~ Noah ~

A hand patted my shoulder and I turned towards its owner. Erik leaned down, raising his voice so I could hear him over the pumping music.

"That guy," he discreetly pointed at a man who was standing at the far edge of the bar, "likes to complain. A lot. Just listen and nod, but if you see him rubbing his shoulders, call for Mac or Gracie. The dude does that when he's had one too many and then he starts picking up fights."

"Thanks for the heads up," I shouted.

He nodded and looked about. No one was waiting for drinks, so he filled me in on what the regulars liked and who I should watch out for.

"And that one," this time he indicated at a blond, "likes to flirt with the bartenders."

"I'm not usually into blonds," I said as I leaned my hip against the bar. "Except maybe Scandinavians. There's just something about them."

"I'm Scandinavian. Sort of. My parents moved here from Sweden so I have the Scandinavian gene."

"I've noticed." I winked at him. Erik smiled and his shoulders shook as if he'd chuckled. He'd probably had, I just couldn't hear him with all the noise from the club.

"Sorry, dude. My sister is the gay one in the family," he reminded me, referring to one of the waitresses - Jess, who also happened to be Gracie's girlfriend.

"I can still enjoy the scenery, can't I?" I asked just as a group of about half a dozen guys approached and placed their order, cutting off our conversation and prompting us to get back to work.

The rest of the night was going on well with people coming and going, ordering sometimes in groups, sometimes just a couple of drinks. It wasn't slow enough for Erik to give me more pointers between patrons, but it wasn't fast enough for me to get anxious or tired. That would change, if I got through my probation period and started working the weekends. I didn't want to be anxious and tired, but more clients meant more tips and I could use the money. My other job at the grocery store didn't exactly help me build up savings for old age. Or even for a nice vacation.

I took a half-empty vodka bottle from the bar and turned around to put it in its place next to the other beverages on the shelves. By the time I turned back, someone new had approached. Someone new, yet someone I'd already met.

The handsome guy I'd pulled away from the speeding car a week ago stood frozen between two stools, his mouth opened in surprise or shock - I couldn't tell - his rounded eyes staring into mine, and for a moment all I could do was stare back.

And then I panicked.

I panicked because he'd obviously recognized me and my sudden presence around him would remind him of the time we'd first met, and he'd freak out, and then he'd make a scene, and then Ash will be angry, and then he'd fire me, and then I'd lose a promising job with co-workers I was quickly getting attached to...

Or maybe he wouldn't freak out, but he'd tell everyone what had happened and they'd make a big deal of it, and I'd feel awkward.

"What are you having?" I hurried to ask to distract him.

Think of the alcohol, not of me.

Heck, I was prepared to pay for his drink as long as that kept him quiet.

He closed his mouth, gulped, opened his mouth again...

This was not going well.

~ Dex ~

Say something, say something, say something...

But I couldn't. All I could do was wonder what the fuck he was doing here, realize that hey, he's behind the bar so he must be the new guy Jess told me about, and then wonder what were the odds of this happening. The gorgeous man who'd saved my life and ran off before I could say thank you was now here, working for my brother.

'Cute' Jess had called him; 'breathtaking' was closer to the truth, but even that didn't quite cover it.

The lithe body of a dancer, the soft jaw line, the beautiful lips that formed a wide mouth that was a work of art on its own, and the eyes that looked... Impatient?

That was new.

"What are you having?" He repeated and once again I had to strain to form a coherent thought that would not lead to me blurting out 'you are gorgeous'.

I placed the empty glass on the bar top, opened my mouth and this time managed "A drink."

I sounded like an idiot - what else would I be there for? - so I hastily added: "I'm not sure what you made me before. Jess said you made it. Jess is the waitress. Tall, blond bob. I mean, she's tall, the bob is short. She brought it. The drink, I mean. My drink that you made."

"Okay..." He enunciated slowly, looking at me like I was crazy, drunk, or both. "I have no idea what you just said."

