I stopped at the bar after pulling into town, despite my exhaustion and desire to do the complete opposite. Mom wanted to include me in the interviews she'd scheduled that afternoon, so I'd been fielding her calls on the drive home. But quizzing people about their knowledge of beer taps while shooting down the freeway at seventy-five miles an hour wasn't exactly productive.

The Sunday crowd greeted me, and Carol gestured me over with her Corona. "Finally." She pointed down the bar where my mom was talking with a twenty-something guy in a denim jacket. "He finished his interview two hours ago, but he's still here. I think your mom is hot for him."

"That must be Jackson. I talked to him on the phone. He has a ton of bartending experience. Maybe she decided to hire him on the spot." I knew Mom was desperate to fill the position I was about to vacate, and it wouldn't hurt business to have a cutie tending bar. "I guess I better introduce myself."

"Be careful. If he sucked your mom in, there's no telling what he'll do with someone closer to his age. How are things with Mister Extra, by the way?"

"He's still hanging in there."

"Good for him. He seems decent."

I let her comment go without a reply. While Carol enjoyed hearing about my sexploits, I knew she was gunning for me to find Mr. Right. As much as she hated to admit it, she was a hopeless romantic.

When Mom saw me approach, she hurried to vacate her barstool so she could shove me into it. "June, I want you to meet Jackson. I've just hired him as your replacement."

"Okay. That seems reasonable." I tried not to focus too hard on the guy's chiseled features. His appearance screamed 'well-seasoned player', and I had no doubt he would attract customers like seagulls to a bag of McDonald's fries. "Welcome to Pour Decisions, Jackson. How soon can you start?"

"I'm good to go as soon as you need me. Like I said on the phone, I've been on hiatus in Hawaii and just got back."

That explained the golden tan, although he could have built that here. "Is Daytona Beach home for you, then?"

"Born and raised. My sister moved to Boston to make babies with a doctor, but my mom's still here."

I smiled. The guy had a smooth style. Perfect. "Well, if my mom thinks you're good for the bar, then who am I to disagree. Can you meet me here at ten tomorrow morning? We'll go over the basics before doors open at eleven. Then you can shadow me until shift change at five."

"Sounds great." He flashed me a prince charming smile, and I slipped out of my chair before his charismatic juju could infiltrate my tired brain.

"Well, I've had a busy weekend and a shitty drive. I need my beauty rest."

He chuckled. "You're kidding, right? You and your mom don't need sleep to make you beautiful. You've got biology."

"Oh, Jackson." Mom slapped his arm playfully, and I rolled my eyes as I walked away. This guy might prove to be a little too smooth.

~      ~      ~

The next day, I passed Jackson riding his bike as we both turned into the parking lot at the same time. Clearly this was his usual mode of transport. His legs were toned as hell, and he wore the gear of an experienced rider.

"I didn't realize you were a cyclist," I said as I parked my gas guzzling crossover. "You didn't mention it on the phone."

"It didn't seem important. Your mom said I could keep my bike in the storage closet."

"I'm not sure it'll fit. There's a ton of crap in there."

"I checked the space last night. It'll be fine if I take off the front tire."

As he stood there hydrating, I stood there watching him. When I realized what I was doing, I hurried to unlock the bar door. Jackson arranged his bike in the back and changed into a pair of black jeans and a collared shirt with pink flamingos. It was a bold look that accentuated his bronze tan.

I went through my typical routine, priming the beer taps, cutting the garnish, and explaining the quirks of our ancient cash register. Jackson kept up easily and asked all the right questions. When it was time to turn on the neon signs, he was showing me how to make a cocktail called the Penicillin.

"I learned this at the Four Seasons. We were always creating new drinks to keep up with the demanding clientele. Gotta keep the drunks happy." After topping the glass with a lemon rind, he handed it to me. "Normally this would be garnished with raw ginger, but you don't have much of that on hand."

I took a sip. "This is damned delicious. We'll have to make sure you have the ingredients you need to make more of these Four Seasons cocktails."

He smiled. "I'll make a list."

Being a Monday, business was slow. Jackson made his list and cleaned out the crap from our packed storage room. When the happy hour crowd started filling seats, Jackson shadowed me, but it was clear he didn't need to. I let him take the lead for a while, which gave me a chance to field some texts from Abeo. He was thinking about making a trip to Florida and wanted to shack up with me. While I'd enjoyed his company during my visit to South Carolina, I was not in the habit of hosting bed buddies at my place.

When Mom wandered in at five, I was kicking back watching Jackson take care of business. "How's your first day, Jackson?" Mom set her phone on the bar and flashed him a flirty smile. I wagered it would take her less than 10 minutes to start her pitch about using him for her next vlog post.

"It's been excellent. June really knows what she's doing. I'll be up to speed in no time. Hey, I saw that video you posted of us toasting to my new gig. I loved the animations you added. I can see why your vlog is so popular."

Oy vey.

I left them to chat about social media nonsense and started counting the cash in the register. Jill was due in shortly, and I needed to be history. Cabe and I planned to Facetime after my shift.

"Hey, June. I have a strange request to make." Jackson appeared behind me, and I started counting out loud so he'd know to hold his question.

"Forty-five," I said as I dumped the nickels back into the drawer. "Shoot."

"I've got this thing happening Wednesday night. I already told your mom I needed the night off. And if you don't have work, I could really use a date."

I squinted at him. "You're asking me on a date?"

