Jessica had been working part-time at the Hard Deck bar for a little over two years now.  When she wasn't working here, she was lifeguarding at the beach.  When she wasn't doing either she was at the gym, going on vacations and having a good time.

Working as a beach lifeguard didn't pay as much as she would like which was why she applied for a bartending position at Penny's bar two years ago and has been there ever since.

They had a slow crowd today, at least for right now.  

"Who are they?" Jessica asked Penny as she was making a moscow mule for a customer.  She was talking about the group in their military uniform.

"Not sure," Penny says.  "Maybe Top Gun?"

"Which reminds me.  I should warn you that Pete is back.  I thought you would like to know."

"Oh?" Penny asked as she cleaned a cup.

"He just came back actually.  Yeah, I met up with and had dinner with him the other night.  How do you think it will be seeing him again after all this time?"

"I don't know," Penny let out a small laugh.  "Awkward?"

"Well, I think we both need some tequila shots to get us jazzed up," Jessica told her boss who was also her friend as she pulled out four shots, two for the each of them as she began filling them with liquid.

"Why do you need them?" Penny asked as she laughed.

"I have to support my boss.  Plus who doesn't love a good tequila shot?"

"You don't," she pointed out.

"Okay, but still," she handed two shots to Penny and she had hers.  "Bottoms up."

"Cheers," Penny said as she clinked her glass with Jessica's.

"That is awful," Jessica gagged a little after the first shot.

What she didn't know was that a certain guy with a mustache perched on top of his upper lip dressed in a wife beater and a Hawaiian shirt over top was looking at the two bartenders with amazement.  

"Don't even think about going there," Phoenix told Bradley.

"What?" He asked as though he didn't know what she was talking about and took a sip of his beer.

"I see the way you're looking at that blonde.  Don't go there.  We need to focus."

"Yeah, focus..." he said and ignored what Phoenix said and went up to the bar as he smiled at the blonde.  "Not a fan of tequila?" He asked the blonde and she shook her head, surprised anyone was watching her.  She could make out that he had two small scars on the left side of his cheek.

He noticed that she was pretty fit and when she smiled her blue eyes sparkled.    

"God no," she said jugging down a glass of water and he watched amused.  

"So then why drink it?"

"To support my boss," she said as she nodded her head in the direction of Penny.  "Everyone needs a drinking buddy.  Need something to drink?"

"No, but I do need your number," he said smoothly.

"Are you flirting with me?" She asked surprised by how smooth he talks.

"And if I am?" He asked as he leaned on the counter.

"I can't give my number to a stranger if I don't know their name," she said and he understood what she was saying.

"Bradley," he told her with a smile.

"Jessica," she told him his with a smile on her face.  "You new around here?  Never seen you here before..."

"Just got back actually," he gave her a charming smile.

"Military?" She questioned as she handed a customer a drink.

"What makes you say that?" Bradley asked as he felt his heart beat out of his chest.

"I've been around long enough to know that if someone says they just got back it's either because of the military or they used to live here and moved somewhere else," she gave a small laugh.

"Oh are you married?" He asked curious.  "Or know someone who is in the military?"

"Nope," she said showing him her bare left hand.  "But I do have a family member in the military - my uncle.  And you can't deflect my question."

He laughed as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Just moved back," he told her leaving out the part of his job.

"Liking it so far?" She asked as she squirted a drink into the cup and Bradley watched as she made a drink.

"Yeah," he bit down on his lip and she gazed up at him through her lashes.  "I think I am.  What drink are you making?"

"Whiskey on the rocks," she tells him and slides it to him.  "This is for you.  On the house."

"You sure?  I can pay..." He started to say as he got out his wallet.

"Here's my number," she told him deciding to be bold and wrote it down on a napkin.

"Great, thanks," he gave her a smirk and went back to his group.

"Who was that?" Penny asked as she came back up to the counter.

"A guy named Bradley," she said with a smile.

"I'm surprised you gave him your number.  You never do that," Penny pointed out.

It had been a while since Jessica had dated.  Her last serious relationship ended badly after they dated for seven years.  She wasn't ready to settle down yet at such a young age as they were high school sweethearts and he was.  

Ever since then she's been a free spirit.  Never settling down with someone for too long.  One would say that she had a fear of commitment but she would argue that there is so much to see and do in life and she wanted to accomplish all of it before settling down.

"He was cute," Jess shrugged her shoulders and continued making a drink for a customer acting as if it was no big deal.  

Just then Jessica sees Pete walking in with his leather jacket that he always wears.  

"Hey Pete," Jess gets out from behind the bar and greets him with a hug and Penny stays back.

