'Hi.' I said.
'I've seen this girl bartend River, darling.' said Margie, the owner. 'She might be better then you at the whole show of throwing and catching and stuff.' she said with a giggle and a smile before walking away.
'Better then me?' said River still smiling. There was no trace of a Spanish accent.
'Maybe?' I said smiling back.
'Bartend off?' he laughed.
'Absolutely.' my smile grew wider. A customer came in and River told me to 'take this one'. He asked for an Old Fashioned. I did my little tricks with the bottles and shakers to make the drink. Meanwhile, River got another customer who asked for a cocktail. River did his tricks and after both customers got there drinks we discussed.
'You are good.' He said 'just not better then me.' he winked.
'Ditto.' I laughed. 'Shall we agree we have the same skill level.' I asked in my most professional posh voice.
'Agreed.' he said in his posh voice. 'British?' He asked when there was no customers.
'Yeh. Spanish?' I answered.
'Si.' he smiled
'Soy fluida española *I'm fluent Spanish*' I said. He looked at me a little shocked
'Noted.' he smiled. 'Maybe we can gossip about stuff in Spanish so no one knows what we're saying like in nail salons.' he laughed.
'Yeah.' I smiled. We carried on with our shift and when it came to the end we were in the peg room. I had fun with River. The shift finished a 10pm so it was chilly outside. I put on my jacket while River was texting on his phone.
'Oh no! No no no! he shouted which made me jump.
'You alright?' I asked.
'No! My mum was gonna pick me up from work but now she says she can't and I have no money with me so I can't get the bus or a taxi or something back home.' he said with his face in his hands and his belly grumbled. He was hungry and stranded. I thought for a moment.
'Come to mine for somthing to eat and I'll get you a way back home.' I said. He looked up at me.
'You sure?' he asked.
'Yeh. I'm cooking for 3 others who don't live there tonight anyways.' I laughed.
'Alright. Thank you.' he hugged me.
'Sin preocupaciones *no worries*' I hugged back, a bit surprised at his sudden embrace. We started to head out.
'As long as you've not been arrested for robbery or murder.' I joked.
'No, just vandalism.' he said calmly. I stopped, turned behind me, loked at him and raised an eyebrow. He winked at me which made me laugh.
'It's a 15 minute walk.' I said. On the walk, I got to know River a bit more. When we got to the apartment I turned to River.
'Brace yourself.' I said with a giggle. I opened the door. Callum and Harper were chatting at the breakfast bar and Dieter was engrossed in the telly.
'I'm home.' I announced. Dieter's head spins around and Harper and Callum turn to smile at me.
'and this is River.' I said.