Free Big Girls Rock 1 by Danielle Houston Page A

tune. Because if you don't this gang will eat you alive!"
    The scrawny kid gripped his instrument, "We were kinda hoping to play some original stuff."
    "Trust me," I pointed at him with the microphone. "If you don't play it, you're not going to get to play anything else."
    "Don't worry we know about this place," a strange confidence emerged on his face. "We made sure we learned some of the oldies.”
    Oldies? These kids today had no respect for the classics. I screamed, “Hit it" and to my surprise this inexperienced band didn't miss a beat. The intro and key were perfect. I sang the hell of that song like I always do. At heart I'm a rocker girl, always have been always will be. I sensed the crowd loved it and I hammed it up to please them. I know I’m bigger than average. But at size eighteen, I shook my ass like we were having an earthquake. When we finished the crowd went absolutely nuts. I stepped off the stage and went back behind the bar. On the way, I'm quite sure more than one guy copped a feel of my ample backside.
    As I poured drinks, a deep masculine voice spoke. "You're a fantastic singer, Candi.”
    An Adonis swaggered up to the bar. He was over six feet, with dark hair, and the most striking blue eyes. He wore a sleeveless shirt and fashionably ripped jeans. His exposed arms were well muscled and tanned. Holy mother, his pants hugged him tight enough to see his religion. I spotted a dragon tattoo on his upper shoulder. Sex and trouble radiated from his eyes.
    "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," I rested my arms on the counter.
    "This place is fun," he replied. "It's been awhile since I've been in Oakland."
    "Oh, where are you from?" I tried hard not to stare at his crotch, or his amazing biceps.
    "I live in L.A.”
    "What you do there?" I said.
    "Oh, nothing special." He smiled at me again, and I swear I went slack-jawed.
    "I could never live in SoCal… too hot." I used a rag to wipe the counter down. I was definitely trying to play it cool.
    "Is it okay to buy the singing bartender a drink?" He leaned in and raised an eyebrow.
    "As long as you don't tell my boss!" The truth was I’d already had at least three free drinks. One more wasn't going to hurt.
    "Shots alright?" He pulled out his wallet.
    "Jaeger?" I replied.
    "Perfect,” and he smiled, revealing movie-star white teeth. 
    I poured a shot for him and one for myself. “Ready?”
    “I was born ready,” He grinned wide. Yes, I bet he was.
    “1... 2... 3... drink!” I shouted. With that we both downed the Jaeger shots. I smacked my lips and slammed the shot glass down.
    "So," he asked. "Are you doing anything later?"
“I don’t even know your name.”
    “I’m Nick,” The corners of his eyes crinkled.
    “Well, Nick it’s nice to meet you.” I folded my arms across my chest. “But I make it rule not to date anyone from the bar.” Sure this guy was hot, but I knew better. No good could come of flirting with him. Nope, no good at all.
    “But I’m not from the bar...” he smirked. “I’m from L.A.”
    I was waiting for this. It was time for my standard polite brush-off speech. This was going to hurt me a million times more than him. But it had to be done.
    "I can’t. Why don’t you ask one of the other girls here out?"
    "I'm already talking to the prettiest girl in the room." He stared at me with those irresistible blue-eyes. Okay, that took me off guard. I was used to a lot of things but genuine sweet talk wasn't one of them. "I'm really flattered," I told him. "But the first rule of bartending is not to shit where you eat."
    "You lost me there," he was confused.
    "What I mean is... I’m not going out with you. "
    Crestfallen he simply muttered “Oh” and disappeared into the crowd. Did I hurt his feelings? But I knew how these things went. A hot guy like that and a big girl like me couldn’t be anything but a crazy one night stand. You know one of those stories that starts; I was so drunk last night!  
    A few minutes later I heard