Try (Temptation Series) (3 page)

“You can’t thank a stranger? I just served one.”

“That’s true.” Logan lifted the glass to his lips.

He didn’t look away as he took a sip, and he became curious when the other man didn’t turn away either. Lowering his drink back to the bar, Logan kept his fingers wrapped around it as he swirled the glass around.

“I’m Logan.”

A confident smirk crossed the bartender’s lips, and he moved his hands to tuck the towel back into his pants, immediately drawing Logan’s gaze to his waist.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Logan. I’ll be back when you need a refill.”

Well played
. Logan watched the back of the still-nameless guy move away from him.
Well fucking played
.

* * *

Tate couldn’t help but feel somewhat cocky as he walked away from Mr. Gin and—
Logan
.

Last night, when he was finally at home relaxing, he’d found himself replaying the entire conversation with Logan, trying to pinpoint why it had seemed so unusual. Finally, he had worked it out.

It was because the guy had been checking him out.

This guy,
Logan
, had been flirting with him.

It had been subtle, but when Tate thought about the words exchanged, they’d definitely had a flirtatious undertone, and that was when he came to his final conclusion. Logan was gay. He had to be.

Tate couldn’t believe that he hadn’t realized it sooner. In his profession, it wasn’t like he was a stranger to both women and men hitting on him, but for some reason, he hadn’t seen it right away with this guy.

Maybe he’d missed it because he had witnessed the look between Logan and the redhead. Or maybe he was delusional and totally off base, and the guy was just a little odd.

Why else would he say no to the redhead? Unless he’s married?
But the way he looked me over…it was like he thought I was—hot?

Well, no matter what it was, now that Tate had his theory, he figured there was no harm in flirting right back. Usually, he kept the charm for the women, but if it made this Logan guy a regular paying customer, Tate saw no harm in it
.
He was comfortable enough with his sexuality.

“Hey, Tate, looks like you caught the attention of one of our regulars.”

Tate turned his head toward Stacy, who was standing beside him, pouring some ingredients into a blender filled with ice.

Choosing to act ignorant, he asked, “Oh yeah? Who would that be?”

“Logan, the guy at the end of the bar. Suit, glasses, gorgeous blue eyes. Flirts every time his mouth is open.” She let out a dramatic sigh.

When Tate looked over his shoulder, he saw that Logan was actually staring at both of them. He wasn’t smiling, and Tate made sure to have a neutral expression on his face as he stared back at the man.

Turning back around, he grabbed a bottle of water, opened it, and lifted it to his lips, then returned his attention to Stacy. “Do you know anything about him?”

“Other than he oozes sex and has dated half the women who work here? Although, I’m not sure you can call it dating.”

Tate choked on the water in his mouth. He recovered as quickly as he could as Stacy laughed and placed the lid on the blender.

“You’re shocked? I’m pretty sure he could date the manager if he asked Pete nicely. That one comes with one hell of a reputation.”

Okay, so nix the gay theory. The guy must play for both teams. Well, I can still work with that.

* * *

Stacy and the man who has all of my attention are definitely talking about me.

Logan brought the glass back up to his lips. After taking a sip, he placed it down on the bar. He’d had been tempted to wink at the hot bartender when he’d glanced his way. It was more Logan’s nature, but he wasn’t sure how that would have been received, so he’d refrained.

He was almost positive that the man had flirted with him only minutes earlier.
Maybe that was some wishful thinking,
because, right now, the guy was giving no emotion away. He’d turned back to his coworker, making Logan believe he was more than likely, imagining things.

Before Logan could think anything else about it, his phone started ringing. He picked it up and accepted the incoming call.

“Jessica. You are impatient, aren’t you?”

As a relaxed laugh filtered through the phone, Logan pictured her smooth, long legs parting for him as they had only a couple of weeks earlier.

“Well, after your last text, I wanted to hear your voice.”

“So, should I just start reciting the alphabet?” Logan asked, dropping his voice to an intimate tone.