I took a couple of deep breaths and tried again: "I wasn't sure what I wanted to drink, so Jess, the waitress, said she'd ask Erik to make me something. Apparently he was busy, because she said you made it instead."

"Sorry, but I'll need more than that. I've made quite a few drinks tonight."

"Of course you have," I muttered, and he leaned closer, probably thinking my words had been meant for him. "It was minty and refreshing, and had a light green color." I was sure the description fit a good number of beverages, but I hoped he'd figure it out.

"Oh! The one for..." He suddenly clamped his mouth shut.

"The one for...?" I prompted.

"Never mind. I remember what I made you." He took a few bottles off the shelves behind him and began to pour the different liquids in the glass I'd left for a refill. "This cocktail is something I made up, but I haven't given it a name yet."

"What did Jess say? When she asked you to make this drink?"

He glanced up at me only for a second, then lowered his head and kept working on the concoction.

"She's a friend; I'm not going to get her fired," I reassured him, but the only answer I got was 'Good to know'.

"Seriously..." I racked my brain for his name. Jess had mentioned it; why the Hell had I not paid attention?

"Here you go." He slid the beverage towards me. "That will be..."

"Oh, Dex doesn't need to pay for his drinks." Erik joined us, leaning sideways on the bar. "He is Ash's brother, after all."

The younger guy had been avoiding looking at me while he'd been making my drink, but his head shot up at the other bartender's words. He stared at me with probably the same stunned expression I'd had when I'd decided that I'd been acting silly for avoiding the new guy and came here to order refill of the delicious cocktail he'd made.

"What is..." I heard Erik start, but my savior cut him off with 'I'll take my break now, okay, Erik?' before dashing away from us.

"Noah?" Erik called after him.

"Noah," I repeated and ran after the guy whose name I'd finally learned. Through the dance floor, then into one of the several narrow hallways, then into the staff room.

"You can't be here," he said once I walked in and closed the door. Then he shook his head and snorted. "What am I saying? Of course you can. Your brother owns the place."

He was pacing between the two rows of lockers. Back and forth. Back and forth.

"Noah, what's wrong?" I stepped towards him and he stopped.

"Don't tell Ash, okay?" He blurted.

I blinked, having no clue what he meant.

"Don't tell Ash what?"

"That I pulled you away from that car."

"Are you kidding me?" I laughed. Why was he so worried? "He'd offer you a raise, if he knew you saved his beloved baby brother."

"Exactly." He also took a step towards me and now we were no more than two feet apart. The realization of that made me inexplicably tense.

"I'm on a trial period. I don't want people to think I got the job as a special privilege because of you."

"Oh." That made sense. Perfect sense. I wouldn't want to be in such a position either. "Thank you. For saving me. And I'm sorry I didn't say it back then, or say anything at all, and that I was acting..."

He raised his hand for me to stop.

"You were in shock; no need to apologize." Noah came one step closer, tilted his head and with the same concern in his eyes as on that day, he asked: "How are you now?"

His voice was soft. My knees went week.

"I'm..." I licked my lips, the desire to fan myself almost overwhelming though I fought it. Why was it so hot in here?

"Dex?" He reached out to me, his arm gracefully falling on my shoulder and the temperature in the room rising...

The door opened, slamming against the wall.

"The fuck is going on?" My brother demanded, closing the door. No slam now. He must've been in a hurry before and not pissed off. Looking at him, he seemed more to be feeling suspicious than anything else.

"Erik said you two were acting weird and ran away from him. So?" He crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his chin. For a guy of less than average height, he could look rather intimidating. But I knew better.

"Never mind, Ash. I just need to talk to Noah for a bit." I waved him off. Dismissed him from a room he owned, but since it was me, I could get away with it. But I didn't get the desired result.

"About?" He raised one eyebrow in a typical Ash manner.

