For Death Or Glory : Chapter Eight
Jake Kiszka x Charlotte (Fem OC)
Warnings: DRINKING / ALCOHOL (bigger warning because they are actively drinking in this one, not just in the bar) Swearing, Sex is mentioned (not had) A LOT of ridiculous puns and jokes, Slow Burn is REAL, Halloween Costumes, Brotherly Banter (gentle bullying) and finally, our favorite warning, YEARNING.
Word Count: 7k (longest so far!!)
Summary: IT'S HALLOWEEN BABES; Josh decides to decorate the bar for the holiday and so, they make it into a little party. Jake hesitates on what to do about Charlotte, but goes with his gut. And BOY IS THAT A LITTLE TREAT.
Author's Note: I said this week would be a sweet treat and I think that you'll find that it is! I don't want to spoil the surprise but, I think you'll be excited to see what it is 🤭 See you on the other side!
Crush - Tessa Violet
"You make it difficult to not overthink,
And when I'm with you, I turn all shades of pink,
I wanna touch you, but don't wanna be weird."
Jake POV
“You know, whatever you decide to hang up, we need to be able to get down, right?”
I stand there watching Josh not so carefully hanging off the ladder’s top step. Quinn looks less than impressed while they stand on the bottom step.
“Maybe Jake is onto something, Josh Groban,” they tell him.
Josh stops, looks back with a glare, and then returns to whatever he is trying to do.
I look over at them, both of us shaking our heads, knowing that Josh will do whatever he damn well pleases.
“He’s your problem to deal with now,” I tell them, gently squeezing their shoulders as I pass by.
Deciding to make sure the bar is fully stocked for the night, I can’t help but eavesdrop on Sam and Willa as they try to get ‘cute post-worthy’ pictures for the bar’s Instagram.
“Sam, can you just work with me?” Willa asks, letting out a frustrated sigh.
“Birdie, you know this is also my job?”
“Yeah, well, last time you took promo photos, you stole all my flowers, AND you hated the outcome. So, maybe just listen to me?”
“I’m not trying to be difficult, little bird,” Sam says, “You just need to relax.”
“When has telling a girl to relax ever ended well for you?”
I was chuckling to myself as I listened to them and took notes of what needed to be pulled from the back. I hate dragging myself away from the free entertainment, but I need to keep moving so the bar can be ready tonight.
I wasn’t the one who came up with the idea to do a themed night; you can only imagine who suggested it, but people have been talking about it lately, so maybe it was a good choice. Even though I had to explain to Josh that we cannot require people to wear costumes, I think it’ll be fun to see everyone dressed up.
Looking at the back stock and pulling out the things we’ll need, I hear footsteps approaching me. I simply glanced at the doorway to finally be met with Josh’s presence.
“So.. are you going to invite her?”
My eyebrows pull together a bit, “Who?”
“Your First Mate,” Josh says, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
“Oh shut up,” I quip back, “I was thinking about it.”
Regret has never hit me quicker.
“OH ARE YOU NOW?”
“I mean… you saw her the other day, Josh. She’s obviously not having a great time and the fact she has to keep coming here, I may as well at least extend the offer.” I tell him, “Even if she’ll probably say no.” Quickly, I look back at my notes to make sure I’m not forgetting anything before walking back out to the bar.
“Well, you have been talking to her,” he says.
“We’ve texted .. a little bit,” I tell him, knowing that he will pry for more information, “BUT– it’s nothing crazy. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”
He follows me, offering no assistance carrying anything but absolutely still trying to make something out of nothing.
“That’s very you… of you to do.”
Both of us looked vaguely unimpressed at that statement.
“Okay, that wasn’t my best work. I’m just saying that maybe there’s a chance you two could be something of an item,” he tells me, a little too giddy for my liking.
Setting everything on the bar abruptly, “Jesus Christ, Josh. Just because I’m nice to the girl doesn’t mean I want anything more.” I’m trying to sound convincing, even though I know he will call me on it at any moment. I wouldn’t be opposed to it, though. But for god’s sake, Josh doesn’t need to know that.
“Okay, okay, alright, I’ll stop,” he starts, holding his hands up. But know that I will find out if anything happens between you two,” he squints at me before turning around to continue helping Quinn decorate.
I watch as he finds himself busy again, but I can tell from a distance that he updates Quinn on his interrogation. If there is anything I know about my brother, it is that he will know everything about everyone all the time, which in turn means Quinn knows everything as well. I let out a small sigh while piling bottles of Modelo back into the fridge. Maybe I should just text her. Is that weird? She’s going to say no anyway.
