“Are you trying to get me drunk, Spencer Carlin?” I winked, half hoping Spence would just admit her feelings for me right there and then so we could get on with being whatever we were destined to be, but at the same time wanting her to continue stringing me along with the flirty little guessing game she had going on.  I was beginning to love how uncomfortable Spence’s burgeoning sexuality made her, and I’d stop at nothing to light that flame of desire in her eyes before she so quickly put it out and hid it away again.  God why couldn’t she just give in already?  I was crazy for her!

“Maybe,” Spence winked, grabbing my hand before dragging me over to the bar.

I hoped she couldn’t feel how fast my heart was pumping, how my blood was coursing and mingling through my body at such a high speed I swore the pressure would build up and make me explode.  No one ever made me feel like that.  Ever.  It was like a rule I made for myself, that I’d never allow anyone to affect me in such a powerful way, but every time I was with her I couldn’t help but break it because of the amount of power she unwittingly had over me.  I used to always be the one in control, always, but she effortlessly took it from me the moment she walked into my life.  That’s how I found myself standing by her at the bar, allowing her to buy me drinks as opposed to me fulfilling my traditional role as seducer-cum-drink-provider.

As she spoke to the bartender I felt myself zoning out.  I could no longer hear her words.  Instead I just stared at her.  I didn’t feel guilty about the fact that every time I glanced at her lips I imagined what she’d be like to kiss; that every time we walked together I’d sometimes allow her to lead the way so I could watch the way her hips swayed as she moved; that whenever we held hands I wondered what it’d be like to have hers caress every inch of me.  It was as though we’d already done all the foreplay and were leading up to something huge – we’d been flirting and touching for months now, we’d laid all the emotional foundations that I’d never normally bother with, and in all honesty I’d completely fallen for her.  I just hoped she’d remain in control for as long as it took her to tell me how she felt, just in case I was completely wrong thinking she felt the same way for me and then put my foot in it by speaking up first.  I wasn’t going to put my heart on the line in vain… not again.

I was snapped out of my daze when I realised Spence’s voice was raised in an argument with the bartender.

“We don’t serve minors…,”  the barman mocked.

“But they let me in on the door!” Spence interrupted.

“… and if you’re not careful, I’ll call the bouncers over to look more closely at your ID,” the barman stated.

“Oh come on – Ashley here was just playing on stage!  You’re gonna deny her drinks after her performance?” Spence pleaded.

“Look, don’t get me wrong – she played great, I loved it.  Fuck, actually she’s the best live act I’ve ever seen, ever, in the history of music -”

“Oi!” I cried, not liking his mocking tone.

“But no matter how great she was, I’m still not serving you,” he smiled patronisingly, making his way over to serve a girl who was flashing far more cleavage than she was before she’d approached the bar.

“Will you serve me?”  my dad suddenly asked from out of nowhere.

The bartender spun round, looking star-struck.

“Of course,”  the bartender stammered, “I’m sorry.  What can I get you?”

The girl with the cleavage looked put out as my dad took centre stage and ordered himself a scotch on the rocks.  I loved the power he had over stupid people who didn’t realise he was just the same as everyone else… only a lot more talented and famous, of course.

“And whatever my daughter and her friend are having,” Dad smiled, pointing my way.

The barman scurried off to get our drinks as Spence stared at my dad in awe.

“No fair!”  she laughed.  “I’ve been here for ages!”

“It helps to have sold a few million records,” I winked, nudging her.

“Also, I put a lot of good acts on their stage,” dad smiled, reaching for his wallet to pull out some notes to pay for the drinks.

“On the house, sir,” the barman gushed upon his return.  “And I’ve made them all doubles.”

He winked at me and Spence before apologising to us and going back to serving cleavage-girl.