Your Neighborhood Bartender (The Neighborhood Book 1) Read online

  “I’m kidding. Do you want to come in? I need to put some finishing touches on my make-up and then we can get going.” She moves aside so I can enter.

  As I walk past her, I catch a drift of her scent. She smells like vanilla, cupcakes and something that I cannot place. I walk inside and note the mixture of eclectic furniture that she has in the main and only room of her apartment. She has a decent size bed against the far wall and opposite of that is a couch, facing said bed- a television on a cart with wheels in the middle. I point to it in silent question as she’s bent slightly at the waist in front of a full-length mirror beside her bed.

  “Oh, that’s the TV,” she explains simply.

  “I know what a TV is, this isn’t the stone age. I mean, why is it on that flimsy looking cart thing?”

  She finishes adding her lipstick, pops her finger in her mouth, releases the finger and smacks her lips together with a pop and smiles. She walks over to the cart, turns it so the television is facing the couch and sits on the couch. When she’s satisfied – she then gets back up and turns the cart so it’s facing the bed and sits on the edge of the bed and observe in amusement.

  “It’s so that no matter where I am, if I want to watch something on the TV, then I can,” she smiles.

  It’s a creative way to save safe and not have to have two of the same thing in such a small area.

  “Cool. Nice way of, um using your space to the maximum.” I note.

  “I saw it on the Home Network and thought it was perfect. I refurbished the cart myself, it used to be from some audio-visual place that was housed in my old building when I lived in Hollybrooke. You ready?” She jumps up from her seated position and practically skips to me.

  “As ready as can be. I hope you’re hungry, because I’m starved.” I wink at her, not implying an innuendo, but it works.

  Dinner is simple and delicious, you can never go wrong with a small-town café. I took her to one of the only date-like places within Mercy, and I knew it wouldn’t disappoint. Valerie and I enjoyed the food, one another’s company and even some awkward silence. So far, I was killing it on this whole date thing!

  I smile at myself and mentally pat myself on the back for the good job that I’m doing as the front doors open to the café and two women walk in.

  They stop short as soon as they see me, whisper something to one another and then briskly walk past our table, while laughing lightly. They take a seat somewhere behind me and seem to have captured Valerie’s attention.

  “I know that Mercy is a small town, but is there a woman that lives here that you have not pissed off in some way?” she asks.

  “I’m not really sure I do anything to piss anyone off. I don’t make promises and I sure as hell don’t imply that whatever I do will be anything more.”

  “Then why are those two chicks looking like you being here is a breaking news story?”

  “Have you ever seen a lion in the wild?” I lean closer to her.

  “No,” she responds.

  “It’s like the very rare thing, seeing something that isn’t natural. Like seeing me, in public eating a meal with a beautiful woman that I’m clearly not related to, which in other words, can be described as a date. This is a first.”

  “Are you referring to yourself as a lion?”

  “Rawr.” I smile at her with a flash of my teeth.

  “You’re not the king of this jungle, you know.”

  “I’m not?” I mock surprise.

  She rolls her eyes and leans in closer to me. “So, how long has it been since you’ve been on a date?”

  “Long enough to not know.” I shrug tearing off and chewing on a piece of breadstick.

  “Alright, the standard thought of a bartender is that they lend their customers advice, many times someone will come into a bar to get advice on dating, if you don’t date – how do you offer advice?” she questions.

  “That’s easy, I don’t.” The people who come to the bar know me, they know I would be the last person to ask about that topic, unless all they wanted is a meaningless hook-up.”

  “A meaningless hook-up, and how does this start?” she asks quizzingly.

  “It’s mainly a pick up line, a few drinks, a ‘hey wanna get out of here’ and that’s it.” I shrug nonchalantly.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but what the hell are we doing here then? You’re a self proclaimed playboy, you don’t date and you seem to not really care. So, while I like you, I don’t want to be mislead to think that this will go any further if you don’t think it will.”

  “With you, I seem to do things differently. From the moment you ignored me to the night that I said no to sleeping with you to tonight. Nothing about you has made me go about the way I would approach a woman.”

  “Okay,” she sits back in her chair, picks up her fork, pierces a piece of her tortellini and plucks it into her mouth.

  “Okay? That’s it? You’re satisfied with that?” I ask in confusion.

  “What? You explained and it sounded good, so yeah. Okay.” She shrugs taking another bite.

  This dating thing isn’t as horrible, confusing and dreadful as I was thinking it was.

  I walk her to her front door at the end of the night and gently kissed her lips. I don’t press her for more, as much as my body wants it. I don’t try to invite myself into her place and I didn’t grope her. I have done the exact opposite of what I would normally do and went home with my cock hard as stone and my balls bluer than the color itself.

  Chapter Seven

  I invited Valerie to come over to my house two days later. After our date, we had exchanged some playful banter and she’s hung out at the bar as she has since we met. I figured that I would try to cook her dinner and we would watch a movie or something like that.

  I had Googled what people did for dates in small towns and considering that it was getting chilly, I think that lighting up a fire and my plan would be an excellent idea.

  She arrived on time, which was impressive and even brought a six-pack of beer.