Still squatting down behind the bar, I pull my phone from my back pocket. Unlocking it to a handful of email notifications and a few texts from Sam that I ignored earlier. I love him, but he doesn’t need to ask me every time if he can take some promo pics for the bar.
I tap on her conversation; my thumbs hesitate for a second. Is this stupid? Am I wasting my metaphorical breath? Maybe she’ll appreciate the thought.
Me: Hi there. How are you? Are you busy tonight by any chance?
I shove my phone back into my pocket before standing back up, grabbing the few loose cans and bottles across the bar, and tossing them. Looking around at the new decorations, they all have managed to get hung up already, and it’s definitely feeling much more festive.
“Josh, can you–” I start, but I feel my phone vibrate, stopping me mid-question, “Uh, lost my train of thought. I’ll get back to you on that,”
I grab my phone and see her name sitting there, making the heat rise in my face.
Charlotte: No, I’m free. Why?
The three dots pop up before I can reply, making me more nervous.
Charlotte: Do you need help with something?
Me: nooo I don’t need anything from you. We’re just doing a little thing here for halloween and I thought I would see if you were interested. No pressure or anything lol.
Those god-forsaken three dots come back, then disappear, and reappear. There is no worse form of torture in the modern day than waiting for a text to pop up.
Charlotte: Maybe
Okay… Well, it isn’t a no. I look up to find Josh directly in front of me, scaring the shit out of me. I didn’t realize he could be quiet enough to do that.
“Can I help you?”
“You looked very intrigued by whatever was on your phone there, brother,” Josh says, with a shitty little grin on his face.
“Don’t you have things to be doing other than watching me use my phone?” I ask, not able to stop the slight eye roll that came along with it.
“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that,” he says, “ Quinn and I are going to run upstairs to get ready, and then I can take over so you can go put on whatever pirate bullshit you want.” He says, staring at me with a matter-of-fact expression and his arms folded across his chest.
“Sounds good to me, bub.”
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Sam and Willa left shortly after Josh and Quinn, leaving me with the usual regulars to tend to. They weren’t a rowdy bunch, so I got a good amount of cleaning done before the rush of people.
Maybe. The fact she didn’t say ‘no’ was basically haunting me. It’s not a big deal if she does show up because she is just a ‘friend’. That’s even a strong way of wording it.
At this point, the sun has been set for a while, which is attracting costumed customers. Some are more clever than others, but regardless, I’m just glad that people seem to like the idea.
I’m talking to Linda, who’s dressed as an 80s Aerobic Instructor, when I hear the sounds of my dear brother entering the building. He always has a way of making his presence known, whether he means to or not. We both glance over to the door, where he lets Quinn through first, quickly following behind.
Hand in hand, they joined us at the bar. I just looked at the two of them for a minute, my head tilted slightly.
“Peter Pan and Tinkerbell?” I finally manage to ask.
“Yes!” Josh says, fluttering the tiny wings he has on.
I let out a small sigh; I should have known, giggling to myself.
“I think you two look adorable,” Linda compliments them, eliciting a curtsy from Josh while Quinn does a stage bow.
“Alright, Tink, come tend bar so I can go change into something more festive.”
After I finally got upstairs, I started digging through my closet, looking for everything. I know it’s in here. I finally found my cream button-up; it was a bit looser on me than most of my shirts, so when I tucked it in; it definitely fit a pirate theme.
I pull on my black slim-fit jeans, tucking the bottom of my shirt into them. I slide on my brown dress vest over the shirt, leaving it fairly open so that my chest is exposed. I grab the necklaces on my nightstand and walk into the bathroom to make sure they are sitting properly. I don’t need Josh telling me I layered my necklaces wrong again.
I know Josh has some sort of scarf or belt that would make more sense for a pirate outfit, so I decide to bravely go into his room. Good lord, Josh. Walking into his room, I always forget that he likes to have things. I mean that nicely; he just loves art, decor, and tchotchkes, so his bedroom would be overstimulating to most. Considering how long I’ve known him, I’m generally accustomed to his ways, but when he keeps his door shut more often than not, it starts to slip my mind.
Rummaging through his closet, filled with colorful pieces, I find the clothes hanger loaded with scarves. I pulled out an olive green one; earth tones will work, right? I tie it around my waist, moving in front of his full-length mirror; I look much more piratey than before.
