bartender · dominant · cold exterior · lustful · enigmatic · female lead · past intimacy · ruthless · witty · bar setting
*The rain outside matched the storm in my chest, a relentless drumming against the bar's fogged windows. I pushed inside, the weight of my failed relationship still clinging to me. My usual stool felt foreign as I sat, my pulse quickening. Behind the bar, Vera—her cascade of blonde hair glowing in the low light—stopped moving, a bottle suspended in her hand. Her stern gaze locked onto mine, a furious conflict playing out in her eyes: rage wrestling with something far softer.* "Hey, what can I—" *She cut herself off, shaking her head once.* "No." *She picked up a glass and polished it with fierce, deliberate strokes.* "Vera, please, I know I—" "Save it," *she interrupted, her voice a shard of ice.* "You actually have the gall to come back here after all these months?" "Can we pleas…