I glanced at Noah, who had moved - more like jumped - away once my brother had barged in. The boy was tense. He didn't trust me to keep his secret. Our secret. I felt an odd sense of joy that we shared something, had something that no one else knew about. But the reason I'd keep quiet about it was because he'd asked me to. And I wanted to do this for him.

"None of your business, bro."

"If you two are banging..."

"Ash!" I shouted, glancing at Noah who looked even more stiff than before.

"What?" My brother uncrossed his arms. "I don't shag the staff, but I have nothing against them shagging each other or you."

"You didn't want the staff to shag. You just accepted it because you wanted both Gracie and Jess to work for you."

"Don't attempt to distract me, Dex. So?"

I sighed. "Noah and I are not shagging."

"Then?" He kept pressing.

"We've met before. That's all I'm going to say. We are not shagging, but we've met before and were surprised to see each other here."

My brother narrowed his eyes, his gaze shifting from my face to Noah's then back to mine.

"That can't be all," he finally concluded.

I groaned. "Ash, just drop it..."

"I'm not going to drop it, Dex! You are acting weird. You've been acting weird for the past week, but that's understandable since..." He paused as realization manifested onto his features. His head snapped towards Noah. "You saved my brother."

It hadn't been a question, but nevertheless, Noah gave him a slow reluctant nod.

"I got the call from the hospital just as you left here, and Dex said the guy who saved him was young, and gorgeous, and got injured, and I'd just seen you injured, and how the fuck did I not make the connection before?" He shouted the last part. "You are hired, you know that, right?" He asked sharply, but the anger was aimed at his own stupidity, not at Noah who was vigorously shaking his head.

"Oh, no, no, no!"

"What do you mean 'no'? You need a second job and want to work in my club, right?"

"Yes, but not like this! I want to earn my place."

"Oh." The sound coming from my brother's mouth was almost identical to the one I'd produced a few minutes ago. He looked at Noah with a new dose of respect and said, "I was going to suggest you came here next weekend and if you managed rush hour, I was going to give you the job anyway. Guess I'll stick to that plan."

Noah visibly relaxed and gave another nod.

"Now back to work. Come on, off you go." He made shooing motions until Noah left and the two of us ended up alone.

"He didn't want preferential treatment, so he asked me to be quiet," was what I broke the brief silence with.

"Okay." Ash leaned on the now closed door.

"There's something on your mind, I can tell."

"Do you still think he's gorgeous?"

"W-what? " I stuttered.

"That's how you described him at the hospital. Like some ethereal being descending upon Earth to save you."

"I was high, okay? They gave me something while I was there."

"Mhmm."

With a sigh, I leaned on one of the lockers. "What is it Ash?"

"Just don't confuse gratitude for some sort of affection, okay?"

And there it was. Most of my friends thought I could get over Julian, if I dated others; while my brother insisted I could still have a happily ever after with someone, he was also extremely suspicious of anyone who caught my eye. He'd always been that way, even pre-Julian, but more so after our breakup. Ash had been there to see me cry - and yes, I had cried, quite pathetically, in fact - to see my reddened eyes and the dark circles beneath them that gave away my sleepless nights, to see the way I'd moved like a phantom from room to room, avoiding everyone and not being able to smile for months.

"Don't worry; I know better than to fall for anyone."

I thought I'd see relief in his eyes. And I did. Some measure of relief. But I also saw sadness and the anger that was always apparent when we so much as hinted about Julian and I. My chest warmed up as I remembered how I'd had to hold Ash back from going after that bastard to 'mess him the fuck up' as my brother had put it. If there was any chance Ash would've won that fight, perhaps I would've let him do it.

-----

Boy, my guys are a lot more dramatic than I remember! Seriously, have I always used this many exclamation marks in my writing?

Anyway... I hope you enjoyed my dramatic boys. They will be back next weekend. Until then, tell me what you think of them and the new (old) story.

Thank you for reading! ❤

Oh, and should I make that who is who/relationship chart?

Spoiler-free, of course.