Prodigal Son(6)

“Another beer?” Krystal asked when she returned.

“Absolutely. I’m not driving, and after the last week, I’m ready to drown my sorrows.”

Krystal looked perplexed. “You don’t seem down in the dumps.”

“I’m not gonna burden you with my sob story, but it’s been a rough week.”

“Well, drink up, mister. I’ll keep ‘em coming until you tell me to stop.”

It might have been the two beers, but a vision flashed in my head of Krystal naked in the enormous bathtub in my suite. I imagined water just barely covering her breasts until she stood up to lead me into the bedroom, water running off her body as she turned to reveal her perfect ass that was just begging me to grab it with both hands.

Jesus, I had half a hard-on, and I hoped it wasn’t visible to anyone else at the bar. I had to find a way to distract myself from thoughts of Krystal naked. I decided to check out the other folks at the bar. I made the mistake of making eye contact with an older woman a couple of seats down from me. She had the look of a cougar on the prowl, and I wasn’t about to become her prey. I looked away quickly and started watching the group of six at the far end of the bar.

They looked determined to get drunk, and the laughter and suggestive talk was loud enough that I could hear them from time to time. I wasn’t sure how the math was going to work out — with four guys and two girls — but I knew that at least some of the guys were getting lucky. One of the guys kinda hung on the edges of the group, and I realized that he was trying to get Krystal’s attention. She finally finished up an order of frou-frou drinks for a couple of ladies, and she smiled as she appeared to ask for the guy’s order.

He had a full beer in his hand, and he leaned across the bar to get closer to Krystal. She looked like she didn’t entirely trust the guy, and I thought she was smart to suspect his motives. I watched as she stood up straight, turned on her heel and walked away.

“In your dreams,” she called out, clearly irritated.

Shit. As gorgeous as she was, Krystal probably got hit on all night, every night, and she probably just thought I was another horny jerk who wanted to get in her pants. I mean, I did want to get in her pants, but I wasn’t gonna be an asshole about it.

Krystal was shaking her head and laughing when she came back over.

“Friend of yours?” I asked when she put another beer in front of me.

“Hardly. I shouldn’t let guys like that get under my skin, but he was really rude.”

“I won’t ask you what he said, but I’m hoping it doesn’t affect my chances of getting you to go to the ballgame with me.”

“I have a mighty busy week ahead of me,” Krystal said, and I couldn’t tell if she was kidding or telling the truth. “I’ll have to let you know after I check my calendar.”

“Well, I’m not heading anywhere anytime soon,” I said. “I’m enjoying both the view and the company.”

I hoped she wouldn’t take my comment the wrong way, and as I watched her working, I realized that she hardly stood still for a second. I was betting that she was exhausted when she finished a shift and that she had a fat stack of cash from tips. I wondered how late she’d be working and if there was any chance I could talk her into having a drink with me later that evening.

I figured I had nothing to lose.

“So how late you working?” I asked the next time she ended up at my end of the bar.

“We close at two, but my manager’s going to close up for me. I worked a double yesterday, and I’ll be over forty hours if I work until close tonight. I’ll probably finish up around midnight.”

“I don’t want you to think that I’m like that asshole at the end of the bar, but is there any chance you’d have a drink with me when you get off?”

The thought of Krystal getting off — and I was thinking sexually — made me hard again.

“You know, I don’t usually do that, but I’m gonna make an exception for you.”

I tried to keep a straight face, but a grin kept trying to find its way to my face. “Great. You want to stay here or go somewhere else?”

Krystal laughed, “Oh, we’ve got to go somewhere else. If any of the customers here saw me with someone else from the bar, they’d never leave me alone. I don’t want to sound conceited, but I have enough troubles as it is.”

“I’m sure you do,” I said. “You pick the place. My treat.”

“Deal,” Krystal said as she headed back into the trenches, smiling, laughing, filling glasses, serving food, and absolutely captivating me with her easy charm.