#bartender!jared

  He smiled. “How about another drink?”

  Looking down you realized your glass was empty. “What do you recommend?”

  "Sweet, strong, or sour?" The man smiled

  "How about just strong?"

  He nodded and took a glass from under the bar. Quickly pouring a double whiskey, he plopped two ice cubes in and handed it to you.

  You raised your brow at him in question and he gestured for you to take a sip. Smooth, strong, and just the right amount of warmth. 

  "That… is delicious." You smiled up at him as he smiled and nodded back.

  "I knew you'd like that." He winked.

  You looked down at your glass then took another swig. "That just means you're a good bartender."

  He chuckled lightly. "I hope so. I own the place."

  Eyes widening, you sat back a little. "No way."

  He nodded as he grabbed a glass for the other bartender at the opposite end of the counter. "It was in the family. My pseudo uncle left it to me after he retired. He had enough of the nightlife and went off to fish the rest of his life away."

  His sweet, endearing smile made you feel a little weak. This man was handsome and tall and way out of your league. Why was he talking to you?

  You quickly finished off your drink and sat the glass down. "I should get going."

  Rummaging through your purse to find your wallet, you looked up when you heard him clear his throat.

  "It's on the house." His smile was sweet and sincere again.

  Your jaw dropped a little before you quickly fixed your expression. "Thanks, uh, thank you. I'm gonna go now." 

  You pointed over your shoulder at the door but realized you needed to let your coworkers know you were leaving. Awkwardly walking away, you hastened to the group and quickly said goodbyes and practically ran out the door. You didn't look back so you missed the frown marring the man's lips as he watched you leave. 

  That weekend you spent your time trying to forget the bartender and his bar. You kept telling yourself that he only talked to you because it was his job to do so. Have to keep the business going, right?

  Deciding to keep your mind off of that mess, you cleaned your house from top to bottom. By Sunday afternoon, there was nothing left to clean and you finally sat down to relax. You turned on the tv and fell asleep while watching some old reruns.

  Monday morning dawned bright and early as you removed yourself from your bed. You showered quickly and threw your hair up into a bun. Applying a little makeup, you checked your reflection in the mirror before picking your outfit for the day.

  You finally made it to work, luckily a few minutes early. You put your stuff at your desk and took a seat. Suddenly, one of your coworkers appeared. 

  “You disappeared pretty quick on Friday. What happened?”

  Lucy had become your closest coworker, one you could call a friend. “Just didn’t feel like staying. I had a bunch of stuff to do on Saturday.”

  “Well. somehow, you made an impression on the bartender. He asked about you.”

  Your eyes grew bigger as you stared at her. “What?”

  Lucy nodded and smiled a little at the look on your face. “Yeah, came over shortly after you left."

  "He did?"

  "Yep, even asked where we worked." Her knowing smile grew. "I think he was very interested."

  Your head hit your hands as your elbows rested atop your thighs.

  "I would totally go for it if I were you."

  Lucy walked away as you had a small crisis in your cubicle. You forced yourself to get to work, hoping to drown out the thoughts of the bartender. By lunch time you had forgotten to worry about the man and wandered off to grab a quick bite. 

  When you got back to your desk after grabbing your pasta from the cafe down the street, you found a small bouquet of white lilies sitting at your desk in a blue vase. You looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. Looking closer, you saw the small card atop the flowers had your name on it. You plucked it from its place and opened it quickly.

      (Y/n),

        Sorry if this is weird but I wanted to apologize if

        I freaked you out on Friday. I think I came on too

        Strong. Again, sorry.

                                        Jared(bartender)

  Your mouth was hanging open. Who did this guy think he was? Why did he send you flowers?

  You couldn’t focus. The flowers sat at your desk and all you could think of was Jared. That stupid name. How dare he think he could just question where you worked and send you flowers. 

  As soon as you got close enough to time to leave, you jumped up from your chair and grabbed the flowers. Hastening your way down stairs, you got multiple compliments on the bouquet in your hands. It made you angrier. 

  You made the short walk to Jared’s bar and nearly charged at the bar. The guy behind it jumped back slightly. 

  “Is the owner here? Jared, yeah, is Jared here?” 

  The guy looked puzzled before finally answering. “Yeah, Jay’s in the back. Hold on.”

  The man disappeared behind the bar for a few minutes before finally returning with the taller man in tow. Jared looked you over and saw the flowers sitting on the bar.

  “So, you’re the scary lady that is terrorizing my employee. I’m glad you got the flowers.”

