Shy Temptress

“Are you coming tonight?” While the answer to that should’ve been obvious to Marie since she had just asked Ella that same question before they left work, Ella simply replied again, “No.”

           “And why not? I mean seriously Ella; you’ve only ever been out with me once or twice since moving back home last year.”

           Ella sat on her bed removing her shower cap and grabbed her lotion and started moisturizing. It was a rough day at the office with all the lines in their recent app’s code being messed up and jumbled by one of the new rookies. The last thing Ella wanted to do was go out for drinks in the same dark, musty bar they snuck into when they were teenagers. The other only bar in town was so stuffy with businessman and the local celebrities, so they weren’t going there.

           “Marie, I’ve told you this a thousand times before, I don’t want to be in that bar. And that is literally the only fun thing in this town without having to drive 30 minutes into Dallas.”

           Texas was always gone be home for Ella, but a brief stint in Atlanta and a terrible left at the alter situation had Ella running home faster than she wanted to. When she left for college ten years ago, she swore up and down that she wouldn’t be back because she wanted to learn how to deal with being uncomfortable. 

           Every break she got at University of Tennessee she was running back to her parents’ house just so she can be up under them. Their house, her town and her comic books were all safe havens for her. Since she was twenty-eight, about to turn twenty-nine in twelve days, and still a virgin she had wanted to break free from her havens and try to be extrovert Ella. She had succeeded, which is how she managed to get engaged but she knew that waiting for marriage wasn’t the real reason why she wouldn’t give herself to her ex-fiancé.

           Ella didn’t like who she was, she loved her comic books, she loved her anime and she loved all things sci-fi. When she was out of her comfort zone she was skydiving, rock climbing, going to clubs and doing everything her fiancé wanted.

           She thought she could learn to love that life and for two years she thought that she would be able to stay in love with it. She realized that she didn’t like who she was as she sat in the dressing room staring at her wedding dress. Once that thought clicked into her head, she ran. 

           “Look Ella, just please come with me,” Marie pleaded through the speaker, dragging Ella back from her thoughts. Marie had been pleading with her this entire week and Ella just kept saying no. Maybe a few drinks wouldn’t hurt, but Ella knew she wasn’t going to like it, maybe. 

           “Fine Marie, I’ll meet you there at 8.” Ella looked at the clock and saw it was a quarter after 7, which was enough time for Ella to at least pull a decent outfit from the closet and slap on some lip gloss. 

           “Yassssssss. I love you so much Ella.” Ella could imagine Marie as she danced and jumped for joy.

           “Love you too Ri. See you in a little bit.”

           Reluctantly, but slightly excited, Ella pulled out a pair of light wash skinny jeans and her favorite black Star Wars shirt. She finished her outfit with a swipe of red gloss that she felt made her full lips look very kissable and her favorite red platform sandals. That took all of thirty minutes and before she knew it, she was in her car and on her way to Lucky’s.

Lucky’s used to be Mr. Porter’s bar back when Lucas was in high school and he always let Lucas come in the back to wash dishes to earn a little money. Lucas still couldn’t believe that he came home from leaving the Army to purchase Lucky’s from him. He had originally been saving every thing he could from his salary to buy his mom a house when he got home. She had been staying in the same apartment she and his father had lived in and he was hoping that a change of scenery would help her get over the loss of his father.

           It had been a couple of years since he passed away from cancer and Lucas thought she wasn’t living her life like his father told her to. So, when she told him that she was moving to Florida to live in a senior condo community, he made sure to pay her condo in full. Thankful that he still had money left over from his savings he decided to buy Lucky’s and renovate it because that always felt like home for him.

           Mr. Porter was more than happy to have Lucas take over. Tonight was the soft opening of the new Lucky’s and he was more than excited to see what his hometown would think of it. What he didn’t expect was it to be so packed that he had to call in an extra bartender.

           So far everyone loved that he kept all the old furniture, even if it was refurbished a little here and there. They loved the new lighting and the stage that boasted new speakers and a karaoke machine.

           “Wow, Lucas, man. This place looks great. Still has that old Lucky’s feel with a touch of modern.”

           “Lucas, love what you’ve done with the place.”

           “Lucky’s is definitely lucky to have you as its owner.”

           These comments all came from his high school buddies, Thad, Mark and Scott. They were the only one’s who knew that he had purchased Lucky’s. Thankful that they and Mr. Porter were able to keep it a secret. Not that he cared if anyone knew, he just wanted his town to give their honest opinions about the changes.

           It was already 8 and Lucky’s had officially been open for three hours and it didn’t seem like it would be slowing down anytime soon with the sound of the bells above the door going off once again.

           “Hey, welcome to Lucky’s,” he called out as he wiped down the bar. It was customary to welcome everyone who walked into Lucky’s. Even if people were leaving when he said it, he knew there was people sliding in past the ones leaving which is why he didn’t bother looking up.

