The late afternoon sun cast a hazy glow on the country club bar. You wiped down the counter, sighing when you noticed Rafe gesturing and not paying attention to his surroundings. The last thing you needed today was to have to deal with the kind of scene he was prone to making.

You’d had a few encounters with him, and while his bad boy reputation would usually attract you, you’d been trying to turn over a new leaf. He was unpredictable sober. When he drank he was loud and obnoxious, like a powder keg that could blow at any second, and you didn’t want to be caught up in the fallout.

“Do you mind?” Your eyes snapped up when you heard your regular customer address Rafe.

“Yeah, I do mind. Bob” Rafe leans closer, getting into Bob’s face. You watch as he pours his glass all over the counter. He’s mocking the other man, cursing at him. The other customers are all watching the scene, muttering under their breath. You pick up pieces here and there of their whispered conversations, none seem surprised by Rafe.

You let out a sigh of relief when Rafe’s friend Kelce manages to pull him away from the bar. You hand napkins to Bob, apologizing as you wipe up the spilled alcohol.

i’m not charmed, so I’m leaving

Rafe’s gaze lands on you. He hadn’t realized you were working today. Weird, he usually always noticed you. But he was drunker than he’d been in awhile. He could tell by the hard line of your mouth that you weren’t impressed by his behaviour. And for some reason that bothered him. He actually cared what you thought of him.

I guess it’s always funny until it’s not

He tugs his arm out of Kelce’s grasp, stumbling back to the bar, to you. He hears your loud sigh when you realize he’s back, watches as you try to hide the annoyance that’s written all over your face.

“Sorry” he mutters, the word feeling weird to him. He never apologized. He couldn’t figure out what it was about you that made him want to. Why did some Pogue girl he’d barely talked to have such an effect on him?