I was in a bar. For the first time in my entire life, I was sitting down in a bar, and not a single person questioned whether I had the right to be there. Nobody had even asked to see my ID, or prove that I was old enough to drink.

At the moment, I was sitting at a small table with Jake and Dave, nursing a beer. I didn’t like the taste of the beer, and had only been taking small sips, but having one definitely helped me feel more grown-up. Of course, after having spent the last six days, working a real job, I was already feeling more like an adult. A tired adult at that.

Jake took a long drink of his beer, then set the glass down. “I’m not happy with the situation,” he told me with a worried look. “We need the money, but with us both working to earn it, I can’t protect you.”

“The best protection is to stay hidden,” I reminded Jake. “Those people have no way of knowing where we went, unless we do something stupid and draw attention.” Of course, Jake had told me the same thing whenever I became worried, so now it was my turn to remind him. “We just have to keep our heads down until we come up with a better plan.”

“Let me know if you two need anything more than a place to stay,” Dave said.

“You’ve already done a lot for us,” Jake told him with a faint smile. “If it hadn’t been for you, Pan and I would have been totally SOL.”

Dave shrugged at that, then grinned. “You can pay me back by buying the next round.”

I took a sip of my beer, then responded, “That sounds like a great deal to me.”

While we sat there drinking, we also talked about how our new jobs had been going. I complained about a couple rude customers, while Jake talked about the landscaping work he’d been helping with on one yard. Dave worked for the same small landscaping company, though he worked in the office, making appointments and taking care of paperwork.

“He’s a glorified receptionist,” Jake teased, after Dave described what he did.

“And I’m a not so glorified waitress,” I pointed out with a wry smile.

With that, I leaned back and took another sip of my beer, wondering what Aunt Dora and my parents would think of me and what I was doing. I didn’t know if they’d approve or not, but I supposed that it didn’t really matter at the moment. I was doing what I had to do, to keep myself safe and alive.

One advantage of my new job, was that I kept myself so busy, that I didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on the past or worry about the future. I had to take things one day at a time, which was about the only way I could stay sane.

“I’ve got to hit the ladies room,” I said, getting up with a sigh and starting towards the restrooms.

I paused at the restrooms, to glance back and forth between the signs. Then with a faint shake of my head, I went for the one that said ‘WOMEN’. After nearly sixteen years of experience going to the other restroom, doing so was almost automatic. I often had to remind myself that I no longer qualified to use that one. Fortunately, the constant weight on my chest helped me to remember.

When I was done relieving myself, I paused in front of the bathroom mirror to look myself over, and to touch up my makeup. I gave a wry smile at that, since it was such a cliché. However, all the makeup I was wearing for my goth punk look, required a bit of maintenance.

“Am I ever going to get used to this?” I quietly asked myself. Of course, there was no answer from my reflection. Then again, considering how strange my life had become, I probably wouldn’t have been too surprised if my reflection did start talking to me. “It wouldn’t be any weirder than anything else.”

A minute later, I left the bathroom and began to walk back to my table, when I suddenly saw a familiar face. “Danielle,” I called out to my coworker.

Danielle was sitting up at the bar, and immediately turned when I called her name. “Pan,” she responded with a friendly smile. “Trying to dull the pain of your first week at the diner with a little booze?”

“Something like that,” I responded with a chuckle. Then I gestured back towards my table and added, “Actually, I’m here with my boyfriend and his buddy. Do you want to sit with us?”

Danielle considered it for a moment before smiling. “Sure. Why not?”

Before we could actually go back to my table, two men came over almost blocked us in. They were giving us appreciative looks, and had smirking grins, which made their intentions immediately obvious.

“Ladies,” one of the men said. “I’m Tyler, and my wingman here is Dylan…”

I hadn’t been a woman for very long, but after working in the restaurant for a week, I’ve already had a little experience with being hit on. I had to put up with it at work, but wasn’t in the mood to deal with it right now.

“Sorry,” I said, quickly scrambling to come up with something I could say that might get them to leave me alone, without making a big scene. Then it came to me. “I’m here with my boyfriend…”

A lot of the time, claiming that Jake was my boyfriend was a bit awkward for me, even if that was our cover. But at the moment, I was thankful for the excuse.

“Well,” Tyler said with a broad grin. “If your boyfriend is leaving a lovely thing like you alone in here, maybe you need a new boyfriend.”

Danielle just laughed. “The least you could do is try to buy us drinks first.” Then she quickly said, “Pan and I are a little busy at the moment, but maybe later…”

“But we’re here right now,” Dynan said. He gestured to the bartender. “A couple drinks for the ladies…”

“I have to go,” I said, looking to get away from this increasingly uncomfortable scene, though the two men continued to remain in place, where it would be difficult to get past them.

“Come on, we’re buying you drinks,” Tyler said. “You owe us…”

I scowled at that, suddenly very tempted to pull out my gun and shoot him. I just might have done that too, if it wasn’t for the fact that my jacket, with the gun hidden in it, hadn’t been left at the table with Jake and Dave.

“We don’t owe you anything,” Danielle told them, suddenly looking angry. “So why don’t you take your nasty redneck asses, and get away from us.”

Tyler and Dylan looked offended at that, and I braced myself to fight them if I had to. I’d never been the kind of kid to get into fights at school, but ever since going to spend spring break with Aunt Dora, I’d learned that sometimes, violence came, wither you wanted it or not.

