“Hi,” I murmur, not knowing how to greet him since our last encounter wasn’t very pleasant. I look at him, trying to gauge his reaction to me; it’s empty. “What can I get you?” I ask when he doesn’t attempt in any communication. He narrows his eyes at me like he’s looking at something that leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.
And damn… he has a great mouth. What the fuck, Acacia?! I scowl myself.
“Are you deaf?” He is frowning again.
The damn guy is always frowning, I see.
Taking a deep breath, I ask through my gritted teeth, “Pardon?”
“I want a beer, but it seems like your distraction isn’t something temporary,” he snaps.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I mumble under my breath.
“Do you always put your blame on others?” His voice is deadly calm, but his eyes give me shivers.
Damn, this guy hates me. What the fuck have I done for him to look at me like that?
He looks towards the fridges and nods his head slightly, sighing like he can’t stand me, “Just give me a beer.”
Deep breaths, Acacia. Take a deep breath, girl. He is a customer… they’re always right.
I slide the beer across the bar to him with a timid smile.
“How much?” he gruffs.
“Five bucks, please.” He nods again and drops a note on the bar in front of me. I swipe it from the bar and place it in the till. I’m relieved when I turn my back to him, away from his rude and grumpy face, but I’m not that lucky - he yells at me from behind, “Start me a tab!”
I look at him with the seething anger inside me. This guy is pushing all of my buttons I have, normally I’m an easy-going person and don’t get mad freely, but something about him puts me on edge in seconds.
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Please?” I say with a little sass.
Staring at me with that vacant expression he wears, he only frowns, again. “Don’t be a child and start me a tab,” he snaps.
“Look, Mister, manners don’t cost a thing…asking you to say please is not childish. You can either learn to be polite to me or that beer will be the only thing you will get from this bar!”
He looks at me with fire in his brown eyes, clenching his fist on the counter, but I got him there. This bar is the only one in this small town, and if he wants to drink here, he has to learn how to behave. Or he can simply fuck off and get drunk in his house or whatever ditch he crawled out of.
Narrowing his eyes, he lets the poison drip from his tongue, “Well, at least you know some manners. Congratulate your mother for me, but not your dad since he couldn’t teach you how to drive.”
I gasp with shock. He hits so close to home, and I curse myself because of the tears that pools my eyes. He sees the change in me, I assume because his face turns into being free of any emotions instead of the angry look.
“What? No answer?” he asks with a smirk. It’s almost like he tries to lighten the mood after making me hate him… almost.
“I’ll start the tab, but I would be happy if I never see you here again,” I say as cold as I can muster and turns my back to him.
Deep breaths…
After a few minutes of peaceful silence, I hear his voice, “Hey.” Putting my professional smile on as I turn to face him.
“Another beer,” he says and sighing heavily he adds, “Please.”
The smile I had on my face a few moments ago drops from my face, but I fight with the urge and serve him another beer without a word. Frowning hard, he picks up his beer and turns his back to the bar. He takes a long pull from his bottle as I watch him from his side profile; he really is good looking with his dark, brooding looks. I wonder what his smile would be like, would it be a smirk-like grin or would it light up his whole face with one of those smiles that completely captivates the person on the receiving end of it.
I guess I’ll never know!
He’s the first guy to capture my attention for months in this town yet we can’t even make proper chat. I don’t even know his name yet, not that it would matter since he’s the most annoying person on earth, and grumpiest.
Sighing, I turn back to doing my job and leave him to his beer.