Pretending To Be His

Chatter ran loud and merrily in the small pub. It was way past 2 AM on a Saturday morning. Nicole has been on her feet for 12 hours straight. Not that she was complaining, she needed the money the hours promised. “How about another beer, sexy,” a man with golden curls slurred as he leaned over the counter so he could be heard. He placed the empty bottle down and wiggled his eyebrows on Nicole. Nicole reached for the bottle and threw it under the counter. Wiping the water from the counter, she plastered a smile and winked at the man, “How about you call it a night, Mike?” She placed her hands on the counter and leaned forward, “You owe me a drink and I want you sober when you fulfill that promise, now.” Mike hiccupped and gave a wide smile, “Yeah, I think you’re right! See you tonight, sexy!” he called as he started staggering out of the pub. “Paulo! I’m outta here!” He said to his friend as he passed him. People were pushing him, but he never seemed to notice. Seeing this, Nicole’s gaze roamed around the pub, when it found who she was looking for, she gave a tight nod and a smile. She knew that Mike would get home safe. Reaching for the string, Nicole pulled it and all of a sudden an alarm rang throughout the pub, “last call, guys! I need my beauty sleep!” After a quick execution of orders, Nicole moved to where the other bartender was. “How’s it going, rookie?” she asked, standing with her back to the masses and crossed her arms. “It’s been three months, how am I still a rookie?”  Nicole laughed, “until I decide otherwise, rookie.” She could not hold back her smile as she watched him push his shoulder-length dark hair back before securing it with the black elastic band he always seemed to have.  “Stop picking on Jason, Nic,” the bar's owner and manager walked towards them. “He is doing pretty well.” Nicole raised her hands up in mock surrender, “whatever you say, boss.” She watched as he glanced at his watch. “Go ahead, Jake. I will lock up.” She told him. Jake looked around the pub, people were already milling out. “Are you sure?” Nicole waved him out, “of course. If anything, the rookie will be here to make sure nothing happens to me. I had to send Bruno after Mike. He was too drunk to drive tonight.” Jason muttered under his breath. “You are lucky you are so cute, Nic.” “Aaaw, don’t tell me you have a crush on me!” Nicole teased. Jason blushed and moved away from her. Truth be told he did have a crush on her, but who wouldn’t? She was a fun, hardworking, sexy, down-to-earth bundle all fitted in a 5’1 feet frame with curves on top. Heck, half of the men in the pub only came in because of her and if he was honest, maybe half of the women too. But he knew he stood no chance with her. She was way out of his league, even if they were both working in the same bar. “You really should stop teasing the boy,” Jake shook his head as he watched Jason disappear into the back with a crate full of dirty glasses. Jake shook his head as he smiled at the face Nicole made, showing the dimple on his dark chocolate skin. Nicole made a face, “where’s the fun in that? Go! I know how anxious you are to get home to your pregnant wife.” Jake shook his head and walked around the counter. “See you in a few hours, kiddo!” Nicole waved to him and went back to her station.  In thirty minutes, Jason came back with clean glasses and started stocking them.  “Why don’t you head out, Jas?” Nicole offered. “I will finish up here and lock up.” Jason looked around. There were only a handful of people left, regulars for that matter. “Are you sure?” “Yeah,” Nicole threw her rug to him. “Get out of here, kid.” She looked up, “Hey, Bo. I am giving you ten minutes to finish your drinks and get the hell out of my bar! Drinks will be around tonight so you don’t need to finish me dry.” Bo turned to her and laughed, his deep voice booming, “you got it, pretty lady. Besides, I gotta go soon anyway. I got myself a fresh squeeze right here,” he said as he pulled the woman on his side even closer, giving her a smacking kiss square on the lips. “You do that,” Nicole nodded as she turned to Jason. “I got it, go.” Jason nodded and placed his apron on the side, before collecting the bike helmet that he kept under the counter. “See you later, Nic.” “See you later.” Nicole gave her counter one last swipe. Reaching for one of the glasses that Jason had just finished stocking, she poured herself a generous amount of vodka before downing it in one go. Cringing, she reached for a cut lemon and sucked on it. She was never big on spirits. Heck, she was not fond of any alcoholic beverages. Her relationship with such drinks was not a good one. Growing up she used to visit her mother at her office, and she got to see how alcohol had the power to change a person, turn them into monsters which left a bitter taste in her mouth. And here she was, surrounded by alcohol, dealing with drunken idiots every single day since she turned twenty-one years old. Such was life. As before, she wasn’t complaining, she could change her job anytime she wanted. For her it wasn’t about the money, rather trying to play her part in controlling the environment that people drank from. She set herself as a friend to all those who came into the bar, that way when she spoke to them, they listened. “We outta here, pretty lady,” Bo announced as he, his woman, and the remaining patrons walked out. “See you later!” Nicole smiled, “See you later, Bo. Use protection!” she called after him, only to have him flip her a finger which made her laugh.  