H.S | When The Flash Fades | First book

Chapter 1. The phone

The best people come unexpectedly.
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"Two shots of tequila, please!"

The girl hands me her card, a faint smirk playing on her lips.

"You can start a tab."

"Sure thing, coming right up." I take the card, swipe it through the register, and grab two shot glasses from behind the bar. The sound of the tequila pouring is almost therapeutic. I hand her the shots, and she tosses them back like she's been doing this all night. Without a word, she gestures for another round.

"Rough day, huh?" I ask, refilling the glasses.

She nods, biting her lip like she's holding back a lot more than she's saying. "My boyfriend cheated on me, and I'm here with the girl he cheated with. Trying to work up the nerve to confront her about it."

I let out a low whistle. "That's rough."

She downs the next two shots and, with a half-hearted smile, mouths, "Thanks for the talk," before disappearing into the crowd. I chuckle to myself, shaking my head. I've seen so many stories unfold behind this bar. Like the guy who ordered an Irish Coffee because he was too nervous to propose to his girlfriend, or the man who ordered a Mojito while confessing he was scared to come out to his dad.

-

Three hours later, my shift is finally over. I grab my stuff, ready to head out, but before I can make it to the door, the tequila girl is back.

"Hey, do you wANt tO MeEt EMILia? sHe is mY nEw bEsT frIEnd."

She's plastered, barely able to stand. I sigh, drop my bag, and think, Why not?

"Sure..."

She takes my hand, weaving us through the crowd to a girl with short blonde hair and piercing hazel eyes.

"Hi, I'm—"

But before I can finish, Emilia cuts me off. "Did she fuck Josh too?!"

Whoa. What did I just walk into?

"Oh no, no, no," I stammer, "I didn't, I was just—"

The next thing I know, they're shoving each other, and I have to call over Max, my co-worker who looks like he could bench press a truck. He steps between them, and within minutes, they're both kicked out.

Max turns to me, wide-eyed. "Omg. What happened? You okay?"

I exhale slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Let me get you a drink. On me."

I take a seat at the bar, and Max slides over a martini.

"Thanks."

As I sip the drink, Max leans in, curiosity in his eyes. "I don't feel like I know that much about you."

I laugh, but there's no humor in it. "You don't. But I know a lot about you."

He looks puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"When you started working here, I asked about your life, your family, your friends. You told me everything."

Max frowns. "No, I didn't."

I sigh, meeting his gaze. "How do I know your mom's name is Lauren, your dad's Jacob? That they're divorced and hate each other? How do I know you've got a little brother named Victor and a dog named Sophie? Victor probably knows more about me than you do, by the way. I gave him ice cream every time he waited for you to finish your shift. He'd sit right where I'm sitting now, asking me questions. I also know your girlfriend's the jealous type. She's shown up here multiple times, accusing you of cheating just because you talked to a female customer. If I'm being real, you probably have cheated, but that's none of my business. Your favorite color's purple. You never said it, but I know because you always wear something purple. Like right now, you've got purple socks on. So yeah, you don't know anything about me because you never bothered to ask. And honestly, I think that's for the best."