what  i  can  do . ‘

“Or as soon as possible, but preferably tonight.” Alec pressed his lips tightly together, almost feeling ashamed for both asking and telling a small white lie that some of the money would go to a few six packs of beer his fridge needed to stock up on. It was rational, wasn’t it, providing himself his own alcohol and saving the trouble of taking from Quin? “I’ll pay you back eventually, I swear.” Placing the guilt aside, he waited a moment for Quin to disappear into his office to take that time to quickly pop a mint into his mouth before moving through the door, “You know I wouldn’t be asking unless it was truthfully important. So, uh,” Alec walked towards one of the chairs seated in front of Quin’s desk, placing his palms on top of the back, “Thanks.”

     ‘  and  yet  you’re  willing  to  push  your  luck . ‘ boo tilted her head to the side but decided to let it go . alec wasn’t one of her kids and she wasn’t going to be involved in his shit . ‘  not  unless  we’re  gonna  fuck . ‘ boo didn’t have a filter and most were probably used to it by now or at least she hoped so . ‘  but  that’s  not  going  to  happen  although  thanks  for  the  free  drink ,  baby .  appreciate  it . ‘

“You’re literally the second person who’s pointed that detail out.” Of course, both of which would have resulted in the man owning the bar and signing his paycheck losing his complete shit due to the missing alcohol dwindling from a supply that was supposed to go to paying customers, “You’re saying you wouldn’t want to fuck me. Wow, the rudeness hurts.” Alec lifted his eyes in a roll and dropped his attention to his drink, “I’m just attempting to be an accommodating bartender. And okay...a bit of a bribe for you not telling about the,” He motioned drinking from a bottle, “you know?”

   ‘  alec, ‘ kieran breathed as they turned to face him . ‘  if  you’re  not  smart  enough  to  not  get  caught  by  me , what  makes  you  think  you’re  smart  enough  not  to  get  caught  at  all ?  ‘ they weren’t too sure of alec’s logic there and they were almost waiting for the other to attempt to explain . kieran almost wanted to smirk as they moved to wipe down the bar .  ‘  considering  you  don’t  give  a  shit  about  quin  or  this  bar ,  i  would  probably  rat  you  out  for  a klondike  bar  at  this  point .  don’t  push  it . ‘

“I’m talking about the unnoticeable difference in the actual bottle, my friend.” Alec reached over and grabbed a random bottle of booze, the label apparently marked as rum, and watched as the half full liquid sloshed from side to side. Okay, so, maybe his way of thinking was slightly askew and and made little to no sense, but at least he didn’t guzzle down the entire contents for the population of the bar to witness. “I have to give enough fucks about my own business before handing it over to other things.” It’s not that he hated Quin or the bar, he actually felt some respect for Quin, but distractions were a vice. “And somehow, I’m almost surprised you haven’t already.”

   ‘  and  it’s  obvious  you’ve  never  seen  quin  mad . ‘ it wasn’t  boo’s business . if alec wanted to fuck up , that was a him problem . ‘  on  most  days ,  i  do .  ‘ the morettis might not have been rabbits but they were practically family at this point . aspen and kieran had been attached at the hip since they were kids and boo practically watched matteo grow up . they went in and out of each other’s homes as they pleased and dropped by randomly at each other’s work place . it wasn’t out of the ordinary . ‘  is  that  your  idea  of  charming ? ‘

“I’ve heard Quin mad on the other side of his office door, rather not be on the receiving end, actually.” It was enough remaining careful what buttons he pressed when it came to his employer, Alec knew the inner workings that was the rumor mill during his breaks among the other bartenders, Quin losing his shit didn’t occur often, but mercy on any poor soul he directed it at. He was almost sure he was growing close to that point. “Is this you wanting me to be charming?” Alec rested his elbow against the counter, placing his chin in his hand and shooting Boo an innocent stare, “I can if you just asked.” He stretched a smirk and leaned back, “That round’s on me, Rabbit.”

 ‘ it’s  been  great ,  really ,  but  i  am  calling  it  a  night . ‘ quin didn’t plan to come into the bar that night but when one of his bartenders called out , he figured he would stop by to at least help out but it was about an hour until closing and the crowd had managed to thin out enough that he figured he wasn’t exactly needed . ‘  try  not  to  burn  the  bar  down  in  my  absence , ‘ quin taunted as he moved to shrug his jacket on .

“Right, and leaving me with the work, I see how it is.” Alec knew with the boss coming in to cover a shift, he needed to remain on his best behavior. No drinking, limit the flirting sexual innuendos to a bare minimum, and play the listening ear of a bartender when patrons chose to spill their personal problems to someone who had his own life to deal with. “Already have the matches stashed in my pocket, scout’s honor. Wait, hey, before you go,” Alec moved from around the counter, figuring he could step away for a moment while foot traffic was slow, “I was wondering if I could get my paycheck early. My landlord’s being a complete ass and needs me to fork the cash for rent.”

“if you’re going to sit at my bar, you’re going to drink at my bar.” it wasn’t her bar, but it made sense. arya had been there for five years, so it was practically hers. “the weird faces don’t do much for business. so what do you want?” 

     ‘  yeah ,  i  honestly  don’t  give  a  shit  ,  alec ,  although  if  quin  catches  you  he’s  going  to  blow  a  fucking  gasket . ‘ granted , that wasn’t boo’s business and she wasn’t going to make it her business . she didn’t work here , she didn’t pay the bills , and as far as she was concerned , if alec wanted to dance with the devil then she was going to let him . ‘  was  looking  for  the  morettis  actually  but  since  there  isn’t  a  giant  shadow  looming  over  the  bar  and  no  curly  haired  kid  running  around ,  i’m  going  to  assume  they’re  off  tonight . ‘

      ‘  when  i’m  getting  my  dick  sucked  ,  yeah . ‘ kieran moved around alec , grabbing the free cloth to wipe down the bar . ‘  yeah ,  and  if  someone  is  wasted  off  their  ass  and  get  hurt  ,  that  falls  back  on  us . ‘ which was something that some people didn’t really seem to get when it came to this job . they were therapists for drunk people but they were also babysitters . ‘  you  can  have  fun  and  not  be  reckless  with  it  ,  alec .  this  place  goes  under  ,  i  might  have  to  go  back  to  stealing  the  rabbit’s  toaster .  ‘

    ‘  more  like  he’s  completely  wasted  and  you’re  looking  for  a  lawsuit . ‘  if alec wanted to undermine them then that was their business . it wasn’t as if kieran owned this place , being the boss man was quin’s job , only , he wasn’t there that night to say anything . ‘  fun  isn’t  what  i  would  exactly  call  you  but  we  can  pretend  i  did . ‘ kieran shrugged their shoulders before shifting again to grab another  beer , sliding it on the counter to the counter that asked for it .

“I’m not doing anything anyone else wouldn’t do. One shot and I’ll send him on his way in a cab. How about that, handsome?” Alec threw a wink in the customer’s direction, laying on the charm thick for the sake of his own pleasure. Most bartenders focused on their drinks and vying for tips by making the customers happy, but he tended to play the flirtatious field. “Obnoxious, hilarious, bit of a bastard with a great ass? I mean, you’re free to take your pick, Moretti.” He grabbed a rag from the sink, moving down a little to wipe off the counter. “Kieran, I’m pretty positive you don’t know the meaning of fun. Do you even know how to smile?”