She asked if it would be alright if she sat next to me. I said it would be as long it wasn't a lengthy stay.

She had just finished her shift and instead of quickly heading out the front door as is her normal fashion, she sat next to me which immediately made certain males envious. And then she bought me a beer. I'm sure I was hated by some of the other patrons and the thought of that made me smile.

Of all the times I've seen her shift end, I've only seen her sit on this side of the bar twice. One time was with another female bartender, they were waiting on a third to go out on the town, the other time, she was sitting to some regular's right, some regular for whom she also bought a shot. That regular was me. This time she was on my left.

I played it cool. And then my cell phone rang.