A Bartender in Charming

Chapter 2: A Real Professional

Lily:
The day was pretty slow, mostly just putting on pot after pot of coffee and handing out the occasional light beer. By night time, however, I had my hands full, juggling bottles of tequila, vodka and whiskey... One of the younger bikers, Juice, had been sitting at the bar for a while admiring my technique.
     "Stop staring, y'idiot,"  a familiar voice told him. I looked up from the glass I was rinsing and saw Chibs walk up to the bar.
     "Time for that Guinness?" I asked.
     "You're an angel, lass," He said, making eye contact with me as he settled onto a bar stool. I felt my cheeks heat up inexplicably, so I quickly poured him his beer and avoided looking at him.
     "Whiskey on the rocks, darlin'," Two men, one older with an intimidatingly large frame, and the other a tall and freakishly attractive blonde, came and sat next to Juice at the bar. I recognized them immediately; this was Charming royalty. Clay Morrow, the owner of this fine establishment, and, the prince of Charming himself, Jax Teller.
     "Comin' right up," I fluidly grabbed a couple of glasses with one hand and a bottle of Jack Daniels with the other. I didn't bother using tongs to pick up the ice, just scooped up with the glasses themselves. I did, however, fill the glasses with the little flourish that was supposed to make whiskey 'open up' or whatever the hell they'd said at my mixology class. These men liked their booze ready quick, but that didn't mean I couldn't get it ready with style. Jax noticed, and raised his eyebrows.
"She's good, isn't she?" Juice said, nudging the Sons of Anarchy V.P. I handed Jax and Clay their drinks.
     "Just pouring whiskey, boys. Nothing to be impressed by," I winked and moved to the sink to wash glasses.
     "In that case," Clay Morrow's voice rumbled, "I'd like an old fashioned, sweetheart."
I looked at him. Did he really doubt I could do this? I rolled my eyes and grabbed another glass. Sugar cube, bitters, splash of water... I stirred until the sugar dissolved, then added whiskey. I popped a cherry on top and handed it to him.
     "We don't have any orange rind, Mr. Morrow, I hope a cherry is alright," I said, my self-satisfaction barely hidden in my voice.
     "Alright, alright. I get the picture, you're a real professional. I can drink to that," He raised his glass and I smiled as he sipped his old-fashioned.
     "Why don't you pour yourself something?" Jax asked. "We're all friends here, aren't we?"
     I smiled. "Are you trying to get me to drink on the job?"
     "Oh, come on, take a break!" Juice exclaimed raucously. "But pour me another tequila shot first."
      I laughed, grabbing the bottle of Patron and refilling his shot glass. I glanced over at Chibs who was quietly, but contentedly, nursing his Guinness. He was looking at me out of the corner of his eye, smirking just a bit at his brothers' unruly behavior.
     "Do shots with me, Lily," Juice recaptured my attention. I smiled.
     "Maybe another night, sweetheart. Can't get sloppy my first night working." I winked at him.
     "Did'ja hear that? She called me sweetheart," Juice slurred.
     "See, that's exactly why we hired you, darlin'. Don't let these dirty old bikers corrupt you," Clay smiled before walking off, old fashioned in hand. Tig immediately took his place at the bar.
      "She calls me darling, Juice, so guess what? I win." He said before turning to me. "Hello, sweet cheeks. Shot of vodka, please."
     I rolled my eyes good-naturedly and reached for the bottle. I looked over at where Chibs had been sitting, but he must have gotten up to go play pool while the boys heckled me. I felt a tinge of disappointment as I moved on to pour more drinks for more bikers.