And then a late night drink with Diana.

It was fairly late at night already. The girls and I had a bit of the usual fun, but we didn’t go too far. It didn't feel right to do it in Diana’s house while she was away, but we had fun talking and drinking and I think that’s a good sign. I mean, if we could only have fun together having sex, then it probably meant our relationship didn’t have a strong foundation. We talked, we laughed, we argued and we had a great time. Maybe a bit too much, even. Noelle was the first to fall, as expected. By 9:30 pm, the few drinks she had got to her and she fell asleep while leaning her head on Sarah’s shoulder. We tucked her in in the guest room, but it wasn’t too long before the others had enough, too. We were careful and we had our breaks, but we had been drinking since the afternoon. And yeah, in the end I had a couple, too. I had to taste what I was making, after all.

Alice and Noelle were sharing the bed in the guest room, Mila and Sarah had taken Diana’s room, and Grace was asleep on the couch in the living room. That left Diana’s dad’s room, which we decided not to touch until she got home.

As for myself, I was sitting behind the bar, nursing a negroni while Cake and Red waited with me. Red was at my feet, laying on the floor and chewing on a toy bone while Cake sat straight on the counter while I scratched her neck. She purred, and at one point she got curious about what I was drinking. She sniffed it and made a funny disgusted face before pulling away.

Cake was taking well to the new environment, better than I expected, actually. I thought she’d be missing home. But then again, Isabelle did take her out of the house to socialize with other cats, and I’d been taking her on walks for a long while now. My girl is a trooper.

Funnily enough, my first hint that Diana was home wasn’t any sound she made, but Red’s ears perking up. The dog sat up, leaving his toy on the floor and then walked over to the door. Just a moment later, we heard the door and Diana walked in, smiling at Red and petting.

She then looked up from him and saw me at the bar. She smiled.

“Anything I can serve you, or are you sick and tired of **** for the night?” I asked her, keeping my voice low enough so as to not bother the sleeping girls.

Diana chuckled. “Have you been standing there all this time waiting for me to come home?” she asked, walking closer.

“You’re not supposed to notice that.”

“You should’ve just gone to bed,” she said, yet her smile said a lot more, and she sat down on the stool across from me. Cake moved closer and allowed Diana to pet her.

“I’ll clean the counter, I promise,” I told her.

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind. How did they do?”

“They’re getting along just fine. How was the night?”

“Slower.”

“Is that bad?”

“No, we still had plenty of customers. Just not as many. Around six or seven at any given time. You really did get the busiest nights.” Her eyes fell on my half-full glass. “Are you really offering me a drink?”

“Why would I joke about that? I’ve been practicing all day and I’d be willing to bet you didn’t drink at work.”

Diana chuckled, and even her eyes seemed to shine. “Give me one of those, then. A negroni.”

“Coming right up.”

Negroni: gin, campari and sweet vermouth. Stir with ice in a mixing glass until well-chilled. Strain into a glass with a large ice cube and garnish with an orange peel.

I think, so far, this was my favorite drink look-wise. It was simple, yet classy. The dark brown, almost golden color with the perfectly clear large ice cube and the orange tint that the peel gave it… It was nice to look at. A bit too strong, though.

Diana held the glass, stirred it a bit in her hand to hear the soft clinking of the ice against the edges, then took a small sip. She held it in her mouth for a bit before swallowing and having another.

“So? How is it?”

“Normal,” she said, smiling at me. “Which is really the best compliment I can give you. This is a standard negroni which you could serve in any bar.”

“You prepared the ice, though,” I said.

Diana nodded. “And you’ll get to that soon.”

“What can I do better?”

“You’re still too stiff when pouring. I can see the liquor shake when you do it. You also stirred a bit too long, so it’s well-chilled, but watered down.”

“Got it.”

“...” Diana looked down at her glass, and suddenly Red was beside her, sniffing her leg with his ears down.

“What is it?” I asked her, worried.

“Dylan is a part-timer, like you, so he only works certain days. I started working with another girl today. Another university senior.”

“Didn’t go well?”

“She’s… skilled, but has little knowledge. She knows how to make five drinks well. When I tried to teach her how to serve a drink in pousse-cafe style, she got mad and we argued. Maybe I… came off as too presumptuous or obnoxious.”

“Somehow I doubt it, but even if you were, you’re the one in charge. If she doesn’t know how to do something she should, then she has to keep quiet, listen and learn. She can curse you afterwards, in her own free time.”

Diana’s lips curled into a smile, then she burst into laughter she had to stifle for the sake of those sleeping.

“What?” I asked her, smiling at her.

“Nothing. Just… I like that a lot more than if you tried to reassure me that I wasn’t obnoxious.”

“Well… I wasn’t there, and I know you still have troubles with the way you say things to strangers. Maybe you were obnoxious, even if I don’t think that was the case, but even so. If she’s a bartender, doesn’t know how to layer a drink and refuses to learn, then as her supervisor, you can be as obnoxious as you want.”

Diana relaxed and looked into my eyes with a loving smile. “You remember what poisse-cafe is.”

“Of course I do. I pay attention to what you teach me.”

“This girl didn’t know. I think she reacted the way she did because the customer that asked for it that way shamed her for not knowing. I… should’ve defended her, shouldn’t I? I kept quiet then, but I’m only realizing this now.”

“I think that would’ve been good. Offer to make the drink yourself, then offer the girl to teach her later.” I shrugged. “Something to keep in mind next time, right?”

“Right.” Diana smiled, sipped her drink and shook her head. “I can’t wait for Friday. I want to work with you again.”

“I would’ve expected you to say you couldn’t wait until your next break,” I told her.

“It may have its issues, but I like this job. I’m finally doing what I like instead of sorting through papers, organizing schedules or making purchases.”

“Are you tired?”

“Not too much. Why?”

“Then… Would you make me a negroni? I want to see if I can taste the difference between yours and mine.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

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