whatever it takes - odell beckham jr.

chapter fourteen

"you must have really liked what we served last night to be back so quickly." the blonde bartender leans across the counter to me, shamelessly thrusting her chest forward as she bats her eyes.

"yeah i did like it. listen, is ira here?"

she pouts. "yeah, she's here somewhere. i told her you were asking about her last night and she didn't seem interested." she continues to lean forward, before winking and resting her elbows on the bar top so she's even closer. "but, i am. i'm a lot more fun than ira."

she takes her bottom lip into her mouth, and i lean back on my stool, trying to put some distance between us.

"i'm free tonight. you know, if you were looking for something. a little fun?" her hair is thrown over her shoulder. "great game tonight, by the way. you sure do know how to handle a ball." with a giggle, she scribbles her phone number on a napkin and thrusts it my way. "i'm off at midnight. it's iras' turn to close."

i shove the napkin back across the bar to her and shake my head.

"i appreciate the offer. but, um. i'm gonna have to go head and decline. if you see a black guy with horniness written all over his face? i can pretty much guarantee that he would love to get to know you. his name is landon."

her mouth opens slightly but she loses my attention.  i glance down the bar and catch a glimpse of ira.

her shiny hair is wrapped up on the top of her head in a messy bun, a few strands falling out and brushing against her cheek as she works. she's wearing a long sleeved black v neck fitted shirt and faded black jeans that cling to her like glue in all the right places, with a black apron around her hips. and my words are suddenly stuck in my throat.

her beauty is palpable, even from across the room. and like a moth to a flame, suddenly i'm shoving back my bar stool and heading down to the opposite end of the bar.

it takes her a moment to notice me but when she does, she frowns hard before cutting her eyes.

"you again." she crosses her arms and staring me down. "i should be surprised. yet oddly, i'm not. you were always exceedingly persistent."

"i'm always persistent when i see something i want."

"true." she sighs. "i'm sure that all of the girls at your college would agree with your statement. do you hunt them down like this, also? or do they find you along their desperate and filthy way?"

"always gotta go back to that, don't we?" i exhale slowly, nodding my head towards the beers. "mind getting me a beer before you finish berating me with your mouth?"

"sure thing." she plasters a fake smile onto her face, before spinning around and stomping to the cooler. she grabs out my beer and slams it down in front of me.

"four dollars."

i grab a credit card out of my wallet and slap it on the bar top. "i think i'm gonna run a tab. i'm gonna be here for awhile." her eyes level with mine, as i watch her hands fly to her hips.

"why? do you need to drink away your sorrows for that shitty performance that you call professional football, or are you simply trying to wreck my fucking day?"

"damn." i point at her. "first of all, i ain't tryna wreck anyone's day. and secondly, did you even watch the game? cause we won." i exclaim, aiming my finger up to the tv screen, which is currently highlighting the recaps of the game that i just played a few hours ago.

"oh, i watched it. at least some of it. i didn't need to watch the whole thing to know that you played like shit."

i burst out laughing, which only makes her glare deepen. but, seriously. i can't remember the last time somebody's talked to me like this, and it feels hella good.

"okay, ira. way to go with your, incredibly nice and supportive choice of words."

"i ain't here to give you any type of hype. i'm not gonna stand here and try to feed your already huge ego. you played like shit. enough said." she grabs my credit card and tosses it behind the bar.

the crowd in the bar picks up as the night goes on, and ira begins to pay me less and less attention. if there even is a way for her to pay me less attention, because she literally ignores me until i've finished my bottle, which she then grabs me another one and sets it in front of me without a glance.

but it's fine. since i know that ira will be here until 2am, i have all the time in the world. i know that if this bar is anything like it was last night, then around midnight the crowd will die down. and by 2am, it would just be ira and i.

if it takes me sitting here on my ass until then in order to get her to speak to me, then so be it. that's exactly what i'll do.

she steps away from the bar to wait on some tables. as she does, an older woman comes out of the office and glances around the place. she begins to check the stock of the liquor bottles and beer coolers, before greeting those of us that were sat at the bar.

she stops in front of me, smiling sweetly before recognition dawns.

"you're one of those football players, aren't you?" her whole face lights up as she stares at me, glancing towards the tv that was now showcasing my touchdown.

"yeah." i nod at her, feeling her hand press against my chest.

"you're even more good looking in person and i hear that's a hard thing to do." she laughs softly, before nodding her head at ira.

"i'm afraid you sat at the wrong end of the bar, dear. that bartender isn't known for being so friendly. i'd be happy to clear a spot for you at the other end. lily is my niece and she's far more nicer." she tilts her head towards ira, before wrinkling her nose. "i get complaints on her all the time."

"really?" i chuckle softly, because i can only imagine why. she's never been fake. so imagining her succeeding as a bartender—where she has to be friendly and bubbly all the time—just doesn't fit.

"she's been fine. very nice and attentive." i assure her, ignoring the way her eyes widen.

"well, good. but i could still move you if you would like."

"i'm fine where i'm sat."

"alright, suit yourself. my name's sienna, so if you need anything, i'm the bar manager. i'd be happy to help you."

"thanks." i nod at her, swallowing down a gulp of beer. she's just about to walk away when i stop her. "actually, sienna? i do have a question for you. i'm paying with a credit card. i know that some places are different, and i'm not around from here." i flash a smile. "but i'm wondering what's the most i can tip? you know, so my bartender can walk out with that tonight."

"one thousand–" she says slowly, before her eyes narrow and her mouth drops open. "wait, why do you wanna give her so much?"

"why not?"

she sucks in air, her eyes suddenly widening. "does she know who you are?"

"well, yes. but only because–"

"that little bitch." her hands fist at her sides and her face becomes beet red. "of all the rotten, incomprehensible things–this is a bar. a good bar, and i will not tolerate any bartenders selling their sob stories about eviction to the celebrities who visit us." wait, eviction? ira's getting evicted?

"sienna, i think you've misunderstood what i was asking."

"ira-reice!" she steps up onto a stool, ignoring me and screaming her name across the bar in a loud, shrill tone.

ira immediately stops what she's doing, which is taking an order from a table and spins around to face her.

actually, the manager makes it into such a spectacle, that a hush falls over the entire bar and everyone stops and turns to look and listen.

"i need to speak to you. now!"