The Oenophile's Rosé

Personal Questions

"I was asking for an ashtray. I didn't know you were planning to surprise me."

I woke up from my sleep, my heart racing, and my face flushed. I was sitting on the bed, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. I had just wanted to take a short nap before heading to work, but once again, I had dreamt about him.

It had been four days since that embarrassing incident. When I realized my mistake and that he had been asking for an ashtray, not a "titty f**k," I had felt so ashamed that I practically sprinted out of the VIP area in embarrassment. I had kept myself busy serving other customers, but when another bar girl went to serve him, he was already gone.

Every night, his intense gaze, his deep voice, and the memory of his hot breath close to my lips haunted my dreams.

"Forget about it, it was just an accident!" I scolded myself, slapping my cheeks a couple of times. "I have a boyfriend!" I reminded myself, determined to quash any thoughts of another man. Pushing those unnecessary thoughts aside, I checked the messages I had sent to Chad.

The last time we talked was four days ago. He hadn't checked my messages yet, but I didn't want to disturb him while he was with his family, so I patiently waited for his return. He must be busy, right? Letting out a deep sigh, I got up, washed my face, and prepared for work.

As I left my room and walked through the apartment, my gaze once again landed on the locked door. Should I call a locksmith and find out what was behind it? But what if it was a restricted area? I bit my lip and tried the doorknob once more, but it remained locked. With a deep breath, I turned away and left the apartment, deciding to ask Chad about it later.

I reached the bar after a twenty-minute walk. One benefit of the new apartment was its proximity to work. After changing into my work attire, I began serving drinks as usual. The silver lining was that Curly hadn't shown up since the day the man in black had doused him with wine.

I worked in a good mood for hours, attending to customers, until I took a moment to grab a glass of water at the bar counter. That's when Vosco, the manager, approached me.

"Amayra, there's a new waitress in our bar. Would you mind taking some time to explain a few necessary things when you have the chance?"

I nodded and replied, "Of course, I'll help her out."

"Are you sure? Didn't you mention your new semester is about to start?" Vosco asked, leaning against the counter.

"Yes, it's beginning the day after tomorrow, so I still have time. I'll make some time tomorrow evening to assist the new girl," I explained calmly.

"Alright, then I'll..." Vosco's words trailed off, and he looked towards the entrance. I followed his line of sight to find that the man in black had just entered the bar, capturing the attention of every woman there. He wore his signature black suit, hands in his pockets, and his expression remained impassive.

"Rosé," he ordered. His deep voice pulled me from my reverie. I was so engrossed in admiring him that I hadn't even noticed his approach.

"I'll get it for you, sir," I replied, quickly averting my gaze to hide my flushed face. Whenever our eyes met, I couldn't help but recall that embarrassing incident from a few days ago. Luckily, he hadn't mentioned it again, but it was still difficult to forget, especially when I had to serve him drinks every time he visited the bar.

With the tray in my hands, I carefully ascended the stairs. The man was seated on the sofa in a private room, as was his usual routine. He visited the bar daily between eleven and twelve PM, consistently ordering the same wine, 'Rosé,' and...

I paused when a distraught Mia emerged from the private room with tears in her eyes. Mia was the most voluptuous bar girl, known for her ample bosom and curvy hips. Even older men couldn't resist her charms.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

"He called me a scarecrow because of my makeup and called my assets fake!" she complained bitterly as she stormed past me.

"Scarecrow and fake assets?" I was stunned by her words. Mia did indeed wear a lot of makeup, and her large boobs were the subject of gossip among the waitresses. There were rumors that she had undergone surgery to achieve her prominent figure. How could that man tell with just one glance that her assets were fake?

I entered the private room with the wine in hand, surprised. The man sat on the sofa as usual, and the pole in the room remained unused. Since he had rejected the service of all the other bar girls due to him detecting something that they lacked, there were no private dances. But...

I poured him a glass of wine and stole a quick glance at him from the corner of my eye. He was smoking and engrossed in his phone. I had no idea why he had chosen me to serve him. He would always approach me, order his wine, then proceed to the upstairs private area.

"Why do you work here?" he asked, suddenly putting his phone away.

I raised my head to look up at him. It was the first time he had asked me a personal question. "This part-time job pays well, and the night shift only lasts until 12 AM. It helps me maintain my college schedule and studies," I explained truthfully.

"Do you sleep with customers?" he asked so bluntly that I was taken aback. My ears turned red.

"I don't!" I exclaimed, standing straight.

"No need to be so fired up. It was a normal question," he gave me a blank stare. I bit my lips and shut my mouth. I overreacted for a moment, but then again the question was quite normal. Some waitresses at the bar did engage in such activities with customers. It was considered normal.

"I’m sorry," I lowered my head in shame. I had once again misjudged him. That night, the way I had knelt between his legs may have given the wrong impression about me. My cheeks flushed at the memory.

He picked up the bottle and started drinking from it, as he always did, ignoring the glass. It gave him the appearance of a handsome beast feasting.

