The smell of bourbon penetrated through me as I lifted the glass to my lips and drank. I heaved a sigh and let the cool liquid slide down my throat.

It’d been a crazy busy day and I was glad to get out of the bar I owned, into a place that wouldn’t recognize me for my name or knowledge of the bar scene. Sometimes it was just good to get away. I took another drink and closed my eyes. Sometimes I wondered how I got to where I was.

I was twenty-eight and an owner of the bar and restaurant, Mercury Wild. It’d been sort of an inheritance passed down to me since my father’s passing five years earlier. Men admired me for the fortune that came with my name. Women flocked to me for the man of their dreams, or at least they liked the fact that I was wealthy, but along the way I lost sight of who I was.

I never saw that in my father, so I wondered again how I got to where I was. I took another drink, then ordered up another one. I was only two when my grandfather passed away, so I also questioned if maybe we were cut from the same cloth. Was I more like him?

“This seat taken?” I looked up into the eyes of a tall blonde woman. She had waves of curls that cascaded over her shoulders and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. In every man’s fantasy, she would be the ideal catch. I just smiled and shook my head.

“Have a seat!” I then took another drink and looked away, literally ignoring the woman and probably offending her with my cavalier attitude.

She did make small talk, but I didn’t even acknowledge her talking and I was sure I had offended her, because about fifteen minutes later she was getting down from the bar stool. She mumbled something about having a nice life and then she was gone.

The truth was the blonde-haired woman was the typical woman that I would gravitate towards and that was exactly why I didn’t indulge in any thoughts of communication with her. I was tired of going the typical route. I needed to change things up or I was bound to go crazy.

After a couple more drinks, finishing off my bourbon, I left behind the glass and turned around to leave. I spotted Dylan coming closer to me. Dylan was one of my good friends and not one I could easily ignore. I put on a smile and waved to him, just as he got closer.

“Hey, buddy, thought that was you over here. Wanna come to my table and hang?” he asked.

“Just heading out,” I responded.

“Oh!” Dylan said, looking disappointed. “I have two of the hottest babes that are going to be sitting at my table and I thought you could help me entertain them.” He winked at me. “If you know what I mean.”

I laughed and looked away from him. “Yeah, I know what you mean, but I have a busy day tomorrow and I just had my two drinks, so really should be going. I’m sure you can handle them though.” I chuckled as I patted him on the shoulder.

Dylan laughed. “Yeah…maybe.” He then gave me a curious look. “What are you doing here anyway?” Dylan asked. “Isn’t Mercury Wild enough bar for you?” he asked, giving me a teasing grin.

I snickered and shrugged. “Guess sometimes I need to get away from the office and really think things through. But hey…you best be getting back to your table. Don’t want the women to send out the cops looking for you.”

Dylan looked away from me and glanced back towards where he came from. “Gotta keep them guessing, right?” Again he winked at me and then backed up. “Suit yourself if you don’t want in on it. They are a couple of real babes.”

“I’m sure they are,” I said. “But you have fun!” I grabbed my keys out of my pocket and watched him as he headed back towards his table. I shook my head, not the least bit surprised by Dylan’s attitude for the women. Dylan was someone that would never shy away from getting what he wanted. It came with the territory of his job. He was a real estate broker and one of the finest in the county.

I turned away from the direction he walked away in and headed towards the front door of the club. I was so driven on getting out of there that I hadn’t noticed a woman stand up from her table and I bumped right into her, nearly knocking her to the ground.

“Oh…I’m sorry!” I said.

She turned around and our eyes met. For me, it was an instant physical attraction. She had piercing green eyes that seemed to look right into my soul. Yet, the thing about her that seemed different than the rest, was that she wasn’t this obvious beauty. It looked more like she didn’t try. She had only light makeup on and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but she just had this look that was captivating.

“It’s alright,” she mumbled. “Excuse me!” She then turned back around and raced towards the front door, as if she was in a hurry to get somewhere. I watched her for a moment, then noticed that the table she came from had their eyes on me. I smiled, then looked away and headed back out of the bar. I looked around, but the woman was gone.

Feeling like I had just had a glimpse of someone I wanted to get to know, yet didn’t feel I’d ever see again, I headed to my black Aston Martin. I got in the driver’s seat and just sat there for a moment, a smile playing on my lips. Somehow, someway, I wanted to believe if our paths crossed once…then they could cross again. Even if it was only a dream that might never be realized.