Soar (The Empire Chronicles #1) (25 page)
Read Soar (The Empire Chronicles #1) Online
Authors: Alyssa Rose Ivy
I smiled. I let Macon think he got to me more than he actually did.
I stopped a few feet away from Lyle, but he still hadn’t acknowledged my approach. I wasn’t sure if it was the noise from the customers, or because he didn’t care to talk to me until he had to. “Hey.”
“Oh, hey.” He glanced up and ran a hand through his brown hair that was kind of long and screamed “surfer boy.” Although the surfer and musician look overlapped sometimes.
“Here’s your drink.” I’d given up asking him if he had a preference weeks before. He told me to surprise him, so I did. The only problem is he almost always took just one sip. I was usually good at picking the right drink for people, but evidently the skill wasn’t working on Lyle.
“Thanks.” He nodded and smiled slightly. He didn’t have a toothy smile; it was more of a closed-lip thing, but it still did something to me.
“You’re welcome.” I waited a minute to make sure he wasn’t going to say anything else before heading back to the bar.
Brody spun around on his stool as soon as I got back behind the bar. “Did you at least get four words?”
“Nope. ‘Oh. Hey.’ And ‘thanks.’”
Macon swirled the ice in his glass. “That jerk. He could have at least said thank you instead.”
“Maybe next time.”
“Or you could take my advice.”
I sighed. “Let’s enjoy the music.”
Brody rested his elbow on the bar. “You’re the only one who thinks he’s that good.”
“Come on. His lyrics are incredible.”
Brody glanced at his watch. “He’s got a good voice, but I don’t get why you are so into his songs.”
I shrugged. “You guys don’t get it.”
Macon rolled his eyes in that annoying way of his. “Of course we don’t. We are far too lowly to understand the message behind his music.”
Any chance to reply disappeared when Lyle took the microphone. “Hey, everyone. I’m Lyle Waverly and here are a few of my messed-up tunes.”
After a long intro, his low gravelly voice broke in. I closed my eyes focusing on the lyrics.
Loving the loneliness…loving the empty space. We can all take off our masks now, life’s about the escape.
“Excuse me? Miss?” I opened my eyes and groaned.
Macon and Brody laughed as I tried to rein in my annoyance at getting interrupted.
“Can I get a Heineken and a Sex on the Beach?”
“Seriously?” I said with more of an attitude than I meant to. That’s how you know you work in a tourist trap. I mean, non-beachside bars couldn’t possibly sell so many of these things.
“Is that a problem? Do you not have Heineken?”
“We have Heineken.” I turned around, grabbed the beer, and made yet another Sex on the Beach. I tried to concentrate on the music while I worked, but the guy ordering the drinks was busy talking to my roommates.
“Here you go.” I set down the drinks after adding the orange and maraschino cherry. As pointless as it sometimes seems, garnish has its place. Presentation has more value than you’d think. “Do you want me to open a tab?”
“Oh, no thanks.” He put down a twenty. “Keep the change.”
I leaned against the back counter again right as Lyle finished the song. Darn it. It had been a new one, and I hoped he’d play it again. I was in need of a new song to dissect.
Brody used the break for applause to lay it on me. “Lucky Max didn’t see the way you treated that guy.”
“Come on. He deserved it.”
“Oh? Is there a sign that says don’t bug the moody bartender while she’s listening to her dream boyfriend sing?”
I crossed my arms, determined to enjoy the rest of the set.
Lyle started singing again, and thankfully this time no one interrupted.
“Oh my god, Maddy, you missed it.” Macon downed his water. I’d cut him off after two drinks since he was driving home.
“What?”
Macon leaned forward, his face stopping only a few inches from mine. “He took three sips.”
“Really?” He rarely took two sips—and three? It was a new record. I looked at Brody. He usually gave everything away.
He nodded.
“Hmm, I guess he does like whiskey.”
Yeah, I was pathetic.
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