Flaunt It: Paolo's Playhouse by Natasha Moore Page A

kissed him. The crowd whooped it up as they always did, but Ben tuned out everything but the smooth slide of her lips over his and the sweet taste of Piper. She pulled away all too soon.
    “Be right back.” She headed over to wait on some newcomers he hadn’t even noticed. Good thing she kept track of the customers. It took all Ben’s time and energy to tend bar and keep track of Piper.
    While he continued to fill drink orders, he snuck glances at the petite blonde who’d turned his life upside down. She laughed and joked with the happy-hour crowd, taking orders, clearing dirty glasses and leaning—oh shit—leaning across an empty table to wipe it clean.
    Ben froze as Piper’s short skirt rose up to reveal two firm, pale cheeks divided by a narrow strip of black lace. His mouth was suddenly dry as dust. He had to swallow before he slammed two drafts onto the bar. He didn’t even bother to check to see how many of the patrons had noticed her too.
    He still couldn’t seem to control his reactions to her, even after they’d begun seeing each other outside of work. And she hadn’t changed at all either since they’d become lovers. She still came to work scantily dressed, still left her bra at home. Hell, maybe she didn’t even own a bra. The customers loved to ogle her pert little tits and tight nipples, loved to check out her slender legs and sneak peeks at her firm ass. As the proud owner of Scandals he knew he should be happy she drew in a crowd. But the jealous caveman inside him wanted her to save her exhibitionist side for him alone.
    Customers came and went. Dave and Tony had left after they got their fill of drinking beer and looking at Piper. Ben was talking with Jake, another regular, when Piper came to pick up another order.
    “Hey, handsome.” She wasn’t talking to Ben, of course, she was chatting up Jake. She sauntered up to the bar and winked at Ben though, before she scooped up the two mugs. Then she leaned against Jake, who was sitting on his usual bar stool, and rubbed her shoulder against his. “You’re looking mighty buff tonight. Have you been working out?” She grinned as Jake turned red to the roots of his short blond hair, and then spun around to deliver the beers to two guys in suits across the room.
    A group of young women burst through the door. They were all talking and laughing at once, obviously trying to draw the attention of all the guys in the place. Ben cast an appreciative glance their way, but none of them were more interesting to him than his sexy waitress.
    Someone picked A7 on the jukebox. Ben put his money on Chad. The quiet truck driver at the booth in the corner knew Piper loved “Bad Girlfriend”. As soon as the opening chord blasted through the speakers, she whooped and started shaking her booty. She flung her arms up in the air and shimmied her hips, dancing all around the hardwood floor. Everyone in the place laughed and clapped. Everyone except Ben.
    He clenched his jaw as he watched her boobs bounce with each dance move she made. So did every other guy in the room. And yet at the same time that his stomach was twisting, he could see how much fun she was having.
    His cell phone rang. Ben checked the caller ID and turned away from the bar, but kept his eye on Piper through the mirror behind the bottle display. Her short skirt flipped up as she twirled. He, and everyone else in the bar, could see she wore a black thong tonight, if they hadn’t noticed it earlier. He swallowed before he could speak. “Hey, Paolo. What’s up, bud?”
    “Hello, Ben. Sounds like it’s a busy night over there.”
    The whooping of the crowd nearly drowned out the music. “Happy hour,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. “Piper’s dancing. The room loves it.”
    His friend laughed. “I would like to meet your girlfriend sometime. She sounds like she’s good for you.”
    Ben didn’t know how good she was for him, but he knew he didn’t want to live without her.