Fear of Falling

way to the back to clock in.
    “Hey, Kami!” Trisha, a part-time day shift bartender waved at me as she grabbed her purse from her locker. We had never worked together, but we saw each other in passing a few times a week. She was a college student/model, and, holy shit, she was gorgeous. Tall, blonde, and tan. I thought for sure that she and Blaine had been more than friendly being that they were both equally beautiful. It only made sense, but apparently things between them were strictly platonic.
    “Hey Trish, thanks for covering for me Friday night. I owe you one,” I smiled as I clocked in.
    “Oh, please, girl. You were doing me a favor. I’ve been begging Blaine to give me more weekends, so I was thrilled to get the chance. Anytime you’re not feeling well, give me a call. I’m happy to do it.”
    Huh.
    “Blaine does the scheduling?”
    Trisha shrugged. “Well…yeah. I mean, I guess he could delegate the task to Mick, but he said he’d rather do it. He likes knowing who is where. Between you and me, I think he’s a little OCD. Complete control freak. But he’s nice and fair, so I’m not complaining.”
    She waved goodbye though I was too engulfed in confusion to return the gesture. Was Blaine the shift supervisor or something? It’d make sense, being that Dive was family-run. Of course he’d have to take on a bit of responsibility. And if he was making the schedule, then was he purposely scheduling all of our shifts together? I hadn’t worked with any of the other two bartenders, and I never worked by myself, which was normal for slower weekdays.
    Well, only one way to find out.
    “Hey Kam!” CJ called out with a devilish smile before I had a chance to fully step behind the bar.
    “What’s up, CJ,” I replied, wrapping my black apron around my waist. Before I could twist the strings together, Blaine was behind me, his agile fingers easing them from my grasp.
    “Let me,” he breathed, his lips grazing my earlobe. “I like your skirt.”
    “Do you?” I replied for only his ears. “Not too…distracting?”
    “Oh, it is. But I’d gladly get lost in your distraction. Over. And over. And over.”
    He finished tying the knot above my tailbone before running his fingers through a rogue lock of hair. “I missed you,” he whispered, as he placed it behind my ear.
    “You just saw me,” I said, turning to face him. The overwhelming urge to kiss him was growing by the second. And if it weren’t for CJ sitting just yards away and the evening crowd trickling in, I would have done it. Well, maybe.
    “I want to see you again. I want to see you in every way possible.”
    I crooked a playful grin. “Oh, Blaine Jacobs… are you asking me to go steady?” I jibed.
    “No, I’m not.” His fingers were in my hair again, as he stepped into the tiny space that separated us. “I’m telling you that I want you to be mine. Because, Kami, I’ve been yours since the first day you walked in here. And I think, on some level, you’ve been mine since then too.”
    The conviction of his words stole my breath, and I couldn’t do more than melt under his gaze. But what was more than that, it was true. I had been Blaine’s all along. I couldn’t even see anyone but him since the day we locked eyes. Since he marked me over a shot of tequila and a slice of lime. Blaine was the only man that existed in my world. And at that very moment, I couldn’t be entirely sure that he wasn’t the world itself.
    “Excuuuse me, but some of us are thirsty over here!” CJ hooted, swinging his empty beer bottle in the air.
    I broke away from Blaine, hoping to regain just an ounce of my wits, and cracked another beer for CJ.
    “You know, it didn’t take much skill for me to do that,” I said, gesturing towards the open bottle before looking back at Blaine. “Is there some special reason why you still need to babysit me?”
    A small frown creased Blaine’s forehead. “No. Why?”
    “I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Trish said something about you making the schedule. And I noticed that I never work alone. Is it Mick? Does he not think I’m ready?”
    “Mick?” CJ interjected behind me. “What would he have to do with it? He doesn’t have any control over that. That was all Blaine.”
    I lifted a brow at Blaine, who was staring daggers at CJ. He was already pretty pissed at his cousin for his slip up the night before. I wouldn’t be surprised if Blaine had words with him later.
    “So?” I asked, hoping to