Chapter 3: SO CUTE!

Hunter was getting to that bar tonight. After dealing with last night's fiasco Hunter was determined to get to Stanley's. It was so frustrating to be so close only for the opportunity to be taken away.

But Hunter was ready this time.

He preplanned his entire workload to be efficient and as fast as possible. That left him free time to handle any extra assignments and/or incidents. If the work got to be too much, he could assign some tasks to his subordinates.

Nothing was stopping Hunter from leaving his office in time for a drink.

~~~~~

The grin on Hunter's face was large. As it should be since his plan had gone down without a hitch. Now in the backseat of his car, he rubbed his hands and imagined what drink he would get.

The activity was pretty pointless since he was undoubtedly going to purchase what he did anytime he went to a bar. But, Hunter still found it fun to entertain the idea of getting other drinks.

This was the reason why Hunter had tried so hard to get to Stanley's, they made amazing drinks and Hunter loved their atmosphere. This was the reason Hunter gave Mike and it was the truth. Hunter shook off his train of thought and got back to considering his options.

"I could get a classic beer if I'm feeling cheap. Or some tequila, that might be fun." Hunter said, mumbling to himself with a wide grin. "Maybe I could get some vodka. I haven't tried that in a while."

As Hunter continued to go through his options, Mike was thinking hard behind the driver's seat. Mike looked behind him at his boss, his brows furrowing in confusion. It had made any sense to him for Hunter to be so hellbent on this bar. Hunter had never been the type of man to be stubborn when it came to these things.

Where he had dinner, what brand of soap he used, the cut of his suits, none of that mattered to him. As long as Hunter got what he needed, he didn't mind in the slightest.

Yet, here he was, insisting that Mike must take him to Stanley's. Not the bar he had frequented for months, or a bar closer to his office or home, but Stanley's. Mike suspected that there was something else involved in his decision, but for the life of him, Mike couldn't figure it out.

They came up to the bar, and Hunter sat up excitedly. Mike barely got to say goodbye before Hunter was hightailing it out of the car and across the street.

"Wait!" He yelled, miraculously gaining Hunter's attention even as Hunter stood across the street with a hand on the door. "Do you want me to come and get you?!"

Hunter shook his head with a smile. Without giving any other explanation, he went inside. Mike sighed tiredly.

That kid, what am I going to do with him? Wondered Mike as he drove off. But I never could figure out the answer to that question.

Hunter stopped, standing up straight so he could adjust his clothes and school his expression. While he was incredibly excited to be back on a Friday so many weeks later, he couldn't show it. Being as young as he was if Hunter ever got too casual or childish among those older than him, he was automatically pegged as immature.

Hunter quickly learned that his most attractive and likeable self was the calm cool and collected guy. Not the guy bursting at the seams to be at Stanley's again. So, Hunter pushed it back and was cool and collected as he went up to the bar.

Hunter sat down at the bar, his shoulders back and his look neutral, yet confident. Hunter repeated some encouraging and confidence-building phrases to himself as he stared blankly at the bottles lined up on the back wall. He felt pretty relaxed after a few minutes, but a bit of his confidant exterior chipped away when River came walked up to him.

River's face had been relaxed and a bit sly when he had first went over, but when his eyes landed on Hunter, he seemed to be slightly surprised.

"Oh, it's you!" River exclaimed, a soft smile on his lips. "I didn't think I would see you back here again."

Hunter grew a bit red, though it was basically unnoticeable, and went to give a reply.

"Yeah, I-"

Hunter coughs.

"I didn't think that I would be back."

That was a complete lie, but River doesn't know that and it successfully eased the mood between the two.

The look of recognition that had fallen over River's face had made Hunter way happier than he would admit. Somehow, knowing that River remembered him did something to him: it made him feel important, more than he already was, anyway.

To be quite honest, Hunter had looked a bit dumb. His eyes had grown a bit wide in what seemed to be panic, and his mouth dropped open in a small "o". It looked really stupid but it made the smile growing on River's face grow even wider.

