Chapter One

Chapter One

Six Months Earlier

She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror with a sad frown across her face as she took in her wrinkled black t-shirt and ripped, faded blue jeans that were less than flattering on her. Her hair was gross with some food caked in it and up in a messy bun.

She was lacking a bit in how well she took care of herself. Her tips were covered in split ends, and the color in her hair was blotchy due to sun bleaching. Her eyebrows were unmanaged; she had a hairy lip line because she really didn’t have the money to get it waxed, and her clothes were all ragged.

She knew looking as she did she would surely die an old maid. Under her unmanaged looks, she knew she was pretty. She had big brown eyes, a medium tan, a cute button nose, and rosy cheeks, but she had been around enough to know that not many men would really find her very attractive like she was then. 

She hadn’t dated in a couple of years since she dropped out of college and got her certification to be a bartender, but it wasn’t on her list of priorities. Sure, she strived for love like any hopeless romantic and dreamed of finding a man who would ignite a fire within her heart that would never be extinguished. 

An individual such as Catalina Graham had many dreams, but her survival was the most important. She could find love later on when she had the time for it.

Cat picked the food out of her hair with a precise hand and let down her hair before running her fingers through it like a comb. She then put it back up in a neater ponytail and left the bathroom.

The day was winding down, and it was time to open the bar and start the night shift which would bring in more money to her. 

She had been on her own since she turned eighteen. Her mother was there, but she was pretty sick and died pretty soon after Cat graduated high school. She never met her father but had seen plenty of pictures of him that Gisela Graham tried to hide from her. She had seen how torn up her mother was about her father’s abandonment and it stayed with her even to her death bed. 

Gisela Graham had been a hopeless romantic herself, and this is where Cat was sure she got it from. Sweet Gisela was always so certain that one day Andrew Daniels would return to her door so much so that she always set another place at the dinner table for him if he graced them with his presence. It broke Cat’s heart to see how tormented Gisela was by this absent Andrew, which got to her more than not having a father.

Cat left the bathroom and started to clean up the kitchen, waiting for a customer to arrive for the bar. It was oddly quiet for a Friday night in May. She was expecting a mass of college kids looking to get drunk, but the room was empty. This just meant that she was going to have to lose out on a day of her normal Ramen noodle diet. 

She was about ready to give up hope for a customer when the door opened and Cat was joined by laughter and three men. 

Her eyes snapped up to the door, and she took in the three newcomers. She had worked there long enough that she knew all those who visited there, frequently or on occasion. She had never laid eyes on these three men. 

There was a dirty blonde with perfectly groomed strands and a goofy smile on his face dressed in black dress pants, a green dress shirt, and black blazer. Then she took notice of the next man who had a casual, soft smile, light brown hair, a little longer than the blonde, tan trousers, light blue dress shirt, and a dark blue blazer. He was pretty handsome in her book, but that wasn’t where she was surveying him. She was profiling them to see who would be tipping if any at all. 

Then she checked out the last of the party who looked like he hated his life and wished he was anywhere but there. His face showed a business-like, stoic seriousness and his eyes showed a dark sadness within him as he strolled with the others. He was wearing much simpler attire than his companions, a white t-shirt which hugged some pretty impressive muscles, a brown leather jacket, and some dark blue jeans. He was pretty good looking as well, jet black shaggy hair, tan skin, honey brown eyes, but she didn’t care about their looks. She was interested in her damn paycheck.

She threw down the rag she was wiping the counter with and dried off her hands on her apron before she approached the group who was taking a seat at a booth. She noticed the blonde nudge the guy with black hair who gave him a death glare and the bronze haired guy shook his head with a caring smirk at his friends. 

“Welcome to David’s. What can I get for you guys?” She asked which earned their attention. She noticed the brunette guy perk up with a truly dazzling smile which had her blushing a bit which she tried to pretend she didn’t know about.

“What about it?” The blonde spoke up with a cheerful smile before looking between his friends. 

“I’d like what you have on tap.” Cat smiled at the response from the brunette guy before turning her eyes to the two others. 

“What liquor do you have available tonight?” The blonde asked which got a bigger smile from Cat. 

“We have a wide selection nightly. Jose Cuervo, Malibu-“ She was interrupted by the black-haired guy who looked highly irritated.

“Blah, blah, blah. Quit overselling it, already. Just tell me you have some fucking whiskey in this place or I’m getting a drink somewhere else.” Cat was taken back by how rude and how much of an asshole this guy was. She was just trying to be nice like she always was. Why was he being like that? Did she do something wrong? She frowned as the brunette’s eyes butted in.