“You could, or you could tell me how much you miss being inside me and how you’re dying to get back there.”

Logan chuckled, and his lips curled as he let her words sink in. Although he would have to wait another month, he was looking forward to sliding his dick back inside her.

“Well, that wouldn’t be a lie,” he agreed just as he felt someone stop in front of him. He raised his gaze to meet the current object of his lust, and he felt the devil on his shoulder as he licked his bottom lip. “I wouldn’t mind getting you out of your clothes. When can we arrange that?”

Who he was really addressing was anyone’s guess. Logan noticed the bartender’s eyebrow arch, as he listened to Jessica’s husky laugh. He imagined the man in front of him saying,
Right now
, and removing all his clothes, starting with that black vest.

That didn’t last long though because the guy angled his head like he was about to leave, but Logan didn’t want him to go anywhere.

He held up a finger, and contemplated the man in front of him as he said into the phone, “I’m out right now, Jess. You think we could have this conversation a little later?”

Hot bartender reached for the ever-present towel with his left hand, and he started to once again wipe down the bar. His repeated actions came close to confirming Logan’s earlier suspicions.

That’s a nervous habit.
It’s got to be.

“Yes, tonight is good. I’ll talk to you then. Bye, hon.”

As he ended the call and placed the phone on the bar, he waited for the man opposite him to talk. When nothing came, Logan leaned in and decided to stop being polite.
What the fuck, right?

“I think the bar is clean. You can stop wiping it down now.”

Immediately, the towel stopped moving, and the guy stood back up, tucking it into his pants.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable—” Logan started but was cut off quickly.

“No, you’re not.”

Logan scoffed at that and started to finger the rim of his glass. “Okay, you’re right. I’m not. I figured you deserved it after talking about me with your coworker. Isn’t that frowned upon or something? Gossiping about your customers?”

His bartender—
Yeah, that’s how I’m going to think of him
—leaned his hands on the counter.

“I suppose it would be. Dating the customers is also frowned upon, but you don’t seem to mind that rule,” he replied steadily.

“Ah,” Logan said.
It was
the usual work gossip
. “The new guy has finally been informed.”

“Informed of?”

Logan didn’t know what had provoked him, but the cap he normally kept on his personality had finally been unscrewed.

He pushed up a little from the rungs on the bar stool and rested his palms on the bar top as he leaned across the surface. “That I like to fuck, and that I’ve slept with almost all of the women and a couple of the guys you work with. And just so you don’t worry about them, they all thanked me afterward.”

Sitting back on his stool, he was proud to see that his little admission had shocked the bartender. The man’s mouth was parted as he remained focused on Logan.

“Isn’t that what you were discussing with Stacy? Oh, come on, we aren’t strangers anymore. You know my name, remember? But I still don’t know yours. Should I just keep thinking of you as the hot bartender? Or maybe that’s offensive. You should give me your name, so I stop labeling you in the same way you are trying so desperately to label me.”

* * *

Who
is
this guy?
Tate stood there, completely stunned by the words that had just come out of that perfectly shaped mouth—
Wait. Why do I care about his mouth? Fucking Stacy, talking about how good-looking he is.

“Would you like another drink?” He needed to quickly get this conversation back on track. This guy could have him fired on day three of his employment.

“Oh, I’ve shocked and scared the man behind the bar. That’s amazing really, considering only…” He stopped and looked at the clock on the wall. “Fifteen minutes ago, you jumped to take my order.”

Tate was trying to keep up with what the hell was going on while looking at the man peering at him from behind the dark-framed glasses, but he was coming up with absolutely nothing.

“It’s okay,” Logan assured, dropping the heavy sarcasm. He gave a relaxed smile. “I’m only inappropriate when I’m sober.”

That
finally made Tate laugh. Somehow, he doubted it.

“So, I just have to get you drunk to shut your mouth?” As soon as he’d said the words, he knew they were the wrong ones, considering the current conversation.

