Two weeks had passed since the failed chat that Johnny had with Alexa. From then on, he avoided showing up at her business and preferred to buy his Coors pack at a convenience store. His routine became duller because it only involved waking up, showing up at the construction, buying some beer, and gulping the last drop until he passed out.

As the days flew by, Johnny reflected on his behavior and realized that he was hiding like a coward, which didn't sit well with him. So, after two drinks, he grabbed his jacket and headed towards the bar owned by the lady of green eyes. Besides, his curious mind kept wondering where the hell did she learned the joint lock that she used against the asshole who was bothering at her local.

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Once he arrived, Johnny immediately approached one of the stools at the counter and took a sit. His eyes searched the place. Luckily for him, he found Alexa pouring some cocktails to a group of women that were sharing some jokes with the bartender. Once she ended laughing, Alexa turned around and met a gaze that resembled the sky.

"Hey! Looks like the caveman decided to come out of his lair."

"Look, I'm sorry that I left the other day without a warning. That was wrong for me to do, and you were just being nice with me."

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's ok. I shouldn't have been so nosy with your personal life." She handed him a cold bottle of beer. "You haven't changed your tastes, right?"

Johnny smirked before taking a swig. "No".

"By the way", spoke Alexa, "you never mentioned your name."

"Why would you want to know?"

"Well, you already know mine. Besides, would you prefer for me to call you Coors guy?"

She had a point there.

"It's Johnny."

A porcelain hand was extended at him, which Johnny took. "Nice to finally meet you, Johnny." Once her fingertips left his grip, Johnny took the chance to find out more about the woman standing in front of him.

"Since we're getting to know each other, I've been meaning to ask… where did you learned those moves?"

Her eyebrows met at the center of her forehead. "I'm sorry?"

"You know what I mean, back when you blocked that dumbass's wrist…"

She turned around and pretended to look for some glasses. "I took some classes when I was young."

"Care to explain?"

Alexa faced him while pouring some scotch on the rocks. "Not a chance."

Alright, so she didn't want to share this information with him. It seemed fair since he did the same when they were at the diner.

"Okay. Well, could you then tell me how you managed to own a place like this?"

Why was he suddenly being so damn interested in this chick's life?

It seemed that she was wondering the same thanks to her arched eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Don't get me wrong, but most of the bars that I've been to usually belong to a grown man. I'm just curious to know how this one turned out to be run by a female manager."

"I don't know if I should feel flattered or offended…"

"I leave it to your choice."

She considered his words while drumming her fingers on the counter. "Wait here while I give this drink to a surely now angered customer who's glass hasn't been handed yet."

"I'm not planning to leave this time."And so he kept himself busy with his beer.

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"Okay, big guy, if I'm going to tell you how I got this beauty, I should take out the good stuff." She draw out a bottle of tequila and poured the golden liquid into a pair of shots. She handed one of them to Johnny as she claimed a stool for herself.

"Nice."

"Thanks. So anyway, to start things, this place used to belong to my grandfather. He bought it to a previous landlord and remodeled it. My grandpa was always so fond of this business that his passion was reflected in the way he treated his clients. He was known for being someone with a noble heart".

"And once he met my grandma, his happiness increased. After those lovebirds got married, they soon welcomed my mother to this world. She and grandma were the whole world to him".

"So, when my mother got herself pregnant, my grandparents gave her their complete support and helped her raise me up."

"That was nice of them to do," commented Johnny.

A joyful curve spread through Alexa's face.

"Yeah, and because of that, I formed a special bond with my grandad because he became my father figure. As a kid, he taught me the values of life but at the same time was my partner in crime."

To have had someone like that in your life…

"When I turned sixteen, I decided to give back in some way everything my grandfather had done for us. So I started to help him with his business."

"Wait, you're telling me that an underage girl managed to enter a bar without any trouble?"

Alexa laughed and shook her head. "You sound like my mother when I told her about my idea."

Johnny frowned at the mention of that. "Well, she had a point to be worried."

Alexa sipped her drink before responding. "And now you remind me of granny." His gaze through daggers at her, which she noticed.

"Relax, I'm just messing with you. Of course I didn't think about working exactly IN the bar. It would be dumb for me to get my family into trouble."

"Then how…?"

"I became my grandad's bookkeeper. Plus, during the weekends, I sometimes dropped by in the morning before he opened to give a hand with the cleaning of the space."

"Oh, so you were kind of a nerd back then?"

"If you mean that I was good at math, then yes. Plus, my grandad made me promise that as long as it didn't interrupt my studies, I could carry on with the task. After doing some time management, I was able to balance my schedule."

"And wouldn't you have preferred to hang around with your pals during those days?"

"Yes, it's true that it did consume some of my social life. But every time I look back, I realize that it was worthwhile since it meant that I was able to do something for the man that didn't give his back to his young daughter that showed up at his doorsteps scared of becoming an unexperienced , it gave me the opportunity to understand the feelings that my grandpa had for this place."

Johnny noticed a spark of happiness in her voice. Somehow, it reminded him of the love he had for his mother. Besides, he also understood how terrified Alexa's mom should have been when she found out about her pregnancy. He knew quite well…

"But things couldn't stay the same forever. Once I got into college, my time got consumed by my studies, and I could no longer come to give a hand at the business. One day, my mom asked me if I was going home for the holidays. I told her that I had to stay in the dorms to prepare for my finals, which was in a certain way true… but I actually had planned a trip to the West Coast. It didn't turned out the way I had imagined it would. The worst of all was that, the reason my mom wanted me to stop by was because my grandpa's health had deteriorated, but she didn't want me to worry while I was out of town for she knew I would have dropped everything. I didn't find out until I received a call from her. She struggled through her tears as she told me that my granddad had a stroke… He didn't survive."

A crystal sphere ran down her cheek and stained the wooden counter. Johnny stared at Alexa. His palm reached for her shoulder. "I'm sorry." He really meant it for he knew how it felt to lose someone so dear. Her lips were drawn into a sorrowful smile. She finished her drink and continued her story.

"I felt miserable for not being with him during his final days. After the funeral, the family's attorney contacted me to explain that the bar was left for me and would be given once I graduated. In the meantime, one of my mom's friend would help her look out for it… that Tina has always been an angel."

That name sound familiar to Johnny until he remembered the woman at the diner. So that's why she behaved in a maternal way towards Alexa. His attention immediately was drawn back by the bartender's voice.

"It was also mentioned in my grandpa's will that I was free to do anything with it. I could pass the administration to another relative or sell it and use the money for my future. That's when I realized that I would take the mantle and keep this bar alive."

Their mouths were kept shut and would only welcome the new round of tequila that burned their throats. They stayed like that for about a minute until the former sensei decided to break the silence.

"A toast to the things you've done, Alexa. My respects for that."

She showed her gratitude by clinking her glass with his and poured them another shot to enjoy the rest of the night. It was the first time in a while that Johnny let himself get relaxed, and he was grateful for it.