Choices (New Beginnings #1) Read Online Free Page B
Author: Michelle Lynn
to put everything else behind her. Instead, she just nodded and said, "That works."
"Cool, well, you up for going out tonight?" Chris rarely stayed in during the week, let alone the weekends. Michaela found herself agreeing because he was right. She needed some fun.
###
Don't go there , Jason told himself for the millionth time that day.
Michaela. Man, that girl was a wreck. Jason balled a bar towel in his hands, gripping it as hard as he could. What he really wanted to do was wring the neck of whoever it was that made those tears fall down that beautiful face. He didn't understand why he was feeling so protective of a girl he barely knew. Jason was not a violent man. In fact, he abhorred it. He'd had his bouncer kick more people out of his bar than he could count. People that hadn't yet caused any problems but that he'd suspected were close.
Jason threw the towel onto the bar and headed towards the back to help unload a beer delivery. His muscles strained as he carried a case inside.
"Hey, boss," Aaron, the bar's assistant manager said, coming in behind him.
"Happy you finally decided to grace us with your presence." Jason dropped his load with a grunt and went out for another.
"Sorry, dude, I had a thing."
"We open in an hour." Jason's voice was flat.
"It was important." Aaron put another case down and looked at his boss nervously.
"Yeah yeah." Jason waved him away to continue working. "I'm just going to make you close tonight so I can get some beauty rest."
"You need it, man." Aaron grinned.
"What? With this face? If anything, I should have to stay up all the time just to make it fair for you lot." They both laughed and all was forgiven.
Jason was a good boss, in part because he trusted his employees. He knew Aaron. If he had a situation, Jason believed it was important enough to be late to work. He wasn't too hard on anyone who worked for him. He realized that the bar might be his life, but it wasn't theirs. For them, it was only a job, and that was how it should be.
The place was named Jason's. Jason caught flak from his friends for naming the place after himself, but it wasn't an ego thing. The bar was the only true home Jason had ever had. Growing up in the foster system, it was the only big thing he’d ever owned. So he put his name on it as a claim. As proof to himself that he had something in this world.
Before she died, Jason's mom had liked to say that the only thing in this life you can own is the heart beating in your chest. He believed that until he fell in love. That's when you no longer own your own heart. You give someone else the power to keep it safe or break it altogether. Briahna had chosen the latter.
He shook his head to rid it of those memories as his mind wandered back to the girl with the long, tangled mess of auburn hair. She was beautiful despite the streaks of black mascara and the constant trembling. He thought he might have imagined it, but she seemed to light up when he finally got her to talk long enough to introduce herself.
Jason and Aaron opened the bar, and it filled up quickly. It was a popular spot in that part of the city. Jason liked to help out behind the bar on crazy weekend nights, so he started pouring a row of shots for a group of girls who looked like they were on a mission to party. A pretty brunette smiled at him, and he returned the gesture. He thought he was just being nice, but she seemed to take it as an invitation. Her eyes didn't leave him as she threw back her shot and tried to pull him out from behind the bar to hit the dance floor.
Jason finally managed to extricate himself from the girl's grip and ducked back behind the bar.
"Sorry, doll," he said. "I'm a little too busy for dancing tonight." She pushed her bottom lip out in a pout and then followed her friends away.
"Shoulda taken her up on her offer." Aaron nudged Jason and went back to pouring a beer for a waiting customer.
"I don't dance," Jason responded.
"Not the offer I was
"Cool, well, you up for going out tonight?" Chris rarely stayed in during the week, let alone the weekends. Michaela found herself agreeing because he was right. She needed some fun.
###
Don't go there , Jason told himself for the millionth time that day.
Michaela. Man, that girl was a wreck. Jason balled a bar towel in his hands, gripping it as hard as he could. What he really wanted to do was wring the neck of whoever it was that made those tears fall down that beautiful face. He didn't understand why he was feeling so protective of a girl he barely knew. Jason was not a violent man. In fact, he abhorred it. He'd had his bouncer kick more people out of his bar than he could count. People that hadn't yet caused any problems but that he'd suspected were close.
Jason threw the towel onto the bar and headed towards the back to help unload a beer delivery. His muscles strained as he carried a case inside.
"Hey, boss," Aaron, the bar's assistant manager said, coming in behind him.
"Happy you finally decided to grace us with your presence." Jason dropped his load with a grunt and went out for another.
"Sorry, dude, I had a thing."
"We open in an hour." Jason's voice was flat.
"It was important." Aaron put another case down and looked at his boss nervously.
"Yeah yeah." Jason waved him away to continue working. "I'm just going to make you close tonight so I can get some beauty rest."
"You need it, man." Aaron grinned.
"What? With this face? If anything, I should have to stay up all the time just to make it fair for you lot." They both laughed and all was forgiven.
Jason was a good boss, in part because he trusted his employees. He knew Aaron. If he had a situation, Jason believed it was important enough to be late to work. He wasn't too hard on anyone who worked for him. He realized that the bar might be his life, but it wasn't theirs. For them, it was only a job, and that was how it should be.
The place was named Jason's. Jason caught flak from his friends for naming the place after himself, but it wasn't an ego thing. The bar was the only true home Jason had ever had. Growing up in the foster system, it was the only big thing he’d ever owned. So he put his name on it as a claim. As proof to himself that he had something in this world.
Before she died, Jason's mom had liked to say that the only thing in this life you can own is the heart beating in your chest. He believed that until he fell in love. That's when you no longer own your own heart. You give someone else the power to keep it safe or break it altogether. Briahna had chosen the latter.
He shook his head to rid it of those memories as his mind wandered back to the girl with the long, tangled mess of auburn hair. She was beautiful despite the streaks of black mascara and the constant trembling. He thought he might have imagined it, but she seemed to light up when he finally got her to talk long enough to introduce herself.
Jason and Aaron opened the bar, and it filled up quickly. It was a popular spot in that part of the city. Jason liked to help out behind the bar on crazy weekend nights, so he started pouring a row of shots for a group of girls who looked like they were on a mission to party. A pretty brunette smiled at him, and he returned the gesture. He thought he was just being nice, but she seemed to take it as an invitation. Her eyes didn't leave him as she threw back her shot and tried to pull him out from behind the bar to hit the dance floor.
Jason finally managed to extricate himself from the girl's grip and ducked back behind the bar.
"Sorry, doll," he said. "I'm a little too busy for dancing tonight." She pushed her bottom lip out in a pout and then followed her friends away.
"Shoulda taken her up on her offer." Aaron nudged Jason and went back to pouring a beer for a waiting customer.
"I don't dance," Jason responded.
"Not the offer I was
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