Swing (Tidals & Anchors MC 1)

Washington state, I thought shaking my head as I rode. I had never left Oregon, and he dumped me in Washington fucking state. I understood in a way; it was the closest place to take me, but fuck. California would’ve been nice too.

I pulled up to Coasters in less than five minutes. I may or may not have obeyed the speed limit. Being on my bike again had made me feel amazing and nothing was really much of a concern on the short ride.

I backed it into an empty spot in the front and walked in. Pulling my sunglasses off of my face, I slid them into the dip of my shirt, and did a quick glance around before I decided on the bar. There weren’t many people in there, but it was late afternoon so I knew it should start filling

up soon. If it did, anyway. If it didn’t, I’d just walk down to the next bar and see what my choices were.

The female bartender came over and gave me a big smile. “What are ya having?”

“I don’t know yet,” I replied with a laugh. “You’re kind of blocking most of the selections.”

Her face turned red in embarrassment as she slid out of the way. I leaned forward a little and finally decided on a Shock Top Raspberry Wheat.

“I’m Mary Ann,” she said, as she began to wipe the bar top. “The menus are over there. Let me know when you’re ready for some grub.”

“This place usually pick up?” I asked, as I turned the two sided piece of plastic over. The choices were what you would expect in a dive bar. Limited and two kinds of meat; chicken or beef.

“Pick up?” she asked, leaning back against the booze shelf behind her. “Yeah. As soon as the sun goes down, the regulars come in. Can’t say it’s as busy as the other places, but it’s nice in here.”

I placed the menu down, crossed my arms on the bar, and leaned forward. I liked Mary Ann and if I didn’t find a gal to bring home tonight, I wouldn’t mind bringing her with me. Her hair reminded of gold would like if it was soft. Her eyes were slight and I couldn’t quite make out the color, but she was nice enough and she made me smile.

“What would you recommend?” I asked with a grin.

“Recommend?” she echoed. My grin widened when she blinked in confusion. Ricki once told me that my grin, smile, whatever my mouth decided to do, always knocked women on their asses.

“To eat,” I clarified with a finger tap on the dull plastic.

“Folks usually go with the burger for the most part,” she replied with a shrug.

“Sounds good to me.” I slid the menu back toward her as she pulled out a flip pad. “Bacon, lettuce, pepper jack cheese, well done.”

“Fries?” she asked, glancing up at me.

“No thank you.”

“I’ll go put this in for you,” she said with a nod.

“Swing.”

“What?” she asked looking at me.

“’I’ll put this in for you, Swing,’” I said raising my beer bottle to my lips.

I laughed into the neck of the bottle as she walked away shaking her head. If I was going to take her with me, she might as well know my name, was my feeling on the subject. Hell, even if I didn’t end up taking her home, I still thought she was nice enough.

My phone ringing in my pocket interrupted my thoughts and I sighed as I dug around for it.

“Yes, Dad?” I asked into the speaker. I didn’t even have to look anymore these days to know it was Dallas.

Laughter was his response. It was good that he still had a sense of humor with all of the shit that was going down.

“How you doing, man?” he asked after a moment.

“I’m alright. Out getting a burger and a beer,” I replied. I picked up the bottle, chugged the remainder of the beer, and held it up. Mary Ann was on her way back from the kitchen so she nodded and took it from me, replacing it with another. “Thanks, darlin’,” I said to her.

“How long have you been out today? Sounds like you’re already on the hunt,” Dallas remarked.

“Well, Dad, I actually just got here a little while ago,” I replied.