"Well, I'm glad to see you here again. It's always nice to gain an interesting new regular." River told Hunter, his smile dimming back to that practiced relaxed and sly expression. Hunter was able to feel the distance River created between them, and he was happy about it in the least. Feeling a little bolder, Hunter sparked up a conversation.

"My name is Hunter, by the way." Hunter put out his hand, waiting for River to shake it. River looked down at the limb, keeping his eyes on it for a moment before meeting Hunter's eyes again.

"River." He replied, making no move to shake Hunter's hand. When he saw the expression on Hunter's face, he went to clarify. "I deal with drinks here so I have to keep my hands clean."

Hunter nodded in understanding, lowering his hand and bringing it back to his body.

"I can understand that. I have a friend who owns a restaurant." Hunter said, his mind leaving him a bit as he went into his memories. "Before they owned it, they could do anything they could touch their phone or shake someone's hand while they cooked. Now their mind is always on keeping clean and not cross contaminating."

River smiled softly while nodding his head.

"That sounds about right." River was called away after his last comment so he held up a finger to ask Hunter to wait. It was barely a minute when River came back, mixing another customer's drink as he spoke to Hunter. "Now I'm curious what you do for a living. I think I can rule out a chef."

Hunter laughed, nodding his head simultaneously at the accurate assumption. His eyes ran over River's arms as the man worked, noting the flexed arms and clenched stomach that keep his whole body from moving with every shake.

The way that his nostrils flared with his breaths as he worked drew in Hunter's eyes, and Hunter almost forgot to laugh. Hunter cleared his throat and focused back on his original thought.

"I can make up a little something to keep myself alive, but I am no chef." He then chuckled, finally taking his eyes away from River. River watched him curiously, wondering about the shift in Hunter and about what Hunter's answer would be. "I do digital design and animation.

River's mouth opened as he let out a quiet "ahh", seeing the clues in Hunter's appearance and personality that hinted to that.

"I can actually see that." River told him honestly, grinning in a teasing way which got a slight rise from Hunter. River went over to Hunter's right --since Hunter was sitting towards the left side of the bar-- and served a customer their drink. He came back so quickly that the conversation picked up right where it had been left off.

"You know, I'm not trying to be rude here, but I could totally see you as a nerd." River said with a cheeky grin, his grin widening when Hunter glowered at him a bit. Hunter let the look go almost as quickly as he had made it, letting his shoulders slump a bit and his eyes gaze fall downwards.

"Yeah, I get that a lot, though I'm not sure why." Hunter admitted, chuckling softly to himself. "You know, it is the worst when I get it from someone I'm into because it is a lot nerdier and way less romantic than being a chef."

River shrugged, gaze set down on something he was organizing behind the counter.

"I don't know. I think it seems pretty romantic to me." River's eyes came back up to meet Hunter's, and Hunter had no shield against the piercing look aimed his way. Hunter blinked, being silent for a moment before chuckling awkwardly. On the outside, he seemed a bit awkward, but he was internally screaming.

What was that? How am I supposed to react to that?

"Thanks." Hunter said, keeping the "I guess" at bay for now. "But this place is pretty amazing. You must be proud to work here, huh?"

River's eyes drifted up to the modern lights on the ceiling, then went down to the faux leather couches and sleek black high chairs around the bar. He hums, nodding his head.

"How long have you been bartending here?" Hunter asked, leaning forward with a curious expression. River's expression went blank and his eyes dropped to the space in front of him.

"For a while now." He answered simply, voice level and calm. Hunter waited for a couple of moments, but River made no move to elaborate. "Have you been doing design and animation for a while?"

Hunter noticed how River avoided the question. He was being quite vague and, to Hunter, it came off as secretive. This only pushed Hunter to want to know more about the man, but he held back his questions. He wanted to keep the conversation overall light. No use pushing only to scare the man off.

Hunter shifted in his seat and hooked his feet onto the metal bar behind them, pulling at his shirt and rubbing his palms against the fabric on his thighs. He thought of the question River had asked and nodded.

