#partial au

You and Briana rushed about behind the bar; taking orders, making drinks, and most importantly; sweet talking your way into more tips. It wasn’t an easy job when bands like this played; most of the patrons that made up these crowds were women, and although they could drink, it was a lot harder to flirt your way to bigger tips. The only saving grace of the night were the guys with the band who kept coming back for more.

You recognized the guys on stage from the show they had done last month. Briana had been right, it was the same band that you had the pleasure of waiting around for last time. Far past closing, they had kept going and you decided against kicking them out until it was absolutely necessary. Surprisingly, although they had all been pretty wasted by the end of the night, they were still pretty well behaved.

This had been a long week though, and you only hoped that tonight wouldn’t be a repeat of the last encounter you had with them. Even as a bartender, the last thing you wanted to do was babysit a bunch of drunk men again. However, you knew you wouldn’t complain if they tipped you as well as they had the last time they played here. You could handle a couple hours of being hit on by sloppy drunks if it meant you could make your rent.

As you delivered a drink to a customer, you caught sight of a man at the other end of the bar flagging you down. You quickly took the money on the counter before you made your way to him.

“What’ll it be?” you asked.

“Jameson, on the rocks.”

“You got it,” you grabbed the bottle of Jameson, focused on preparing the drink when the man called out to you again.

“Hey, you look familiar,” he said.

“Doubtful,” you laughed, “unless you frequent this bar.”

“I was here last month,” he continued, “I’m with the band.”

“Oh, a groupie?” You joked as you placed his drink in front of him. He pulled out his wallet, paying you.

“Hardly,” he chuckled, “no, I was here watching them and I think you were working.”

“I’m always working.”

“Yeah, you closed that night. Let us all stay late.”

“Well, we all make mistakes.”

“My name is Jason,” he said, reaching his hand out to you. You took it, giving him a firm handshake.

“Nice to formally meet you Jason,” you said. You turned your attention from him, taking another order from someone sitting next to him. When you finished their drinks, he got your attention again.

“You didn’t tell me your name.”

“You are correct.”

“Should I be offended?”

You chuckled at him, “don’t be offended, I never give out my name, not at work anyway. You can call me Lola though.”

“Okay, Lola,” he grinned at you, letting the name roll off his tongue slowly. You could tell that he knew damn well that it wasn’t your real name, “do we have the pleasure of you bartending all night again?”

“All night long,” you replied, shooting him a wink. He smiled again, placing a few more bills on the bar which you gladly took and placed in the tip jar.

“Well, I’m gonna head over to the stage to watch my friends play,” he said.

“Okay,” you replied, “you do that.”

“You like them?”

“Yeah, they’re really good. Like you said, they played last month. I was here, I remember.”

“Okay, I’ll see you around… Lola,” Jason took his drink and headed away from the bar. You couldn’t help but laugh to yourself. It was easy to innocently flirt with guys for more tips, especially ones associated with the bands that played here.

You continued to work, only getting the chance to occasionally glance up and actually pay attention to the band. You recognized some of the songs they played, recalling how you only got to listen to them last time. You hardly watched them as you were so busy behind the bar most of the night. Thankfully, this crowd seemed to be a bit more mellow this time, giving you small breaks in between orders so that you could watch sometimes. You weren’t terribly familiar with them; after all, you had only heard them play once before. But you found yourself dancing a bit and humming along to familiar songs as they played.

“Hey, who are these guys?” you called out to Briana when you realized you didn’t even know the name of the band playing right now.

“Louden Swain,” she replied, “they’re local and have a pretty decent following.”

“I can tell, this place is pretty packed tonight.”

“Yeah, and I’m off in 15,” she said with a grin, “good luck with closing.”

You frowned, tossing a bar towel at her. She only laughed and continued to work.

You were in the middle of making more drinks when there was a pause in between songs. You could finally hear yourself think, but not before the singer of the band introduced his friend onto the stage.

