I have no idea how many miles I’d been walking, but in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t really matter. Although it was cold, I had gotten used to it, and the weather was little more than just a minor annoyance, at least until the sun went down.

Everything changed when the sun disappeared from the sky. The wind chill plummeted, and it began to snow, leading all of the roads and sidewalks to freeze. I was getting chilled to the bone, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

Up ahead, I could see the lights of the city where I grew up and where my life changed when all the bullshit went down. When I was locked up, I told myself that I’d never return, yet there I was, walking right up to the only city I knew.

After walking for what felt like forever, I finally came to a bar. This wasn’t just any bar, however. It was the bar. The one where everything happened. The last place I visited as a free man. The place I was a patron of the night everything went south.

I’d come full circle, and I wasn’t sure whether or not I would be welcomed inside. I debated not going in at all, but I was freezing. I didn’t have it in me to walk any further.

Opening the door slowly, I cautiously walked inside, being careful not to draw any unnecessary attention to myself. The first thing I noticed was the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. It hit my nose like a sucker punch and made my mouth start to water instantly. I was already hungry when I was released, and after all that walking, I felt famished.

The bar was packed, which was going to make being inconspicuous quite a challenge. I’d barely made it through the front door before what felt like every head in the place turned. It didn’t take long before the whispering started and I noticed plenty of widening eyes. Of course, when I returned the look, they looked in the other direction.

As long as I lived in the area, it was something that I was going to have to get used to. I did seriously injure another man, and these people didn’t give a shit whether or not I had done it intentionally. All they cared about was the fact that I did it.

It also didn’t help that I was such a large man. I’d been big ever since birth and only grew into my body from there. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me I should be a pro wrestler or something similar, I’d be a rich man. There wasn’t anything I could about the fact that people were intimidated by me. I’d learned to stay to myself in prison, and that’s exactly what I was going to do at the bar. Besides, I wasn’t looking to cause any trouble, especially on my first day out of prison.

Ensuring that I didn’t make eye contact with any of the customers, I grabbed a stool at the corner of the bar, tucked away from everyone and everything. Placing my bag on the floor, I sat down and enjoyed the heat of the building. It was the first time I’d been off my feet since waking up in a cell that morning and my feet were happy to have a rest.

“What can I get ya?” the bartender asked, snapping me from my thoughts.

“Let me get a shot of Jack, a Budweiser, and a steak.”

“No steaks here, man. We’re a bar, not a restaurant. I can get you a burger or a sandwich.”

“Fine, I’ll take the biggest burger you have back there with everything on it,” I replied, disappointed that I wasn’t going to be getting that steak that I’d built up in my head.

“All right buddy, have it right out to you.”

While I waited for my food, I turned towards the counter and trained my eyes on the dark wood and wondered what it would say if it could talk. I thought about what kind of stories that bar could tell before shivering at the thought that at least some of those stories would probably be about me.

It seemed like it took forever, but the minute the bartender sat my burger in front of me, I felt like I was a little kid in a candy store. It was huge, but that didn’t stop me from devouring it within a couple of minutes. Even though I downed it, I still managed to savor each and every bite. It had been years since I’d had a real burger and the hard hockey pucks that they served in prison shouldn’t even be allowed to be called burgers. I had my doubts that they were even made from real meat.

That burger was exactly what I needed and the shot of Jack that I chased it down with hit the spot. I really wanted to order some more shots and enjoy my first night of freedom, but I only had a little bit of money and knew I had to be smart with it. It needed to last me until I started getting paychecks on a regular basis.

I’m not sure how long I was sitting at the bar before a hard slap made contact with my upper back. It was unexpected, and it took everything I had not to jump off my seat, turn to the person who did, and knock them on their ass. Fortunately for him, I took a deep breath, composed myself, and turned to see who the hell it was.

Instead of a dickhead trying to pick a fight with me, my best friend Curtis was standing there, arms open wide and an enormous smile plastered across his face.

“Well would you look at this big mother fucker?” he asked jokingly. “You were big when you went in, and now you’re a huge fucking ogre. Get your ass over here and give me a hug, you gigantic son of a bitch.”

I jumped up off the stool and scooped him up into a bear hug.”

“Fuck,” he yelled as I lifted him into the air. “Put me down before you crush the life out of me.”

“How the fuck have you been?” I asked as I lowered him to the ground and shook his hand.

“I can’t complain brother. You doing any more drinking or do you want to get out of here?”

I downed what was left of my beer and sat it on the counter, along with enough money to cover the food, drinks, and a small tip. “I’m more than ready to get out of here.”

“Is there anything you need?”

“The only things I need are a hot shower and a warm bed. I’m hoping you can help me with both of those things tonight,” I said, grabbing my bag and tossing it over my shoulder.

“Brother, you’re gonna love what I’ve got lined up for you then. Not only do I have the guest room all set up for you, but it’s even got a private bathroom with a shower. There’s just one favor I’ve gotta ask of you.”

“Sure man, anything. Just name it.”

“All right, well Kim doesn’t have any problem with you staying with us for a while, but I may have left out the part about you being in prison, so we can’t let her in on that little secret. As far as she knows, you’ve been living in California and are coming back to town for work and to start over. You cool with that story?”

“I’ll cool with whatever you want. I just hope that nobody sees me around town and lets the cat out of the bag. Everyone seemed to know who I was the minute I walked through that door behind you.”

“Yeah, well this bar doesn’t count. It might as well be a world of its own. I highly doubt you’ll have anything to worry about once we’re away from here,” he told me as we walked out the door and headed for his truck.

“Well, you are the boss. I’ll just go along with whatever you say.”