  My kind of gal!

  She looked around the house with inquisitive eyes silently as I gave her a quick tour before ending in the kitchen. I was proud of my kitchen, it was definitely a kitchen that someone would be proud of. This home is my family home, it’s a small two-story craftsman style home. With a front porch that my mother used to sit on the floor and play with me on. The exterior of the house was mustard brown, that I haven’t had a chance to paint since I took over ownership with a darker brown roof. The stone fireplace was on the driveway side of the house, which lead to a matching garage in the back of the house, which was annoying during the snowy winters. The kitchen was the only thing that I’ve had the time to have redone, so it’s a feature that I’m particularly proud to show off. Even though, I’m usually just showing it off to my friends and not women. I’ve never brought a woman to my home, so Valerie being here right now is straight up a new experience.

  After dinner, I add another log onto the fire and hand her the X-Box controller as she looks at me in confusion.

  “We’re playing video games?” she asks looking between the controller and my face for clarification.

  “I mean we can, but I read that I shouldn’t dictate what we watch, so you have control over Netflix.” I smile.

  “How about we both decide on what to watch?” she hands the remote back to me; our fingers brush and electricity shoots down from the skin to skin contact of our fingers to up my arm.

  We settle on a comedy and with my arm lightly around her shoulders she snuggles into me. Halfway through the movie, she puts a hand on my thigh and lightly pushes to a sitting position.

  “Can I try something?” she asks looking up to me. I nod, unsure what to expect.

  She leans in and her lips gently graze mine sending a jolt through my body that I tell myself to control. Her tongue licks the seam of my lips and parts my lips her tongue teasing and tasting. A moment later, our heads tilt in opposite directions t
o deepen the kiss as she moves to seat herself on my lap. My cock is at attention just underneath her, that I’m pretty sure she can feel as she lightly rocks her hips against me, driving me to groan into the kiss. My hands wrap around her middle pulling her body flush against mine as we deepen the kiss. With each kiss more demanding than the last, we build up into a frenzy that leads to both of our shirts on the floor, her hands fumbling with the buttons on my jeans and my hands squeezing her ass cheeks.

  My right hand palms her breast and I push it up, lean down to place open mouthed kisses along the curvature of her breast, pulling down the cup of her bra and suckling her nipple. My tounge swirls around her harden peak and with my teeth I gently tug on her as she throws her head back while clutching onto my head.

  A moment later we pull away from one another, our eyes meet, both hooded with desire and in an unspoken moment, I lift her off the couch and replace my mouth on hers as I blindly find my way upstairs into my bedroom. I lay her down on my bed and admire the view. Her cheeks are flushed and I can see her hardened nipples through her laced bra. I continue to unbutton my jeans and slide them down my legs. I grasp her leggings by the waistband and tug down slowly. With ease spans of skin that is revealed, I lay a kiss in the wake.

  Her panties are simple and one solid color, which is now my favorite color; teal. I’m on my knees and moving back up her body, I graze the space between her thighs and feel her body shudder from the contact. Watching the goose bumps rise on her skin, I lightly chuckle.

  “I want you, but I’m not sure that I should have you.” I admit quietly.

  “Take me.” She replies in a sultry tone.

  With that, I lean over her body and dig into the dresser beside my bed for a condom. Once my fingers meet with the foil packet, I chuck off my boxers and pull her panties down. I sheathe myself quickly and that I am face to face with her pussy. I lean in and with tenderness, I run my fingers along her silky center. I replace my fingers with my tongue to an instantaneous bowing of Valerie’s back off the bed. I tongue fuck her with vigor as my hand strokes my rigid cock in anticipation of replacing my tongue momentarily.

  “Noah!” she exclaims, her fingers digging into my hair as I work the bundle of nerves and my other hand is finger fucking her in tandem with the movements of my hand on my cock. “Noah! I’m coming!” her back bows again and I feel the clenching of her walls tightening around my fingers.

  She’s reeling in her orgasm when I move quickly and enter her in one swift movement. The clenching of her pussy from her orgasm squeezing my cock with a perfectness that I’ve never felt before. My cock fits perfectly in her as I pump my hips with her hands clutching my sides. We moan together as I piston into her over and over again.

  “Shit. You feel so good, your pussy is so fucking tight on my cock.” I grunt as I lean down taking her lips with mine roughly for a quick moment. With my cock driving in and out of her, all resistance disappears to hold off on my orgasm. Her pussy begins to tighten again around my cock just as my release hits me. With wild abandon, I lose all control while I release into the condom, with her nails digging into my skin, a soft moan escaping her lips and goose bumps erupting across her beautiful ivory skin. My mouth slants over hers as I kiss her passionately. The room spins as her body possesses me as my hips continue to rock back and forth.

  “If you keep this up, I will come again.” She says into my mouth.

  “If that is a challenge, I’m all up for it.” I declare with a grin.

  She doesn’t back down, as I hook my arms in the crook of her knees and surge my hips forward again to build up the momentum to get my girl to come undone again. It doesn’t take much and when I can feel her pussy clench, I change my tempo and slowly drag my cock in and out of her with my thumb caressing her clit as whimpers erupt from her throat, her eyes pinch shut and her back bows from the bed.

