The city air tasted like rain. I tugged the sleeves of my oversized sweater down to my wrists, shoved yesterday's sandwich into my bag, and locked the apartment door twice. The rusted bolt stuck as usual, but I forced it shut. Rumors of a thief making rounds in the neighborhood had everyone on edge, and the last thing I needed was another problem.
The shortcut to the inn was slick with shadows. Puddles from the morning drizzle caught the streetlight and made the ground look like broken glass. The sky pressed lower, black clouds heavy enough to smother.
I quickened my pace. The Three Pigeons Inn waited twenty minutes away the kind of place where cameras flashed and celebrities laughed too loudly. I still couldn't believe they'd hired me. Bartending there felt less like a job and more like standing at the edge of a world I wasn't meant to touch.
A low rumble rolled overhead. Then the rain came. Cold, sharp drops, heavy enough to sting. I ducked my head and ran.
That's when I hit him.
My shoulder collided with something solid— someone. The impact knocked the breath from my chest. I stumbled backward, legs wobbling, vision swimming. For a heartbeat I thought I would collapse.
Then arms caught me. Firm. Unyielding. Heat radiated through the wet fabric of my sweater as he steadied me.
I looked up.
Emerald eyes locked on mine, startling in the dark. His face was cut sharp, cheekbones catching the rain, jaw tense. Something about him clawed at the back of my mind; familiar, unsettling. My stomach twisted before my thoughts caught up. I had seen him before. Not here. Not like this. Somewhere I shouldn't have.
The air between us was too close, too charged. My throat went dry.
I jerked back, mumbled something that might have been "sorry," and bolted inside before my legs gave out.
I headed straight to the employees lounge and paused a bit to catch my breath. Where had I seen him before? I could have sworn he looked familiar but I was practically already late and if i didn't show up at my post with immediate effect, I might just lose the one job that's been a life saver to me.
I dropped my things in the employee cabinet, locked it and took my keys. Luckily, today's shift was upstairs at the lounge, had it been downstairs then I was sure as hell fucked!
Focus Lana! This was no time to be thinking about a man but I could have sworn that I had seen that face before.
I grabbed my apron and headed straight for the upstairs lounge. Today, I was in charge of serving drinks to waiting customers.
Sometimes customers would wait out here till it was dark before they'd go downstairs to embrace the familiar warmth of alcohol and male banter.
"Hello Ben." I moved to pick up the tray for the beer but I noticed an unusual expression on Ben's face.
Almost as though he didn't see me. I stood for a moment trying to decide if it would be a good idea to break into his thoughts and inquire about his strange attitude or just ignore him entirely and go straight to attending to our customers.
I purposely moved a few things around the counter to see if the action would jolt him back to normal and it worked. He immediately looked around and it was almost like he just came back to earth.
"Welcome back," I said sarcastically. "Lana…" he turned sharply to face me fully. "How long have you been standing there?"
I made for the pen and a piece of paper on the counter before turning to him with a sarcastic look on my face. "Long enough to know you've been stuck in a daze for the most part. I wonder if you've pursued a few customers at this point. You know the boss wouldn't be happy if this where to reach his attention."
Ben stiffened and I almost burst out laughing but I had to keep my cool. His hands started moving as if to recollect himself but I could tell something was amiss. I was contemplating asking him if he was okay but I couldn't leave our customers waiting.
I checked the time and it was 4:00pm on the dot, precisely the time my shift begins. "We can talk about it after our shift," I say turning to leave.
"Lana…please don't tell the boss." I wasn't planning to but knowing how this works, he was going to be in my debt and I would most definitely be using it when the time comes. I nodded my head and turned away from him, whatever that was, it had nothing to do with me.
I inhaled deeply, mentally practicing my lines for the evening. I looked around and he was nowhere in sight, I couldn't tell what the sensation I was feeling was but I was sure glad he wasn't here.
"What would you like to have today sir?" I stood infront of a customers table, staring down ever so professionally at him. if I didn't mange myself properly, I was going to break into two, I couldn't fully comprehend how that would happen but i felt it in my bones. Fuck I need sleep, that was one thing I was sure of.
"A beer would do." He responded barely lifting his face from whatever he was doing. I smiled and turned to the beer counter.
One of the main reasons I loved my afternoon shifts was because it was never truly a full shift, plus the customers by that time hadn't been wearied by the issues of the day. Everywhere was usually calm and if there was anything I so badly needed at this point in my life, it was certainly that.
"One beer please, for the customer on table C." I turned to move but my legs wouldn't budge. He was here, in the lounge….