𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 🥂

ii

Ember sat on her couch, staring at the TV in front of her. It was late, maybe 12:30 at night, and tissue boxes and ice cream were strewn across the floor. The napkin Max had gave her at the bar lay on the side table, used to soak up her salty tears and regrets.

For the third time, dirty dancing played on the TV. Earlier, whenever she heard the song, Ember would just burst into tears, it reminded her too much of well.. him. This time, however, she didn't cry. Was she numb? Yeah. But she still considered it progress. Like in some messed up way becoming numb to her recent breakup was progress. She was kidding herself, of course, but she wouldn't admit that.

Ember turned and lay across the couch, staring at the soggy crumpled tissue paper in front of her. It was time to get a grip, and what better way to do that then get a rebound? She uncrumpled the tissue carefully, trying her best not to rip it to bits. She then punched the number into her phone, hesitating before calling it.

The phone rung for a few seconds before going silent. Someone was on the other end.

'Hello? Who is this?' 

Ember recognized his voice immediately, taking a breath to center herself before talking.

'The bartender, from the bar.'

'Oh! It's you, hi, Em.'

She scoffed, even though the nickname was kind of stupid, she couldn't help but think about how cute it was. 

'Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to grab a drink?'

'Sure, where?'

She rolled her eyes, is he joking her right now? 

'Caligo. On the house.'

'Great, but can I ask, why are you calling me at 12:45 at night?'

Ember looked at the clock, a small gasp escaping her lips, it WAS late. Very late. Ember thought of the best excuse she could in the moment, stumbling over her words.

'I had some work to do.'

'You work at a bar, Ember, that closed almost 5 hours earlier. What really happened?'

Ember sighed. His voice was soothing and made her sink into her seat. The concern in his voice was evident, she had to tell him the truth.

'I'm going through something.'

There was a pause on the other end before Max spoke.

'Go to Caligo, love, I'll meet you there in 5 minutes.'

Before Ember could argue and tell him it was late, he had hung up. She sighed a sigh of defeat and got ready, putting on a sleek black dress that hugged her curves. Was it a bit much? Yeah. Definitely, but she didn't care. She felt like she needed to leave an impression on this man. 

Soon, she was walking alone on a busy Manhattan street. The smell of sex, cigarettes and alcohol lingered at every alleyway and doorstep she passed. She put on a black fur coat she had brought with her and pulled it around her shoulders, trying to cover as much as she could. She didn't have a car, but Caligo was close, and she knew the city well, so she tried her best to ignore the smell and the feeling she was being followed. 

Soon, she was at Caligo. She fumbled with her keys and walked inside, dropping them when she saw Max, in only shorts, sitting at the bar. He was drinking a martini, with an olive, just how he likes it. 

'How did you-'

'Come here.' 

His voice was dominant yet kind, and Ember was compelled to listen. She walked up to him and stood in front of his sharp muscles and defined abs. He spoke again.

'Why didn't you tell me you didn't have a car? I would've called you a limo or picked you up myself. Manhattan streets are dangerous, Ember.'

'I know, I just.. didn't want to bother you.'

'That's bullshit. If something happened to you..'

He sighed and got off of the barstool, he took off the fur coat, staring her up and down.

'You look stunning. But you were on the verge of tears when you called me love. What happened?'

She stared at him for a few seconds, trying to keep her composure. 

'I'm going through a breakup.'

He chuckled and wiped the few tears that came from her eyes off her face. He guided her up the stairs to the penthouse which sat above Caligo.

'Max this is private property, I just work here, we can't-'

Max shushed her and walked her up to the penthouse anyway. It was stunning. Glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling and everything was leather, whoever lived here also had their own personal bar. Fur rugs were sprawled across the black marble floor and there was a jukebox which played calming classical music. 

'Welcome, Ember, to my penthouse.'