“Our friend Jason is going to sing a song with us,” the man explained. You looked up toward the stage at the mention of the familiar name. Sure enough, the man who had talked to you earlier bounded up. The band went right into the next song and you smiled when you heard both of the men’s voices carry through the bar as they went into an old Beatles song. You quickly delivered the drinks you had been working on, hoping you’d have a chance to listen better. When you saw that everyone was taken care of, you leaned back against the bar, watching the men on stage. You couldn’t see too well from where you were, but you took a moment to enjoy the music. Sure, you had caught yourself dancing and humming along as they played, but this was the first chance you got to really listen. You had to admit, you really liked what you heard.

As the night came to an end; Briana had left long ago and the band finished up their set. Fans stuck around for a bit and you watched as they stopped the guys for selfies and autographs; impressed at how polite they were with their fans. Eventually, the crowd had trickled out, leaving a few strays behind as well as the band. The four men that had played on stage sat at the bar, along with Jason.

“Are we still drinking?” you asked as you approached them.

“Of course we are,” replied Jason.

The men ordered a round of beers and you delivered. You stepped back once they had their drinks, now working on cleaning up since the place had slowed down a bit. You listened as the men chatted, enjoying their drinks and recalling the show they had just played. You went about your business, letting them take their time. You only hoped that if they kept you here any longer, they’d tip you well again. At least they were mellow dudes. You had a bouncer here, but they certainly weren’t the type of guys to get out of hand. They mostly just talked and laughed, leaving you be as you prepared to close up for the night.

“Hey… bartender,” you heard a familiar voice call out to you. You smiled as you turned toward Jason.

“Well, that was rude,” you joked, “I do have a name.”

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t tell me your real one,” he replied.

“What can I do for you?”

“I was just telling the guys that you were working the last time they played here, just wanted you to turn around so they could see your face.”

“Well, here it is,” you said, “and, did you sing the last time they played?”

“I did not,” Jason answered, “I only do it every once in awhile.”

“Well, you were all really great tonight. I didn’t get a chance to pay attention last time, but I was impressed.”

“Hey, I do recognize you,” another man chimed in, “I’m Billy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” added another, “my favorite bartender, you took care of us last time. How could I forget?”

“Thank you, I take my job very seriously.”

“I’m Stephen,” the man said. He pointed at the man sitting next to him, “this is Mike, and that’s Rob.” He pointed over to the man sitting at the end of the line. You nodded as you were introduced to each one; eyes stopping on the man named Rob that you recognized as the singer. You hadn’t paid much attention to any of them really, that wasn’t how you usually behaved at work. Bands came and went often through here; as did most men. You couldn’t help but think about how cute these guys were in general; but Rob had been the one to get a second glance from you even though he hadn’t even said a word to you.

“Wow, I just met the band. Nice change from last time,” you said.

“Were we rude last time?” The man named Mike asked.

“Not at all,” you said as you recalled that night, “you were all just shit-faced and the whole night was mostly me trying to get you out of here while I dodged really bad pick-up lines. I’m surprised any of you think you recognized me.”

“I must have been shit-faced, because I’d remember your face anywhere.” You turned toward Rob who had finally spoken up. Your breath caught slightly as you noticed those blue eyes. The man gave you a sly smile, obviously trying his hand at attempting to flirt with the bartender again.

“You especially were a drunken mess,” you replied to him.

“You were here with your ex,” Stephen reminded him, “you didn’t pay attention to anyone.”

You watched as Rob frowned as his friend brought it up.

“Well, you guys seem to be in pretty decent shape tonight,” you said, trying to ease the awkward moment that almost took over at the mention of someone’s ex, “so I won’t cut you off just yet.”

“Then I guess we better have another round,” Jason said.

“And shots,” Billy added.

“Sure,” you said as you grabbed five more beers for the men. You began to place shot glasses on the counter, Billy watching you intently as you counted out five glasses, waiting now to see what they wanted.

“Let’s have whiskey, your choice” Billy said finally, “and we need one more glass.”