“Well, that’s definitely one way, but I can think of a more preferable one, not to mention more pleasurable,” Logan responded.

Tate recognized the same voice he had heard Logan use on the phone with Jess when he’d said he wanted to get her naked.
Or maybe Jess was a he?

“Do you hit on everyone you meet?” Tate heard himself ask as he stood, frozen to the spot by some perverse curiosity.

Yes, he’d been the object of affection over the years, but there was something different behind Logan’s comments. Logan’s scrutiny was a lot more intense than a casual once-over. Logan was looking at him like he wanted to see him
without
his clothes on, as soon as possible.

“Do you?” Logan countered, looking directly at him.

Well, he has a point.
Tate had been flirting with him earlier when he thought the guy was gay and interested enough to give him a good tip.
Yeah, joke’s on me.
Now that Tate knew Logan thought he was hot, Tate was thinking that flirting hadn’t been such a great idea. He was actually thinking it would be a very dangerous one, if he continued.

“It’s part of my job, I guess,” Tate tried explaining.

As soon as an I-don’t-believe-you expression crossed Logan’s face, Tate knew that whatever was about to come next would be highly inappropriate.

So, Tate interrupted. “Do you want another drink?”

Logan inclined his head forward, “Yes, please.”

Tate was relieved that Logan had let the conversation go, and turned away quickly. He went about making his drink, all the while telling himself to pull his shit together. The guy was just confident and went after what he wanted
.

Right now, he’s playing with me because he thinks I was talking shit about him. I will not let him get to me. At least he doesn’t know my name.

Tate moved back to the bar and slid the drink across the counter. He watched as Logan’s large hand stopped the glass.

He lifted it in a mock salute. “Thanks for the drink,
Tate
.”

Tate narrowed his eyes on the laughing ones looking back at him, and he couldn’t help the annoyance bubbling up inside of him.
Logan knew my name all along.

“By the way, Stacy was right about you grabbing my attention, but the next time you gossip, you should do it quietly.”

Tate had nothing to say to that. Instead of trying to come up with anything, he turned on his heel and made his way down the bar to the other waiting customers, getting as far away from Logan as he could get.

* * *

            Logan took another sip of his drink, enjoying himself immensely.

Tate.
He now had a name to go with the currently bewildered face.
Poor guy
. Logan knew he was sending out more mixed signals than a broken down traffic light, but fuck, he was having fun. With every cryptic comment he had thrown, Logan could see the questions running through the man’s mind.

Well, let him wonder, and while he’s wondering, I’m going to concentrate on watching.

Tate hadn’t punched him yet, so that was a plus. No, Tate had almost flirted. It wasn’t until he’d realized
how
interested Logan was, that things had changed. That was when Tate had backed off.

Logan always went after what he wanted though. That was half of his problem. He had no boundaries.
Thanks, Mom
. Throughout his life, his mom had been so busy apologizing to him for his worthless sperm donor of a father that Logan had pretty much done whatever he’d wanted to.

But wanting this guy?
That was a stupid choice in every way.

First, Logan had no clue if the guy was single. Second, every indication thus far had proven Tate was one hundred percent straight.

So, what the fuck am I doing?

He stood, getting ready to leave, when Tate turned and started walking toward him.

Logan stopped what he was doing and took a moment to admire the way he moved. Long legs encased in black slacks confidently stepped across the space with a purely masculine stride, but the look on his face was not half as certain. He looked worried.

He stopped in front of Logan. “I hope I haven’t offended you in any way tonight, sir.”

Aw, he thinks he pissed off a customer
.

It was a pity he couldn’t just say,
Relax, Tate. I want to see you naked, not fired.

Instead, Logan took his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out some money. Placing it on the bar, he said, “The only offensive thing you did tonight was forget my name. It’s Logan, not sir. Well, at least it is in this setting.” He pushed his wallet back into his pocket.

Tate shook his head. “There you go again.”

“Excuse me?”