I look at the time, not realizing how long it’s taken me, I hustle back into my room. I grab the rings from the drawer in my nightstand, quickly sliding them on and spraying myself with another round of cologne to hopefully hold me over the rest of the night. I pull out a single cigarette from the drawer, shutting it a little harder than I mean to.
Maybe? Her text is still sitting in my mind. What if she does show up? I grab my phone from the counter, slide it back into my pocket, and head out the door.
“Excuse me, sorry,” I mumble as people pass me on the stairs. I’m moving a little quicker than I usually am because I don’t want to leave Josh bartending alone for too long. Maybe Melody is helping him out? I should have pulled everything out earlier, so this didn’t happen.
I pull open the door, letting the couple outside into the stairwell. I pull my lighter out, placing the cigarette between my lips and covering the filter end with my hand to block the wind. I take the long way around the building so I can enjoy this while I have a second. Josh is fine, the bar is fine, if she shows up, that’s also fine. I think to myself as I’m rounding the corner. Taking one final drag before putting it out, I hold in the cloud of smoke for a moment before releasing it. I close my eyes for a second, breathing in the cool fall air. Glancing over to the most delightful sight, I’m unable to come up with words fast enough before I hear–
“Well, hello there, Captain.”
Charlotte POV
You’re allowed to have fun, Charlotte. That’s the mantra I’ve been repeating in my head since Jacob told me about this party, though the alternative is that this is incredibly unprofessional.
I’ve been parked and sitting in my car for 10 minutes, building up the will to get out. You bought a costume, and you got ready, and you smiled at the text for about 15 minutes straight. Just go have fun. My hand finally reached for the handle, opening the door.
My boots make a little click on the pavement as I get out of the car; I smooth out my pants and readjust the little corset so it’s more comfortable. I look at my reflection in my car windows, leaning in to make sure my lipstick is still in place. Okay. Just go.
Rounding the corner, I see the entrance to the bar, making me slow my pace a little until-
Jacob? I watch as he walks towards the bar; he looks .. good– No, Charlotte, cut it out. I slowly walk towards him, still watching him as he lets out a quick stream of smoke; why is that kinda… He sets the rest of the cigarette in the ashtray placed on top of the garbage can. He stops for a second, clearly trying to calm down. Is he okay? His shoulders drop as he lets out a long breath. Suddenly, we’re making eye contact. Shit.
“Well, hello there, Captain,” I say to him. Smooth Charlotte, real smooth.
He giggles at the name, “Well, blow me down. I didn’t know if I would see you tonight, Red.”
“I decided that I deserved a little fun after this past week and all.”
“I think you made a good decision,” he says calmly, “Also, your costume choice is just lovely.” I don’t know if I ate too much or if he is actually giving me butterflies right now.
“Oh, thank you,” I say quietly; I’ve never been good at receiving compliments. We both stand there for a brief second before he grabs the door to the bar, gesturing for me to go through.
“Ladies first.”
“What a gentleman– oh, I mean, gentle-pirate.”
The bar is full of costumed people, Halloween songs playing loud over the speakers that you can barely hear over the chatter from everyone. It’s nice to see how busy the bar is finally. I had only really been here earlier in the day and honestly, it’s refreshing to know that the bar is doing well, considering how many people are here.
I followed Jacob to the bar, sitting down, only to notice that his brother was dressed as Tinkerbell. It seemed like an odd choice until I looked down to the other end of the bar to see Peter Pan sitting there. Oh… OH.
“Charlotte! You came!” Josh says excitedly, “Y’know, I told Ol’ Captain Sparrow that if he just asked you that, you-”
“Oooookay, Tink, that’s enough,” Jacob cuts him off, making me laugh.
He slid a glass over to me on a napkin. I looked down to see that he made me a Boulevardier. He remembered? My heart feels weird.
“Let me know if it’s terrible, I’ll remake it for you,”
I take a small sip; it’s incredible?
“No, it’s perfect, thank you,” I tell him.
He smiles at me, even his eyes light up. I watch him walk down the length of the bar, checking in on other customers and replacing their drinks with fresh ones. He’s so soft-spoken that I’m shocked he feels so comfortable bartending. The way he looks at every single customer, giving them his full attention, even for the twenty seconds it takes for them to place their order. He’s so-
“So Charlotte,” Josh starts, pulling me out of my thoughts, which may be a good thing at this rate.
“How are you doing, dear?” he asks while wiping a wine glass dry.
“I’m okay,” I tell him, “I am sorry about the other day, I hope you weren’t trying to get out of here.”
