Chapter 1: First Friday

He sunk back into his seat, sighing as the feeling of the leather cooled his tense back. His day had been long, but he couldn't fully blame that on outer circumstances.

Hunter was the smart guy who gave himself an entirely new project to complete, all on his own, for free as a favour for a kind woman he has known for years. Now he was left massaging tense muscles and trying to nap however he could before he reached home.

Home

He had lived alone for years now. Yet the silence that greeted him as he opened the door and the knowledge that there was no one to welcome back had started to weigh on him more than ever before. Hunter hated to admit it, but he was lonely. But, he doubted that the problem would be dealt with any time soon.

Hunter looked out of the window to his left, watching buildings and signs fly by as the car drove on. His chauffeur sped down the street, intent on taking Hunter to his cold and empty condo.

Hunter suddenly had no intention of going home. He pulled out his phone, filled with renewed energy, and looked for the closest bar. Hunter searched through some options, stopping when he came across "Stanley's".

The reviews were great and the photos were nice enough, but there wasn't anything terribly special about the place. But, Hunter oddly felt drawn to the bar and tapped on it before he could think over it again. Hunter quickly put up the directions and passed the phone to his driver.

"Change of plans Mike. I'm heading to this bar." Hunter told him, watching as he briefly glanced down at his phone before focusing back on the road. "You can follow the directions."

