Chapter One
Skylar
The music blared over the speakers, making it difficult to hear myself think. Not that there was much to think about.
I downed a shot of tequila and then another.
“Bad day?” the bartender asked.
His first name was Jayden. I didn’t get his last name, and I’d been coming to the bar a lot.
Mostly to figure things out, which really meant hide from my brother and his girlfriend.
Jayden also wasn’t a bad view to enjoy after work, imagining our bodies tangled together, hot and sweaty.
Too bad I didn’t have the courage to invite him home. Then again, I didn’t exactly have a home of my own.
The truth was that imagining him naked and the two of us wrapped up in the sheets was a welcome relief to my boring and inconsequential life.
“Something like that,” I said under my breath.
While it wasn’t a great day, working at the coffee shop was the only job I had been qualified for.
Besides, no one seemed to be hiring. Plus, I needed to save my money for a place of my own instead of blowing it on overpriced liquor, but it was easier to come here and stare at the hottie of a bartender.
There was something about him.
Dark and mysterious.
Tattoos covered his arms, which peeked out from under his black t-shirt. “Are those real?” I asked, and gestured to the ink on his forearms.
I needed more friends.
My brother had a slew of tattoos, but I was unmarked and a blank slate. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Jayden’s forearms.
“No, I spend every morning doodling with a permanent marker on my skin to impress the ladies,” Jayden said.
Snarky.
I downed my shot and gestured for him to pour me another one.
He grabbed the bottle of tequila and poured the amber liquid into a shot glass. “You know, Skylar, you could just ask me out if you want to see me. You don’t have to come to the bar every night after your shift.”
My arms rested on the bar, and I leaned my head into my arms, face planted.
An uncomfortable groan spilled out past my lips.
“What’s that?” Jayden asked, laughing under his breath. “Did I embarrass you?” He didn’t sound the least bit apologetic.
I bet he flirted with all the female customers—anything for a bigger tip.
It probably worked too.
He was good-looking, albeit with a dark and mysterious vibe, and that look he shot me made my knees weak.
He was every bit a bad boy.
I didn’t have to glance up to know he had a wide, smug grin across his face. With a heavy sigh, I lifted my head and stared up at him.