Club Endless Fantasy (Haremworld)

“What’s good to eat in this place?” Gina reached for the menu and opened it. “Wow, they have a lot of salads!”

“Vegans—lots of them in the South Side now.” I chuckled and shrugged. “Flip the page to see the good stuff.”

“Ah, burgers and fries. That’s what I’m talking about.” Gina immediately closed the menu.

“A woman after my heart.” I smiled and closed my menu. “Will you get offended if I order a beer?”

“You don’t get enough to drink at work?” Gina snickered and waved off my concern. “No, it doesn’t bother me. Maybe I’ll have one too.”

“I don’t drink when I’m working. Something about never getting high on your own supply—that’s what I’ve always heard.” I leaned back in my chair and motioned for the waiter.

“Pretty sure that was a rap song, not an actual rule or anything.” Gina snickered again. “And it was about crack—not beer.”

“One drug is as bad as the other.” I raised my eyebrows and shrugged.

We ordered our food and I felt an uneasiness in my stomach. It wasn’t hunger—it was nerves. It had been a really long time since I went on an actual date. The woman sitting across the table from me mesmerized me just as much in the daylight as she did in the dim light of the pub. She had a natural beauty and she was flawless. Her gorgeous curves—her soft pouty lips—her intoxicating laugh. I could have stared at her for days, but first I had to stop getting lost in her emerald green eyes. I fumbled my words, fumbled my napkin, and felt like a klutz as I tried to make conversationI always relied on humor to keep conversations interesting, and she was a perfect match.

“So, tell me about Hal’s Pub.” Gina lifted her beer and and sipped it.

“It was my father’s place. He was Hal.” I shrugged and reached for my beer. “Unfortunately, he passed away about ten years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She grimaced and put her beer back down on the table. “You’re just carrying on his legacy?”

“Something like that.” I nodded and gulped my beer before putting the glass down. “It definitely wasn’t how I expected to spend the rest of my life, but there are worse jobs.”

“Why not sell it?” Gina tilted her head with an inquisitive stare that seemed to have more than simple curiosity behind it.

“I thought about it.” I nodded and reached for my beer again. “There have been a few people interested over the years, but it’s hard to put a price on history, you know?”

“I guess that makes sense.” She tilted her head in the opposite direction. “But with all the changes happening on the South Side, I’m sure you could get more than it’s worth.”

“Maybe.” I sipped my beer and nodded. “It’s tempting, that’s for sure, but then what? Where would I go? The money wouldn’t last forever. I might never get rich running the pub, but at least I get to spend time with a fine group of alcoholics.”

“You seem like a guy that would have more ambition than that.” Gina narrowed her eyes and started to say something else, but our food arrived before she could finish her thought.

Hal’s Pub was far from perfect and there were some months when I wondered how I would keep the doors open, but the locals always came through. All I had to do was threaten to stop serving liquor and suddenly—tabs got paid. I learned that trick from my dad. I definitely had ambition at one point in my life. I hardly remembered who I was back then when my life was headed in a totally different direction. Selling the place was probably in my best interest, even if I didn’t like to think about it. At some point, the gentrification virus would push my customers out of their homes with enough cash to drink elsewhere. Then the bar wouldn’t be worth the nails that held the wood together. I held out when buyers came a couple of times before, but I always wondered if I made the right choice.

“So what do you do?” I swallowed a bite of my burger and chased it with beer.

“Yeah, I guess you were going to ask that eventually.” Gina’s face contorted to a slight grimace. “I work for Viking Developments.”

“Wait.” My eyes opened wide. “You—hold on, you work for the company that’s renovating all the property in the South Side.”

“I do.” Her words came in out in a hesitant tone and were followed by another grimace.

“Seriously?” I put down my burger and glared at her. “So, this isn’t a date is it? You’re asking me all these questions because your company wants to buy my pub?”

“Yes.” Gina sighed and nodded her head quickly.

“That’s why you were there that night. The other woman—the one that came to see me earlier that day. Angelina? This is just some kind of setup so you can try to buy my bar. That’s why she told me to ask you out?” I lifted my beer and drained it. “Fuck.”

And here I thought you actually liked me—this is why I stick to sluts. Dating is a fucking joke.

“Wait—back up a second. Angelina told you to ask me out?” Gina’s face went blank and she tilted her head.

“Like you didn’t know.” I scoffed and motioned for our waiter to bring me another beer. “Of course this is a fucking setup. I should have known you were too good to be true.”

“Angelina is a friend. She doesn’t have anything to do with Viking Developments. When did she come to see you again?” Gina blinked several times and her face reflected true confusion.