Illusion - h.s.

One - The Club

"Smile like you've got a straw in something tropical, I've got the party plugged right into my skull"

She Looks Like Fun - Arctic Monkeys

I watched as the fluorescent lights bounced around the room. Sat on the floor behind the bar, I twirled the straw around my drink absent-mindedly. It was almost one in the morning, my shift had started around 7:00 and I was ready to go home.

"Hey, table five needs refills."

I looked up at Nick and sighed. He was a bartender at Illusion, and one of my good friends. I stood up and took my robe off to reveal my uniform, or lack thereof.

"Watch my drink?" I asked as I set it behind the bar and turned around.

"Course." He said as he placed down a glass in front of the man sitting at the bar. I hadn't seen him from the spot I was sitting on the floor. He was an attractive man, I noticed as our eyes met. I gave him a friendly smile before adjusting the bottoms to my uniform and picking up the tray of drinks Nick had left for me to deliver to the table.

As I walked away I felt the mans eyes on me. It wasn't unusual for me to have weird interactions with men during my shifts at the club. In fact, I've started to expect it. With the way some of these men act you could look shot to shit and they would still stare like you were a piece of meat. It's just all apart of the gig. I began to place each of the drinks in front of the men and women at table five and collect their empty glasses. There are really two types of women you could meet working a job like this, one being the friendly drunk type, who would give up their life for you after only just meeting you in the bathroom and two being the jealous type who would be upset at you for the way their boyfriends and husbands were looking at you.

As I walked through the club back to my unassigned assigned seat behind the bar I again, felt eyes. I looked around as I quickly put my robe back on and grabbed my drink.

"You're really doing just enough work to not get fired, huh?" Nick asked as he grabbed a rag to wipe the counter down. I noticed as the man was still sitting  at the same spot at the bar, smirking as he overheard Nick's comment. I rolled my eyes at the two of them.

"Shut up. All you do is mix random shit together and sit back here fully clothed."

"Okay first of all, I do not just mix random shit together," He laughed, "And second, I've already asked Max why I don't get to wear skimpy sequins outfits like everyone else, I guess it's just not in the budget." He smiled wide as I rolled my eyes again and smacked him on the shoulder playfully.

"Why don't you fix me up a drink then?" I heard the man say. I turned around to be met with another devious smirk. "If it's so easy, go on, make your favorite."

I swallowed trying not to give away the nerves, I lifted my chin up as I turned to all the drinks. "Fine.. Just don't look. It'll be a surprise."

"No cheating." He smiles as he places his hands on the bar table in front of him and closes his eyes. I watched for a second to make sure his eyes stayed closed before turning to Nick with wide eyes. I quietly waved my hands around with a panicked look on my face. He bites his lips to hold in a laugh before pointing to the whiskey he had served him earlier, and then pointed to another bottle. I didn't know what was in it but I quickly picked it up and started pouring them together. Nick's eyes got wide as he quickly held out a hand for me to stop pouring. I was interrupted by hearing the man clear his throat before speaking. "You're taking awhile. Okay over there?" I watched as he raised his eyebrows but kept his eyes closed.

"You can't rush perfection." I spoke as I looked at Nick who shrugged mouthing 'oh well' before scooting the glass closer to the man. "Okay it's ready." I said to him as Nick walked away as if he had nothing to do with it. I watched as the man opened his eyes. He watched me for a moment before picking the glass up and taking a sip. His eyes held mine over the glass as he took a sip. I waited for a reaction as he set the glass back down.

"This is your favorite?" He raises his eyebrows.

"Uhm, I more so went with something I thought you would like?" I spoke and it came out more of a question.

"Hmm." He mumbled before picking up the glass again and taking another sip. "Not bad Miss Ruby, but I wouldn't call it perfection." He smiled again slyly as he set the glass down in front of him. My eyes widened for a second at how he knew my name. My thoughts were quickly interrupted as I saw my boss Max walking my way.

"Ruby! Turned into a bartender I see?" He smiled as he shamelessly began to look me up and down before frowning. "I wouldn't mind if you had the proper clothing on?" He raised his eyebrows as he crossed his arms over his chest. I glanced over to the man still sitting at the bar to see him watching the whole interaction. I slowly began to take off the small black robe revealing my uniform along with my name-tag. I then realized that's how he knew my name. "Much better, I better not see you all covered up again, after all, how do you think you got this job?" He smiled. I felt my face heat up as his eyes looked me up and down.

"I'm sorry, I just got a bit cold." I forced a smile back at him. He was an older man who only hired and dated younger women. He had seen me come to the club a few times before and as soon as he found out I was of age he was begging me to become a dancer. The best I could do for him was serve part time. I am not coordinated enough to be a dancer and even if I was, as if I have enough free time for a whole other job. He still isn't satisfied with me only working a couple nights a week but it's all I'm willing to give. I watched as he walked towards the associates lounge to go speak with the other workers. My thoughts were interrupted as I heard the man clear his throat. I quickly whipped my head back to him as he began to speak.

"I'd say your excellent bartending skills are what must have got you this job." He said as he took another drink, and setting the glass back down empty. I bit my lip to hide the smile as I looked down. I looked towards the clock and realized it was almost time for the end of my shift. I watched as the man stood up and reached into the pocket of his dark jacket. He pulled out a wad of my cash and a small paper. "Pen?" He asked. I looked around and grabbed one to hand to him. I watched as he scribbled something down before flattening out the cash and handing it to me along with the paper. "Thanks for the drink Miss Ruby, I'll look forward to another." He smiled with dark eyes before he turned to leave the bar. I counted the cash with wide eyes before going to look back up at him, but he was already out of sight. I grabbed my robe quickly before heading towards the locker room. I changed and then put all of my tips into my bag, too tired to count them out before leaving. I walked towards Nick, who was waiting for me at the back door. It was a little routine we had even if we weren't working the same hours. Nick always walked me to my car and made sure to tell me to text him as soon as I got home. As much as I hated everyone thinking I was like some fragile little flower, it was nice knowing someone cared about my wellbeing.

As soon as I got into my car and said my goodbyes to Nick, I pulled out the paper I received from the man. A number and the name Harry was sloppily written down. I smiled as I added the number to my phone. It was not unusual for me to receive phone numbers from men, usually they were a lot older than him though. I wrote it down as a win in my book to get a number from someone who wasn't already balding. I didn't usually add the numbers to my phone but something about the attractive man had me wanting to know more. I wondered if I should wait to text or send right away, I didn't think about it too long before sending a quick hello and throwing my phone into the back seat not wanting to come to terms with how quickly I became interested in the man known as Harry.