Luciana laughed with her friend as they both perched themselves on a stool at the edge of the bar. The evening had just began, and the two had decided to meet up for some drinks.

"Oh, my God," her friend rolled her eyes, handing her phone over to Luciana. "Jeff has been texting me nonstop. I don't know how to tell that poor guy that I'm just not into it."

"Sammie," Luciana laughed, "What do you want me to do about it? You know you can't just make me type out your texts for you. You gotta learn yourself!"

The bartender quickly came over, and grabbed their drink orders. Sammie took her phone back and sighed. "Fine. I guess I can do this on my own for once," she giggled. After typing out a message for three minutes straight, she finally hit the send button and placed her phone back in her purse. "So, how's the love life going for you, Luce?"

Luciana smirked and looked down at the bar top. "It's basically as nonexistent as it'll ever be."

Sammie placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's what bars are for. We're going to find you a man some day, don't worry, babe."

Luciana rolled her eyes and gave her friend a small grin. "Oh, yeah. I love the idea of some drunk bum with a cigarette in his mouth hitting on me."

Suddenly, an arm reach between them. A rather large and muscular arm. Both followed the trail up to the face of a rough-looking, but somewhat attractive man. "Pardon me, ladies. Napkins are out down by us."

"No worries," Luciana smiled. "Take 'em all if you want."

"Appreciate it," the man replied. His voice was deep, and just as rough as his appearance. It was almost as if he had a slight accent.

"I'm Sammie," Sammie reached her hand out to him before he could walk away. He hesitantly took her hand in his, and shook gently. "Jimmy."

Sammie pointed to Luciana, "This is Luciana. She's shy."

Luciana lightly smacked her on the arm. "I am not."

Jimmy offered a faint smile and nod of the head towards Luciana. That was when she saw a man sitting at the far wall of the bar, behind Jimmy's back. Her face went straight as she examined him. His hair was almost jet black, and she swore she could see the color of his eyes from miles away. She watched as he conversed with the other men he was sitting with, and nearly melted when he smiled.

Jimmy seemed to notice her stare, and he looked back to see what the issue was. After his eyes landed on Ratchet, he smirked, and turned back around to the girls. "He's single." Jimmy winked.

Luciana swallowed hard, snapping out of her reverie. She cleared her throat and offered Jimmy a nervous smile. "Oh, no. I- I wasn't-"

Sammie pointed at Jimmy. "Yes. Get her his number." She then looked at Luciana. "I told you we'd find you a man." She folded her arms triumphantly.

"No," Luciana laughed. "Please don't."

Jimmy shrugged. "Your loss." He turned around to walk back over to the group of guys. Luciana watched as he began to talk to the man she had stared at, and she immediately turned to face the bar as the bartender brought over their drinks at last. She did not want to watch in embarrassment, as she had a feeling Jimmy would say something.

"I think it's a fair trade," Sammie told her after sipping on her drink. "You type out my text messages, and I talk to guys in real life for you."

Luciana rolled her eyes with a snort. "No, thanks." She sighed, and stood up, "Bathroom break. Be right back."

Feeling eyes on her, Luciana hurried towards the bathroom, which was in the opposite direction of the men at the other end of the bar. She walked in, and stood in front of the mirror. Examining herself slowly, she leaned forward and wiped the excess eye liner that had begun to smudge. She ran her hands through her hair, and used a small amount of water from the sink to straighten out any strays. She turned her body away from the mirror, and examined her back side. She sighed, closing her eyes.

Sammie was right. She was shy, and that was ultimately her downfall when it came to finding a man.

"Alright," she said to herself after making sure the bathroom was empty. "You're gonna go back out there. You're gonna have a great time with your friend. You're gonna make eye contact with that cute dude, and you're gonna smile while doing it." She paused and took deep breaths.

However, Luciana was anything but calm and collected. She reached for the bathroom door, and opened it. Quickly walking out, she turned to head back to the bar and found that she had actually walked right into a person.

She immediately took a step back and gasped. "I'm so sorry. I did not see you!" She then looked up at the person's face, and her eyes widened.

The smile that had nearly made her melt into her seat was the same smile that belonged to the face of the guy she was eyeballing just previously. "It's quite alright," the man replied. She didn't think it could get any better, but his voice sent shivers down her arms. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, snapping out of her trance. "I am," she chuckled nervously, looking down at the floor. She was struggling to find the courage to look him in the eyes.

"Heard you met my friend, Jimmy," he said.

She was shocked that he was still trying to talk to her. She made eye contact, finally. "I did. He was, uh, pretty adamant that I talk to you," she chuckled softly.

The man rolled his eyes and grinned. "Sounds like Jimmy." He held out his hand. "I'm Ratchet, by the way."

She cautiously took his hand in hers. "Luciana. Luce or Luci works. Nobody ever calls me Luci, though," she laughed, mentally telling herself to stop babbling already.

Ratchet smiled. "Luci. I prefer that one."

"Uh, Ratchet," a new voice spoke up. Both heads turned to a much younger looking man. Probably a few years younger than Luciana. Ratchet did not seem impressed with this guy interrupting. "Jimmy says it's time to go, and also he said to just shut up and give her your number already so we can leave."

"Well, Steve," Ratchet began, and Luciana looked from one man to the other. "Politely tell Jimmy that if he wants me to hurry up, that he'll have to come get me himself, and any injury in the process will not be covered during his next physical exam."

Luciana quietly laughed to herself. The younger man, Steve, also laughed and walked away, shaking his head. Luciana turned to face Ratchet. "Are you a doctor or something?"

He shrugged, "I suppose that's the easy way to say it. I'm the Chief Medical Officer at the military base just on the other side of town. We were recently stationed here."

Luciana nodded, swallowing. Was there anything about this man she did not find attractive? "I see," she replied, not wanting the awkward silence to initiate. "It was really nice meeting you, Ratchet. I should probably get back to my friend before she worries."

Ratchet nodded, "I have work to get back to, as well." The two began to follow one another back to the bar, which was close to the front door. Ratchet suddenly paused and turned around, nearly causing her to walk into him again. She stared up at his eyes, catching her breath. "By the way, you wouldn't actually want my number, would you?"

She stuttered, looking around the bar and her eyes rested on Sammie, who was giving her a thumbs up. Luciana scratched her eyebrow and offered him her best smile. "I was actually hoping I'd be able to get it before you left, if we're being honest."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He handed it to her, and she noticed the screen was already awaiting new contact information. She smiled softly as she typed in her information. After a minute, she handed it back to him, and he looked down at it with a small grin before he re-initiated eye contact with her. Every time he looked at her, she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Well," he began, placing the phone back into his pocket. "I'll send a text so you'll have mine. Good evening, Luci."

"Good night, Ratchet."

He paused, and smiled a bit bigger this time. "Call me Ratch."

She nodded and blushed as he turned around and walked out of the bar, disappearing around the corner with the other guys.

Luciana made her way back to her seat and sat down. She sighed, smiling blankly at the wall in front of her. Sammie smirked, and poked a finger against her arm. "Told you you could do it." Sammie reached for a shot glass and put it in front of her. It was filled to the top. "Victory shot. Let's go."

Luciana grinned, and grabbed the glass between her fingers. "To finding men at bars?"

"Absolutely," Sammie replied. Tapping their glasses together, they tilted their heads back, pouring the liquor down their throats.