"Can I have a Bud Light?" Jade heard a male voice ask at the other end of the bar.
She inwardly groaned, annoyed at the new presence in the bar. She liked this bar because it was always empty. She had been coming here for about a year. The bar tender had checked her fake ID one time, not giving it a second glance. Now, the bartender knows who Jade is. She never talks to the bartender, but he's always in the bar and he knows her face.
She was probably one of the bar's most loyal customers, which is sad because she is still in high school.
Jade took a sip of her Vodka Soda.
Yes, she is sixteen years old. Yes, she is drinking illegally. Does she care? Not at all. She has been drinking since she was fourteen and a half; that was the one advantages to hitting puberty early: at first glance, people always thought Jade was a lot older than she really was.
Since it was a Thursday, Jade only ordered one drink, already paid for. Getting drunk on a weekday was just pathetic, and also, it made it difficult to go to school the next day.
"Hey," Jade heard a male voice in her right ear; the same voice that had entered the bar a mere five minutes ago.
"What?" She asked rudely.
She was trying to write a short story for her English class that was due tomorrow. Who did this guy think he is, trying to bother her like that?
"Whatcha doing?"
"Why are you talking to me?" Jade huffed, setting down her Vodka Soda.
"I don't know. You're the only one in here," he shrugged.
"I know. I like it that way. Please go away, I'm busy," Jade snapped, turning back to her short story on her computer.
"What's your name?" He asked, drumming his fingers against the counter.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She rolled her eyes.
"Actually, I-"
"God, why are you still here?" Jade cried, looking up at him through her dark eyelashes.
In that moment, she saw his face.
The boy was extremely attractive, she couldn't deny it. He was more like man than a boy: probably in his early twenties. He had fluffy hair, tan skin, and a serene half smile.
"Is that a script?" he asked curiously, still remaining calm. At this point, she would have yelled at the boy for looking over her shoulder. At this point, any other guy at her school would have run away crying, scared of her. This boy was different.
"No, it's the beginning of a short story. If you don't mind, I really need to work on it. So maybe you could, I don't know... not be here right now," she told him, looking into his dark eyes with a sharp glare.
He smiled at her bluntness.
"Need some help? I go to UCLA. I student teach at that middle school near that coffee shop. When I finish, I'm supposed to start student teaching high school. I'm into acting. So where do you go? Are you into acting, or just writing?" Jade raised her eyebrows in surprise. Jade guessed he assumed she was in college. It made sense: she was in a bar, and she was drinking a Vodka Soda. She was working on an assignment.
"You talk a lot, Mystery Dude."
"Mystery Dude?" He asked, smiling.
Jade smirked.
"I'm an actress. I sing and dance a little bit too. I also write plays and short films. Right now, I'm writing a short story, though," she said, taking a sip of her drink.
Maybe her short story could wait; this boy seemed rather interested in her; not that many boys could talk to her without running away in tears. She could always write her short story at lunch and then turn it in at the end of the day.
"Wow, you're like a quadruple threat. Maybe you'll let me see something of yours sometime?"
Jade snorted. "Did you just ask me out?"
"Well, yeah. I mean... If you want."
Jade smiled.
"Okay, Mystery Dude. Give me a reason you want to go out with me and I'll consider," she told him, noting that neither one of them had introduced themselves yet they were still having a pretty in depth conversation.
"Let's see. You're interesting. You're sarcastic. You seem very smart. And you are, uh, ... I don't know how to put this eloquently... You're kinda really fucking beautiful," his cheeks reddened.
Jade raised her eyebrows, smirking.
"Really fucking beautiful, huh?" She laughed.
He smiled at her. "Yeah," he said, touching the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"Your face doesn't make me want to vomit," she commented, shrugging.
He barked out a laugh. "Wow, Thank you. That was kind of you to say."
"I say what I feel," she shrugged.
"I like that about you. Too many people spend time hiding their true feelings. Right off the bat, I could tell that you were annoyed with my presence, but also, I thought you were intriguing."
"Hmm."
"Are you still annoyed with my presence?" He asked.
"No. Not really."
"That's good," he said. Jade nodded.
Jade could feel his eyes traveling to her lips. If he wasn't going to go for it, she would.
"Would you mind if I kissed you right now?" He asked.
"Okay, first if all, I don't even know your name is, but seriously? What are you...12 years old? You aren't supposed to ask a girl if you can kiss her! I hate when guys-"
He cut her off by smashing his lips against hers, threading his fingers through her dark curly hair, pushing their chests together.
Beck's mind felt dizzy. He thought that because this girl seemed so rough, her lips would seem rough too. But the kiss felt passionate and soft and he wanted more. He needed to know her.
"My name is Beckett. Beckett Oliver. Call me Beck. I hate Beckett," he told her.
"Jadelyn West. Call me Jade unless you want to lose an arm."
He smiled.
"I like it."
"I never asked you," she rolled her eyes, making him chuckle.
"God, you're just a ball of sunshine."
"That's what they say," Jade smirked, taking a sip of her drink.
After saving what she had written of her short story, Jade spoke up.
"So... are we just going to leave the kiss in this bar, or are we going to get out of here?" She asked bluntly, quirking an eyebrow.
"Let's get outta here," he told her, smiling. Jade grabbed her computer and shoved it in her backpack, following behind him.
"Where do you live?" She asked.
"I used to share an apartment with my friend Andre, but he moved out to stay with his Grandma because she's kind of insane. So now I live alone. It's about twenty minutes away."
Beck turned on the radio on the way there; he listened to Jade's voice as she hummed along. If her voice was this beautiful when she hummed, he couldn't imagine how beautiful her voice would sound when she sang.
When they got to Beck's apartment, he crashed his lips against hers, making her smile. So he did like to take charge.
It took about five minutes to get unclothed.
"You're so beautiful," he told her, taking her in, making her blush.
"You don't look that bad," she smirked, making him smile.
He pressed his lips against hers, running his hands over her body, guiding her over to his bed.
Jade fell asleep with Beck's arms wrapped around her naked body, seemingly way too personal for just a one night stand.
Sometimes, certain events find a way to ruin everything in a person's life. This was the event that started it all.