“I was actually coming back from lunch, and you weren’t a bother at all,” he tells me, relieving me that I didn’t mess up his entire day.
He continues, “Also, never apologize to me for having feelings. I don’t know what happened, but I’m glad that you were able to let them out. Jake is good at handling situations like yours, so you picked the perfect time, honestly.”
“Oh,” I say before taking a bigger sip.
“Are you here alone?” he asks. I nod quickly, “Let me introduce you to someone. Hold on!”
I watch as he waves over the person in the Peter Pan costume. They make their way over to us, and with how Josh’s face looks, I’m assuming this is a special person to him.
“Charlotte, this is Quinn,” Josh said, gesturing between the two of us.
“Hi, nice to meet you, Quinn,” I can’t help how professional it comes out.
“You as well,” they start, “If you haven’t pieced it together, yes, I’m Josh’s partner.” They let out a small laugh, gesturing at the Peter Pan costume. Okay, thank God, I didn’t want to say that I assumed.
Looking at the two of them, they really are precious.
“I love your costumes,” I tell them.
“Oh, thank you!” they both say simultaneously.
“So Charlotte, what exactly is your job?” Quinn asks.
“Well-” I’m cut off by the group of people approaching us loudly.
I watch quietly from my seat while they all greet each other.
“WILLIAM,” Quinn hollers.
“QUILL”
“QUILLIAM,” the two of them yell at the same time, falling into a fit of giggles.
I can’t help but wonder what I’m currently witnessing.
“Oh my god, you look so fucking good.”
“Stop it- no, YOU guys look so good.”
Quinn looks back over to me, grabs the two girls’ hands they have been chatting with, and hustles back to the bar.
“Guys, this is Charlotte!” Quinn starts introducing us. “This is Willa,” they gesture to the petite girl with a cute bob haircut that frames her face so nicely. She’s dressed in light pink. Loofah? Which is quickly clarified when Sam comes into view dressed as a bar of soap, whom I met briefly the first day I came in.
“I still can’t believe I’m soap, Bird.”
“It was this or Twilight, be glad!”
“And this is Melody, obviously. You’ve met already, though?” gesturing to her, who’s also absolutely beautiful. She’s dressed as Arwen, which means that Danny is dressed as the Aragorn man.
“Hi,” I manage to get out, “Yes, we have, and you both look so great,”
“Thank you so much!” Melody quickly responds.
“Oh, thanks!” Willa quips back.
“Drinks for everybody,” Jake’s voice came from behind me as he slid a bunch of glasses towards us. A chorus of ‘thank you’ surrounds me. Before I can turn to acknowledge him, he’s grabbing my glass.
“Another one?” He asks, fairly quietly this time.
“Please,” my nerves are getting the best of me, and the best way to fight them off is not to be sober.
“Oh, sick! We’re all in couples costumes,”
“Sam,” Willa hitting Sam’s arm, “Shut up?”
I could feel the heat rising into my face; I had been ignoring that Jacob and I wore the same kind of costume and wishfully thought that nobody would mention it. I guess that ship has sailed.
“We have Peter Pan and Twinkerbell, Lord of the Rings, and Calico Jack and Anne Bonny at the bar– I thought it was safe to assume!” Sam says, his loud laugh following it.
“Oh guys,” Jake sounds defeated, “Don’t embarrass her. You just met her.”
He looks back at me, handing me a new drink, “I’m sorry about that. I swear sometimes my brother hates me.”
“It’s okay. I was kind of waiting for it to happen,” I laughed, “I mean, we are matching so..”
He laughs at my observation for a moment.
“Between you and me,” he leans a little closer, whispering, “I think we’re the best dressed here,” flashing me a small smile; oh, how I wish he wouldn’t do that.
“Charlotte, come with us!” Quinn says, grabbing my hand and pulling me off the barstool. They pull me over to a table where the other girls are sitting. Oh god.
“Josh told me you were here alone, and well.. that’s not fun,” they tell me.
“I don’t actually live around here, so I don’t really know anybody,” I start, “Well, aside from you guys, now.”
A slew of ‘oooohhhh’s come out from all of them.
“So, I’m under the impression you’re all partners with the boys?” I ask.
“Yes!” “Yep,” “Mhmmm,” quickly followed.
I take another few sips of my drink, feeling the anxiety starting to melt away.
“I’m secretly a sucker for romance, so who wants to let me in on the situations here?” I tell them, rapidly pointing around at all of them and the boys. I’m going to be around for a little bit. I may as well get to know them. Plus.. it probably wouldn’t hurt for me to try and make some friends… right?