"I told you it was a strange request. And we don't have to call it a date. But it would be a real favor to me. The woman I used to date is married now, otherwise I'd ask her. And my other girlfriend is in Chicago for the summer."

I wasn't sure how I felt about his strange request. We barely knew each other. And, more importantly, was I the last resort? "Does your date have to be a woman?"

He pulled a face like I'd poured out a perfectly good cocktail. "This is an event with a bunch of my cycling buddies. I can't show up with a guy on my arm."

"And you can't show up with nobody on your arm. Is that what I'm hearing you say?"

"Um . . . I did this wrong, didn't I? I've made you mad."

Was every guy on the planet clueless?

"I'm not mad. Let me think about it." I returned to counting money, sighing under my breath. I had such hope for Jackson.

"Aw, don't be a moody Junie. Say yes to the nice boy." Mom's comment had me clenching my teeth.

"We agreed you would never call me that." I glared at her over my shoulder and caught her pocketing her cell phone as she walked to the office. To his credit, Jackson didn't say another word.

Cabe called as soon as I got home, and I almost didn't answer. After a decent shift, the last hour went straight into the shitter. I knew damned well my mom had filmed Jackson asking me out. Her fans kept a running tally of how many guys I'd dated. Sometimes it was hard not giving a shit.

"You sound tired. Long day?" Cabe had an uncanny ability to guess my mood, and I grumbled into the phone as I dropped onto the couch with a veggie sub I'd bought on the way home.

"Long day of training. My replacement started today."

"Is it the guy your mom posted on her vlog yesterday? Jackson?"

"You watch my mom's vlog?"

"Only the videos that have you in them. They make me smile when I don't have the real thing in front of me."

"Flattery won't put me in a better mood."

"What can I do to cheer you up? I know a few jokes, although I can't make any promises you'll enjoy them."

"Take your best shot."

"Two men break into a drugstore and steal all the Viagra. The police post a bulletin warning people to watch out for two hardened criminals."

I snorted, spewing lettuce and mayo across the coffee table while he laughed.

"Wow. You're a great audience. Should I stop there before you choke to death?"

"That was my fault. I took a bite before you started your comedy routine."

"Go ahead and finish your meal. I'll distract myself with your mom's latest vlog post. She just uploaded one five minutes ago."

I shook my head and returned to my grocery store sub. If he wanted to punish himself with that crap, he was welcome to. It was only when I heard my voice echoing through his laptop that I remembered the last time I saw Mom slyly pocketing her phone. Cabe's silence was harder to listen to than Jackson stumbling over his apology, and I had to remind myself that Cabe and I weren't official. But what exactly were we?

"This guy's a real smooth talker," he said finally.

"I wouldn't call him smooth as much as over-confident."

"I can't say I blame him. He'd spent more time with you than I did before I asked you out."

"Not by much. We're talking hours here." I bit back the desire to ask if it bothered him. I suspected he was interested in taking our relationship to the next level. It was me who didn't want to be somebody's girlfriend. "Now you see why I'm determined to get the hell away from my mom. She exploits my life to gain likes and fake friends."

"I'm not arguing with you. Does it bother you that I watch her vlog?"

"You do whatever you want." Rather than rant about my mom and her weird life, I bit on my sandwich.

"It sounds like Jackson isn't the only one who's been able to piss you off today."

I decided to ignore him. I didn't even roll my eyes at the screen. Clearly his ego had been bruised, which triggered an asshole response. We sat there a while, me eating my sub and him staring at his laptop. This was why relationships were a drag.

"Can I tell you something?" Cabe closed his laptop and looked at me through his phone. "I like you, June. I'm probably dooming myself here because I know you're not interested in a full-time boyfriend. I just want you to know I'm prepared to stick around until you've changed your mind about that. So, when I act like an ass because you're accepting dates from other guys, do me a favor and remember that it's just my ego."

Damn.

The guy had freaky skills when it came to ready my thoughts, and his ability to admit his faults couldn't be discounted here. I'd known plenty of guys who would never admit they were wrong about something. All of them, actually. I watched him chew his lip while I mulled over my reply.

"Are you going to say something?" he said. "My pride is shrinking by the second."

"Are we sure that's a bad thing?"

"June."

"I'm sorry you feel like you need to wait for me to commit. I mean, can't we just be chill with each other? On our first date, you said you juggled a lot of women because of your job."

"And I told you that wasn't really my style."

"Well . . . I don't know what to tell you, Cabe."

"Can you tell me how you feel about me? If I'm barking up the wrong tree here, it'll save us both a lot of misery. Or maybe just me."

Shit. How did we get here? Didn't he say he was prepared to stick around? Did I want him to? Why couldn't he just keep telling me jokes? I set my sandwich down, trying not to get annoyed. Everything I'd eaten had turned to stone in my stomach now.

"If I didn't like you, I wouldn't still be talking to you. You wouldn't pop into my head at weird moments. And I wouldn't have dragged my ass all the way up a mountain to meet your family."

"I pop into your head at weird moments? Can you explain these moments?"

"No, I don't want to explain these moments. I like you, alright. Can you just be happy with that?"

"I'm very happy with that." A grin grew on his face. He looked far too satisfied, like he'd been leading me to this point in our conversation. The slick bastard knew how to broker a deal. 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Do you make video calls on your phone, like FaceTime? When I had an Android phone, I never used the video chat option. Now I use Facetime on my iPhone a lot, especially when I talk to my daughters. It's the next best thing to being there.