“Julien!” He scolded his friend with his tone which earned him an eye roll. 

“What? Why sugar coat it? We all know she’s just trying to get a massive tip and I’m not staying if I can’t get a decent drink.” She was highly offended by his assholery. She may have been hoping for a tip, but she always treated all of her customers the same unless they behaved like this tool was. 

“I’m afraid you will be very disappointed with our whiskey. It isn’t nearly as bitter as your colorful attitude,” she sneered, and his eyes widened before a small smirk rose across his lips with a shake of his head. 

“If there was a drink bitter enough to put him to shame, it would be illegal to drink,” the blonde joked and earned himself a scowl from the black-haired man. Cat didn’t laugh at the joke. She was too irritated. “I’ll just have a gin and Sprite.” She nodded with a small smile.

“I’ll be back with your drinks.” She rushed back to the bar and quickly prepared their drinks. She placed them on a tray and walked it over to their table. She placed the correct drink in front of each of them before looking at the brunette man with her sweet little grin.

“Anything else I can get for you?” he shook his head with a kind smile.

“Thank you, Miss…” He trailed off and motioned his hand towards her, begging silently for her to fill the blank. 

“My name is Catalina, but everyone just calls me Cat.” He smiled bigger at her.

“Well, Thank you, Miss. Catalina, but I’m sure we will be fine on our own.” He joked a bit, and she snickered before turning and returning back to the bar.

It was rare that anyone called her by her given name instead of her nickname when they knew both, and his formality was entertaining. It wasn’t normal for her to come across someone so proper and she was curious about his accent. It wasn’t strong, but it was enough that she knew he wasn’t American and she wondered where he hailed from. 

Maybe England? No, the accent was a little different than English. Maybe Australian? No, not that either. 

She averted her eyes as the very man she was curious about looked at her, and she went back to cleaning up. Next thing she knew, he was right in front of her, and she gasped out frightfully. 

“My apologies. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” She shook her head with a small smile.

“That’s quite alright.”

“Thomas.” He motioned towards himself which made her blush. Now they were on a first-name basis. They had to be best buds then. She would have rolled her eyes at her own sarcastic thought, but she knew that would look rude to him. “I wanted to apologize for my friend’s behavior. He’s a little rough around the edges, but he grows on you,” he teased, and she snickered.

“I bet. He does seem a little prickly. It’s cute, like an ugly, volatile little kitten that you learn to love with time?” He smirked big before shaking his head.

“I guess you could say that. Julien can be a little blunt, and I wanted to apologize for that.” She nodded as she looked over to his friends while the blonde was watching them and the one called ‘Julien’ milked his whiskey for all it was worth. 

“Thank you, but it wasn’t necessary. I’ve dealt with much bigger assholes than your friend as a bartender-slash -waitress.” She noticed that Thomas was holding in a laugh at her retort.

“Let me guess, too flirtatious?” She shrugged a bit before setting down her rag.

“Usually that only happens when they want free drinks, and I refuse to bend to their nonexistent charm.” He snapped his fingers with a ‘drat’ which made her snicker. 

“Are you sure that is all they were after?” She blushed from his suggestive tone and shook her head.

“Are you flirting with me, Thomas?” she asked casually with a heavy blush, and he chuckled softly. 

“I’ll get back to you on that.” Thomas was sweet, charming, and he had manners that were different from other men she had met. She wondered what Mormon commune he had escaped from because she really wanted to congratulate them for producing such a decent man. He was definitely a dying breed.

“Is there anything I can get for you or did you just come over here to talk my ear off?” she teased, and he smirked at her.

“Actually, we were about to head out. I was actually wondering if I could ask a favor?” he asked casually, and she overheard a conversation between Thomas’s companions about how nice their bachelor party was turning out. She was surprised that this get-together of theirs was actually a bachelor party. 

There was no way the ‘Julien’ guy was the groom-to-be; he was way too serious and sad for that evening. Plus, she would truly take pity on the woman stuck with that asshole. 

His other companion, the unnamed blonde, seemed very happy and excited. He had to be the bachelor being celebrated. She highly doubted it was Thomas. He also didn’t seem happy enough about the evening.

“Depends.” 

