Chapter 1

ARIA

Friday night at the Spotlight is a rush, with all the students on campus flocking there to enjoy the drinks and good music. I enjoy it too, except that I’m behind the counter. In fact I only enjoy the music, that’s all. So while some people are partying, I clean up and serve them drinks. I work weekends at the bar and I share a small apartment off campus with Riley, a girl I met freshman year. We can both afford to rent the place on our own, but I think she prefers not to be alone. She grew up in a sort of community where everyone was super tight-knit if I understood correctly.

But things might change because Riley met a guy named David the last time she went to see her family, and it was love at first sight, literally. She plans to abandon her plans after graduation to follow him. That’s a lot of bullshit if you ask me. You don’t drop everything for someone. And if it doesn’t work out between them in a year or three or even 10 years, she’ll lose everything. So I’ll grant you that this guy looks like he’s straight out of a magazine, he’s six feet tall, has abs, is blond, green-eyed, in short, exactly the kind of guy that would make any girl fall in love. And of course, Riley, the eternal romantic, fell under his spell. Although we are best friends, we both have very different personalities. To put it simply, I am much more down to earth than she is.

While I’m wiping the counter, a regular customer, Mark, sits on a stool with a smile on his face.

“As usual, princess. ” He tells me with a wink.

I serve him his beer. He must be in his forties, and he hangs out in a bar where the clientele is mostly students. Am I the only one who finds this a little creepy?

“Aria, you could at least give him a smile, he’s the best tipper.” Nicole says to me in a low voice.

She is the owner of the place, a single mother of two children aged 10 and 14. She has a fiery temperament like her hair color, flaming red. And to be honest, I would be the happiest if I were as well shaped as she is at forty.

“I’m sorry but I find it creepy. He looks at me like I’m a piece of steak, I find it degrading.” I reply after giving Mark my best forced smile.

“Because little young people don’t look at you like that?” She asks me with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s not the same.” I simply answer her, while it’s clearly the same but since I’m acting in bad faith, I won’t admit it.

The rest of the evening goes smoothly, I smile and pretend to laugh at the customers’ silly jokes.

As closing time approaches, Nicole tells me that I can go. She is not very reassured by the fact that I am going home alone late at night. Most of the time she drops me off at my place or makes sure I finish before closing time to avoid leaving at the same time as all the drunk guys.

I leave the bar and the streets are still animated, I take my usual way home. I used to listen to music on the way home but Cassius, my older brother, convinced me that it was dangerous. I wouldn’t hear if a mugger came near me. He was the most reluctant to let me take that job at the bar. Dad didn’t really agree, but he knew that I was going to do what I wanted to do. He increased the amount of money he sends me each month but I still continued to work at the bar. I don’t want to become the kind of girl who lives off her father. He has worked hard to get where he is and I plan to do the same.

As I walk at a steady, confident pace when I hear a noise in an adjacent alley. It sounds like a dropped trash can. Maybe it was a cat that dropped it. Then another noise, louder this time and a muffled scream. Ok well maybe it’s a really big cat then.

I’m torn between going home and pretending I didn’t hear it and going to see what the source of the noise is. Maybe someone got hurt, it would be non-assistance to a person in danger if I didn’t help. Oh what the hell, I approach the alley, between two old red brick buildings. The nearest streetlight doesn’t work, as if by chance, I approach slowly and I distinguish a silhouette on the ground.

“Is everything okay?” I ask as I cautiously approach.

Oh shit, it’s a naked guy lying on the ground.

“Sir?”

He stands up suddenly and I make out blood on his arm, like a lot of blood. My eyes go wide and I look at his face. Despite the circumstances, I’m struck by how beautiful he is, his black hair a mess, his blue eyes wide and his mouth ajar.

“Mine.” He says in a deep voice.

I don’t have time to ask him to repeat what he just told me that I hear tires screeching on the road, I look away and when I look in his direction again. He has disappeared.

“Aria!” Riley yells behind me. ” Holy shit are you okay?” she asks me as she holds me in her arms.

“Yeah I’m fine.” I answer her confused. “That was weird.” I mumble to myself.

She hugs me and I notice she has David and another guy with her.

“We were out with David and Austin. We wanted to stop by the bar and wait for you to finish your shift but we saw you in the distance coming down this alley.”

David looks at me with a serious look on his face while his friend is crouched down by the trash can, where there is some blood.

“What did you see?” He asks me without looking at me.

I feel Riley and David tense up.

“A naked guy.” I simply answer him. “Honestly it was so crazy I don’t even know if I didn’t imagine it all.”

He stands up and I notice how big and strong he is. He is totally hot, he has dark brown hair styled backwards and brown eyes. He has a serious look that makes him super sexy. I have to ask Riley where she gets these guys.

“We’ll give you a ride.” he says before walking to the car without ever looking at me.

Riley holds me by the arm and leads me in the direction of a black SUV while David follows us.

The ride home is as quiet as a cathedral and the tension is palpable.

Riley and I get out of the car, as I almost reach the door of the building, a hand grabs my arm forcing me to stop.

“Be careful. The one you saw in the alley may be dangerous and you may have seen something you weren’t supposed to.” He says as he looks me straight in the eye and I could drown in the intensity of his brown eyes. I can feel the warmth coming from his hand in contact with my arm and it’s as if time has stopped as if, at that precise moment, the world didn’t exist. There was only him and me.