Michigan Miracle (A New Girl Fanfiction)

1 - The Bartender

~Chloe's POV~

I parked my car on the side of the road and rested my forehead on the steering wheel. Just then, my phone rang. I didn't even have to look to know who it was because my, very gay, best friend Austin had quite a specific ringtone. It always made me smile. 

"Hey Austin," I said into the phone. 

"Hey, babe. You there yet?" He asked me.

"Yeah. I just parked outside of a bar and now I'm going to take a nap." 

"Honey, you can't live in your car. You need to get an apartment or something."

"I know, but to get a place I need money and to get money I need a job."

"Great. So get a job." He told me. He could probably hear me roll my eyes through the phone. 

"Wow, that thought never occurred to me." I laughed. 

"Ok babe. I have to go. Matt looks really good right now and I have to do something about that. You go get a job and I'll call you later. Ok?" 

I rolled my eyes again and smiled. "Ok. Bye Austin." 

"Bye, love you, babe." 

I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat and closed my eyes. 'I'll take a nap and then go get a drink at this bar.' I thought. A few minutes later, I was fast asleep. 

Hours later, I woke up and decided to follow my plan and get a drink. I grabbed my phone and walked into the bar. It seemed to be pretty packed. 'No wonder. It's 9:00 pm.' I thought as I checked the time. "Damn," I muttered under my breath.  All of a sudden, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Damn is right." The mystery man spun me around so we were face to face. "You're lookin' fine, girl." He grabbed my waist harshly and pulled me close. "I'm afraid I can't take you home, but how about a private show in the bathroom?" His 'douchiness' was unbearable. "Get off me," I told him. "Hey!" I heard a different guy yell from across the bar. I disregarded it pretty quickly though. Adrenaline coursed through my body and I wasn't really thinking about anything. Then I kneed him in the crotch. He groaned in pain, and just as I was about to hit him, I accidentally elbowed the guy behind me. The guy behind me managed to hit the douche in front of me even after I hit him. Everything was super confusing and chaotic. 

The guy that I elbowed got up fast and got rid of the guy who was basically trying to assault me. Then, he came back over to me. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked me with genuine concern in his voice. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered. "Are you? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you." 

"Don't worry about it," He said. "I get beat up by my roommates all the time. It's kinda rare to see me without an injury." 

"Oh, I'm still really sorry." 

"It's ok. Don't sweat it. Can I get you a drink?" It took me a second to answer him. He had messy brown hair and soft hazel eyes. He was actually really good looking. 

"A drink sounds awesome," I told him. I followed him to the bar and took a seat on one of the stools. 

"I don't believe I've seen you before. You from around here?" He asked.

"No. Michigan." 

"Ooo, long flight?"

"No, because I drove."

"Damn, that must've sucked."

"Yeah, my Chevy is pretty much dead." We laughed.

"I'm Nick, by the way, one of the bartenders here." He said as he handed me a drink. 

"I'm Chloe. And what is this?" I asked him, picking up the drink. 

"It's one of my signatures. Just try it." So I did. I drank the whole glass in less than a minute. His eyes widened and a shocked smile grew on his face. 

"That wasn't half bad," I told him. "Can I get a beer?" He smiled at my compliment and then slid a beer my way. 

"You're a beer girl. Most girls wanna drink red or pink stuff with sparkles." He said with a small chuckle.

"I'm not most girls."

He smiled slightly. "No, no you're not."