When Jessica first started to work for Penny, the brunette had no idea that the blonde even knew Pete.  She was just a normal woman to her but she did notice that she had some volunteer work with the military on her resume.  When she asked about it all the blonde told her was that she liked to help military and veterans personnel.  It wasn't until about six months that Jess started working for her when she found out that she was related to Real Admiral Upper Half Tom Kazansky.  Penny felt very stupid when she found out because they had the same last name for crying out loud!  The two women bonded over them having the Navy in common.  Not only that but they didn't want to be recognized from their family members who had a very high rank in the Navy.  

When you had a family member with a high rank in the military it was almost as if you were a celebrity to the military world.  They looked at you differently.  Expected more of you.  And if you didn't live up to the expectation, you were a disappointment in their eyes.  

So you can imagine the disappointment that Tom's coworkers felt when his niece didn't want to join the Navy or any branch of the military for that matter.  Tom assured her that she had something they didn't and that was that she can work outside of the military.  When guys or women (but especially the men) get out the military Tom told Jessica that many of them had a hard time adapting to life outside of the uniform.  He told her to be proud of that.  She was a hard worker too and could lift almost just as much (if not more sometimes) as most of the guys in the military could due to her training for lifeguarding.  They wore their rank and that was all they knew.  

"What are you doing here?" She asked him with a smile.

"Oh you know, came to see where you work and buy a beer.  It's nice here," he said looking around the bar.

"Right?  And I love that's right on the beach too.  Perfect to watch the sunset."

"Wait a minute," Pete said as he somewhat ignored what Jess had just said.  "Is that Penny Benjamin?" He asked shocked.

"Yeah, she's my boss.  Good luck with that," she patted him on the shoulder as she shook her head in amusement and left to go behind the bar and make more drinks for customers who had come up to her while she was talking to Pete.  

She didn't know what they were saying to each other but she imagined that Penny wasn't playing around this time.  There was more at stake this time.  Penny rang the bell which made everyone in the bar cheer and Jess knew that meant that Pete was paying for everyone's drinks. He must have said something to really piss her boss off.  She decided to save him from further embarrassment and walked over to the two.

"I would watch what I would say if I were you, Pete," Jessica said in a teasing way which made Penny snicker.  "If you say anymore it's man overboard."

"All I was going to say was that you look good, Pen," Pete told the brunette and Jess winced at what was about to happen.

"I warned you," Jessica tsk'd at her uncle as he looked confused and Penny wrung the bell as everyone cheered and two men in uniform came over.

"Disrespect a lady," Penny shook her head playfully with her arms crossed.  "Boys you know what to do," Penny told them and Jake smirked at Pete.  

"Sorry old timer, but it's time to throw you overboard now," Jake said not knowing he was speaking to his boss.

They picked him up and carried him out as the rest of the bar was chanting.  She tried to warn him.

"I can't believe you got her number," Phoenix groaned.

"Man, I wouldn't go there," Jake, otherwise known as Hangman, tells Bradley with a snarky tone to his voice and the pilot instantly tenses up.

"Oh yeah?  Why not?" Bradley asked annoyed that he was putting his nose in his business where it didn't belong.  

"You don't recognize the blonde?  That's the admiral's niece.  Yeah, he's super protective over her."

He wondered how he didn't recognize her.  She looked a lot like him in his younger years from the pictures he had seen.  Now that Jake said that it made sense but he would never admit it to him.  

Hearing Jake say that didn't make him not want Jessica.  If anything it made him want her even more.  

Besides, he liked a good challenge.  

Bradley unplugged the chord to the music playing which made some people groan.  Jess wondered what was happening until she saw Bradley and saw him going over to the piano.  He put his hands into position and Jess heard the keys to the piano start to play.

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain

Too much love drives a man insane 

You broke my will

But what a thrill

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!

Jessica started singing along to the tune as she did dance moves here and there.  Eventually she stopped working and danced with Penny but what Jess didn't notice that Penny did was that Pete was watching the scene of Bradley on the piano.  He had a forelon look on his face almost as if he knew the young man who was playing and singing.  Penny had never seen the man look like that before and she wanted to ask Jessica about it without coming in between the two's relationship.  She would never ask the woman to pick sides.  She wasn't petty like that.

"Hey, is Pete okay?" Penny asked Jessica once the cheering from the song died down.

"Is he still around?" Jess asked as she looked around, but didn't make it obvious that she was.

"I don't know.  He looked sad when he saw Bradley playing..."

"I know that song brings back sad memories for him but I don't know what it has to do with Bradley," the blonde shrugged her shoulders.  

Growing up with Pete around, he never mentioned anything to Jess about a young boy named Bradley.  It was too painful to even talk about Goose.  His wingman.  

--

Now is when the story really begins :).  So excited for this and I hope you guys are too!