DEREK'S MATCH (DEREK #1) SAMPLE, NOW PUBLISHED

2. on the house

Culinary school has turned out to be harder than I thought. I thought my knowledge in the kitchen was pretty decent but boy, was I wrong. I've learned so many things from new dishes to all the different types of knives and kitchen pots to the right way to cook meat. It's fascinating. Hard, but fascinating.

I didn't discover my passion for cooking until after I graduated from college. I had been working in the same restaurant for two years by then and it took me a while to realize that I didn't quit because I loved the art of cooking. I graduated a semester early (a lot of summers were sacrificed) which is good because I had some time to think about what I wanted. Now I have a bachelor's in Business and I'll hopefully finish culinary school. My career is in order, if not anything else.

Still, I can't help but feel like something is missing in my life. I've always lived on thrill. At least back in Newport. I was the wild one in my book of friends. I was the girl everyone wanted to hang out with in high school and college, when I did go out anyway. It feels like I lost that part of me when I came to New York which is crazy because I thought the exact opposite was supposed to happen.

Stress isn't fun. You lose yourself to stress. I hate stress.

This is why the following Friday, March 10th, I agree to go get a drink with Kim because it's my birthday and going to my lonely apartment is just going to make me feel even more depressed. We go to a bar called Culinary Drop-Out. It's also a restaurant and it's very popular in the area. I've heard a lot of about it, but I've never actually come.

"I can't believe it's your birthday and you're just telling me now," Kim says as we sit on one of the bar stools.

The restaurant is filled with people ordering at the tables. There is soft rock music playing in the background. There is a karaoke machine sitting on the side of the room and there is a big poster next to it that says, JOIN US FOR KARAOKE TUESDAYS!. The bartender making the drinks seems to be around my age with tattoos all over his arms. He's handsome. This is the kind of views I like for my special day.

I shrug at Kim. "It's just another day for me. I stopped celebrating it when I turned 21."

Birthdays stopped being a big deal once I became an adult. It's just another day now. A day when I turn a year older. A day to chill with a friend over a drink.

"How old are you?" Kim asks curiously.

"Twenty-four," I say trying to sound casual though saying it aloud makes me feel some panic. One year closer to thirty...God. I'm old.

"Wow, I thought you were like twenty-one or something. You look really young."

I smile at her. "I'll take that as a compliment, thank you."

"What can I get for you ladies?"

We turn to look at the bartender.

"Do you have any birthday specials?" Kim asks after she orders a tequila.

"Kim, no." I hiss, feeling embarrassed. I hate to ask for free things especially because it's my birthday. I don't know. It makes me feel like a beggar. I can afford to buy a drink. That's why I work.

The bartender turns to look at me and grins. "Oh, we have a birthday girl."

I can't help but smile because he's so damn attractive. He's wearing a button-down shirt with a black vest on top. The sleeves of his shirt are folded up to his elbows. Broad shoulders. Muscular arms. Why haven't I come here before?

"I'll just have a gin and tonic." I tell him with a smile.

"On the house," he says winking at me.

I look down, trying to hide my smile. My phone vibrates then and I open a text from my sister. It's a picture of my nephew Samuel. He was born on January 10th, exactly two months ago. He's wearing a white onesie and he's wrapped in a blue, fuzzy blanket. He's so tiny and adorable. It kills me that I haven't met him yet. I can't go visit them until May when the semester is over. It's way too expensive to go for just one or two days. Plus I'm always at work and I need my job. A text comes in with the words: Happy Birthday, Aunt Sav!