“Elliot? He’s a...my…” I wasn’t sure how to categorize Elliot. We lived together, had sex like rabbits, and acted like boyfriend and girlfriend, but at that moment, calling him my boyfriend seemed wrong. “I’m sure you didn’t come here to talk about my personal life, so what did you have to say?”
The look on Stefan’s face was pure confusion at my inability to answer a simple question about the man who obviously lived with me, but he simply nodded and smiled. “Okay, fair enough. I want you to come back to the club. I made a mistake and I need you back behind the bar.”
I had nothing to lose, so I came out guns a’ blazin. “Not if Mika’s still getting preferential treatment.”
“She’s not.”
“Oh? And she didn’t scratch your eyes out when you told her?” I knew I was pushing my luck, but I didn’t care.
“No. She understands one more problem and she’s gone.”
“I won’t come back unless you promise that Lola never gets stuck at the back bar again, especially during a party.”
“I’m not going to discuss Lola’s—” he began, but I cut him off.
I stood and shook my head. “Then we have nothing to talk about.”
“Wait. Shay, wait. Why do you care about where I schedule Lola? I thought your problem was with Mika.”
“Stefan, my problem the other night was that you made my job next to impossible because you showed Mika preferential treatment and stuck Lola at the back bar, where she made next to nothing, I bet.”
With a look I assumed wasn’t intentionally meant to be drop dead sexy, he smiled up at me and said, “I’ve shown Lola preferential treatment on many occasions, Shay.”
I had a feeling he’d just confessed to sleeping with Lola, but I couldn’t be sure. Not that it mattered. Shunting Lola to the back bar not only hurt her but me too. “That has nothing to do with me, Stefan. All I know is that Lola is your best bartender and she belongs up front. You seem to want me to man the front bar, but if you want me back, I want Lola up there with me when we’re scheduled together. Yes, she’s a great teacher for newbies like Kerry, but at what cost? That party could have gone much better if there were two good bartenders at the front bar.”
He sighed and nodded. “Okay. Done.”
“And about that raise?”
“Fifty cents more an hour,” he said with a smile.
“Done.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Shay. I better leave before you convince me to give up my bar to you and Lola.”
Stefan stood to leave but stopped just before he made it to the door. “Oh, before I forget. Thursday we have a private party again. You’ll have to be in costume. Know anything about the 1970s?”
“The Seventies?”
“Yeah. The member wants the party to have a Seventies theme. You know, disco ball and all? So you’ll have to wear a costume.”
Immediately, old Dukes of Hazzard reruns jumped into my mind and I knew exactly what I’d dress up as. “Got it. I’ll be ready.”
“Good. Any chance you can be back at work tonight? I know it’s short notice, but I’d consider it a personal favor if you could.”
Stefan turned on that charm that was so him, flashing me a smile and giving me his trademark sexy look I’d seen time and again with other bartenders and members at the club. It seemed odd to have him acting like this toward me, but as I stood there in jeans and a t-shirt with no makeup on, I suddenly realized why women found him so appealing. He had a way of making a woman feel beautiful, even when she felt anything but. Raising my hand to cover the scratch on my cheek, I nodded. “Sure. I’ll be there by seven, as always.”
“Thanks, Shay. Oh, and I’m glad to see you’re healing nicely. See you later.”
He left me standing there unsure how I felt about Stefan March. An arrogant asshole since the first moment I met him, he now seemed different in some way, as if some of that arrogance had been wiped away leaving a nicer person in its place.
I liked this Stefan much more than the old version.
The bedroom door opened, and I turned to see Elliot staring at me with an icy look. His lips pursed, he said nothing, but his body language screamed his unhappiness.
“Well, now you’ve met Stefan March. See what I meant all those times I complained about him?”
“All I saw was you not able to even call me your boyfriend, even though I live here with you. What’s that about, Shay?”
I had to turn away to avoid the accusatory look in his eyes. I knew what he was saying. I didn’t know how to make things better, though.
“It’s nothing, El. Don’t make it into something it’s not.”
“What’s going on here, Shay? We’ve always been up front with each other from day one. I think I deserve to know the truth.”
I walked past him toward the kitchen, not wanting to have this conversation even though I’d known for a while that it was inevitable. Elliot and I had been good for a long time, but whatever this was between us had run its course. That I couldn’t even call him my boyfriend in front of someone I didn’t care about said more than Carrie ever could about the state of us.
He followed me, refusing to let this go. I couldn’t blame him. He deserved to know how I felt. The problem was I didn’t know how to say it.
“You’re into him, Shay. Just tell me.”
My eyes grew big as I stood there stunned at his statement. “Into him? No. No way.”
“I saw it all over your face. Maybe you don’t even know yet, but you want him.”
I’d pretty much abandoned my plan to play Stefan March, so whatever Elliot thought he saw on my face in front of Stefan was wrong. “No, you’re mistaken. He’s my boss, and that’s it.”
“Whatever. I know what I saw. He’s into you too. All I know is that whatever we were isn’t there anymore. I don’t know what happened, but things are different with you ever since you started working at that club.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I hadn’t meant for things to end with him like this. Elliot and I had never been something that would last forever, but I’d always thought we’d part ways better than this. It was just that I didn’t feel like I had before.
The hurt in his eyes bit at my heart. “Don’t do this, Elliot. We’ve had a good time, but we both knew this wasn’t anything permanent.”