“There are five of you,” you pointed out.

“And one of you,” he said, smiling.

“Alright,” you placed another glass down, not one to turn down a free drink, “I can drink with the band.”

You poured the shots, taking one as you waited for each man to grab a glass. When you were all ready, you downed your shots at the same time. You grinned as they each chased their whiskey, turning away from them to go about your business again.

“Bartender,” one of the men said. You turned back, sort of unamused that they they were still calling you by your profession rather than your fake name.

“Again, very rude.”

“Well, you didn’t give us a name during introductions,” Rob said.

“Call me Lola,” you replied.

“That’s not your name,” he smirked at you, “I know that’s not your name. That’s a fake name that women give out to creeps in bars.”

“Well, can you blame me?” You said, motioning around you to indicate that you were, in fact, in a bar.

“No, I don’t. I bet you meet a lot of creeps working here,” Rob bit his lip, studying you as if he were trying to figure you out. You caught on to the way he looked you up and down briefly, lip still caught between his teeth.

“They’re not all creeps,” you replied as you leaned in closer to him, elbows now resting on the counter as you met his stare. You couldn’t be sure, but it seemed as if he might be hitting on you given the way he bit his lip as he watched you. If nothing else, you could at least encourage him to drink more and tip more if you made yourself look interested.

“I bet you’d tell the non-creeps your real name,” he said, watching your reaction. It was definitely a test, either you let him know he wasn’t creepy and tell him your real name, or you refuse to offer up your name and convince him that you definitely thought he was a creep; which you really didn’t want to do. He didn’t seem like a creep, none of these guys did. But past experiences with customers made you think carefully about your response.

“Well, then she thinks I’m a creep too,” Jason added, taking a long drink of his beer. You laughed lightly at him.

“Even people that have been frequenting this bar since the day I started working here don’t get my real name. It’s a personal safety thing… you understand, right?”

“No, I get it,” Rob said, “I could be a creep… I’m not, but I could be. I’m not calling you Lola though…”

“Okay,” you chuckled.

“Yeah, now you sound like a creep,” Stephen said to Rob. The other men laughed, leaving Rob looking unamused by the comment.

You pushed yourself off the bar and turned from them again, getting back to cleaning up and allowing them to enjoy their drinks alone.

When the men had their fill, they started to leave; being sure to pay the bill and leaving you a pretty decent tip. You smiled at them, thanking them and feeling a lot better now that they were leaving fairly early and not forcing you to stay too late.

“Thanks guys,” you called after them as they headed for the exit, “have a good night.”

“Goodnight bartender,” Rob called out to you. Obviously he still wasn’t buying the name you had given him, but you shook your head at how silly it was that he was calling you bartender still, “until the next show.”

“Bye,” you replied, waving him off. You watched as they walked out, eyes mostly following Rob as he glanced back at you with that amazing smile. When they were finally gone, you finished up with closing. For some reason, you couldn’t get the man named Rob out of your head. Maybe it had been that smile, or those blue eyes that stared into you, or perhaps it was simply that you sort of had a thing for musicians; whatever it was, you didn’t stop thinking about him even as your security for the night, Matt, walked you to your car.

“They didn’t give you too much trouble tonight, did they?” He asked as you dug for your car keys.

“Nah,” you answered. You finally found your keys, pulling them out of your purse and unlocking your car, “they seem like pretty mellow guys. They weren’t even that bad last time they played here.”

“Yeah, they didn’t seem like they’d be trouble. I was just worried that they started paying you a little too much attention.”

“Well,” you laughed, “it comes with the territory. But they were very polite and, hey, I didn’t get groped.”

“That’s always a good night,” he added with a laugh, “saves me from working too hard.”

“Thanks for walking me out and I’ll see you tomorrow?” You said as you opened your door.

“I’ll be here,” Matt replied, “Have a good night, Y/N.”

“Hey, Bri,” you shouted, “these guys playing here again?” It might do you some good to actually pay attention to the band schedule here, but you knew you could count on Bri for that information.

