Hot Mess (LBSC #1) | Completed

Chapter 1

It was Friday night at Day Glo, meaning our customer base couldn't have been more varied than if you surveyed the audience at the Super Bowl. Drunken frat boys bumped into middle-aged moms out for girls' night, and a man old enough to be my grandfather spun his wheelchair around the outer reaches of the black-and-white checkered dance floor. If heaven was a place on Earth, then that place was Day Glo.

The first time I stepped foot in the bar I felt at home. I had found my people–a quirky hodgepodge unashamed to give it all they had on the dance floor and belt out '80s ballads as if their lives depended on it. The wall behind the counter looked like it had been zapped out of a Super Mario Bros game. The opposite wall was covered with '80s movie posters, and had flattened VHS sleeves stapled to it: Ghostbusters, Top Gun, Karate Kid, and so on. Against the wall stood two old-school arcade games and a pinball machine. In the far left corner of the room the vinyl dance floor gleamed underneath a rainbow of flashing lights.

I'd started working at Day Glo when I graduated college. It was just supposed to be a placeholder job while I looked for something more permanent, but six years later I was still here. The money was alright, everyone loved me here, I was able to sleep in late, and my co-worker, Quinn, provided nice eye candy.

"I'll bet you a quarter that at least five birthday girls come in here tonight," I said to him. I finished mixing a rum-and-coke for an impatient guy drumming his fingers at the end of the counter.

Quinn shook the shaggy chestnut hair out of his smoky-gray eyes. One corner of his mouth quirked up as he shook a metal mixer, probably filled with his latest fruity concoction. "That's a little on the low side, don't you think?"

He finished shaking and poured the frothy mixture into a row of shot glasses lined up on the counter. "After all, it is Friday. As for the quarter–you've got to be kidding me. Don't tell me you're too cheap for a buck."

I handed my customer his drink and accepted a handful of sticky, crumpled bills in return. I turned away from him, attempting to hide my grimace. Instead my gaze met with that of the cute, nerdy guy with red glasses who showed up alone every Friday night. He gave me shy smile as if we shared a secret.

I returned his smile and wiped my hands on the towel hanging from my pocket. I spun around to face Quinn, who leaned leisurely leaning against the counter, arms folded over his chest. He had to know how good he looked.

Quinn Raynor had only been working at Day Glo for the last two years. I remember the night he first came in. He'd been with a group of friends, but kept making eye contact with me all night. After last call, he sauntered over to the bar, an easy smile on his face, and I stood there grinning like an idiot, thinking he was going to ask me out.

My smile stretched across my face, and I wondered if any stray slashes of lipstick stained my teeth. He closed the distance between us, and his smile went on high beam. He leaned over as if he were going to tell me a secret. On my side of the bar, I mirrored his pose. In my head I was already planning our wedding–though I couldn't see myself married for at least a few more years. We'd have to get hitched in spring of course, early enough in the year that people wouldn't be glutted on attending weddings, and we'd get some awesome gifts, and I could wear a sleeveless gown–

"Are you guys hiring?" He ran a hand through his hair.

Just like that my dreams were dashed, and the tone set for our relationship. For the last two years I'd harbored a semi-secret, undying lust for my oblivious co-worker. Luckily for the both of us, I'd been able to keep my drooling to a minimum.

I took a deep breath to bring myself back to the present. "I already see three tiaras over on the dance floor," I said. "Look! Another one just walked in. Maybe we should up this bet, I've got to pay my rent next week."