Chapter 1 Twist and Shout
“Gee thanks, Eddie. So very generous of you to leave me a tip...in an upside down glass full of beer.” Gemma McDonald muttered as she cleaned off a table in a booth at Cheers. She was working at the bar that attracted a mix of college students and younger businessmen. It must be the skimpy cheerleader outfits she thought to herself. The skirt barely covered her rear and the top showed her toned midriff. If she raised her arms over her head she almost put on a show the bar wasn’t licensed for. She wore coordinating undies so her backside wasn’t on public view. Once a night at straight up midnight, the waitresses climbed onto bars and stage platforms around the bar and did a cheer move based dance to Toni Basil’s “Mickey”. It usually garnered the girls a little extra tip money from appreciative patrons. Gemma usually made a nice chunk of change by shaking her moneymaker. People seemed to appreciate her fair skin, blue-green eyes and long, thick auburn hair that fell in wave down to the middle of her back. Her bright white smile was another of her selling points.
She finished bussing the booth just in time for three men to walk her way in search of a table. They were an odd trio. One was very well dressed in a suit that could very well be Armani. He was dark and mysterious in a Sheik of Arabia kind of way. The talkative man was dressed in business casual - khakis and a pullover sweater with a distinctive little Polo insignia on it. The third man was kind of dark and brooding and didn’t seem to know how to smile.”C’mon, Drake, Smile! It’s a party! And our waitress is hot,” He gave Gemma a wink and a smile that told her he was the trixster of the group. The one wearing the suit carefully checked out the seat in the booth as if he were worried that something was going to get on his clothes. “Can it, Max! I don’t do fun,” the one in the comfortably worn Levi’s growled. They piled into the booth leaving space on one end. “It’s your turn to buy, Tariq,” Drake said.
Tariq acquiesced by pulling out wallet and taking out a black American Express. “We’ll have a bottle of your best champagne and four glasses.” He spoke with the voice of privilege and what Gemma called a Downton Abbey voice. “One bottle of Cristal and four champagne flutes coming up!” She smiled at them and started back for the bar. Drake cleared his throat and added, “And three fingers of Maker’s Mark. Neat.” “Got it,” Gemma replied. All three men watched her curvy backside as she walked away from them to the bar.”Liam is going to love her! Hell, I’m in love with her!” Max said with a sigh.
“We’ve got a high roller, Tom” Gemma said as she set the credit card on the bar. “Open a tab for these gentlemen and get me a bottle of Cristal, four flutes and three fingers of Maker’s Mark.” She glanced back over her shoulder and saw that all three were wartching her. To give them a little show, she stepped on the foot rail and leaned over the bar to snag a cherry from the garnish tray. That move showed of her backside covered in her matching cheer ‘bloomers’. She picked up her tray and a silver bucket with ice and the bottle of Cristal and went back to the table. As she was placing the flutes in front of each man she wrinkled her forehead in thought. “Four flutes and three of you. Pretty sure the fourth is not for me.” “No, Miss. It’s for me,” a soft masculine voice said. Gemma turned and saw a very handsome man with sun kissed skin, crystal blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. “Oh....good. If you need anything else, anything at all, I’m Gemma,” her voice soft with a hint of a Texas drawl. The man gave her bright smile, “I’m Liam. And this lot is Drake, Max and Tariq. Don’t worry. I’ll keep them in line.” He lifted her hand and brushed a kiss to her knuckles. The move had Gemma drawing in a quick breath, her pupils dilating ever so slightly as she looked at him with wonder. “I don’t know where your from, but your mama certainly raised you right,” she said breathlessly as she gently extracted her small hand from his. She left them to their champagne and went to wait on her other customers.
“She’s beautiful,” Liam said as he watched Gemma as she made small talk with other patrons and took more drink orders. She walked to the bar, spinning her tray artfully. “Too bad you’re getting married,” Drake snarked. “That leaves it clear for us to make a play. I’ve always wanted to hook up with an American girl and her being a ginger just makes her hotter. I bet she’s a good dancer. I wonder if she’s a real cheerleader,” Max gushed about their pretty waitress. Drake elbowed him in the gut ,”Shut up already. She probably thinks she’s gonna get a big tip from us,” Drake grumped.
The next thing the guys knew Gemma was setting her tray on there table. “Give a lady a hand up.” She held her hand out to Liam, her eyes sparkling from the lights that twinkled throughout the bar. Liam took her soft hand in his and said,”But of course.” Gemma put a sneaker clad foot on the seat next to his thigh and climbed up onto the dancing platform next to their booth. The sounds of Toni Basil’s song ‘Mickey’ came through the speakers. All of the waitresses were up on either dancing platforms or the bar dancing in a coordinated cheerleading typed dance. They watched every move Gemma made. When the song was over, Liam offered his hand to help her down. She took it and was about to say something when a rowdy patron bumped into and caused her to lose her footing. She fell right into Liam’s arms. She didn’t know who was more surprised, her or him. “My knight in shining Polo sweater,” she quipped. “You almost got that right,” Drake said. “Liam’s a genuine prince.” Gemma hurried off Liam’s lap , a blush creeping up her neck until her cheeks were bright red. “I...um, excuse me.” She snatched up her tray and all but ran back to the bar.
Tom was laughing as he watched the scene from behind the bar. “At least you fell into the arms of the hot one,” he quipped as she picked the drink nozzle and sprayed him with water. “Hush up, perv,” she laughed. Tom pulled the nozzle from her hand and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Do you not know who that is? That’s the Crown Prince of Candoria! He’s on the hunt for a bride according to the tabloids.” “Honestly, Tom, I don’t know why you read those things. Half of it’s lies and the other half is pure fiction,” she retorted. She glanced back to them and saw Tariq motioning for her attention.” “Go get’em, Gemma. They. Are. Loaded.” Gemma thumped Tom on the chest, picked up her tray and went to their table.
“What can I do for you.” She kept her eyes on Tariq, knowing that if she looked at Liam she’d turn beet red with embarrassment. “We’d like to close out our tab. It’s late and we’re all getting a fair bit bored.” Tariq fit the image of snooty rich foreigner that she had in her head. “Yes, sir. Be right back with it.” Gemma turned on her heel and went back behind the bar. “Close out their tab, Tom. They’re bored.” She rolled her eyes. She checked her Cinderella watch for the time. “Yes! After I take this to the snooty boys to sign I am out of here!” She took a credit card folder over to their table. “I’d like to thank you for coming to Cheers. Next time you’re in the neighborhood, stop in. We always have Cristal chilled and waiting.” “Thank you, Miss. Would you happen to know of a place with an actual dance floor nearby?” Tariq added a tip to the amount on the ticket and scribbled his signature across the bottom. He snapped it closed and handed it back to her. She took the folder and thought for a moment. “I know the perfect place. I can show you where it is if you’d like. I just need to clock out and go change.” “Don’t change on our account,” Max grinned. Drake elbowed him again. Liam’s face brightened, “That sounds smashing. Shall we meet you out front?” “About ten minutes. See you outside!” She hurried back behind the bar to collect her tip money and count out her till. She tossed the credit card folder to Tom. “See you tomorrow night! Now go have fun!” He swatted her on the fan, hurrying her along. Gemma looked over her shoulder and smiled before heading to the locker room.