Briana looked toward the men who were now walking toward the bar.

“Nope, no one’s scheduled to play tonight. It’s only three of them, must be here to drink.”

The three men found a few open bar-stools where they each sat down, still chatting among each other as you approached them.

The handsome, blue-eyed man looked up at you after a moment, “Hey! Bartender!” he exclaimed with a smile. The other two men said hi, obviously recognizing you as well.

“Oh wow, you remembered my name,” you joked. You found yourself leaning against the bar toward the blue-eyed man, suddenly very aware of just how good-looking he was.

“I’d remember it if you actually gave it to me,” he replied.

“Don’t feel too bad, I don’t remember your name either,” you gave him a wink before moving away from the bar, “what are we having?”

The men ordered a round of drinks which you quickly got for them.

“My name is Rob,” the blue-eyed man said as you took his money, “that’s Jason, that’s Stephen.” He pointed each man out and you did something you usually didn’t do for men at this bar. You studied each of their faces, saying their names out loud as you did so, trying to keep a memory of each one so that you wouldn’t forget again.

“Okay, I’ll remember that,” you said, “but only of you’re considering being regulars. If you just show up once a month, I’ll never remember.”

“We could be regulars,” Jason said, “it’s a nice place, and some of us think that it has the best bartenders.”

“We like to play here,” Stephen added, “I imagine we would like to drink here too.”

“Well, you could get the same drinks a lot cheaper at a liquor store,” you said, “but you would never get such amazing service.”

“I think the service is something that could keep us coming back,” Rob replied.

You looked at him, grinning at his little flirtation, “Great, because I am very good to my regulars.”

You maintained eye contact briefly before moving on to other customers who were ready to order.

You and Bri were slightly busy tonight, and while you wanted to make small-talk with these guys for some reason, you didn’t have much of a chance now. You and Bri moved behind the bar, doing your usual thing as you mixed drinks and retrieved beer for everyone. You only stopped to look up toward the men that had come to see you. Truthfully, your eyes always shifted to Rob and you caught yourself each time, wondering why you couldn’t stop looking at him.

“Hey,” Briana said as you worked on an order, “that guy from the band has not stopped watching you since he walked in.” She bit her lip, nodding toward him as if to draw your attention that way.

“Yeah, I was beginning to think they were just here to check out the goods,” you laughed.

“Well, go give him the goods,” Briana replied, elbowing you lightly.

“Okay, first of all; he’s a customer. Secondly; I have a boyfriend.”

“Hey, I didn’t say to sleep with him,” she defended herself, “I’m only saying that he likes what he sees and that means you’re getting paid tonight if you flirt a little.”

“Yeah, I know that. But we’ve got a pretty full bar. It’s not the night to focus on one group of guys that may or may not even tip.”

“He’s cute,” she said, ignoring your statement. You followed her eyes over to the three men, again letting your focus fall on Rob. She was right at least, he really was cute.

“Yeah,” you replied, “but I sort of gathered that he is recently single. That’s never a good thing when you’re trying to flirt for tips, especially when they get drunk.”

“Whatever,” Briana shrugged, “I’m just saying, if you don’t move in on that, I might.”

“Go for it,” you laughed.

The night went on, and hours later you still had the three guys sitting at the bar along with a handful of other customers. You stood aside, talking with Matt while Briana continued to work, now chatting with the guys who had been sitting there for hours. You couldn’t tell what they were talking about, but they were all laughing and having a good time at least.

You helped a few strays here and there as they stumbled into the bar, but for the most part, the night had wound down and the place was pretty dead. You figured you’d check with Bri to see if it was okay if you went home early. You walked up to her, feeling sort of bad for interrupting her conversation with the guys.

“Hey, Bri,” you said, “I’m gonna cut out early if that’s okay.”

“Oh yeah, sure,” she replied, “I’ve got it.”

“You’re leaving?” Rob asked suddenly as you moved to get your belongings.

