early closing at the grapevine was rare, but not unheard of. it was only thirty minutes before their official posted time, but the bar crowd muttered complaints as he ushered them out the door. lucky most of these are the regulars. the locks clicked, freeing him of his duty to the customer until the next afternoon when he'd arrive for opening. unfortunately, the night did not end there. wiping the bar, flipping chairs onto tables, and refilling bottles were the usual closing tasks- but tonight, the additional boxes of new testing liquors sat dauntingly beyond the stockroom door.
the tamarind vodka assaulted his nostrils before it reached his lips. it was a sickly sweet scent that just barely masked the scrape of the artificial spice down his throat. disgusting. but palatable...enough. it would have been better as a tequila, though he was probably biased. he brought the freshly cracked bottle to the break table, setting a new shot glass for his fellow closer. his eyes shot up to ryann, a glint hidden in their gaze. "try this." @hxrricvnes