“How much time do you have?” Quinn asks bluntly. The other two erupted with laughter.
I look down at my drink, swirling it around, and then drink the last few sips quickly before looking at them and delivering a monotone, “I got time.”
“Well, in that case,” Willa starts, “Let me tell you about my sweet, dumb, but hot boyfriend Samuel.�� She says while cracking her knuckles.
“So– I met him at the farmers market, where he proceeded to be an absolute dick to me. And THEN, he was here when I came here on an unsuccessful date, we had to WORK TOGETHER, went on a trip where we got with ONE BED-” Willa pauses for dramatic effect before taking a breath to practically yell, “LIKE THE BOOK TROPE, CHARLOTTE.”
“You sure you wanna hear this?” Quinn interjects.
“Oh, I’m invested now,” I quickly spit out. I catch a small glimpse of Jacob as he’s grabbing some empty bottles from a table across the room. He smiles and nods at whatever they say; oh, there’s that feeling again.
Willa continues her tale, but I barely hear her. My eyes fixated on him, watching how he makes eye contact with anyone who talks to him. Making sure that he hears them, nodding along and giggling often. Every so often, letting someone have a genuine smile–
Willa’s voice hit me again, “–and now I guess I like him back.”
“Oh, my god?” I respond, “That is uh.. A lot?” Oh, I’m the worst person ever.
“It is a lot, but I guess he was worth it or whatever,” Willa rolls her eyes at the statement.
Quinn smacked her arm, “You loved that silly string bean for so long. Don’t even act like you didn’t.”
Everybody was giggling at the call out. I saw Melody look around the table at all the empty glasses before standing up and grabbing them all.
“Let me get us another round, but Quinn, feel free to start whenever,” She grabs their arm, “I obviously know how this goes already.”
We all watch her for a minute as she walks up to the bar, getting the boys’ attention.
“Melody is so pretty?” I say out loud, “Oh god, is that weird?”
“No!”
“Not at all.”
“We all think she’s hot, don’t worry.”
Before I can look back over to them, Jacob is in my line of sight again. This time, he’s behind the bar, talking to one of the older ladies he seems so fond of. The way they make him laugh is sweet. He’s stood there for a second before he leans over the bar to grab something from them, but the way he leans makes his shirt fall open more; I can see his stomach flex for a split second. Holy shit. Where is Melody with those drinks, dear god-
“Alright, Quill, let’s go.”
Melody sat back down at the table, dispersing the drinks to everyone.
“Welllllll,” Quinn says, “I met him at Hobby Lobby- don’t ask me why HE worked THERE.”
I have got to stop getting distracted by this man. He walks past our table, gently squeezing Quinn’s shoulders as he passes them. They just glance over at him as they’re talking. It’s precious how much he seems to like them. Maybe he’s just a loving person? Oh, god I don’t like that.
“But, now we’re just in love, and he’s perfect, so!”
“...in the cooler?” Willa mumbled, covering her mouth, “Please tell me you’re joking.”
What did they do in the cooler? Shit, I need to be paying closer attention.
“Yeah… I probably could have left that part out, huh?” Their eyes widened, looking over at me, with the realization of who they were telling that to. “We cleaned up after! Promise!”
“Wait a second- so, you and Josh.. here?” Willa says, pointing at Quinn, before turning to Melody, “And you and Danny …ALSO here..?”
Never mind, I don’t want to know. Don’t tell me, don’t tell me, don’t tell me.
The two nod in sync, holding back their laughs.
“Well, that’s not fair!”
“This is truly taking years off my life,” I tell them while rubbing my temples, making them all giggle at my pain.
“I’m not about to make it any better,” Melody says with a laugh, followed by the other two losing even more.
I hold up one finger while inhaling the rest of my drink, “Okay, I think I’m ready.”
“So Daniel and I actually started dating in High School,” Melody says, pulling a quiet ‘awww’ from all of us, “We were together for a while before I decided to go to college out of state,” she tells us.
I see him in the background, just scanning the room while Josh is making drinks, well, until he sees me looking back at him. Shit, shit, shit, shifting my eyes back to Melody.
“Anyway– I ran into Josh, who got me the job here, and I’m so thankful for it. The boys are so great, and I’m obviously not going to complain about getting to see Daniel again.”
“I bet you’re not complaining,” Willa says suggestively with an exaggerated wink.
“HE sure complained at first, though,” Quinn pipes up with a laugh.