“Yeah, I worked all night and I’m ready to go home.”

“We were just talking about you,” Jason added. You took note how he seemed to only be slightly tipsy. In fact, all three of them seemed to be in pretty good shape given the fact that they had been here for hours. You recalled how you had only served them a few rounds all night and you were impressed that they had managed to not get wasted like they had been the first time you had to wait on them.

You cocked your head at him, interested now. “All good I hope.”

“They were asking for your name,” Briana said as she eyed you slyly.

“I’m sure they were. And what did you tell them?”

“I told them that you were my girl, Lola.” You and Briana smirked at each other.

“I’m still not buying it,” Rob said, eyes now focused on you.

“You don’t have to buy it,” Briana smiled, “you’ve just got to keep coming back until she’s ready to give it up.”

“Stop it,” you said as you shoved her playfully.

“You know, you should stay,” Bri said, “I mean, clock out, but stay and hang out.”

“Come on bartender,” Rob added, “I’ll buy you a drink.”

You looked at Rob hesitantly, intrigued at the idea of having a drink with the man and his friends. They seemed like nice enough guys, and god knows you didn’t come across too many of those in this line of work. Hell, you didn’t even know what a nice guy was like in your own relationship. You considered how bad it might look, having a drink with three strange me when you were in a relationship. Not that anyone here knew you for real. No one here except for bar staff even knew your name. You studied Rob, still taken aback by those blue eyes and still very much staring at that smile.

“Yeah, come on bartender,” Briana smirked as she retrieved your drink of choice, setting it at the bar next to where Rob was sitting.

You rolled your eyes at her as you walked away, only moving to the other side of the bar to clock out before walking around to take the seat next to Rob. You joined him, immediately taking a long drink of your beer. You were suddenly very aware of how strange it felt to be sitting on the other side and you smiled awkwardly at Briana who had put you in this position.

Very suddenly, you felt as if you had forgotten how to behave. Once you were out from behind that bar, your second persona always shut off since you were usually headed home. This was strange to be hanging out at work now as a customer. For once, you didn’t know what to say now that Rob was watching you; not as his bartender, but as another patron just enjoying a drink. The man didn’t say anything either and you assumed it was because he was in a similar position. You regretted your decision now; knowing that you could possibly be destroying this image that these guys had of you, which was not a good idea considering that your job depended on regulars who only came to chat with their favorite flirty bartender.

You noticed that Briana had caught the attention of Jason and Stephen, engaging them in a nice long conversation, purposely leaving you and Rob out of it. You shook your head when you realized what she was trying to do. If there was anyone else who sort of disliked your boyfriend more than you did, it was her. You knew damn well she was working toward getting you to hook up with this guy, because she was constantly doing this anyway.

Rob awkwardly began to pick at the bowl of nuts that sat in the front of the two of you, causing you to cringe. You grabbed it from him, moving it to the other side of you.

”Don’t eat those. That’s disgusting.”

“Why?” He asked, looking sort of surprised that you had just taken his snack away from him.

“Do you realize how many people stick their hands in there?”

“Then why do you even put them out?”

“It’s a bar,” you replied, “that’s just what we do. You’re not supposed to actually eat them.”

Rob laughed, turning his body slightly so that he could talk to you.

“You’re really not going to give me a name? Even though you’re practically just a regular customer now.”

“No,” you stated simply.

“Okay, bartender.”

“I gave you a name to use.”

“Yeah, and it’s a ridiculous name.”

“What about you?” you asked, changing the subject, “Your real name is Rob or is that your band persona?’

“I don’t use a fake name.”

“Shame, could be fun… the two of us trying to figure each other out.”

“What do you do?” He asked.

“What?”

“I’m trying to figure you out, what do you do?”

“I’m a bartender,” you reminded him.

“I know that. But, I mean, what else do you do? You have a day job or something?”

“I’m an accountant,” you teased.

Rob gave you a half-smile and you noticed the way lines formed at the corners of his eyes as he did so.

