“Why not? You didn’t serve me,” I mock-scoff, throwing out an arm and gripping the bar with one hand for balance. He tracks my movements as the tension between us rachets up ten degrees.

“Put your damn keys away before I take them, Fourth Wheel. I’ll drive you home when I’m done.”

I don’t dare peek over to see if Dempsey’s watching our exchange. I just hope for the best and shoot my shot.

“I’m not interested in waiting for you to count your pennies or whatever it is bar owners do at the end of the night. I’m ready to go now.”

I turn on my heel slowly, acutely aware of Jake’s eyes on me. If he stops me before Dempsey has a chance to intervene…

“Do you live around here? I’m almost done with my closing tasks. I could give you a ride home.”

Yahtzee. Bingo. Bullseye. Mine.

I brush the hair out of my eyes and turn to smile at my new knight in shining armor.

“You’re sure you don’t mind?” I ask at the same time Jake says, “Seriously?”

Dempsey stops where he stands behind the bar, his gaze shifting between Jake and me. He’s doing that little brow-scrunch, like he’s trying to work out what he’s missing. That’s the one thing I don’t want him to figure out before I get him out of this bar.

“Why not?” he finally levels at Jake. “She’s a friend of yours, right?” He turns to me before giving Jake a chance to answer. “Do you live far?”

“I’m staying at my parents’ house. It’s only a few minutes past the train bridge,” I offer before Jake can insert himself again.

Dempsey nods and gives me a little half smile. “I just need to grab my keys.”

He moves out from behind the bar, and I hustle to catch up. Partly because I’m eager to see what happens when we don’t have a stupid tree trunk between us. But also because I need to get away from Jake. I don’t think he’s figured out that Dempsey doesn’t know who I am, but I have absolutely no intention of letting him be the one to spill the beans.

Dempsey makes his way down a dark, narrow hallway, and I follow, although I’m not sure he realizes he isn’t alone. We walk past the bathrooms toward a metal cage filled with bottles. He stops abruptly, and I smack right into his back, letting out an umph of surprise.

Just as I teeter, he spins around and grasps my forearms.

“Careful, princess.”