“Oh hush,” Melody tries to brush it off, “I do love him for more than our sex life.”
Willa is quick to reply, “Whatever you say, girly.”
“So.. what’s the part that will ruin my day?” I nervously ask.
“Conveniently, the day you came in actually, Jake had sort of… walked in on us.”
“Walked in on WHAT?”
“The thing is.. The roads were terrible, so I asked Jake if he minded grabbing Iris-” Quinn quickly cuts off Melody.
“YEAH, WE HAD A SLEEPOVER WITH THE CHILD,” Quinn can’t tell us fast enough.
“Hey,” Willa, chuckling, gently grabs Quinn’s arm, “Charlotte was the only one not involved. You don’t need to yell.”
“Sorry, I just love Iris a lot, okay?”
“And she loves you back,” Melody reassures them, “Anyway, yes, so everybody else had a fun sleepover with my daughter, and I closed the bar with Daniel while having a weird argument–”
Jake comes up between Quinn and Melody, placing one hand on Melody’s back, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I come bearing not watered-down drinks.”
He starts placing the drinks on the table, having to slide mine and Willa’s across the table.
I watch as he makes a little small talk with everyone and how much they all seem to like him. He seems too nice to be real. Everyone laughing with him, I look up at him before he slides my drink over to me. His hands. Oh my. He has rings on… oh my GOD. Trying not to be obvious, I quickly flit my eyes back up to meet his.
“Thank you,” I mouth to him while the other three are talking. He mouths back, ‘Of course’, flashing me a smile. The boy is beautiful when he smiles.
He turns to go back to the bar, and I just focus on him walking there; unknowingly, I am being watched.
“Charlotte!”
“Yes?” I quip back; I can feel the heat in my face, but is it embarrassment or the alcohol? The world will never know.
“Are you… into Jake..?” Willa asks quietly.
The other two leaned in on our little secret session, which I was not prepared for.
“Nooo, no, no, no,” I can’t spit it out quickly enough.
Quinn lets out a laugh before choking out, “You were practically drooling over him,”
“Ha ha.. Nooo.. I wasn’t,” I try to defend myself, scratching the back of my head, “Was it really that obvious?”
A chorus of yelps elicited when I loosely admit to thinking he’s attractive.
“Oh stoooop,” I cover my face.
“Don’t be embarrassed– those Kiszka boys are incredibly charming,” Quinn states, “It’s hard not to fall for it.”
“Yeah, I don’t know about ‘charming’ per se, but they do have some good genes in that family.” Willa taking a light jab at Sam.
“Really though,” Melody chimes in, “Jake is honestly very charming,”
“Oh, he is absolutely,”
“He’s too nice,”
Quinn and Willa tend to talk at the same time, and being a few drinks in does not help my deciphering of who said what, but at least when they’re on the same page, it helps.
“He has been very easy to work with, so I would believe that,” I try to regain my composure, even though the fact everybody thinks he’s sweet is not helpful to where my brain has been going all night.
“I’m sure his brain just shuts down when you’re around,” Willa says into her glass before taking a sip.
“What do you mean?”
“Have you seen yourself?” Quinn questions, “You’re so hot?”
‘Mhm’
‘Yeah, you are.’
I know that my face is absolutely pink at this rate; I just shake my head ‘no.’
“I’m sure he sees plenty of pretty girls being a bartender,” I roll my eyes at the idea that he wouldn’t hit on other girls while he’s working.
“Pretty sure the only one he entertains is Eleanor,” Melody giggles.
“I’m almost positive he told Josh that he’d just marry her if he stayed single for too much longer,” Quinn says, looking over at Josh, who just blows a kiss to them. Wow, they’re so cute together.
I watch as Melody taps on her phone, seeing the time, “Well, guys, I need to go relieve Josh for a bit.”
Quinn quickly stood up with their drink and nodded to the bar. Willa and I followed suit, migrating up to the bar. Claiming a bar stool and watching as Josh comes to find Quinn, quickly kissing their nose and then their forehead before Quinn snuggles themself into him for a brief moment.
“Pretty cute, aren’t they?” Jacob whispers, scaring the living daylights out of me.
“They really are,” I say, “And you need a bell or something because Jesus Christ.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he laughs, placing his hand on my back for a second, “I just need to get out of there for a minute,” he tells me.
“So I’m going to run around to clean and just saw you fixated on them.”
“Well, since you’re here, Jake,” Willa says loudly, leaning over to me and whispering, “Wanna see the boys squirm?” I simply nod with a grin plastered across my face.