“No, you’re not,” he replied matter-of-factually. You may have been pretty good at your job, and even better at leading men into believing in your lies, but for some reason, this guy was not easily fooled.

“Do you have a day job?” you asked.

“I’m in a band.”

“I get that, but that can’t be all you do.”

“It is though. It’s my job,” he replied, “see, I’m answering your questions very honestly, but I don’t feel like you’re doing the same for me.”

“What do you want to know? Besides my name.”

“I’m thinking you’re pulling my leg about the whole accountant thing.”

You shrugged, letting him know that you weren’t caving so easily.

“So, you got a boyfriend?”

“Wow, you’re really bold tonight Rob.”

“It’s just small talk.”

You held your left hand up to him, “I’m not married, if that’s what you're asking.”

“That’s not what I was asking.”

“Okay,” you said, purposefully avoiding his question. You knew better than to damage the image that these men might have of you of being single. They came in expecting their bartender to be cute and available, even if they didn't have a chance. “And you… you are newly single,” you pointed out.

“How did you know?”

“The last time you guys played here, somebody said you had come in with your ex.”

“You remembered that but you didn’t bother to remember my name?”

“I remember things that are important to me.”

“So me being single is important to you?” He plastered a smile on his face at this. Your eyes darted to his lips involuntarily. It was then that you noticed the gray patch on his beard, just below his lip. It something that you probably wouldn’t have noticed about the man if you hadn’t been slightly interested in him. You never took it upon yourself to notice small details about your customers; they were here to buy drinks and you were here to keep them coming. It unnerved you when you realized that you were focusing on these details about Rob.

“It’s easier to sweet talk single men into buying more drinks.”

“Speaking of, you ready for another?”

You looked at your almost empty beer bottle, smiling at Rob who was already asking Bri for another round. You knew you should go home, but you found that you were having a good time talking to Rob, even if you were mostly teasing him at this point. When new drinks were delivered, he got right back into the conversation.

“So, you’re not going to tell me your real name or whether or not you have another profession, and I don’t get to know if you’re single?”

“You catch on quick.”

“I feel like you might be a librarian or something during the day, or a teacher. Something completely opposite of what you do here.”

“I’m strictly a bartender,” you said honestly.

“See, I don’t know if I can believe you.”

“You know, I enjoy the fact that you seem to be genuinely trying to get to know me; and I could tell you anything and you would never know if I was being honest or not.”

“This is fun for you?”

“You have no idea,” you chuckled.

“I could play the same game,” Rob said.

“You could, but you won’t,” you pointed out. Rob’s mouth turned up into a smile again, seemingly enjoying this little game you were playing with him. You took a drink of your beer, trying to turn your focus away from his eyes now. You very suddenly realized that you may be crossing a line here. It was one thing to flirt with the customers to keep them coming back; but now, you felt as if you were genuinely flirting with the man for your own interest. Not only was that breaking your own code at work, you were also breaking a relationship code. You knew it was time to stop this, especially since you were currently a customer and not behind the bar simply working for tips. You downed the rest of your beer, standing now when you realized it was time to leave.

“Thanks for the drinks,” you said, “but it’s time for me to go home for real.”

Rob stood suddenly, “I’ll walk you out.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” you mumbled as you collected your belongings. You pointed to Matt who was standing at the end of the bar nearest the door, “See that guy? I’d say he’s quite a bit bigger than you.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“My security,” you corrected him.

“Wow, you get your own security?”

“He walks me to my car every night. You’d be better off not even trying.”

“I can take a hint,” he replied.

“You have a good night,” you said to him before looking up at the other two men and Briana, “all of you. Don’t get too crazy.”

“Goodnight, Lola,” Briana called after you as you walked away.

“I’ll see you around bartender,” you heard Rob’s voice follow hers. You smiled to yourself, waving a hand at them without looking back, Matt right at your heels as you left.

Tag List: @lamthetwickster @riversong-sam