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Aurora vaguely watched the passing car lights as she drove her rental car back towards her hometown. The town was where she had grown up as a child. She never saw a reason to leave it. That was until that dreaded night five years prior. Aurora, or Rory as her friends like to call her, hated to dwell on the past. No good came of it. She taught herself that she needed to move forward. Whatever the cost. She had a son who depended solely on her and she would move heaven and earth for him. 

Aurora was returning from a business trip. Thankfully her mother had agreed to watch Elijah, her five-year-old son. Aurora had only agreed to the trip with the prospect of landing one of the biggest deals of her career. However, when she arrived, the customer had an entirely different idea of how the deal was going to be closed. Aurora had quickly set him straight and jump in her rental car to return home. She had ignored both the customer and her boss’s calls the entire drive. 

Now that she was almost home the weight of the day’s events weighed heavily on her. Without thinking, Aurora noticed a nice-looking bar to her right and pulled into the parking lot. She grabbed her handbag off the passenger seat and walked through the front glass doors. 

The atmosphere was sophisticated but not too grand. Aurora was thankful it was not a dive bar inside. She saw that the stools at the bar were mostly empty. She was glad about that as well. She did not feel like making small talk with strangers. 

As she took a seat at the bar, she noticed a handsome bartender at the other end. He was placing a drink in front of another patron before turning his bright blue eyes on her. Aurora was frozen for a moment. He was possibly one of the most attractive men she had ever laid on eyes. His hair was dark and cut short, but not short enough that one could not run their fingers through it. Aurora shook her head quickly. Why on earth would she think that? 

"Good evening." He spoke. He stood there for a moment. A small smile played on his lips as he watched her. He must be waiting for her to order. 

"Hello. Can I please get a Pisco Sour?" Aurora asked. The man stood there for a moment longer. When Aurora made no more to add anything else, he nodded quickly and began to make her drink. 

"Long day?" He asked as he made conversation while his hands were busy. Aurora could not help but watch his movements. 

"You could say that." She scoffed as she recalled her reason for even stopping into the bar. 

"Care to unburden yourself? It is what bartenders are for. Not sure if you were aware?" The man was not being snide but friendly. Aurora chuckled.

"I don’t believe that your shift is long enough for that burden." The man winked at her as he responded. Aurora once more could not stop herself from thinking how gorgeous he was. His muscles rippled underneath his black t-shirt that fit him like a second skin. 

"I have all the time in the world." Aurora took a breath, and she did something that she swore she would never do again. She said what the hell. Why not? It was not as if she was going to see this man again. 

"Fine. You asked for it." Aurora said as he put the drink down in front of her. She took a sip and licked her lips. There was an odd expression that passed the man’s face. But as quickly as it was there, it was gone. Aurora thought that she must have imagined it. 

"Well, I had to make a day trip to travel for my work. There was a large business deal on the table that I needed to handle in person otherwise it would have been given to someone else." She began. She could feel her phone vibrating in her handbag next to her. She chose to ignore it once more. 

"What do you do for work?" The man asked. He set his hands on the bar and leaned on them as if Aurora was the only important thing in the bar. The action unsettled her slightly. Instead of backing off though she knew that she needed to get it off her chest. It was the reason for stopping in for a drink. She did not want to take it home with her. She also did not want to tell her mother about it either. Her mother had already voiced her dislike of going to meet a client on her own. 

"I am in sales. Technology sales to be exact." The man’s eyes widen slightly. "Yes, I know, you never would have guessed." Aurora said, reading his mind. She got that reaction often. "Anyways, I drove for hours to meet this big wig and when I got there, we were sitting down for lunch, only the man did not want to discuss the deal at all. Instead, he put his hand on my knee and wanted to discuss how I was going to get the deal." Aurora could not help the disgusted shiver that ran down her spine. She quickly took another drink. 

The man did not say anything. Instead, he seemed upset at what she had just told him. But why would that be? He did not know her. She was nothing to this man except a customer of the bar currently. The man took a few breaths before saying anything.

"I am sorry that you were put in that type of situation. How did the man react?" he asked as he grabbed a glass and began to dry it. It seemed that he needed some kind of distraction. 

Aurora shrugged as she was sure he wanted out of the conversation. He must have been sorry that he asked. "I walked out of there in a matter of seconds. Anyways he and my boss have been calling but I need to cool down before addressing either of them." Aurora picked up her glass and brought it to her lips. She assumed the man would walk off to help someone else. 

Instead, he set the glass down and folded the towel in front of him as he leaned on the bar once more and regarded Aurora. She walked him over the rim of her glass. Why was it that he seemed he had nothing better to do than listen to her problem?

"Your boss should not have put you in that situation to begin with." He finally said. Aurora agreed. She had asked him that when she found out about the meeting in the first place. If it was that large of a deal, why was he not meeting the man himself? She had not questioned her boss though. She had made that mistake in the past, but she could not afford to lose another job. Elijah depended on her and she would make certain to give him the best life a two-parent household could. Even though she was his only parent. 

Aurora and the man discussed the incident for a little while longer. Aurora was surprised how much talking with him had helped her to calm down. After her drink she finally felt able to make her way home and see her son and mother without losing her temper about what had happened. 

"Thank you for your ear." Aurora said as she handed him her card. He swiped it quickly and handed it back to her. 

"No problem at all. Wish I could do more." Aurora wasn’t sure why, but her mind suddenly flashed very inappropriate images of him "helping her". Aurora shook her head and stepped off the stool. She grabbed her bag and left the bar. 

The drink helped her to not feel so much of the cold outside as she walked back to her black rental car.

She reminded herself that she needed to return it in the morning. She had rented it for this trip as she did not want to put even more miles into her own car. She expected that thing to last her quite a few more years and if her job was willing to expense a rental car, then why not?

Aurora was digging the keys out of her bag when she heard footsteps from behind her. She whirled around quickly with the keys interlocked between her fingers in a attempt to detour a mugger. The man from the bar stood not too far off. He threw his hands up in mock surrender. 

"Sorry. You left without grabbing your card." His hand went out in front of him and showed the white color of her credit card. She sighed and reached for it. 

"Thank you. Sorry for pointing my deadly keys at you." The man chuckled as Aurora slipped her card into her bag. 

"My name is Arden by the way." The man held his hand out to Aurora. She shook it hesitantly. 

"Aurora." She responded.

"That is a beautiful name." Arden commented. There was a moment of silence before Arden spoke again.

"Please do not think of me being too forward, and let me reassure you that I do not do this often, but would you be willing to have dinner with me tomorrow night? I understand if you decline given the circumstances around your ordeal today." Aurora regarded the man. He did not seem like the serial killer type. But who did really? She could not remember the last time that she went on a actual date. Her mind reminded her that it was about 5 years ago. 

She sighed as she thought of Elijah and how he has had to grow up without a father so far in his life. Not that Aurora thought this man was going to be his father. But she could not continue life any longer without at least trying. It was not fair to Elijah. 

She looked back at the man once more. If nothing else maybe it would at least be a nice time that she could forget who she was and her burdens. At least for a couple of hours. She slowly began to nod her head. The man broke out a large smile across his face, making it even more handsome, if that was even possible.

"Great. Meet me here tomorrow at 6?" Aurora nodded once more and turned around to get into her car. What had she just agreed to? Dinner with a man that she just met. She told herself it wasn’t much different than going on a first date with a man you met online. Alot of her friends had tried their hand at online dating. Not that it had turned out good for any of them. At least in this case, Aurora knew what the man really looked like.