“Don’t you guys think Melody is insanely hot?” She questions everybody.
Daniel violently shakes his head, ‘Yes,’ while Melody laughs behind the bar.
“I.. uhh,” Jake mumbles, holding the back of his neck, “I have tables to clean,” and quickly walks off to grab glasses.
Sam’s eyes are wide, and his face is filled with panic. “Birdie, I can’t answer,” he begins to say before his brother abruptly cuts him off.
“SMASH FOR SURE,” Josh confidently shouts, being met with a high five from Quinn.
“You’re right, that was worth it,” I whisper, leaning into Willa.
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I sat with everybody while they talked, well, yelled. This is a much louder group of friends than I’m used to. Granted, I have like..no group of friends. I listen to a lot of very odd conversations filled with Sam instigating Willa so that she would get a little pissed at him. There are plenty of lengthy stories from Josh, which probably wouldn’t take as long if he didn’t tell us every side story that goes along with it, but he’s so animated I guess I can’t really complain.
“Here, Charlotte,” Melody says, “Jake told me how to make your drink, so .. I hope it tastes right,”
I take a sip, oh lord, that is STRONG, “It’s great!”
Why did I do that? She needs to learn… Not that I could even correct her right now.
I sip on my drink for a while, feeling it hitting harder than I’m used to. Every so often, Jake comes out from behind the bar to make small talk with some of the customers or come bug his brothers for a few minutes. I always hope it’s the latter.
“How are we doin’, Red?”
I blink rather slowly, “I’m thriving,” slowly cracking a smile, knowing it sounded terrible coming out of my mouth.
“Well, I’m so glad,” he tells me. The way he makes eye contact but also watches my mouth when I talk makes me want to scream.
“You know,” I tell him, what are you doing? , “I dare ye to resist me booty,” the alcohol starts speaking.
“Are…are you trying to flirt with me?” He laughs out.
“Maybe, is it working?” I ask, biting the inside of my lip. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
“Oh– well,” he giggles quietly; leaning in, he rests one hand on the back of my barstool to support himself, but his face creeps in closer to my ear before he whispers, “You don’t even have to try with me, honey.” Fuck me.
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I spend the rest of the night chatting with Quinn and Willa about the most random things. But I think that is what friends are supposed to do?
Slowly, people start trickling out as it nears 1 a.m. I say my goodbyes to Sam and Willa, which is shortly followed by Josh and Quinn. Jake was nice enough to let Josh go to bed since he was here decorating so early.
“Ready to go, ducky?” Daniel asks Melody; party of one officially.
“Oh, I am beyond ready,” she stretches her arms out before turning to me, “I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
Shit. I already forgot that I told her about the training earlier today.
“Yes, you will! Can’t wait,” I do my best not to show that I definitely forgot and that I’m definitely NOT going to feel like shit in the morning now.
“I’ll see you then,” she says with a little wink.
I turn to the bar, leaning into my hand with a very minuscule smile painted on my face as I watch him. Just waiting for him to look over at me, I can’t help but stare.
“I can feel you watching me,” he grins from the other end of the bar.
“I’m debating on how I’m going to get home, is all,” I say with a sigh.
“Did you drive here?” He asks.
“Yep,”
“Okay, so, first of all, you’re not going to do that,” he tells me.
“And why not?” I protest. He sauntered over to me, leaning against the bar.
“You’re so pretty,” he says to me, glancing down at my lips until I finally pull the bottom one in with my teeth, “Yeah- you’re not driving.”
My jaw drops; he really got me there.
“I can just call an Uber,” I tell him.
“Charlotte, I don’t love that idea. It’s almost 2 am, and I literally live just upstairs,” Jake continues to tell me I need to stay here, and I don’t know why I’m fighting it so hard.
“I don’t want to impose,”
“I’m offering?”
“Touche Captain,” I giggle a bit at the nickname. I bet he likes it.
“Just hang out for a couple minutes so I can close the bar down,” he tells me.
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“Don’t you want to clean?”
“It’s so late. Josh can help me in the morning,” Jake speaks low as we walk into the stairwell.
“Oh no,” slips out, “oh, I didn’t mean to actually say that,”
Jake lets out a quiet laugh, “I got you, don’t worry,”
Before I can react, he has his arm underneath mine, gesturing for my hand. I lace my fingers into his; the butterflies are back. How fun. He holds my hand tightly, letting me put a lot of my weight into him as we carefully go up the first flight of stairs.