Walking to the table that was recently vacated, Nicole quickly collected the empty bottles and dirty glasses, wiped the tabletop before quickly walking to the back of the counter where the kitchen was located. Quickly rinsing the glasses, she walked back. She was busy drying them when the front door swung open. Looking up, she saw a man, his dark hair tousled as if he had been running his hands one time too many over it. He had on dark pants and a white crisp shirt that hugged him with sleeves rolled to his elbows. His tie and two of the buttons on his shirt were undone. Nicole studied him from behind the counter. She placed the glass on the counter and laid her hands flat on the space just below the counter, where the stranger could not see. Her hand moved slowly forward until she grasped what she was looking for. “Sorry, handsome, we are closed for the night.” She announced from her station, the cold metal giving her a sense of security. The man turned back and looked at the door, “not what the sign says outside,” He pointed to the neon sign that still flashed ‘We Are Open’. Cursing, Nicole reached for a button and clicked it, immediately the sign changed to ‘Closed’. “There. Need help seeing yourself out?” The man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Look, I just need a drink. I will pay for it.” Nicole rolled her eyes, “of course, you will. Later, when we are open you can come back and drink as much as you want.” The man-made a move to reach for something when Nicole gripped the gun and pointed it at him. “Whoa there, buddy. I won’t be thinking about doing anything crazy if I were you,” she stated, her aim straight, her gaze unwavering. The man seeing the gun raised his arms in surrender. “Are you crazy?! Do you always point a gun at your customers?” “I have never seen the likes of you in the past five years I have been working here, so I really don’t count you as my customer. Besides, it’s way past our closing time.”Nicole replied, not lowering the gun she still held. “I was reaching for my wallet!” the man exclaimed. “I am going to turn around and show you, is that fine?” Nicole narrowed her eyes at him, “slowly. My boss was an army ranger and my dad is a cop, they taught me how to use this and I am not afraid to do so.” She warned him. It was true that Jake had been an army ranger, and true that he did teach her how to use it to defend herself, especially when the first attack happened and she nearly lost her life. The man nodded, and slowly did what he was asked to. Turning, he reached for his wallet and pulled it out, before turning back to look at her. “Here,” he opened it and took out a couple of hundred notes. “How does 500 bucks sound?” His eyes were trained to the gun. He had no doubt that she was serious. “500?!” Nicole exclaimed as she lowered the gun. “What’s the matter with you? Did you rob someone or something?” The man shrugged and moved forward, seeing that it was safe now that she lowered her gun. “What do you say? 500 for a drink.” Nicole replaced the gun back to its safe point and folded her arms in front of her. Now that he was close, she could see dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. He had a 5 o’clock stubble giving him a semi bad-boy kind of look. The clothes he was wearing looked expensive. He just looked expensive. “What are you doing in these parts of town? It’s clear as day you don’t belong here.” The man reached the counter and sat on one of the stools. “Just a drink, that’s all I need.” He laid the five notes in front of him and pushed them towards her. “Not sure if we stock your every day,” Nicole said as she reached out and took just one hundred before pushing the rest back to him. Reaching for a glass, she placed it before him before reaching for the most expensive bottle they stocked and placed it in front of him. “Knock yourself out.” She said as she quickly rang the bill. “This is for your trouble,” the man pushed the remaining money back to her. He reached for the bottle and took a swing straight from it, wincing as the cheap liquor burnt his throat. Nicole raised an eyebrow at him. He made her curious. Reaching for the money on the counter she played with it for a few seconds. She knew exactly what the amount of money would mean to Jason but she did not need it. Taking one note so that she could give it to Jason in the morning, she handed the other back. “This is enough. You will need the rest to book yourself into a hotel after you are done with that bottle, which I hope is soon.” She said as she glanced at her watch. “Join me,” he said as he reached for the glass she had placed in front of him and poured a generous amount. Nicole shook her head, “thanks, but no. Not a fan of such.” The man let out an unexpected laugh. “So why work in a bar?” “The bills won’t pay themselves,” Nicole replied shortly. The man took another swing from the bottle. “But why a bar?” “Why not a bar?.” Nicole gave him a pointed look, telling him with just eyes that she was not going to answer any more of his questions. The man raised the bottle to her and took another swing. He kept going until he was halfway done with the bottle. “The name is Marko.” Nicole looked up at him. She had decided she might as well start doing the accounts instead of wait until tomorrow afternoon. “Good to know, Marko.” She went back to doing what she was doing.  