  “I’m… I’m…. I’m…” she says.

  “Come baby. Come all over me.

  With languid movements, my hips thrusts into her, as we both catch our breaths from our orgasms. My heart is thundering out of my chest as I drink her in and bend to capture her pebbled nipple in my mouth.

  While I should be embarrassed for the quickness of coming, I’m basking in the perfectness of what we just did.

  I peel myself off of her and as I pull my cock out of her, she whimpers from the absence and I lightly chuckle, pat the inside of her thigh, kiss her neck and move to dispose of the condom. I return with a glass of water and a glass of orange juice.

  “What’s that for?” she asks.

  “That’s for round three, I need to make sure I have the energy and nutrients.” I wink at her taking a sip and then handing it out to her.

  She takes the glass, and tentatively takes a sip as I slide into the bed beside her. I pull her closer to me and kiss her temple when she hands me the glass back. I take one more sip before placing it on the dresser beside the bed and nuzzle my nose into the crook of her neck.

  “That was unexpected.” I say into her hair.

  “A good unexpected?” she asks with a hopeful tone.

  “Very. Although, now that the beast has been unleashed, there’s no promise that I will be able to control myself now.”

  “You mean you’re going to have seconds?” she asks surprised.

  “And fourths, and fifths and so on.” I nuzzle in deeper to find the skin of her neck and place a gentle kiss there. “Remember, I got the orange juice for energy and stamina.”

  Chapter Eight

  I whistle as I walk up the porch of the house that I grew up in, I open the glass screen and unlock the front door to weird damp smell the floor of the house flooded with water. I take a step into the house and swear as my boot sinks into the plush carpet that has likely been in the house since before I was born. Another step, and I swear again. The further that I walk into the house, the more I swear and the louder it gets.

  Where is the water coming from?

  I look around all areas of the house and listen carefully to the creaks and groans for the source of the flood. I hear a constant drip from what I’m assuming is the ceiling underneath the upstairs hall bathroom.

  “Shit! Shit! Shit!” I run up the stairs and see nothing out of the ordinary as my head whips around the small space. That means that whatever caused this leak, is within the pipes in the walls.

  I pull out my phone and dial up the only plumber in town and he tells me to get some fans and try to do what I can to air out the house while he finishes up the current job that he’s on.

  I call Miles and ask him to bring by any of the fans that he can scrounge up around the bar. I know there is at least four fans there and I will likely need them all. Miles doesn’t appear to question my request and hangs up on me without another word, but moments later I receive a call from Micah.

  “Why is Miles looking like he’s been scared shitless and is running around mumbling your name, what the hell is going on?” He asks, his tone accusatory.

  “My house is flooded. I’ve got Ryan coming to do God knows what whenever he’s done with whatever he does, but in the meantime, I need to, I guess try to dry the house out. Miles is going to be bringing whatever fans are hanging around the bar. You may need to hang out and sling some drinks while he’s gone if the new chick isn’t there.”

  “Shit. All I know about making drinks is you tilt the glass when you pour beer in there so you don’t foam up.” Micah says dryly.

  “Well, if someone asks for something that’s more than a beer, just google that shit.” I shrug even though he can’t see me.

  “Miles just left, he’ll be there soon.” Micah reports with a laugh.

  I’m up all night with Ryan. After taking what seemed like a million photos of all of the damage, we began to cut out drywall on the ceiling just under the upstairs bathroom. As the drywall falls to the ground, so does an abundance of water. I’m more than annoyed and feeling like a complete idiot, that I didn’t immediately turn off the water once
I got home and found this disaster, but my mind has been going a mile a minute. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was supposed to do, all the furniture downstairs was damaged. I knew it was too early in the morning to call the insurance company and start the claim process and it was too fucking loud downstairs with the giant heavy-duty fans that Ryan brought to dry out the house, that I don’t think I would be able to sleep. Then there was a nagging feeling that I was forgetting something.

  I’m walking into The Neighborhood three days later.

  Three long days.

  Three long days where I spent getting rid of my furniture, driving to the nearest Home Depot four towns away for new carpeting and getting my home ready for Ryan and his expert crew that will be costing me an arm and a leg to take over my house as they suction all the asbestos out of the air or whatever it is that he called it.

  So, in short, I’m in a shit mood and likely in the hole financially due to this one event. Luckily, my home insurance is paying a portion, but their estimates are coming back with the bottom of the line replacement costs and of course they don’t cover the furniture that cost me a fortune originally.

  I called off from the bar to get my affairs in order and ignored the world aside from details with my house.

  All the employees have steered clear of me, and that’s probably for the best until Miles walks in the front door.

  “Oh, look whose finally here!” he shouts sarcastically.

  “I wouldn’t, if I was you kid.” I warn him as he rounds the bar and walks behind.

  “How’s the house?” he asks.

  “Complete shit.” I grumble.

  “You had that chick in here the past few days looking for you. I didn’t tell her anything, I figured that she was one of those randos – so yeah – just a warning man, you may have a stalker. This one was determined.”

  And just then, I remembered what I forgot the other night.