Expresso Martini

☾︎✯☽︎

"Hey, Jisoo," I greeted the receptionist upon, my arrival.

"Hello, how are you," she grinned warmly.

"Looking forward to working eight hours on a weekend, I have a feeling it's going to be one hell of a hectic shift tonight." I leaned on her desk. "I'm guessing yours isn't going to be that busy."

She laughed. "No. I'm just about to clock out and head home. I have a date with Netflix."

"Sounds like fun," I answered unenthusiastically.

She gave me a puzzled look. "You don't watch movies?"

I scrunched my face into a "not so much" expression. "Never really found the need to."

"Then you are missing out. I should recommend you some movies to watch sometime."

I pressed my lips into a line and made a non-committed sound. "Well, I better go open up the club. Enjoy your evening."

"You too," she smiled.

☾︎✯☽︎

The club was already busy with preparations for opening time. The furniture was being rearranged, the stage was being set up and the bar was being stocked up. I noticed Chaeyoung having a bit of a struggle trying to put the crate of whiskey on the top shelf due to her height.

"Need any help?" I asked her as I approached and entered the bar.

"I got it." She said.

Despite her kindly declining my assistance, I decided to help her anyway. I moved behind her and placed my hands on her waist, lifting her in the process. She yelped surprised and startled by the action. "I gotchu," I said in assurance. "Now, hurry up before my arms get tired."

After having said that, she slid the crate into its place, and I gently placed her down. Her legs were probably wobbly because she stumbled backwards by the time I put her back down, bumping my chest with her back, but I caught her just in time.

"Careful there," I chuckled at her clumsy behaviour.

She slapped my chest, which made me laugh even more.

"I told you that I got it." She whined with a pout.

"Well, I just saved you from getting a concussion and paying for property damages," I told her, smirking smugly at her. "You're welcome by the way."

She rolled her eyes and walked away, grumbling something along the lines of me being a cheeky bastard, which made me laugh. It was almost cute. Almost.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Lisa entering the club holding a duffel bag over her shoulder.

Looks like she's performing again tonight, I thought.

Her eyes met mine. She smiled and waved at me. I returned the smile and wave.

"You look excited to see a certain someone perform tonight," Chris teased as he passed by.

"Shut up," I scoffed.

An hour later, the club was open for business and was already packed. Chaeyoung and Chris were on bar duty while Felix and I handled serving the tables.

"Where's Jin? We're a person short." I asked Chris when I went to the bar to collect my order.

"I dunno, he was supposed to be here before the shift started," he told me.

"Can you text him?"

"Sorry, mate. I don't use my phone when I'm on the clock. As you can already tell, my hands are tied. Plus, I haven't heard from him since last night."

I let out a frustrated sigh. If there's one thing I hate, it's work colleagues who show up late or don't show up at all without giving any notice well in advance.

"Hey, I think that's him." Chris pointed at the dark-haired man serving the patrons. It was hard to tell or confirm it was him since he had his back turned on us, but his broad shoulders weren't hard to miss.

"Your order," Chris passed the tray of cocktails towards me.

"Thanks, Chris."

I made my way to the table occupied by some guys and a few girls. "Here you are," I placed each of their cocktails in front of them. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Sure thing," one of the guys gave me a thumbs up.

I left their table, but not before sparing a glance over to the stage where Lisa and three other dancers were performing. This time, she was dressed in a black body suit with a puffy strip on her left shoulder that hugged and shaped her body from her bust going to her waist and hips. She also wore hair extensions that made her hair longer. She blew a kiss and winked as she twirled around the pole. I wasn't sure if that was directed to me or not.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around only to feel a wave of dread wash over me like a waterfall the moment I was met face to face with the waitress I hooked up with a little over a month ago.

"Hey," she smiled at me.

"Hi..." I replied, feeling uneasy about this meeting.

"Fancy seeing you here," she said.

"I work here," I deadpanned. "I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to see you again."

Nor was I planning to, I wanted to add, but I bit my tongue.

"Maybe it's fate."

I knew she was attempting to make a joke, but I internally cringed and resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her statement.

"I'm Yoo Jeongyeon by the way," she stuck out her hand.

"Well, Jeongyeon. As much as I would love to chat and catch up with you, I have work to do," I said.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" she asked.

"It's better if I don't," I moved past her, but she grabbed my arm.

"When do you get off work?"

Feeling exasperated, I gently removed her hand from my arm. "Look, just because we had sex doesn't mean that we should be friends. I already made it clear I don't get too involved with the women I sleep with."

"Are you afraid of connecting with someone?"

Her question caught me off guard. I wanted to retort, but I had nothing to say against what she had said. At the same time, keeping quiet was going to prove her point and I didn't want to give her the satisfaction.

As I was about to say something, I felt a hand cup my face and turned my head to meet Lisa's gaze. Before I could think or ask what she wanted, the most unnatural and unexpected thing happened.

She kissed me full on the lips. It wasn't a quick peck. Her lips were moulded against mine, moving swiftly but sensually.

Despite the initial shock, I closed my eyes and moved my lips to match her rhythm as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I wanted to grab her by the waist and pull her closer to me, but I soon dismissed the temptation completely to avoid drawing too much attention to ourselves. Plus, I had no idea what possessed her to kiss me in the first place and what her intention was.

She finally pulled away. I fluttered my eyes open and saw the sly smile tugging her lips. Her arms were still around my neck.

"Hey." She said breathlessly.

"Hey..." I croaked.

"You know her?" She nodded her head towards Jeongyeon.

Right, she's still here.

I looked at Jeongyeon. She looked embarrassed and crestfallen by what she had witnessed. She also appeared a little disheartened.

Ah, I see what's going on here,

"I'm a regular at the restaurant she works at," I told Lisa.

Lisa feigned surprise. "Oh, I didn't know you two are friends -"

"We're not," Jeongyeon cut her off with a tight smile. "I just wanted to say "hi", so I'll be on my way now."

With that said, she turned her heels and left.

Well, that happened, I thought, watching Jeongyeon disappear into the crowd.

I turned to Lisa so I could address what had just happened and what it was about, but she was already gone.

I spotted Chris and Felix staring at me in disbelief. They saw everything.