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This is the one thing that has kept me going for the last few months. The chance of working at a job I know I’ll love and contributing to society. Then I have to go and fuck it up on the first day. I clench my fists in suppressed anger.
"Take it easy," the chief says. "Take the rest of the day off and come back Friday for a new shift if you feel up to it. If you don’t, call me and we'll reschedule it."
I should be grateful that he's been so kind to me. Instead, I'm angry that I'm being treated like a baby. They think I’m fragile now. Great.
***
It's five in the evening and instead of being at work, pitching in, and doing my bit, I'm pacing the living room of my condo. A place I had hoped not to see until tomorrow morning after a successful shift. I go over everything that happened and try to figure out what triggered the episode. It must have been the loud creaking noise or the bang that followed. I hate loud unexpected noises. They take me back to the war zone. But it’s unavoidable.
I need a plan for the next time it happens, but I can’t for the life of me think of anything. I'm used to dealing with real live enemies. Visible enemies. This time the enemy is internal. Invisible. How do you fight something you can't see?
I'm restless and I feel like a caged animal. I need to get out. I could drive down to the bay and see Park. It would not take more than forty-five minutes. I quickly discard that idea.
I'm not in the right frame of mind for a reunion. Then a memory comes to mind. A brunette with the most gorgeous hazel eyes I've ever seen. But what I need from her is not her face, as nice as I remember it to be. I need the same thing she gave me two years ago—her sexy body.
What are the chances that she's still working at The Alma? Next to zero but it’s worth a shot. I grab my keys and jacket and head downstairs to the parking lot on the ground floor. I haven’t decided on what to do but right now, what I need is a distraction. Someone to make me forget and the brunette fits that bill perfectly. As I drive, I wrack my brain for her name but, for the life of me, I cannot remember. Essie. No, but it was a short name.
Fifteen minutes later, I navigate to the parking space behind the cocktail bar and kill the engine. I prepare myself to do some amount of groveling. I'm not as well versed with women's psychology as my brother, but I know enough to realize that I didn’t exactly leave her a happy camper the last time we were together.
Okay, maybe more than that. I was a bit of an asshole but in my defense, I was angry and hurting. My brother had stolen my girlfriend. My high school sweetheart at that. The girl I planned on spending the rest of my life with.
I'd enrolled in the military as an act of defiance. The night the sexy brunette and I were together had been my last night before deployment. That night had healed something inside me and calmed me down. She had helped me without even knowing and I'm hoping that she'll help me again.
I walk to the entrance and push the doors open. It's a different atmosphere inside. Designed to make you leave your worries behind. Soft, calming music, happy looking people, and laughter ringing out every so often. I smile. This is exactly where I need to be.
Chapter 3
Lexi
I happen to glance up from the glass I'm polishing when I see him. As in, Him. Silky jet-black hair, a face that belongs in a billboard, and shoulders barely contained in a white t-shirt.
My jaw drops and I watch in disbelief as he saunters toward the bar. I gaze around desperately. He cannot see me. I cannot face him ever again. I never want to see him ever again. I drop to my knees and hope that he'll pass by the bar and go to the tables. Every part of me trembles as I strain my ears to listen for fading footsteps.
"Excuse me, ma'am." His voice is low and husky, and it makes the hairs at the back of my neck stand up. “Are you all right down there?"
He can see me. I inhale deeply and scramble to my feet trying but failing to look dignified. I hastily make a plan. A plan of survival. I'll feign amnesia. It's not the brightest plan but I'm livid. I stare at his gorgeous face and I want to punch him. I bite my lower lip to keep myself from hurling insults at him. Bastard! I mutter under my breath.
