“How does he do that?” Carlie asked. “He just appears out of nowhere.”
Alex took a sip of his beer and looked like he had an idea running through his brain. Or maybe just that he had indigestion. Who knew?
“Get him to ask a girl out on a date. Not just ask, but actually date someone. Have you seen him? He can barely talk to women.”
“Hey, he talks to me.”
Violet came out of her office and sat at the bar. Carlie poured her a Coke then set a rack of glasses in the dishwasher.
“Hey Violet, these chuckleheads think Drew is too scared to talk to girls. Have you noticed?”
“He’s got no problem with me.” Violet played with her phone while she talked. Sending love messages to Razer, no doubt.
Alex and I exchanged looks. Of course, he talked to Carlie and Violet. They were like older sisters to him and he had no interest in dating them but I’d noticed he was incredibly shy when it came to other women. If there were a group of girls in the bar, he’d get all awkward and clumsy when he had to wipe their table down.
I was going to tell Carlie we meant real girls but I didn’t fancy having things thrown at me. Actually, why Drew was scared of other women and not these two was beyond me. They were the scariest women I knew.
Almost.
Chapter 7 Jackson
THE CHALLENGE IDEA was going a bit too well. I started feeling sorry for the kid. He’d jumped at the chance to prove himself but he had no aptitude.
A bunch of girls came into the bar. The same scenario would play out as it had over the past three days.
Drew walked over and wiped down their table. This time he managed it without knocking over a drink. That was a step up for him. He lingered around for a while, not saying anything, until one of the girls looked up at him.
“Are you right?” she asked.
“Do you girls... er... come here often?”
God, he needed smooth talking lessons, not guitar lessons. You could see the girls cringe. They giggled and Drew blushed. He stammered something else that I didn’t catch and the three of them all glared at him like he was a total loser.
“Er, sorry.” He wandered over to me.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Jackson?”
I nodded. Although I should’ve set him a time limit. A week or something, so that the torture wasn’t prolonged for him.
“But what’s in it for you? Even if I go out on a date, you’re still going to be sad and lonely. Because you are too scared to do anything but drink.”
“That’s not making me want to help you, kid.” I tapped a coin against the bar, wondering how to get this situation sorted out.
“You know what I mean, Jackson. What’s in this for you?”
“I’m hoping you get laid and then you’ll give up any fo
ol idea of playing guitar.”
Drew shook his head. “I’m just asking someone on a date, not for sex.”
As he said that, Gina walked into the bar. My heart stopped for half a beat. She sat down at a table with her back to me. I turned so she wasn’t in my line of vision. Her step didn’t have its usual spring and she never even looked at my corner of the bar. I should punch myself for even thinking she would. I’d done what I set out to do.
What I didn’t expect was the rush of heat through my body. I stared at my glass, swilling the whiskey.
Another group of girls came in and I was about to give him some pointers, then remembered that I had a vested interest in his failure.
“Hey, Drew, why don’t you just call it quits? You’re only torturing yourself. There’s no shame in admitting defeat.”