“Um, we are actually trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our evening, but you see, we aren’t from this area. Where we are from, we would know where to go or what to do, but here, we are clueless.” Cat escorted Thomas back to his table where they stood before his companions, and she nodded.

“Well, it really depends on what you are looking for. For excitement, most would go to a club, but for solitude is a little more complicated.” Thomas chuckled at this.

“I would definitely go for solitude. I think we’ve had enough excitement for one evening.” She noticed the blonde man eyeing her curiously, but she gave Thomas her full attention. 

“Well, you would have to leave the city for that. I know of a place right outside of town that is pretty secluded. It’s right by the lake that used to be used for fishing, but it’s mostly a college student hangout now for during the week. It’s pretty deserted on the weekend, and it is a Friday night.” She shrugged it off, and Thomas gave her a big smirk.

“That sounds wonderful. Do you think you could show it to us?” She gasped at his invitation.

“What?” 

“Wait, you’re inviting the bartender to come along? That’s a new low, even for you.” The one called ‘Julien’ or as she dubbed him ‘Sir Ass-a-lot’ sneered before finishing off his drink.

“Sure. Plus, she would be our guide. What do you say, Miss Catalina?” Thomas asked kindly, but she was quickly interrupted by her arm being yanked back hard enough to earn a surprised yelp in pain. She turned her eyes to where the motion came from to find the angry eyes of her boss, David Sloan. 

“Cat, what have I told you about slacking off and socializing while on the clock? Now, get to the back and do those god damn dis-“ He was cut off when suddenly his grip was removed from her arm. She was taken back and took in her surroundings to see that it was none other than Sir Ass-a-lot that had pushed her boss away and removed his grip from her arm.

“You should know better than to put your filthy hands on any woman like that. Touch her again and I’ll-“ 

“Julien, hey, calm down.” It was the blonde who jumped out to rein in their friend while Thomas stood by Cat’s side as if in protection of her boss.

“What? This guy is being an absolute douche! What type of man thinks it's okay to put his hands on a woman like that?” Cat knew he was a jerk before, but she was truly touched that someone who didn’t know anything about her had come to her rescue like that. 

Maybe chivalry isn’t dead after all. She thought before moving between Julien and her boss.

“Whoa, whoa, let’s just calm down here, okay? I’m fine. It’s okay.” She put her hands up before turning her eyes to her boss accusingly. “No matter how much this customer has been a complete and utter dickwad, he is right about one thing. Don’t even think it’s okay to touch me like that. You lay another finger on me, and I will file harassment charges against you, this job be damned,” she warned, and he looked terrified before she even started, but now his fear seemed to intensify. 

“I-I-my apologies.” With that, he quickly retreated to the back before Thomas moved to the unmoved damsel with them.

“Are you alright?” She looked at him with a kind smile before nodding.

“I’m fine. I can handle myself, but thank you.” She noticed him relax before the four of them seemed to huddle around.

“Well, this was pretty...eventful, but we should really be going,” the blonde said quickly yet politely before Julien nodded and Thomas frowned.

“Yes, we should.” Cat swiftly retreated to the bar where she rang up the drinks and was surprised when it was Thomas who came over to pay. He handed her a hundred dollar bill, and she gave him back his large amount of change, but he pushed it away.

“You should keep it.” She was surprised by this.

“What? No, I couldn’t possibly…”

“No, I insist. I know working in a place like this is probably rather tiring so I’d like to bring some sunshine into the darkness.” His confession was so sweet, it made her blush and divert her eyes.

“Alright, thank you, Thomas.” He nodded before smirking like the true gentleman he was.

“How much longer until you are done with your shift?” She looked at the clock and breathed a sigh of relief, coupled with a content smile.

“Twenty minutes. I’ll be happy to show you that spot I told you about once I get finished up.” He smiled approvingly before he turned and left the bar with his friends. 

~~~~~

She struggled to make herself look presentable. She changed into the clothes she had brought for herself if she ended up making a mess. She changed into the slimming blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black vest. Then, she wet her hair a bit and put it into a loose french braid and took out her contacts, putting on her glasses. 

She hated her contacts. They were cheap, so they irritated her a lot, but for some reason, she tended to get more tips when she wasn’t wearing her glasses, so the contacts were necessary. 

She grabbed her bag and walked out of the bar, slipping on her jacket. She was a little surprised to see Thomas, Julien, and their blonde companion standing right outside of the bar in front of a black, sleek car. The others seemed not to notice her which was no bother to her, but Thomas instantly looked at her as she walked out.