Teach me to trust

5. With him

My retreat from the table is fast, with a quick smile and a touch on the arm towards Lily, I stand back in my safe place, behind the bar.

It's gotten a lot quieter since my shift started. It's about 12am now, a lot of people have found their partners for the night, settling into booths to feel each other up with a little more privacy. So, I take a seat at one of the stools at the far end of the bar, away from the door, pull my phone out and have a quick drink. 

It's easy to get pulled into your phone, especially when reading a book.

I hear the stool next to me being pulled out, so I make a move to stand and serve this person a drink, when I feel a soft hand on my knee. Not hairy, no chubby fingers that stand out, and my head spins.

"Do you mind if I sit with you? It's a little quieter over here and I thought I might be able to get the chance to talk to you" my breath is caught for a second as I run through every possible scenario in my head of what the fuck is going on.

Get a grip girl come on, what is wrong with you?! It's just a man for Christ's sake.

I place a smile on my face, cross one leg over the other and spin slightly in my seat to get a look at him. Elbow on the top of the bar, he turns himself to look at me as well, a look in his eyes that makes my stomach feel funny.

"My name is Emily, you?" atta girl, don't let him see what a fucking train wreck you are.

That smirk is back on his face, and he doesn't even try to hide the way his eyes trail all over my face as we sit here together.

"Nate. It's a pleasure to finally talk to you, Emily" and the way my name rolls off his tongue is something I think will be seared into my mind forever.

He opens his mouth to say something else when Samuel appears beside us as the bar, a knowing look on his face and a saccharine smile in place when he says,

"Oh hello, I was just coming to ask if you would like to finish your shift, but it seems you read my mind doll. Enjoy" he winks at this last statement and waltzes off down the bar with a wave over his shoulder. 

Little shit.

Nate clears his throat beside me and leans back in his seat as he says,

"Well, isn't that just perfect timing for me, I get you all to myself" and something comes alive in his eyes, some sort of intent for me it would seem. I try not to smile back, but apparently, I already have no control when it comes to this man.

I almost hold my breath when he stands up from his seat, towering over my seated position. 

He slides his hand across the surface of the bar, towards me and stands in front of me, my legs between his.

"Would you like to join us at our table?" his voice is velvety soft, and he holds his left hand out to me, offering to help me from my seat.

I place my right hand in to his, when he takes a slight step back, so I can't help but be pressed up against him when I slide off the barstool.

His right hand leaves the bar top and slides on to my waist, slowly, but it's enough to send a flash of heat through my body. When I look up at him through my lashes, he has his bottom lip slightly between his teeth, a heated look in his eyes as he pulls me in front of him by my hand, to lead the way to his table.

I'm not naïve enough to think that his eyes aren't focused on my ass as I walk in front of him, but for the first time in this place, I find that I enjoy the attention, and I add a slight sway to my hips that I know he enjoyed, judging by the way his grip on my hand tightened slightly.