The Bartender

It Was Too Good To Be True

Camila stood at the soda fountain filling 6 glasses full of Mountain Dew for a table of teenage boys that had just sat down. She nearly jumped when Dolly squealed behind her.

"Jesus Christ, Dolly!" Camila gasped. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry," the blonde giggled. "I'm just feeling really happy today."

"Oh yeah? Why is that?"

"Let's just say that you're no longer the only waitress at the restaurant who's slept with the sexy bartender." Dolly leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling dreamily as if she was replaying moments of her encounter with Shawn in her mind.

"W-what?"

"Right? I really didn't think he'd break his rule for me but apparently I convinced him. He sent me a text last night saying he 'needed me'. His words, not mine." Camila tried not to be jealous as she listened to Dolly recount exactly how Shawn had gotten her into his bed but she couldn't help it.

"Was it good?" she asked bitterly, filling yet another cup with Mountain Dew. She didn't know why she asked. She knew the answer and she sure as hell didn't want to hear Dolly say it.

"Oh my god," she damn-near moaned. "He can't be real. I'm convinced he's not real. It was too good to be true. Of course, you already know that." The blonde winked at Camila.

She felt dejected. Maybe he did mean it when he told her she was nothing but a quick fuck. She looked over at the bar and sighed. He looked upset. She wanted nothing more than to walk up and wrap her arms around him in a hug and tell him that no matter what it was that was bothering him everything would be okay because despite how hurt she was that he slept with Dolly of all people, she still cared about him. Even though he told her not to, she cared about him.

A few hours later, Camila begrudgingly walked up to the bar to get a drink one of her tables had ordered.

"I need a mango margarita," she quietly stated. Shawn smiled softly and nodded.

"How has your day been?"

"Why do you care?" she replied coldly, echoing his words from before. He looked up at her and sighed.

"Look, Camila, I'm really sorry about—"

"Don't apologize," she shrugged. "I get it. You needed a random girl to fuck and I was a willing participant. That's it. You don't need to explain yourself. I'll back off." He opened his mouth to speak again but she didn't give him the chance. "Can you just get me the margarita?" He sighed and nodded, deciding to just make the drink for her instead of trying to explain himself. He slid the glass over to her. She was just about to walk away with it when she paused and turned back to him. "By the way, I'm pretty sure Dolly has been telling every single female she comes across about everything you guys did last night. In case you were looking for more random girls to fuck...I'm sure you'll have several lined up for you."

Talk about a punch to the gut. Shawn felt frozen in place as he watched her walk away. What was he thinking? Of course Dolly was talking about it. She never cared to keep her sexual encounters a secret in the past so why would that change with him? As if he didn't already feel like a total ass and a total idiot. He saw the platinum blonde hair in his peripheral vision and immediately snapped his head over to her.

"Dolly!" he called out. She looked over at him and bit her lip in a flirty way. Shawn wasn't having any of it. "Did you tell Camila about last night?"

"Well, yeah," she shrugged.

"What the fuck? In what world did you think that would be okay?"

"Who pissed in your cereal this morning? Why are you suddenly acting like you haven't always bragged about all of the girls you fuck? You have a reputation, Shawn. I'm not telling anybody anything they don't already know — whether it be from word of mouth or personal experience."

"Why did you tell her?" He emphasized the word her.

"You're going to have to be more specific."

"Camila. Why did you tell Camila?" His words were quiet yet harsh. Dolly snorted and shook her head.

"You're so fucking stubborn. Why is it so difficult for you to just admit that you like her?"

"I don't like her."

"Then why are you so mad that she knows we slept together?" she questioned. "Give me one reason because you've never been upset about girls gushing about their experiences with you before." Shawn swallowed hard and looked away from her, causing Dolly to sigh. "Either shit or get off the pot, Shawn. If you want her then just tell her that. The only person doing any damage here is you."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes it is," she replied in annoyance. "It literally is that simple." Dolly turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Shawn to sulk alone behind the bar.

-

Camila sat at a red light on her drive home. Rain was pouring down and she didn't even bother to turn on her car radio. She was too annoyed. And jealous. And just pissed off in general. Pissed off that she let herself care about someone who clearly didn't care the same way about her. She was taken out of her frenzy of thoughts when a large SUV slammed into her small car from behind, pushing the front of her car into the vehicle that was stopped in front of her.

She was ok. She was in shock, but she was ok. Her car, however, was totaled. Great, she thought to herself. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse.

She ended up walking to work the next day. It wasn't ideal but the weather was tolerable and the walk was somewhat short. She did decide to pull a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt on over her normal work attire, though. She got to work and slipped off the extra clothing, folding them up and sitting them with the rest of her stuff in the back before taking on another day of work.