Asher Converse's Arc

Chapter 27 of 30

The chain was back under his collar, and the bar was his road now. Asher meant to walk it clear-eyed. But a road needs men who trust him, and trust ran both ways. He had held every flirt at arm's length. He told himself it kept the crew clean. Now he wondered if it only kept him lonely. Elixir stood empty near dawn. He wiped the bar and let the thought sit. Tucker came down the stairs with a crate of empties. He was the man who first led Asher to this building, then took a cut to run the drinks. Tall, wavy hair, two flat gold chains at his open vest. He set the crate down and caught Asher watching. "You've got a look," Tucker said. He leaned on the bar. "Same one you get before you buy a building." "Thinking," Asher said. "Dangerous." Tucker's mouth curved. He reached out and straightened Asher's collar, slow, fingers brushing the chain beneath. "You always wear this like armor. Won't tell me who gave it." Asher didn't pull back. That was new. Tucker felt it and went still. "I've kept a wall up," Asher said. "Told you the bar was the wall." "You did. Twice." Tucker didn't move his hand. "I stopped asking." "Maybe you shouldn't have." Tucker studied him. The dry humor dropped for a moment. "Careful. I don't chase what I can't keep." "Then keep it a night," Asher said. "See how it sits." Tucker laughed, low. He leaned in and kissed him. Asher let it happen. He even leaned back. It was warm and easy and it felt like the first thing in weeks that cost nothing. Then Tucker's hand slid to the chain again, curious, and Asher's fist closed over it before he thought. Tucker felt the flinch. He drew back an inch. "There it is," Tucker said. "The wall." Asher looked at his own fist on the gold. The woman below the world. The promise he had almost quit. He had just told JD the bar was the door he walked through to reach her. He couldn't kiss a man over the bar and forget what the bar was for. "It's not you," Asher said. "It's her. She's still waiting." Tucker nodded slow. He picked up his crate. No sulk, no push. "Figured she was a she." He shrugged. "You're not free to give it. That's fair. I'll take the friend and the cut." "You'd stay on either way?" "I'm here for the fight, Asher. The kiss was a bonus." He grinned. "A good one." He carried the crate out back. Asher stood alone with his hand still on the chain. He had let the door open and closed it himself. The bar wasn't a place to fall for a man. It was the road to the woman he'd promised. He knew that now for certain, and it cost him a thing he'd wanted.