           He would’ve kept wiping the bar down if he hadn’t heard the guy’s hiss “Damn” under their breath. His muscles tensed under the Lucky’s crew neck he was wearing, goosebumps raised on his neck and his arms, and he froze. Slowly, he lifted his head and looked towards the door and that’s when he saw her. Ella.

           Damn if Lucas didn’t feel like his eighteen-year-old self again. He was always in love with Ella Wiggins, but she always had her head in a book, and she would never hold a conversation with him when it wasn’t. That didn’t stop him from falling in love with the way she animatedly spoke to the librarian about the newest sci-fi book the high school library had just gotten in. Or the way she would style her hair and Princess Leia buns every other day. Or the way she would be tucked into the corner of the lunchroom eating as quiet as a mouse and never looking up until he entered. He swore up and down that she could feel him in the room just as he could her.

           He never took his chance and he never thought he would get another one to be honest.

Okay, Toto we are not in Kansas anymore. That was the first thought that popped into Ella’s head when she stepped into Lucky’s. She had been avoiding Lucky’s since she moved back, never even coming to this side of town because of this place. And she can honestly say that was her own fault for missing out on this.

           “Crap, Ella. Do you see this place?” Marie gushed out in a surprised breath. Leaving Ella to conclude that she hadn’t come to this side of town either because they would’ve been in here sooner if they had known.

           “Yeah, it looks amazing Ri. It’s crazy, I didn’t even hear anything about Lucky’s being renovated. I wonder why.”

           “Yeah, I was just about to say the same thing. I wonder how long it’s been like this. I swear I’ll be here every week now. Proudly.”

           They both let out a small chuckle when Ella nodded in agreement. Ella saw a lot of familiar faces, mostly old high school classmates and a few of the older gentlemen that hung out at the barbershop. As Ella scanned the room quickly, she had a shot of awareness zip through her body. Slowly turning her head back towards the bar, that’s when she saw him. Lucas. Her one. The guy she’d always wanted but never had the nerve to speak to.

           Darn, he looks good. Too good. His fresh fade cut, his plump lips, wide nose and almond-shaped hazel-green eyes. Gosh his honey toned skin seemed to be glistening under the bar lights and that only added to the haze that was floating through Ella’s mind. It almost seemed like he was staring at her as well, which made her core throb and pulse in her jeans. He couldn’t be looking at me, right?  She thought to herself.

           That man was the only one who filled her mind the past twelve years when she first noticed him sophomore year. Ever since her missed opportunity, she had tried to put herself out there, date, but she could never get pass the talking stage. Long story short, they weren’t him. That included her ex-fiancé, and that was the true reason she couldn’t give herself to him. She had already given her heart to that man and was only waiting until she could give herself fully to him too. Lame, right.

           Lucas was always a sweetheart; Ella knew this because she was always watching him. He never bullied anyone even though he was the top jock in high school. There were never rumors around the school about his sexual exploits even though she overheard Misty, his high school girlfriend, telling her friends how they took each other’s virginity the night of Senior Prom.

           Ella could only imagine the lucky ladies he had under his belt. She wasn’t irrational to think that he would wait for her when she never even hinted at liking him or tried to make a move on him. His past was his past. All Ella knew now was that she was going to try to make a move tonight. She didn’t even know he had moved back here, she really needed to get out the house more, maybe.

           Ella and Marie made their way to the bar, Ella still in a staring war with Lucas because she could now see he was definitely checking for her just like she was him. That only made her light almond tone blush a rosy pink. Marie lightly slapping her enthusiastically repeatedly on the arm, let Ella know that she could tell there was a sexual tension in the air between them.

“Ella Wiggins.”

“L-lucas G-gramble.”

All Lucas could do was smile once she reached the bar. He could see that she was still shy and even more beautiful than before. Lucas needed to turn his eyes towards Marie to say hey to her too, but it was getting harder and harder as he continued to stare into Ella’s light brown eyes. 

“Hey Lucas, I’m here too you know,” Marie said with a light chuckle, tearing his eyes from her to smile at her bashfully.

“Hey Marie, how are you?”

“Good. Better now that we’re here at Lucky’s. How come we didn’t know Mr. Porter renovated?”

Lucas smiled at Marie once again, his chest puffing up slightly as he said, “I actually renovated; I own Lucky’s now. Tonight is our soft opening.”

Ella snapped her eyes towards him and all he could do was smile when she said, “you o-own Lucky’s now? Wowww. It looks amazing Lucas, really.”

“Thank you, Ella. Can I get you ladies something to drink?”

If this was any other girl Lucas wouldn’t have been paying close enough attention. But since this was Ella, his Ella, he heard Ella when she whispered, yeah, you. When he looked up, he saw her head snap down, but he could see the light pink tinting her cheeks.

Lucas was going to back down but being that he’s wanted her for the past ten years he leaned across the bar and whispered in her ear, “Don’t tempt me with a good time.”