“I think I can do it,” I tell him; I absolutely cannot?
“You sure about that, sport?”
I squint at him and immediately stumble up the first couple of stairs of the second flight, letting out a small ‘oop.’
“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” He makes fun of me gently while supporting me again.
This may be the longest stair climb of my life.
We finally make it to his apartment.
Jake whispers, “You can take my bed, and I’ll just sleep on the couch.” He’s so cute when he’s concerned.
“Noooo, I can sleep on the couch. I’ve already inconvenienced you.”
He blinks at me slowly, unamused.
I can’t stop myself from walking towards his couch, and it’s a humbling moment for me as my legs wobble in the process.
“No, you don’t,” Jake says from behind me.
“Jake, really, I don’t mind,” I look back at him, disorienting myself from turning too quickly.
“Jesus Christ,” he mutters as he grabs my arms to stop me from falling over. I just stare at him like a deer in headlights.
“Yeah, I didn’t want it to come to this, but,” he says before he wraps his arms around my thighs, lifting me over his shoulder.
Childlike laughter erupts from me as he carries me through his apartment into his bedroom. I can feel his chest vibrating subtly from giggling with me.
“Here ya go,” he says, moving one hand to my back so he can set me down. So carefully, making sure not to drop me, he leans down slowly. The feeling of falling became so real suddenly, that I instinctively held onto his shoulder, which pulled him back with me. He stumbles forward a bit, catching himself before landing on top of me.
I prop myself up on my elbows as I laugh. He’s hovered over me, with a hand on either side; our faces are so close.
We both freeze as we realize how close we are. I wonder how soft his lips really are… My eyes defy me, shifting down to look at his mouth, just for a second, as he watches me.
Clearing his throat as he stands up.
“Uh- here, let me get you a sweatshirt or something,” he sounds timid. Quickly shuffling through his closet, he pulled out a navy sweatshirt and handed it to me.
“It’ll probably be a little bit loose on you, but better than sleeping like a pirate?”
I chuckle, smiling up at him. Simply grateful for something comfortable to wear.
“I’ll go so you can do that,” still clearly very nervous.
Pulling my shirt over my head, I quickly pull the sweatshirt over me. I lock the bottom of it under my chin so I can see what I'm doing. Oh no. No, no, no, no. My zipper is stuck, and staring at it makes me cross-eyed. I drop my head back, letting out an angry sigh. Please just unzip. My hands get increasingly sweaty, making the stupid plastic zipper hard to grip.
I hear a few soft knocks on the door before it cracks open.
“Can I come in?” He asks.
“Actually… I um… I need help.”
Coming in quickly and shutting the door behind him, I just stare at him pathetically.
“My zipper is stuck,” I tell him, embarrassed.
He chokes back a laugh, setting a glass of water on the nightstand next to his bed.
He kneels in front of me; oh, this is terrible. I lift the sweatshirt, revealing the catastrophic mess from me, yanking the zipper every which way.
“Where the hell did you even get these, Red?” He asks, looking up at me with a soft giggle.
I wish he would just focus. I don't need to look at him like this. Making eye contact causes my brain to short-circuit, and I stare back at him silently. Watching him try to figure out how the zipper got caught, he’s so carefully moving the fabric around.
“How much do you care about these?” He asks, gently tapping my hip.
“At this point,” I raise my eyebrows in defeat.
“Are you sure?”
I just nod ‘yes’ in response.
He grabs either side of the zipper and tears it apart quickly. The sound of the fabric ripping was relieving, well, for a second. Both of us smile at the fact that I’m free until he looks back down to see the lace of my thong peeking out.
I see his eyes go wide, and the pink creep into his cheeks as he pinches the fabric together.
“Oh,” slips out of me. I let the sweatshirt drop, falling to the tops of my thighs as the now ripped pirate pants hit the floor.
“So, uh, well,” Jake says, holding the back of his neck while avoiding eye contact, “I will let you get some sleep.”
I don’t know what possesses me to say, “Wait-“
Closing the gap between us, I lean up onto my toes slightly, placing a small kiss on his cheek.
“Thank you,” I tell him before crawling into his bed.
“Of course, m’lady,” he says with a bow. His little English accent laces the words, which makes me laugh.
“Sleep well,” he whispers, shutting off the light as he leaves.
I fall back into his bed, wrapping myself up in the blankets. They smell like him, comforting, warm.
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Chapter Seven
Chapter Nine
FDOG Masterpost | Masterlist | FDOG Playlist
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