You take a sip of your drink. Bite your lips. Leave a mark of coral lipstick on your teeth. Your finger hovers over the bottom of your lip, and then tucks the light brown strands that have escaped your low and parted ponytail behind your ear. It has only been ten minutes but your eyes have repeatedly attempted to wander to the bar even though it’s hidden behind a parting wall. It’s the only seat you could’ve chosen where you can’t see me, but I can see you. You’re not alone tonight.
The first time you walked in here was on a sunny day, just a little after noon. We had just opened and I didn’t expect any customers yet. Our eyes met, but you quickly looked down and moved to the nearest seat you could find. You ended up in a red leather puff chair next to the window, in front of the bookcase. It became your chair every following Tuesday. And every time you came, the first thing you ordered was a cup of tea. Never mind that you had set foot in a cocktail bar.
I granted you that; simply served you what you asked for as a sign of good will. But you didn’t pay attention to me. You shifted in your seat and kept on looking out of the window instead. You would give me a smile when I served you tea but after I left, the gears of your brain kept spinning wondering over the lives of the people you watched outside.
Then one day I put down a shot of alcohol next to your tea. Your friendly smile didn’t immediately falter but I noticed the frown of your eyebrows. For the first time you looked me in the eye for more than a second.
‘I didn’t–’
‘It’s on me,’ I said as I looked right at your chestnut brown eyes.
‘Oh, I don’t– I really don’t want–’
The blue light of your eyes seemed moved like calm waves of the sea and pulled me in closer.
‘I insist. It’s yours.’
Suddenly you turned your head away. I was so close to you then that I could smell your scent; a subtle fragrance of Oakwood and vanilla. I had to force myself to take a step back.
‘Alright,’ you said quietly. ‘I’ll take it.’
But while I watched you closely in the following hours, the liquid remained in its shot untouched. All you could do was stare out of the window. Then you left the bar a little before five. Once my shift was over I picked up the shot and sat down in the lukewarm seat you left behind. I emptied the shot in my mouth.
