Room Mated: Standalone Reverse Harem Romance

“Right away, 007.” I winked at him as he sat on a stool at the other side of the bar, Parker and Mason next to him. I’d have no problem preparing his drink in a shaker because the guys had been busy while I was with Sierra. They’d stocked the kitchenette with pretty much everything I’d need to make mixed drinks including shakers, jiggers, a strainer, and a set of stainless-steel tools no bartender should be without. They’d also added more bottles of tonic, liquors, and syrups to our stash. The only thing they hadn’t done was to get a bunch of glassware. None of us had the time or the desire to clean it, so we’d used an assortment of disposable cups for the drinks I made.

I poured Jude’s martini and threaded three olives on a toothpick. When I handed it over to him, I had the wild urge to lean over the bar and give him a kiss. Needless to say, it wasn’t anything I usually considered part of my bartender duties, but the urge was still there.

The guys had really gone all out fixing things up this weekend. They’d even stopped referring to it as the anthrax bar.

I turned to Mason. “What can I get for you?”

“How come you called him ‘sir’ and not me?” Mason grumbled.

“I tip better,” Jude said, and I laughed. It really felt like all that was missing were some taps and a tip jar. Of course, since they’d bought the supplies, I should probably tip them.

“A beer,” Mason said, and I frowned.

“A beer? That’s no fun to prepare.”

“Sure it is,” he said without missing a beat. “You just turn around, bend over, and get one from the fridge.”

“How is that fun?”

“I get to check out your ass when you bend over.”

“Ah,” Jude said, nodding his head. “Now I see the fun part.”

I rolled my eyes and sidled over to the fridge, pulling out an IPA while trying not to moon anybody.

“Spoilsport,” Mason muttered as I opened the bottle for him. Then I turned to Parker.

“What can I get for you?”

“Surprise me.”

I grinned. “Good answer. See? That’s a lot more fun than just grabbing a beer.”

“Noted,” Mason answered.

I made him an old fashioned. It took a little longer to make, but I enjoyed myself. Bartending was always fun the first hour or so when you got to talk to fairly sober people. It got less so when it was one in the morning and you couldn’t get a drunk to leave, but that didn’t seem like it’d be an issue here.

Finally finishing the drink, I set it on a napkin and slid it over to Parker. “That’s perfect,” he said after trying it.

“We aim to please here at Bar None.”

“That’s not what we’re calling it,” Jude said.

“Bar with a View?” I offered. Because in the daylight, there’d be one hell of a view.

“Let’s keep workshopping it,” Jude said.

I made myself an amaretto sour and for a while we drank in silence. “We need bar snacks. I’ll get them—you three have already spent too much.”

“On a bar we benefit from,” Mason pointed out.

“True. But I’ll get the snacks.” I bit my lower lip, lost in thought for a moment, and then hit them with something I’d been thinking about off and on. “Speaking of bars, I’d like to go back to the other bar, the Drunken Horse.”

“No,” at least two voices said at once, maybe three.

“And it’s the Dancing Horse,” Jude added.

“Right, that’s what I said. I want to go there again.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because it’s where your band plays. And where you guys sometimes hang out.”

“It’s a dump,” Mason said.

“Well, not all bars are like our Mountainview Bar.” I ran my hand fondly along the countertop.

“That’s not the right name either,” Parker said. “Why do you want to go back to the Dancing Horse?”

“I just do.” I sighed. “I don’t want it to become a big thing, like if I avoid it for the rest of my life just because one shitty thing happened one time. It’s like riding a horse. If you fall off, you get back on.”

“You didn’t fall, you were pushed,” Mason growled, shaking his head. “So, you’re saying you want to climb back on the—er—dancing horse?”

“Exactly.”

“No,” Jude said.

“Yes,” I said. “What are you going to do, tell the bouncer not to admit me?”

“Now there’s an idea,” he said.

“The bouncer was nowhere to be found when we needed him before,” Parker said.

Inspiration struck as I took a sip of my drink. “How about we go on a night when Jude’s not playing? That way we can all sit together. Besides, you guys said it was calmer on weeknights, right?”

“Maybe,” Jude conceded.

“We’ll go on Wednesday,” Mason decided. “It’s hump day after all.”

Grinning, I looked at Parker, who nodded. Then Jude. He didn’t look happy about it, but he finally nodded, too.