“As far as all this goes, I think less is more. The less we talk about it, the better it’s going to be for both of us.”

We rode in relative silence during the nearly 45-minute drive to his house, pulling into the driveway just before 9:00pm. I’d never seen his place before since he’d bought it while I was inside, not long after getting engaged to his girlfriend.

I was impressed by how well he had done for himself. The house was very nice, and from what I could, he didn’t have any neighbors for miles. I hadn’t planned to be in such a private place, but I was actually grateful for it. If there weren’t anyone around, it would be tough for me to get into any sort of trouble.

As I followed Curtis into the house, I couldn’t get over how much it looked like something you’d see on the front of a Christmas card. He shared the home with Kim, his live-in girlfriend, who I had never met since they met while I was in jail. Curtis, on the other hand, has been a friend since I was just a little kid.

We first met when we were placed in the same foster home. We were only together for a couple of weeks before the cops raided the house for manufacturing drugs, but we became close in that time. Over the years in the foster care system, the two of us always seemed to cross paths, and we made a pact to stay in touch. We’ve been friends ever since.

Curtis even visited me in prison when I first got there, although his girlfriend had no clue about any of that. In her mind, I was nothing more than a hard-working man from California who was making his way to Minnesota for a job opportunity with my old friend.

The first thing I noticed upon walking through the door was that the house was full of thick, plush carpet that looked like it had never even been stepped on. I watched as Curtis removed his shoes and placed them next to the door, so I followed suit and took off my wet boots and socks. My feet were sore and achy from the cold and all the walking I’d done that day.

“Just come with me, and I’ll show you your room. You can take a shower and get cleaned up before you meet my future wife if you’d like. Oh, and I stopped at the store a couple days ago and picked you up a few pairs of pants and some shirts. I had a feeling you’d be coming out with clothes that didn’t fit you and just by looking at you, I can see that I was right.”

“Shit, you didn’t have to do that man. I’ve got a few bucks I could have used for that.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Besides, I can always dock your first paycheck. That’s the beauty of being the boss,” he joked with a wink.

The room itself was relatively small but looked huge compared to the two-person cell I shared in prison. It might as well have been a presidential suite at an expensive hotel. It had a television, which was more than I could say for where I’d been.

“Curtis, I appreciate you letting me stay here. I promise I won’t let you down and if you need anything, I consider myself indebted to you for this.”

“I don’t need your thanks, Nick. You and I might as well be brothers. You’ve got to remember that. Just keep yourself out of trouble so you can get your life back on track. Anyway, if you’re not going to get in the shower, you can come on out and meet Kim. I’m pretty sure Alexa is here as well.”

Alexa was a name that I’d never heard him mention before. “Alexa? Who is that?”

“Alexa is Kim’s best friend. You can never repeat this, and if you ever do, I will deny saying it, but she is sexy as fuck.”

Curtis led me towards the kitchen. The closer I got, the more I could hear women talking, complete with laughter that seemed to be bouncing off the walls. One of the voices was on the deeper side, but still very feminine while the other was soft, smooth, and comforting.

Compared to the sounds I was used to hearing inside the prison walls, the soft voice had a comfort that made me smile. I wasn’t quite sure why. Once I stepped into the kitchen, I was able to put faces to the voices. The first woman was tall, thin, tan, and had brown hair hanging just past her shoulders. She was cute and had a good figure, but she wasn’t curvy enough for my taste. The girls were so lost in their conversation that they didn’t even notice we had walked in.

The brunette continued laughing, allowing me to see that she was the one with the deeper voice. My eyes shifted to the other woman, who had the most beautiful smile on her face as she listened to her friend telling whatever story she was telling. This woman was shorter, only about five-feet tall or so, and had a creamy, pale complexion. She had blonde hair with brown highlights that fell close to the middle of her back.

My eyes moved from her face to her body. Even though she had a smaller frame, her curves were terrific. Her purple sweater was snug to her ample breasts, and her tight jeans showed that she had some ass to work with.

Never in my life have I been a shy person, but this woman made me nervous for some reason. My stomach began to turn, and my chest started to become tight. It didn’t help that it had been so long since I’d been in the company of a woman and the woman I was staring at may have been the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. As a matter of fact, I don’t think the word beautiful does her justice.

If I had ever dreamed of what the perfect woman would like it, she would be the image in my mind. Just seeing her had me instantly aroused and I had to try to focus on something else in order to avoid a potentially awkward situation.

Eventually, the women noticed us standing in the kitchen and broke away from their conversation, making their way towards us. The brunette led the way, holding her hand out towards me and smiling.

“Hello, you must be the Nick I’ve heard so much about,” she said excitedly. “I’m Kim. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”

I was so excited to learn that the brunette belonged to Curtis.

“Hello,” I mumbled, unable to get anything else out as my throat had suddenly become dry.

I turned my attention to her friend, who had joined Kim at her side. This gorgeous woman’s lips were parted ever so slightly, and I couldn’t help but think about what they would feel like against mine. I also noticed her blue eyes, which I’d always had a weakness for.

It wasn’t hard to notice that she was checking me out as well. I watched as her eyes traveled up my chest and to my face until we locked eyes. She knew she was busted and turned away embarrassed. She had a smile on her face, which looked great on her.

There was one thing I was sure of. I wanted her in the worst possible way. I didn’t even know her, and I already knew that I had never come across a woman like her in the past and I doubted I ever would in the future. I’d never wanted anyone as much as I wanted her. I felt like I needed her.

It didn’t matter to me what I had to do. Whatever it was going to take, that girl was going to belong to me. I knew that I was going to have one purpose in life moving forward. That purpose would be her.