Catching Waves

Part Fourteen

Early the next morning, Caitlin lay awake texting Heidi who'd just sent:  

"Admit it. You liked her by the end."  

"She's sweet!" 

"Mm. Gave me toothache ..."  

"Plus feel sorry for her."  

"Yes. Preston = knob (haven't we had this convo before?)" 

Caitlin rolled off the bed to get ready for work. She felt a sudden wiggle in her stomach at the thought of her shift. It was supposed to be her last one but Lazarus had got in touch via Margot to ask if she'd do another couple to see Austin through to the end of the week. Of course she'd agreed and with yesterday's apology in the bank, she had been feeling quite composed about going back to the Shack - but what to do in light of last night's revelation? Would Austin want to know more about the delightful Alice's delightful fiancé?  

She pondered the question as she applied mascara, lip stain, a dab of highlighter along her cheekbones ... 

She debated the thorny issue with Reg as she ironed her coral capri pants and conquered her hair with a blast of volumiser and a handful of Kirby grips ... 

Between them, they decided she would wait and see how she felt when she saw Austin again, to gauge whether he seemed open to the unsavoury nuggets she had to share with him. That difficult decision dealt with, she had a quick look in the mirror before heading out of the door and raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was vaguely surprised to see that she'd accidentally made an effort to look pretty decent. The coral of the slim fitting trousers complimented the mint green of the polo shirt and looked positively summery when matched with the white pumps she slipped into. Oh well. It wouldn't harm for Austin to see her looking good, she still had some ground to make up from the other day. She hummed to herself as she skipped down the stairs with Reg, looking forward to getting the day started. 

At the Shack, the atmosphere was genial. A stag party sat at the bar, the right side of pissed, all bonhomie and beery. Austin was bantering with them when Caitlin and Reg walked in and he grinned when he saw her, nodding his head her way "Here she is, barmaid extraordinaire - gentlemen, Kitkat, Kitkat, gentlemen."  

Caitlin smiled gamely, that bloody nickname, she really would have to have a word with Austin. Catching his eye, she was surprised to see a glint almost as though he knew it wound her up but was doing it anyway. Interesting. Could that be filed away under Flirtatious ...? She blinked firmly, chasing away the whisper of an idea. Flipping heck woman, leave the men of this clan be! 

The shift flew by, fastest of the week. The stag party left her crying with laughter, the men all equally determined to show off, daring each other to complete increasingly ribald challenges, including parading the best man's Calvin Kleins around the bar to be signed by all women present. Bon Jovi rocked through the bar's cheap speakers with the best songs being played again and again. Caitlin, piling her tray high with empty glasses, smiled to herself. Now that all the dramas were out of the way, she was really enjoying the gregariousness of the place; the place throbbed with a positivity that made her warm inside. She couldn't quite imagine not working here next week.  

Unloading her tray into the dishwasher that was crammed behind the bar, she accidentally bumped shoulders with Austin as he made a round of his trademark cocktails, Feisty Pelicans, for the stag party who'd decided to sack off town for a night in the Shack instead. He bumped her back gently, "Hey, have you tried one of these?" 

She looked dubiously at the selection of the bottles he'd pulled out to make the sticky concoction.  

"No - no, I've not had the pleasure ..."