For the next ten minutes, the only sounds were her calculator and Marko’s attempt to get her talking. When he saw that he could not coax any more words from her, he decided to drink quietly. It was too quiet, was what Nicole thought with a frown before she looked up and found Marko slumped on the countertop, the bottle three-quarters empty next to him. With a groan, she walked to him. “Hey, buddy,” she shook him, trying to get him to wake up. “Time for you to get going now. I am locking up.” The only reply was a mumble of words from Marko before he went back to sleep. “Oh, heck!” Nicole ran her hand through her short dark hair, one hand on her hip as she studied the man in front of her. He was wasted, that was clear to see. Taking a deep breath, she walked to his side and took out his wallets. Quickly opening it, her eyes grew huge at the amount of money in there. She glanced at him once, wondering what kind of man he was walking around with more than three thousand dollars in cash. Shaking her head, she quickly went through the cards she found, all bank cards looked expensive, but nothing was going to help her. Placing the wallet back, she shook him again. “Marko?” when there was no reply, she patted him down, trying to look for a phone at least. Coming up empty she gave a frustrated sigh. How is she going to send him home when she had no idea where he stayed? Biting her lip, she walked to the door and opened it, trying to see if he might have someone waiting for him in the parking lot. When all she saw was her Beetle, she closed the door. With a groan, she leaned her head on the door and took in a deep breath. She could not leave him here. What would happen when Jake came in the morning? The only solution she had was to take him to her apartment. “f**k!” She swore before walking to the back of the bar. She made sure everything was safe and locked before she walked back to the counter. Collecting her tote bag, she walked to where Marko was. Giving him a gentle slap, Marko opened his unfocused eyes on her. “You will have to help me get you into my car. You are too big and heavy for me to carry.” Marko blinked a few seconds before placing his arm around Nicole and staggering to his feet. Just that movement nearly sent Nicole to the floor. With a grunt, she quickly balanced herself and placed her arm around his waist. “Ok, come, let’s go.” The walk to the door was tiring. She was hurling a 6 foot something man who was full muscles, as what her arm around him suggested.  When finally she got him out, she placed him on the side of the door, “please cooperate and hold yourself up for a few seconds so I can lock up!” Marko nodded slowly, and supported himself on the wall, as he watched her lock up. Once she was done, she quickly placed the keys back into her tote bag and fished out her car keys. “Come on, Incredible Hulk, let’s get you into the car.” Nicole was thankful that Marko was cooperating; the walk to the car was not as bad as she had thought. Getting to her white Beetle, she made Marko hold on to the car as she adjusted the seat for him. “Careful now,” she mumbled as Marko’s tall frame folded in half to get into the car. As she leaned in, one of Marko’s hands went to her hair, pushing it away from her face, “you smell good.”  Nicole turned to him, her brown eyes crashing with his green ones. She gave him a lopsided smile, shook her head, and got out. Closing the door, she walked to her side, got in before starting the drive to her apartment. For the first time in the three years that she had been staying at the apartment block, Nicole was thankful for the elevator. Personally, she hated the thing, always conjuring the worst possible scenarios in her head. What if the brakes failed and it plummeted all the way down? What if it gets stuck between floors? It was always something. Struggling with Marko, Nicole fished for her keys before she opened the door. “Oh, for heaven's sake! Can’t you at least help me help you?” Nicole heaved as she finally got him into her bedroom. Before she could get him to sit on the bed, he fell on it, pulling Nicole with him. Nicole landed square on him, her head banging on the muscled chest. With a grunt, she wiggled and tried to get his arms off of her. “What are you doing?” Marko asked grudgingly. “Trying to get off!” Nicole placed her hands on his chest and pushed herself up, heaving a sigh when Marko let her go. Going to work, she quickly removed his shoes and the tie, before pushing him on the bed.  It took her five minutes to tuck the huge man in, by the time she was done she was heaving. Putting her hands on her hips,  she glanced at the clock beside her bed: a few minutes to four in the morning. It meant she had less than three hours of sleep before she had to be up and at the dinner across town. With a groan, she headed to her bathroom. It did not matter what time she got back, she always had to take her shower before sleeping. Finishing up with her toiletries, she walked to the wardrobe, put on a t-shirt and boy shorts, before collecting a blanket and pillow. Taking her alarm clock she made her way to the sitting room. She would be sleeping on the sofa this morning.