  “I wasn’t terrorizing anybody.” you growled. “And how dare you send these to me.” 

  He looked at the neat arrangement. “They were an apology.”

  “That’s not what you do to apologize to someone. Stalk them and send them flowers when they don’t even know you.”

  Jared frowned as he saw how flustered you were. “I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself the other night but I was kind of distracted by a pretty woman.”

  You rolled your eyes at him talking about another woman. “It doesn’t matter that you wanted to hook up with some random girl. Don’t be creepy.”

  You turned to leave but he stopped you. “I was talking about you.”

  Looking back, you saw the genuine look in his eyes. “What?”

  “I was distracted by you, (Y/n). I came over because you looked to be alone but then you were witty and seemed really smart and then I screwed it up. I’m sorry.”

  “You were interested in me?” your disbelief was written across your face. “Why?”

  “What do you mean, why? Your beautiful and smart and clearly not interested in doing something you don’t want to do.”

  You stared at him. “Your coworkers were getting sloshed and you moved away to the bar and sat by yourself. Had two drinks and then went home.”

  “I’m a loner kind of person.” you shrugged.

  Jared smiled. “I get it. I usually am too but I have to be outgoing here.” 

  He moved a little closer to the bar as he grabbed a pen and a napkin. “Can I make it up to you, for spooking you? Maybe take you out sometime, I mean if you want to.”

  He passed you the two objects and waited patiently. 

     Ten months later

  It was hot out but it was to be expected since it was mid July. You made your way passed the crowd and to the door. James recognized you and quickly let you through passed the line. You smiled a thanks and then crept through the crowd to the busy bar. Nick saw you out of the corner of his eye and pointed behind him. You nodded and then turned to the other side of the bar where a door lead to the back offices. Walking down the hall, you pulled a small box from your bag before reaching the last door. 

  You knocked lightly on the door before hearing an answering Come in. Opening the door, you found Jared and one of his best friends sitting at his desk. His smile grew as he took in your outfit and the box in your hands. Your shirt read “ I love my bartender” in red and had a shot glass sitting on top. 

  “Hey, birthday boy.” you greeted.

  Jared’s smile got a little brighter as he came around his desk. “Hey, beautiful. I’m loving the shirt.”

  You kissed him sweetly. “I knew you would.”

  You peered around Jared to see Jensen smiling at the two of you. “Hey, Jen.”

  “Hey, (Y/n).” he stood and gave you a hug. “I’m gonna give you two a minute. I’ll be out front.”

  Before he left he turned back. “Please don’t fuck back here.”

  Jared shoved the man out of the room with a laugh and closed the door. He quickly grabbed your hips and pulled you to him. A needier kiss was planted on your lips. “I’ve missed you.”

  You giggled. “Jay, it was only a two day trip.”

  “I know, but I missed you.” he leaned in again. You had to end the kiss before it did become something more. You promised more for later and he agreed.

  “You wanna open your present?” you shoved the small box to him. 

  “First, this one, then this one later.” he teased as he pulled at your shirt. 

  You slapped his hand away and urged him to open the box. He finally got the hint and pulled away the navy blue paper you had carefully wrapped around the box. Tossing that aside, he opened the box to reveal the picture sitting inside. He stared into the box for a good minute before he finally looked into your eyes. 

  “You didn’t.”

  “Oh, I did. I told you I had connections.” 

  The paper in the box was a contract. Your signature carefully scrawled at the bottom. “Your neon sign out front will be restored to its former glory starting on Monday.”

  Jared smiled brightly before pulling you back into his arms. “You’re amazing, did you know that?”

  “No, but you can keep telling me that all the time.”

  “How about forever?”

  You blushed at his words. “That’s a conversation for another time, Jay.”

  He nodded but didn’t release you. “Definitely a conversation I want to have.”

  You kissed his soft lips and moved your hands into his hair. “I might take some convincing.”

  He chuckled. “I can handle that.” 

  You kissed him one more time before pulling away. “Come on, time to celebrate you.”

  Jared groaned but got up. “There better not be balloons.”

  “I swear, no balloons, just people who love you.”

  You lead him back out to the bar where there was a resounding cheer as he walked through the doors. He smiled and waved at everybody for their happy wishes. Shortly after he switched into owner mode even though everyone told him he didn’t have to. You snapped a pic and posted it to your feed as you thought about your hot bartender. 

  The conversation from before creeped into your mind. The more you thought about it though, it seemed obvious what the future held for the two of you. Who would have thought that that night would have brought you such happiness?

keep me caffeinated