He turned to me with his hands on his hips and waggled his brows mischievously. “I’m ready to get to work. Put me in, Coach.”
“Ha. Ha. Get dressed. We open soon, and I need to go over the schedule with you.”
“I thought you already posted it,” he replied, leaning on the counter beside me to peer over my shoulder.
“This is for the last weekend in January.”
“That’s not for eons.”
“I have to make sure we’re covered. I’m not going to be in town, and I want to have everything in place for Derek so that—” I glanced sideways, furrowing my brow. “Are you sniffing my hair, Perez?”
“By accident.” He shrugged. “You smell good, like…pine forests and bubblegum.”
I huffed. “You’re weird.”
“Thanks.” He grinned, then let out a regretful sigh. “Wish I could help, but I’ll be out of town that weekend too. I’m going skiing with some friends.”
“Oh. Okay.” I erased his name and tapped the pencil against my chin thoughtfully, expecting him to move to the bathrooms to change.
Instead, he crossed his arms and cocked his head curiously. “It’s good that you’re finally taking a few days off. Where are you going?”
“I’m going to meet my brother and his wife in Big Bear to—”
“Shut up. That’s where I’m going.” He smacked my arm playfully and if possible, his already ginormous grin grew. “We should meet up.”
“Uh, right. Yeah,” I agreed automatically.
Not gonna happen.
Liam and I were work-proximity associates. Not buds. And I was at least five years older. Other than the bistro, we didn’t have anything in common. I wouldn’t subject either of us to an awkward out-of-town meet-up.
“Do you ski or snowboard?”
“Um…ski, but it’s been a while.”
“It’s like riding a bike—you never forget.” He patted my back and stepped aside. “I’m freezing my ass off. I need to let Derek know his boyfriend is a freaking tyrant. Workout this morning was brutal.”
“You were in the pool already?”
“Yep. Gabe had to coach his club team at seven, so the college guys took his four thirty a.m. slot. In case you’re curious, that water was fucking icy. I don’t think I’ll see my balls till noon.”
I barked a quick laugh. “Please don’t share that with our customers.”
“My lips are sealed.”
“Wait. I’m just…curious. Why didn’t you get dressed at the pool?” I asked.
“Because he obviously wanted to show off those sexy abs.” Jade sailed up to the bar area and pinched Liam’s ass through his parka, snickering when he jumped theatrically. “Let’s see ’em, Li.”
Liam opened his parka and gave his best Magic Mike impression, swaying his hips and gyrating shamelessly. It was too over-the-top to be taken as anything but funny. I shook my head in mock censure, chuckling when Jade danced up against him. She had long dark hair, olive skin, and green eyes. They looked hot together…tall, lithe, and self-aware. It was a good show, but we had work to do.
I was about to tell them to get their asses in gear just as Derek walked in.
“Seriously? I will kick your ass if you aren’t dressed and ready to open that door in ten minutes, Perez,” Derek glowered.
Liam froze theatrically for a beat, then danced his way around Jade and Derek, keeping rhythm with some sexy tune in his head as he shimmied toward the bathroom. Honestly, his exit was funnier than the stripper grind. I let out an undignified snort-laugh, handing Jade a napkin to dab tears at the corners of her eyes. She thanked me before getting back to work.
“Sorry about that. He cracks me up,” I admitted, skirting the counter and slipping the schedule under the register.
Derek snickered. “I know. The guy is a goofball. No wonder half the staff and most of our customers have a crush on him. He and Jade make a cute couple, but we’ll have to ask them to curb the dirty dancing. Mr. Molino looks like he enjoyed that show far too much.”
I cast my gaze toward the little old man reading his newspaper on the other side of the glass door and frowned.
And here’s what I should have done: I should have asked about the specials of the day, commented on the cooler weather and the unlikelihood of offering outdoor seating at lunchtime. I should have reminded him about his appointment with our cheese vendor and maybe even mentioned that we were still short a server the weekend I planned to take off.
Instead, I blurted, “Are Liam and Jade…together?”
Derek shrugged. “I don’t really think so, but I know she has a crush on him. She’s about as subtle as a sledgehammer. They hang out in a big group of friends.”
“And they all play water polo?”
“Yep. It’s kind of ironic if you think about it. I wanted to go with an earth-and-dirt and a farm-to-table vibe, then hired half the men’s and women’s water polo teams. I probably should have named this place The H2O Club.” His grin faded when he continued. “Is everyone working out okay?”