First Customers

As soon as the switch flipped up, Tifa ran from the door like it was on fire, her breasts clapping softly with the sudden, rapid movement. Not bothering to flip the door to behind the bar up, she vaulted over it.

And she waited. And waited. And waited.

She could hear the clock on the wall ticking in her skull. Goosebumps creeped over her body. Merle was right, this wait was going to kill her.

"Cover charge?" Tifa literally jumps when she heard voices outside. "Since when?" It was a man's voice.

"Since now," She heard Marle slap the wall of the bar where a flyer for tonight's even was posted. "Can't you read?"

"Shit, you serious?" A different man spoke. Fantastic, Tifa thought. Couldn't be just one person to start things off. "I thought that was some kind of prank!"

"Prank or not, you're not getting in without the cover charge." Marle patted her tin can, and Tifa head gil clatter to the bottom.

This is really happening! Tifa's mind was close to short circuiting. She fumbled with her arms, trying to figure out how to stand. Normally, she would stand behind the bar with her hands on her hips and greet her patrons. It was both welcoming, and commanding. But doing that would put her completely on display. She wanted to use her arms to cover her breasts, but that was pointless. And crossing her arms underneath would only serve to accentuate them. So she just stood there, ramrod stiff, gripping the counter with white knuckles.

The front doors opened. Two men that Tifa recognized entered. They were regular from the area. They were scrappers. They collected useful things from the scrap heap and sold them in town.

"Holy shit." One of them breathed. They were rooted in place, just a few steps inside, staring. Their eyes practically falling out of their heads.

There it is, Tifa winced. The first time someone seems me naked and it these two, and I'm doing it for money.

"G-good evening!" Tifa's voice was shaky as she attempted a smile. Her eyes burned, fighting back tears of humiliation. "What'll it be?"

Neither of them spoke. The just continued to ogle her. Tifa could practically feel their eyes on her chest. While the bar hid her lower half from view, which she was thankful for, that meant that there was nothing, not even a distraction, to hide her breasts.

"Beer!" The word fell out of one of their mouths, as if it took all of his brain power to form the single syllable. Cautiously, as if it were a trap, they walked forward.

"Coming right up!" She was relieved to have something to do other than stand there for them, and even happier that it have her a reason to turn around, even though that meant that they would now get an unobstructed view of her butt instead. She grabbed two bottles, she knew their brand already, and turned back around to their hungry gaze.

She tried to pop the top off with her gloved hand, but her hands were so shaky that she dropped the bottle. Luckily, it didn't break, glass bottles were tougher than the movies made them look, but the fumble added another layer of embarrassment to the normally adept bartender.

"Here you go," Tifa handed the drinks over. "That'll be 50 gil."

This was the part about the job Tifa always dreaded. This was the slums, everyone was some shade of poor. But even then, you paid for your goods and services. Yet everyone thought that they could just put their drinks on their tabs. Tabs that they would never pay. She had to cut off so many patrons due to their tabs, and these two in front of her were notoriously cheap.

But to her surprise, they handed over the money. No protest, just payment. Tifa was thankful for the small blessing.

[contributions to this thread are more than welcome]