Summer Lovin'

Chapter Seventeen

(May 14th, 2009)

I'd been hired on by the city as a lifeguard which would give me the rotation of four different spots. We had a splash pad with a little wading pool, 2 pools (one indoor and one outdoor) and the lakefront. The fact that three out of the four spots were outside had been the selling feature for me.

All of our outdoor swimming would be open as of June 1st so as of right now I was stationed at our indoor pool for the next month. I would rather be outside and was wishing away the next couple weeks, knowing that soon enough I would get to spend the bulk of my time outdoors. It was the ideal way to spend a summer.

Today's lessons had dragged on. I had been happy to help Addy out yesterday but then I hadn't been able to get any sleep after seeing Gabriel and so today I was a whole lot exhausted and then was heading in for another shift tonight. I found it incredibly frustrating that after all these years and distance he still had the power to throw me off considering last night he had me riding the hot mess express with a few words and a smile.

I talked to myself on the best of days and today caught myself often shaking my head and muttering to myself. I needed to reel it in.

As I parked at the bar I was relieved to find it mostly empty. I was hoping that it would be slower tonight. Maybe I could ask one of the other girls to close. Then go home, have a glass... who am I kidding, a bottle of wine, a bubble bath and read a smutty romance.

I walked in and went right to the back, noticing it was extra slow tonight. Mentally pumping my fists I checked the schedule to see who was working and again celebrated my good luck.

It was Candy and as long as she agreed to close, it was perfect because I could do my counts and then ask if she would close. I was harbouring the belief that she was our thief.

So, it would give me a chance to document another night of wayward counts. I had noticed that when she did the counts somehow things balanced on her end but it would be a day later that something would be off. I was convinced that she was the culprit I was hunting for, but didn't have enough proof.

I'd actually been trying to get in over the last week and do counts before she got in to see if I could catch whatever funny business she had going on.

I kind of wanted it to be Stephie on the take but I knew that, that was my green eyed monster talking. It wasn't Stephie's fault that Gabe had slept with her. Or, that her and I were complete polar opposites, further driving home the fact that I wasn't his type.

I looked at the time, I was a little bit early so could get counts done, file them and pretend like I hadn't done them, so that I could compare them against Candy's.

Then, as long as it stayed slower, I could offer to sit and have dinner and let Candy work and then get home for a night of glory.

It was as I stood at the bar trying to finish the counts that the bell went off and my eyes were drawn to the good looking man walking towards me with a giant grin and a huge coffee.

His hair was wind blown and his nose was rosy, indicating that he had been able to spend some time in the sun today.

Regardless of all of the self talk and warnings that I'd been giving myself, I couldn't help the smile that took over my face as he handed me the coffee. He returned the smile and threw out a wink, saying, "courtesy of Liam and Addy for allowing them to reunite last night."

I raised it in the air in cheers asking, "hey Gabe, would you like a beer?"

He nodded, "a Fenelon light please!" He sat down right next to my paper and quietly sipped while I finished recording. I ripped off the sheet and popped it in my purse and then stored it under the bar again. Finally able to relax against the bar and drink my coffee.

As I leaned and sipped, we chatted quietly. I wasn't sure if it was the fact that I'd broken the seal last night, making him less intimidating today. Or maybe I'd come around to the fact that there wasn't ever going to be anything here. More likely, it was the sheer exhaustion but, I was actually enjoying catching up with him.

"Where are you coming from? You look like you got to spend the day outside and I'm super jealous!"

He gave me another one of those grins, the ones that showed off the blinding white smile, deep dimples and sparking blue eyes.

I took a deep swallow of my coffee, holy fucking moly, this man packed a punch. It was unfair that someone could be so painfully beautiful.

I blinked hard trying to focus on what he was saying and not his ridiculous good looks. He was saying, "my dad and I went fishing all morning."

I gave him a smile, "Ugh, I'm so jealous. I haven't been out on the water since I got home and I can't wait."

The bell dinged and I looked up to see Candy giving us both a dirty look as she strolled past. I followed her to the back and said, "hey it's obviously slower than normal tonight. Do you want to work and I'll sit down for a bit but if it doesn't pick up, you can close."

She huffed, "yah I suppose that works." Then she gestured out to the bar, "be careful with that one. He's not the same guy you left behind."

I nodded my head and said, "thanks for looking out!" Although I doubted that she was looking out for my interests.

As I walked back out to the front, I mulled over her warning. I had no intention of allowing myself to fall into the giant feelings trap that was Gabriel but it also wasn't realistic to think that I was going to avoid him completely while we were home.

I was glad he came in tonight, it put things in perspective and I was less worried about it all. It helped that my feelings seemed to be in check. I sat down next to him and took a sip of what I expected to be a cooling coffee and was surprised to find it hot. My surprised eyes met Gabriel's and he gave me a little smile. "One of the cooks came out and I asked him to warm it up for you."

I swallowed my surprise at his thoughtfulness and said, "thanks!"

He pulled out a ten and laid it next to his drink, "I've got to get going, my Dad and I are going to cook up our spoils." He gave me a shy smile, "I know you are really busy with the two jobs and just being back but are you okay if we catch up while you're working every once in a while?"

I couldn't exactly tell him that he wasn't allowed to come into the Fenelon Watering Hole and if I was being truthful with myself, I didn't want to.

I found myself responding honestly, "I wouldn't mind that at all. Thank Addy and Liam for the coffee and thank you for being their errand boy."

He blushed and I knew that my suspicions were correct, Addy had no idea that he was caffeinating me and I doused that little flame that sparked in my heart.

Friends bought friends coffee Hailey! No need to build anything up into something it wasn't, life wasn't a flipping romance novel.

Authors Note: Truthishly, I think it's more than just a coffee. 😂

What do you think about Gabriel's wooing? Does he need to step it up a notch? Any requests or suggestions for his future endeavours?

Fun fact: When my husband and I first started dating, I had a day job and was bartending at night. He often would come by and drop me coffee or a plate of homemade dinner or just stop in to say hey and make me feel special.

He was an expert woo'er and this chapter made me think back. He was also very wise because my heart and my stomach are absolutely connected. 💕💕