Moments later, I’m walking through the doors of the popular cocktail bar. My gaze goes straight to the counter and when I see her with her back turned, I find myself smiling. She still has her back to me when I perch on the barstool. When she finally turns around, a wide smile comes over her luscious mouth. She comes to stand directly in front of me. I wish there were no bar counter to separate us.
“Hello, sir,” she says. “Welcome to The Alma. What can I get you?”
I pretend to give it some thought. “How about you surprise me?”
She narrows her eyes and leans over the counter to study my eyes. We’re so close that if I also lean forward, our lips will touch. Her familiar lemon scent wafts up my nose.
“You look like a man who likes his drink strong. A man who can handle something strong.”
Her words go straight to my shaft. “True and you look like a woman who takes her time fixing the perfect drink, getting it just right.”
The only indication that our teasing is affecting her is her flushed cheeks.
“Yes,” she breathes out. Her gaze drops to my mouth before she turns away.
I shift in my chair in an effort to rearrange my shaft to a comfortable position. I hope that no emergency will require me to stand up in the next few minutes.
When she slides a coaster and my drink in front of me, the playful expression is gone from her face. “How was work?” she says though I know she really wants to know how the therapy session went.
“Work was good,” I tell her. “And so was the session. Thank you, Lexi. You didn’t have to help but you did.”
A soft look comes over her features. “You’re welcome.”
A customer comes and she steps away to serve him. In between her work, we chat easily. I ask after Luna and Vanessa.
“My shift is about to end,” Lexi says at a few minutes to five.
“Do you want to go for a drink?” I ask her. “I know this nice quiet bar.”
“I’d love to. But we can’t stay too long. Vanessa is working a night shift.”
When Lexi’s shift is over, we leave the bar together.
“My car or yours?” I ask her.
“Yours. Mine will be safe here,” she says.
I take her to First.
“This is where I work,” I tell her when we get out of the car. I point at the station.
“Nice,” she says. A twinkle comes to her eye. “It’s every woman’s fantasy to date a man in uniform.”
“I’m glad to be of service,” I tell her and bow low.
She laughs. I love the sound of her laughter. She has a hearty laugh. The kind of rare laugh that brings joy into whoever is within earshot.
Lexi tucks her hand into mine as we enter the bar. I feel proud as I walk in with her. The sounds in the interior are muted, unlike at The Alma. There’s no music to distract from the conversation.
“Pretty lady you’ve got yourself there, Ace,” Jim says, smiling at Lexi warmly. “Welcome to the First bar.”
“Thank you,” Lexi says.
I’m surprised that Jim remembers my name when I’ve only been here once.
“We’ll go and sit at the tables,” I tell him.
We place our orders.
“Marge will bring your drinks,” he says. “Go on and make yourselves comfortable.”
I pull out a chair for Lexi before taking the opposite chair.
She sighs deeply. “I love it! Especially the silence.”
I chuckle. “I had hoped you would.”
“I like to think I know lots of places in LA, having grown up here but I’ve never seen this bar,” Lexi says looking around. “I see why. It’s custom made for firefighters.”
I laugh at that but she’s right. “The owners are former firefighters and worked just across the road,” I tell her a little bit more about them.
Our conversation is interrupted when Marge, Jim’s wife, brings our drinks. “Enjoy yourselves now,” she says with a wink before retreating.
“So, is this a date?” Lexi asks me in a flirty tone. She’s loosened up considerably and honestly so have I thought, like her, I’m on my second and last beer.
A lot has happened in the last couple of days, one of which is my conversation with Declan. Suddenly, I don’t feel so jaded regarding a relationship. A seed of hope has sprouted in my heart. Maybe, just maybe, something special can happen between Lexi and me.
“Do you want it to be a date?” I ask her.
“Mmmm answering a question with a question.” She sips her wine and stares at me over the rim.
Lexi is gorgeous. “How is it that you don’t have a boyfriend?”
She cocks her head. “I guess I haven’t found the right person. What about you?”
“I haven’t been here long enough to find one.”
“Seriously though,” Lexi says. “I’ve been busy with work and Luna.”