Accidental Night with the Wrong Bartender

Elara’s POV

"I never loved you... I only dated you so I could get to her."

"Who the hell do you think you are to get someone like me to fall for you?"

...

Those words ran over and over in my head.

The more they echoed in my head, the more glasses I took.

I didn’t plan to drink that much, I just wanted to numb the feeling of pain in my chest.

But, one glass turned into another, then another, until the noise in my head dulled enough for me to breathe.

The music throbbed through the bar, heavy and relentless, and I let it drown everything else out.

Just a few hours ago, I’d been standing in my apartment doorway, watching my boyfriend kiss my best friend like I wasn’t even there. Like I was invisible. Like the three years we’d spent together meant nothing more than a bad habit he was finally breaking.

I screamed, I yelled... I tried to separate them while asking him for an explanation... But he pushed me away.

He stared at me with disgust... Like he had been enduring all those years with me.

My best friend at least hid her face, but it wasn't because she felt ashamed... No. Ari was too bold and shameless to do that.

She just wanted him to hold her, to show me what he meant when he said he wanted her.

I had only just been a meant for him to get to her.

John pushed me away... Not only with his words but actions.

He also didn’t chase after me when I left.

That hurt more than the kiss.

I also heard what Polly said as I left.

"She's so naive and stupid... How did you bear being her for so long?" I repeated word for word drowning down another glass.

So here I was...  perched on a barstool I didn’t remember choosing, fingers wrapped loosely around a glass I hadn’t paid for, staring at nothing in particular while my chest burned with something between rage and grief.

My phone suddenly lit up and I turned to look at it... My eyes began suddenly red and I turned away.

She was still haunting me... Haven't I let them be!

“Another?” the bartender asked, already reaching for the bottle.

I nodded without thinking, blinking to stop my tears.

Shouldn't he stop me? I was drinking way too much.

But then again... Why would he care?

He only cared about money, the more I drank, the more money I would have to pay.

The alcohol went down too easily... The sour bitter taste changing the taste in my mouth as it moved to my throat.

It settled in my veins and loosened something inside me... the part that always overthought, always hesitated, always tried to be good.

Tonight, I didn’t want to be good...

Naive... That was what she called me.

John had always complained because I wanted to keep my virginity until my wedding night... Maybe that was why they all thought I was naive.

Maybe that why he went for someone else.

John had been the biggest reason I kept on living after my parents died too years ago... And now he was gone too.

I was tired.

I didn't have any reason to live anymore.

Unless...

My eyes darted to the masked bartender.

This was a high-end club where all the guests more masks to prevent their identities from being exposed.

Maybe...

He turned towards me and my eyes met his, a sly smile appeared on his lips.

....

I didn’t remember walking down the hallway.

Was I still walking the hallway...? I wasn't sure.

I only remembered the carpet beneath my feet... It was soft, thick, expensive, and also the way the lights above me blurred into one another, melting into long streaks of gold.

The music from the bar was distant now, muffled, as it belonged to another world. A

It felt like something was ringing inside my head.

I had drunk too much alcohol, too fast.

But then again, I didn't drink much... I think.

How many glasses was it?

I stopped in front of a door. Or maybe the door stopped me. I wasn’t sure anymore. All the doors looked the same... dark wood. I squinted my eyes... while holding the door for balance, trying to see the number written on the door.

278.

This was it.

This had to be it. Or wasn't it?

My memories were fuzzy, but I knew I had left the door open. So, I didn’t knock or didn’t think

I just simply pushed the door, and....it opened.

My eyes lit up, a small smile appearing on my face.

It was my room. Slowly, one after the other I staggered in. I rested my head on the back of the door, struggling to close with... The handle was messing with me.

Or was I messing with it?

Aish... Shi-bal.

"My Korean works!" I cheered suddenly letting out a strange laughter as the door clicked shut. Then slowly I tried around.

The room was dimly lit, warm, and smelled faintly of something clean and expensive... was it soap, maybe, or cologne? It didn’t look like the small, plain room I had imagined, but my brain was too foggy to question it.

I just turned around again... But then I saw him.

He stood a few steps away from the bed, a towel draped loosely around his waist, water still clinging to his skin.

My breath caught painfully in my chest.

He was… unreal.

I gulped, my eyes trailing over his body.

He had broad shoulders, a defined chest, and large muscular arms. Water tracing slow lines down his skin. My eyes trialed one... I watched it, until it disappeared down around the edge of the towel hanging dangerously around his V-line.

I staggered, swaying to the aide a little, and then shook my head. My lips were arched downwards into a frown, and I blinked hard, trying to make sense of it.

Bartenders weren’t supposed to look like this.

They... They weren't supposed to be so ripped.

The person standing in front of me didn't seem to like the flirty bartender a few minutes ago... This person before me just stood there staring at me with amusement and a hint of mischief.

But I was too far gone to care.

“Why are you just standing there?” I slurred, my voice thick, unfamiliar even to my own ears. “I’ve been waiting,” I said trying to move forward towards him.

His brows furrowed... tainting his perfect beauty a little bit. Confusion flashed across his face, he was starting to look guarded.

"What the hell are you doing here?" His cold voice rang in my ears.

I shivered at how cold it was...

Why was he so cold?

Didn't we already have an agreement?

Was he... Was he going back on his word, too, just like every other person I know? Was he...

My vision blurred with tears.

Was he going to leave me just like them?

The ache in my chest surged again... It was violent and overwhelming.

The image from her Instagram post burned into my mind without permission...my best friend’s hand wrapped around a man I loved, a diamond ring glinting on her finger like a cruel joke.

He finally proposed.

I laughed, the sound broken and ugly to my ears. A sob left my lips... And a tear fell from my eyes.

"All of you are the same!" I suddenly yelled pointing at the handsome bartender, my chest heavy. "All of you... You are wicked, and heartless, and..."

"Stop speaking." He suddenly moved, covering the distance between us.