"Sir, there's a glass..." I reminded him. He consistently ignored the glass and drank directly from the bottle, which was quite intimidating.

"Do you mind if I drink from the bottle?" he asked, his expression dark.

I immediately shook my head. "I don't mind," I quickly smiled to lighten the mood. He indeed had a very bold and blunt mouth, and a dangerous personality, but he was better than any other customer in the bar.

I decided not to piss him off, so I took my leave, but then he stated, "The glass is for you."

"Excuse me?" I blinked at him.

"Drink it. It's on me," he gestured towards the glass I had filled for him. I stared at him in surprise. I had gotten a lot of drinking offers while working here and this one was the strangest offer I had ever received.

"We're not allowed to drink at work, sir," I explained.

"It's already past twelve," he pointed to the clock on the wall. I blinked at him, realizing he was correct. My shift was officially over at this point, and no one could object to me having a drink.

"But still..." I bit my lip. How could I accept a drink from a stranger?

"Or could it be that you've never drank?" he raised an eyebrow. My cheeks instantly flushed when he called me out. For some reason, I felt as if he was looking at me like a sheltered child that had yet to experience the world.

"Who said that? I drink with my friends regularly," I lied and picked up the glass of wine. I had only tried drinking twice, but it didn't go well because of my low alcohol tolerance. So I usually avoided alcohol. But right now, if I didn't drink, he would likely look down on me.

He lazily glanced at me as I brought the glass close to my lips. I took a very small sip, it was a struggle to swallow. The wine he ordered was quite expensive and strong, especially when he didn't add ice. I coughed slightly after the sip. Yet when I glanced back at him, he was still watching me intently, as if he expected me to down the whole glass.

My pride was on the line, so I took a deep breath and downed the entire glass in one go.

"Are you a virgin?" he asked, causing me to spit the wine out violently. I was so caught off guard by his question that I couldn't hold back my surprise. Coughing hard, I raised my eyes to look at him, and they widened in horror. I had dirtied his coat! The wine I had spit out had splashed on the expensive coat he was wearing.

"I... I'm sorry," I dropped the glass in horror and rushed over to him. "Oh my god, what should I do?" Panicking, I grabbed some tissues from the table and started wiping his coat. He sat in place still watching my shaking hands and shivering lips. Just touching the fabric of his clothes was enough to make me realize how expensive they were. It could cover six months of my salary, maybe. "It's not coming off..." I muttered in panic under my breath.

"Let it be," he stated calmly.

"No, I made a mistake, so I should take responsibility," I looked into his eyes. "There's a bathroom in this private room," I grabbed his hand to lead him there, forgetting for a moment that I couldn't drag a customer as if he were my private property. He looked at my hand holding his and then back to me but not once did he jerked my hand off.

Entering the bathroom, I quickly soaked my handkerchief, while he observed me with a slight amusement. The bathroom was not that big, and his large body took up a lot of space in the narrow room. Our bodies were mere inches away from touching.

I looked up at him and found his green eyes gazing at me. "Please, let me wipe it for you," I said softly, raising my hand to remove the wine stain from his coat. I cursed myself mentally for my foolish actions. The wine had dried, and wiping it with water wasn't working. I wanted to cry at this moment. I looked up at him again. His hands were in his pockets, and he continued to stare at me without saying a word. Was he calculating how much he would make me pay for this?!

My hand paused, and I decided to tell him that I had completely ruined his coat. But before I could say anything, a female voice echoed in the private room. "That man is gone? Why didn't I see him leaving?"

"s**t, it's Jenny!" I gasped, and my face turned slightly pale. This woman was really a bad call.

"Amayra, are you here?" she called. I clenched my fists and quickly turned off the bathroom's light. This should make her not come towards the bathroom.

"What are you..." the man began to speak, but I immediately put my hand over his mouth, our bodies touching.

"Don't make a noise," I whispered, standing on my tiptoes. "She is good at presenting the situation in a wrong way. If she saw us in the bathroom together, she would gossip about it to everyone in the bar," I explained in a hushed tone. I didn't want any unnecessary rumors about me.

Jenny still called my name outside the bathroom. I closed my eyes tightly hoping that she would give up and leave. But then, when I raised my eyes to look at the man, I could see his green eyes clearly even though it was dark. Our breathing and my racing heartbeat were the only sounds in the bathroom. As my chest rose and fell and brushed against his hard chest, I realized how close we were. I held my breath, unsure of what to do. The bathroom was already small for the two of us, and Jenny was still outside.

Just as I tried to move slightly, I felt his lower body touching my belly. I froze on the spot. He was… he was really big down there! Thanks to the darkness, he couldn't see my hot red face. I couldn't help but take a step back, and my back touched the wall.

Suddenly, I felt his hand on my side, pinning me between the wall and himself as he slid my hand down from his mouth slowly and whispered close to my lips, "Don’t touch me so casually. You make me hard.”