Suddenly, a new voice asked, “Is there a problem here?”

I looked at the speaker and was surprised to see Tom Adams, the so-called ‘ladies man’ from the diner. He looked Danielle and I over with a somewhat lecherous look, that was a little too close for comfort, to what Tyler and Dylan possessed.

“Oh great,” Danielle muttered, giving Tom a look that clearly said that she wasn’t sure if this might help us, or just make things worse. I knew exactly what she meant.

“No problem unless you want to start one,” Tyler said.

Tom just stood there, though one hand went into his pocket, which made me suspect that he might have a weapon. I narrowed my eyes and glanced between him and the other two.

I remember my mom had once said something about what happens when men get testosterone poisoning, which had never made any sense to me before. But now, I suddenly understood exactly what she was talking about.

“Men,” I said with a snort, fully aware of how ironic that was.

“I think we can all settle this reasonably,” Tom said, looking more than a little cocky. “The ladies can go with whomever THEY want…” He looked pretty certain of himself.

Danielle and I shared a look of annoyance. “You do realize we don’t want to deal with any of you,” I pointed out.

“Oh, don’t say that,” Tom responded with smirk.

His hand went into his pocket again, and suddenly, I felt a strange dizziness for just a moment. I blinked and shook it off.

“We’ve known each other for awhile,” Tom said, reaching out to gently touch Danielle’s arm. There was a flash of triumph in his eyes. He turned to me, still looking pretty sure of himself. “And you know me… We met this week…”

Tom reached out to touch my arm as well, but I stepped back, not wanting to touch any of them. He frowned for a moment, looking annoyed, but he quickly forced a smile again.

“Hey, don’t be like that,” Tom started, reaching out to put a hand on my arm again.

But just then, a hand came down on my shoulder from behind me, nearly making me jump until I saw that it was Jake, who’d slipped into the pocket of people from the side. “Is there a problem here?” Jake asked, repeating the same thing that Tom had said. However, I was much more comforted by Jake’s interference than I had been from Tom’s.

“This isn’t any concern of yours,” Tom snapped, glaring at Jake.

Jake met his gaze. “Considering that Pan is my girlfriend, I think it is my concern.”

“Fuck this shit,” Tyler exclaimed. “These bitches aren’t worth this hassle…”

“I’m with you on that,” Dylan agreed.

With that, Tyler and Dylan gave Danielle and I looks of annoyance, and then Tyler glared at Tom for a moment, before the two of them turned and walked away. I let out a sigh of relief that at least part of the situation had been dealt with, but Tom was still standing there.

Tom gave Jake another glare, then turned his attention to Danielle, his expression turning smug again. “So, Danielle,” he said with a smarmy grin. “Do you wanna have a drink or two with me?”

“No way,” Danielle responded, giving Tom a look of distaste. However, in spite of that, she stepped closer to him instead.

“Come on,” I said, reaching out for her arm and gently leading her towards our table. As we sat down, I said, “This is Jake, and you’ve met Dave…”

“He’s a regular,” Danielle agreed, giving Dave a friendly smile.

“Nice to see you away from work,” Dave told her with a smile of his own.

“Yeah,” Danielle agreed. “It’s nice to be away from work too.”

I nodded at that and scooted my chair closer to Jake. It wasn’t until that moment, that I realized just how attractive he was. I stared at him, barely hearing what anyone was saying.

After a minute, Danielle stood up and apologized, “Sorry, but can’t stay…” She stared across the bar, then licked her lips.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Just fine,” she answered, before hurrying away.

I watched my friend and coworker leave, but immediately turned my attention back to Jake. He put his arm around me and looked into my eyes with a burning hunger on his face.

Dave laughed. “Get a room you two…”

Jake and I just continued to stare at each other, and I felt my heart racing as I did so. My whole body flushed, and responded in ways that were familiar yet alien at the same time. I was really getting turned on, which confused and excited me at the same time.

“You’re so beautiful,” Jake said, looking just as caught up in this sudden wave of desire as I was.

Before I could say anything back, he kissed me. As turned on as I had already been, I suddenly became even more so. My panties were soaked through and my nipples felt like a pair of tiny erections. I wanted Jake, more than I’d ever wanted anyone else in my life. And from the way Jake was kissing me, he felt the same.

“I mean it,” Dave said with a chuckle. “Get a room you two…”

Jake and I pulled away from each other, though it wasn’t easy. I blinked, trying to clear my thoughts, though it wasn’t easy. Everything around me was hazy with the fog of desire, so that the only thing that really seemed to matter was this gorgeous man in front of me.

“I think we should go,” Jake said. All I could do was nod in agreement.

It didn’t take long for Jake and I to get back to Dave’s house, and back to our basement living area. We continued touching each other the entire way, as if we couldn’t get enough physical contact. Then, as soon as we had a little privacy, we were drawn into each other’s arms, like a pair of magnets.

At this point, I was hungry for Jake, in a way that I’d never been hungry for anyone before in my life. A small part of me was shocked and disturbed by the things I was feeling and doing, but that part was drowned out by my needs and desires. I wanted Jake. I NEEDED Jake. And by God, I was going to have him.

Clothes went flying as we stumbled towards the bedroom, unable to take our hands or lips off each other. By the time we hit the bed, there were no thoughts left, only passion and desire.