"Yeah, I have been into it since I was a kid and I have been working for my company for . . . closer to ten years since I have been with them since the beginning." Hunter said proudly, thinking back to the time when he had just come up with the idea for his company. River smiled, clearly impressed, and whistled softly. Hunter smirked a little, feeling his ego swell at River's acknowledgement.

"That's impressive." River said to him, moving his hands to put away whatever had been in them. "This bar has been around for a long time but I only joined recently."

That peaked Hunter's attention since it was a bit more detailed than anything River had said before. He decided to press on and see if he could get anything else out of it.

"Has it improved a lot since you first came?" He asked, looking up at River with warm eyes.

"It has." River looked to both ends of the bar, trying to see if anyone needed drinks. Hunter rushed to ask his next question before River had to go.

"So, you guys gain a lot of new customers, then?" Hunter asked him, trying to relax and leaning forward a bit. River's expression didn't change since he probably heard the question before. Hunter continued. "Or am I just a rare blessing? A "gift from the gods" for your cute bar?"

River's eyes widened and his eyebrows raised. The sharp laugh that flew out of his lips was not one of his practiced responses, but he wasn't able to help it. This man had said something so weird but also so funny. The only thing he could do was laugh.

And it wasn't just what he said, it was the way he said it. Looking River dead in the eye and speaking as if he were asking the most sensible and normal question in the world when it was not.

It surprised River, and it just turned out that the reaction was to fold over like a lawn chair laughing until his stomach became sore.

Hunter grinned widely. He had hoped to get a reaction from River, and this was even better than he expected.

"Well, I guess you are pretty special." River agreed, speaking through his last chuckles before he calmed down. "But, no, we get new customers pretty often."

River smiled and laughed at the pout that popped onto Hunter's face, guessing that Hunter was upset with his reply.

"Okay, humblebrag." Hunter muttered quietly, still speaking loud enough for River to hear him. River chuckled again, a genuine lightness to his expression that hadn't been there before. It was new, but Hunter liked it, a lot.

River left, having to deal with about three customers. Hunter reached to take a sip of his drink only to realize that he didn't have one. He had never asked, too occupied with talking to River to have River make him a drink. Hunter had been considering that fact with a puzzled expression before River came back to him again.

Their conversation continued, but --unfortunately-- River had fallen back into his perfect persona. Hunter ignored this though and just enjoyed speaking with River. It took nearly half an hour of talking between River serving the occasional customer before Hunter finally remembered to ask for a drink. Somehow, that situation brought about another pleasant surprise.

It was just his simple comment of, "Man, I was so into the bartender I forgot this was a bar" that had River's cheeks warming red. The sight was shocking by all definitions of the word. Sure, laughter was one thing, and it was already huge to see River laugh. But blushing, exposing himself and letting himself be vulnerable like that. And not just what that said about him, but simply how he looked. He was so cute.

Hunter knew that River was handsome, he had acknowledged that to himself weeks ago. But River blushing was something else. River was now chuckling, trying to distract Hunter from the warmth on his cheeks as well as calm down. But Hunter was already blown away by the sight.

River decided he would deal with the awkwardness of this situation any longer. The moment he noticed another customer he rushed to go and serve them, despite the fact that they were clearly about to be handled by the other bartender on duty with him. Hunter was oblivious to all of this because the moment River was no longer directly in front of him his crossed his fingers and pressed the side of his hands against his upper lip.

He replayed the image of River when he first met him, skin shining as he sent him a dark and sly smile, then he compared it to the recent image of River, wide eyes with his cheeks a bright pink.

Beautiful was the one word that circled in Hunter's mind. This guy really was beautiful, and Hunter wondered if he knew. When River returned again, he pretended to have never blushed and Hunter pretended to have never seen him blush. They both acted as if it had never happened, yet they both thought of it constantly.

Beautiful

Hunter smiled warmly and downed the rest of his glass.