Tequila and Cigarettes

Meeting

You were a normal bartender. Nothing more, nothing less. You did your job and did it quite well if you could say so yourself, yeah it might be what people considered a "shitty job" since the bar you worked at was prone to fights, located in the most dingy part of town, and overworked you to the bone, but you got payed. That was all that mattered to you. And it was quite fun once you got used to it.

But these past few months you've noticed a certain patron who always seemed to come by. Rain or shine you could always expect them to ask for a shot of tequila and a cigarette. She seemed smart and it didn't take a genius to figure out she was a well off person. Every time she came in you could see the gold chain necklace that hung onto her neck like a badge, to let everyone know that she could get anything and everything she wanted.

You noticed her on a handful of occasions, giving her another round of shots, giving her a lighter for her cigarette, or just making small talk on a slow day. Normal stuff right?

But the more you saw her the more you felt.. connected in a way. The small talk eventually led to full blown conversations and she became something to look forward to.

You learned her name. Valeria. It rolled off your tongue like a mantra or prayer.

She learned your name as well, when you told her you could see the corners of her mouth quirk up into a smile. God how you wanted to see her smile like that everyday for the rest of your life..

You would both ask questions about each other. Ages, favorite movies, where you both came from, etc.

Eventually the topic of jobs came up.

"So, what do you do? You seem really well off." You asked while cleaning a shot glass.

She went silent for a bit, swirling her glass of tequila before looking at you. Her dark brown eyes boring into yours, she gave a light chuckle before speaking. "I work hard and that hard work pays off." She replied in a coy like manner. You decided to brush it off. Not the first time someone doesn't want to admit their job, it wasn't your business after all so you just left it alone.

"You never told me how you ended up in this dump, no offense of course muñeca." Valeria stated as she looked at you, now placing her glass down to fully focus on you.

"Well.." You started, placing the shot glass you just cleaned back on the display case behind you. "Let's just say I wasn't all that good at school.. Got into too many fights, didn't pay attention to my teachers, that sorta stuff."

"So you were a bad kid?"

"Pretty much." You replied.

Valeria let out a chuckle as she closed her eyes for a few seconds, you could see the way the dim lighting of the bar landed on her lashes. She seemed, to you and probably everyone else in that bar during happy hour, the most beautiful woman in the world.

And the admiration was mutual, Valeria couldn't help but be enthralled by you. The way you looked, the way you spoke and presented yourself, everything about you seemed perfect to her. She couldn't help but want you, you were something that she only thought could be real in fictional stories.

"Do you have anybody to come home to every night? Boyfriend? Girlfriend?.." Valaria asked, patiently waiting for your answer.

You shook your head with a small laugh. More out of self pity than anything, you had just gotten out of a bad breakup and had finally started getting out of the 'breakup blues' slum. "No, I'm not with anyone."

Valaria almost jumped out of the bar stool with joy but she held back, biting her cheek to refrain herself from smiling like some idiot. She gave an understanding nod to you while sipping her drink, she looked at her phone to check the time and her face slightly faltered. She had business to take care of in a bit and she knew that she needed to get going, she may be the leader of Las Almas and could do whatever her damn heart desired but being leader also meant being on time to potentially good trades.

She turned her back to you, flashing a small but noticeable smile "Sorry chula but I have to go now. Work and such." She said with a small huff as she stood up, she grabbed her wallet from her pocket and looked back at you. "How much for the drinks?"

"Twenty nine dollars. Cash or card?"

"Card."

You hand her the receipt as you swipe her card, when you finally finished you handed it back to her. "Have a good night, hope your job isn't as sucky as mine."

"Good night to you too." Valeria replied as she walked to the direction of the door that led into the bustling street of the city but then an idea popped into her head. She quickly went to the counter you worked at. "Can I borrow a pen? It'll be real quick I swear."

You, of course, gave her one. You saw Valeria grab a napkin from a nearby napkin holder and scribble down something quickly, after a minute or so she gave you both the pen and napkin back. She winked at you and then quickly left again.

You were confused. Confused but also intrigued, you looked down at the napkin in your hands. What you saw on the napkin made your face heat up and your heart quicken its pace.

'Call me whenever you have time muñeca.' At the bottom of the napkin she wrote her phone number.

You don't know how long you just stood there looking at the napkin before your boss came up to you and told you to get back on the job, you stuffed the napkin in your pocket and went to take orders again. Physically you were serving up mocktails and margaritas, but mentally you were still looking at the napkin.

It was only a matter of time before you gave into temptation and sent her a message.