Sarah woke up early the next morning. She would have liked to sleep off her hangover, but it was her first day of work. After a quick shower, she got dressed and was out the door by 7:45, it was a five minute walk to work and she arrived with a few minutes to spare, so she ordered herself a coffee before starting her shift.

She spent most of the morning shadowing the other baristas, learning how to use the espresso machine and what went into each drink. There were almost limitless combinations, but they kept a cheat sheet behind the counter for a quick reference. Her new boss and the owner of the coffee shop, Miss Ranier, or Jess, as she preferred to be called, was in her forties and was tall and thin and seemed to be into the new age era. She sold crystals as well as coffee and offered palm readings every Sunday from 4-6 p.m. in a closed off back room.

The other baristas were college students, like her, and two of the three employees were currently in the shop. One was a small, petite girl with a short brown pixie cut, and her name was Sway. She didn't say much to Sarah, but a quick 'hello'. Sarah had a feeling they were not going to be friends. The other was another girl, about Sarah's height, but about 40 lbs. heavier. Not fat, but a long way from being called thin, either. She had friendly brown eyes and auburn hair to her chin. Her name was Melody, but preferred Mel, and she was very talkative. Sarah found she didn't have to say much, that Mel would carry on the conversation with very little input from her. Sarah quickly found out that she was a sophomore, but local and so had been working at the Bean since the beginning of the summer.

Currently, she was showing Sarah how to make a macchiato, but was also filling her in on their missing co-worker.

"His name is Jack and he is really cute. He's funny, too. He's older than us, a junior, but you'll meet him later on, he should be in around one." She was chattering away, and Sarah couldn't help but wonder if Jack was the Jack she'd met on two occasions before, most recently at the party that she was trying desperately to forget.

The morning flew by and soon Sway left to go home and Sarah was allowed to take a lunch break. She sat in one of the tables out in front of the building and pulled out a very worn copy of her favorite book, Demon in My View. While she read it for perhaps the twentieth time, she picked at a muffin and sipped on a chai tea.

"What are you reading?" Sarah glanced up at the familiar voice and was not all that surprised to see Jack, the one and same to who she had met previously. He stood before her leaning casually against her table, a slight smile on his lips. She held her book up so he could read the cover. "Is it any good?" He asked and she nodded enthusiastically.

"It's one of my favorites." She committed the page number to memory and closed the book before setting it down. "So you work here, too, huh?" She asked as she took another sip of tea.

"Too?" He questioned and then realization dawned on him. "You're the new girl. Jess mentioned that someone was starting today."

"That's me." Sarah replied smiling. "Disappointed?" Was she flirting? Surely not, she never flirted.

"Pleased, actually." He said before taking the empty seat at her table. "It'll give us a chance to get to know each other." He met her eyes and Sarah felt her insides melt. "What happened to you at the party the other night? You missed all the excitement." Almost as soon as the warmth had entered her body, she felt it turn cold.

"I um… I had to get home." She stammered and focused her eyes on the cup in her hands. "What excitement?"

"Nate and Cameron got their asses handed to them. Apparently, my buddy, Jay caught them in the woods trying to rape some girl and he knocked their teeth in." He chuckled and Sarah's blood ran cold.

"Who.. Who was the girl?" She managed as she sipped her tea and tried to act nonchalant. "I mean, did you know her?"

"Actually, I don't know who it was. Jay didn't say. I guess he took her home and made sure she was ok. He called me from his car and told me what happened. He was driving her home then, I think." He shrugged as if it didn't matter and Sarah turned this info over in her mind.

So her mysterious rescuer had a name, Jay. She wondered again how he had known where she lived and how he had gotten inside.

"Well," Jack started before standing up, "I better get inside, my shift is about to start."

"Oh my god," Sarah jerked so suddenly she almost dropped her cup, " my lunch ended almost ten minutes ago." She stood hastily and Jack held the door for her.

"Don't worry, I'll tell Jess that I was going over procedures with you." He smiled at her and Sarah returned it. "I've been here so long that she'll let you off the hook."

"Oh, ok, thanks." As the second half of her shift started, Jess instructed her to take a few customers orders and had her try her hand at making a few drinks also. By three o'clock, Sarah felt confident and relaxed.

"So, Sarah, what are you up to tonight?" Jack asked her as he handed off a drink to a middle aged man, who took it roughly before hurrying out the door.

"Nothing, probably. I had a rough night last night and I think I should stay in," She replied, wiping off the espresso machine as she did so. "Besides I have to be back here at eight, again anyway."

"Oh." He sounded disappointed and Sarah almost took it back.

"But maybe tomorrow night," she offered "I mean, if Tonya doesn't have anything planned, I guess it is my birthday…" She trailed off and instantly wished she hadn't mentioned her birthday.

"It's your birthday and you don't have anything planned?" Disbelief was clear in his voice. "How old are you turning, 18?" Sarah nodded in reply and Jack's smile was dazzling. "Well, I know a club not far from here, it's an 18 and older. They only serve alcohol on the top floor. Why don't we go? Invite your friends."

Sarah hesitated. On the one hand, she did have class the next morning, but on the other, it was her birthday, and it wasn't as if she was going to drink. She returned his smile with a grin and a nod.

"Alright, deal." She turned to the register as a customer came up to the counter.

"Awesome." He said happily. "I'll pick you up at nine." Sarah smiled to herself as she took the customers order. A cute, charming, and seemingly nice guy had just invited her to club, and she had said yes. For the first time, she was really looking forward to her 18 birthday.