Mike nodded, saying a simple "you got it boss" and quickly turned. Hunter relaxed back into his seat, closing his eyes and trying to get some sort of nap before he was pushed out of the car.

~~~~~

" . . . annings . . . Mr. Dannings?" Hunter felt his body being shaken and blinked his eyes open to find Mike shaking his knee from the front seat. "We're here."

I craned my neck up and looked out the window, seeing a classy looking bar across the seat. A photo of the front had probably been online, but Hunter still found himself surprised and impressed. Hunter nodded, sitting up and getting out of the car from the other side.

"Thank you, Mike, you don't have to pick me up. I'll see you tomorrow." Hunter told him, sending him a small smirk before he slammed the back door shut. Mike seemed hesitant to leave his boss alone, but eventually pulled away from the curb and drove off.

Hunter looked up, eyeing the bar across the street. He checked the traffic before quickly jogging across the street. Standing in front of the bar, he went and quickly fixed his dress shirt and dusted off his pants before walking in.

The first thing that he noticed was the classy interior. The bar was a smaller size, giving off a warm vibe with all the brown leather and wood.

Multiple sofas, couches, and chairs were inside and the bar itself was made of a thick black material that gave off a warm masculine feel. It was mature and professional, yet comfortable; a great bar.

Hunter headed for the bar and within seconds he felt eyes following him as he went. Just for fun, he pulled up the sleeves of his shirt and adjusted his watch. He doubted that he would flirt with anyone tonight, but it didn't hurt to tease them.

Hunter weaved his way through those standing and made his way to the bar. Taking a seat, he thought that he wanted to leave the couches open to those who had someone to drink with.

It only took him a second to notice that there was no one at the bar, which would explain why a slight crowd was beginning to form in front of it. Hunter relaxed into his seat, expecting to be waiting for a while, but within a few seconds, a man was walking out from the back.

Wearing a simple t-shirt and a pair of jeans, he donned a black apron and addressed a few of the people waiting before Hunter. He heard him apologizing before rushing through several more orders. During this rush to serve the building crowd, he came across, what Hunter assumed to be, a regular customer.

"Hey! I was wondering why I hadn't seen you. Where are your bartenders?" The customer asked in a deep, jolly, and playful voice. The bartender sighed while maintaining his casual and friendly smile.

"Fran had an emergency with her dog. I could never bring myself to stop an owner from taking care of their pet so, of course, I let her go. And now, the kid who should be helping me out with this crowd is over an hour late." He let out another deep sigh but chuckled as if the entire situation was amusing. "But I'll manage."

Hunter assumed that the bartender hadn't planned on him hearing the small "somehow" muttered right after. Now that Hunter knew what was going on, he definitely didn't want to push to get his order taken.

He crossed the fingers of his hands together and sat patiently, watching the bartender silently as he went through order after order. But, it did not take long for the man to reach Hunter.

"Hi, what would you like to drink this evening?" The shorter man asked, politely. Hunter quickly noticed how his outfit was slightly dishevelled. He also noticed how tired the man was.

He looked a tad out of breath and a light sheen of sweat rested on his brow bone. Despite all that, he still gave Hunter a small but warm smile.

"I'll take two Whiskey and Gins, please." He told him, running a hand through his hair as he spoke. The bartender nodded his head and quickly went over to the wall of bottles behind him, pulling out a couple for what he had planned.

In a blur, he put together two perfectly made drinks and Hunter found himself blinking slightly in awe.

With the two nearly identical drinks in hand, he walked over to Hunter. But instead of quickly leaving the drinks and heading off after Hunter finished paying, he smiled.

Hunter had just slipped his card back into his wallet when the man's smile turned into an underwear-ruining smirk. He was so shockingly sexy that Hunter was truly taken aback. The expression screamed . . . well, sex and Hunter had to blink to focus on what the man would actually say.

"You here with a date?" He asked, grinning as he gestured to the two cups in front of Hunter. Hunter looked down at the cups, then up at the bartender again before what he was saying fully processed.

"Oh, no. I just wanted to relax after a long day." Hunter explained, shaking his head as he went to sip the first drink.

"And you need two cups for that?" He then asked, smiling teasingly at Hunter. Hunter smiled back and the bartender chuckled. "It's a shame though, I was hoping to get a blush out of you."

That got a blush out of Hunter, and the man walked off clutching his belly and snickering quietly to himself. Hunter began to nurse his drink, but couldn't help himself from taking in the bartender's appearance.

He had brown eyes, shaded over by his forward brow bones and hooded lids. A strong nose, high cheekbones, and thin lips brought attention to his stunningly clear skin.

His jaw and chin were nicely defined, shaven clean, and his hair was curly and pushed back only for it to fall onto the right side of his face. His body was lean, arms toned, and chest prominent under his shirt, showing that he was fit. He wasn't incredibly tall, and certainly shorter than Hunter, but his height did not take away anything from his appearance.

Then, when he smiled, his would-be serious face became so youthful and bright, that Hunter wouldn't have been able to look away if he tried.

The man who went from one end of the bar to the other, serving drinks and greeting customers with a speed that was admirable looked quite young. If Hunter had to guess, he would say that the man was younger than him, maybe 22 in comparison to his 26 years of age.

Hunter soon realized that he was checking the guy out and quickly pulled his gaze away, taking another deep sip from his drink. It was odd for him to act so nervously, Hunter wanted to assume that it was because he felt out of his element.

He already had a couple of bars that he frequented, and they were usually closer to his place. This environment was a bit new for him, at least that is what he told himself. Hunter was the CEO of StickFigure corporation, an animation and design company that he had created in his second year of college.

Wrestling between schoolwork and a newly started company was challenging. But Hunter was currently reaping the rewards as, in the previous year alone, the company brought in 20 million dollars in revenue.

Hunter had to quickly learn how to be the confident and professional one in a room full of adults who had been doing their jobs for years. He had to learn how to keep his cool and control a situation for not only his benefit but for the benefit of his 30 employees.

Seeing a handsome guy working at a bar should have been nothing, especially since he was straight. Yet, here he was, blushing and twitching and acting as he did back in high school.

He did not want to be acting like he did in high school.

Hunter took in a deep breath, rolling back his shoulders and falling further into his seat as he went to take in another sip. Half an hour passed and Hunter already had an empty glass.

While he wanted to stay longer and waist time, he knew that it was smarter for him to get back home and get some rest. He would be going into work tomorrow and would rather have his head straight for the meetings to come.

Hunter called an Uber, and when he saw that the car was waiting for him outside, he went to finish his last drink. The last drop had just hit his tongue when the door opened and a young man ran in, speaking loudly as he went.

"River, I'm here!" In a few seconds, he had made his way through the room and ran up to the bartender standing behind the counter. "I am so sorry. My cousin got lost and the whole family was out looking for her. I should have called but we were all trying to contact her or the police or her friends-"

The guy, River Hunter now thought, had his arms crossed and had been scowling at the young man before, but his face softened as the boy's explanation went on. And the only thing he did in response was reach into the back and throw an apron at the guy.

"Just get back to work. We'll discuss this later." River told him, the blank expression on his face unable to keep the kindness out of his eyes. "And, I'm glad that your cousin's okay." The boy who came running in gave River a wide, grateful smile and immediately started attending to the patrons.

Hunter paused, staring at the side of River's face, a small smile growing on his lips.

River, he thought walking through the bar without a glance back. Cute name.

Hunter stepped out into the chilly night air, a grin nearly splitting his face. He loved that name, and he wasn't sure why.