As usual, I'm off to work. Sometimes it gets real boring, just sitting in there for hours on end, not being able to do much. But I do enjoy the music and most of the people that come in during the day. I'm going to try and make it to get some coffee before work. After all I did get up super early so I could have some extra time to spend there this morning. I grab my keys off the counter, pass my fingers through my long black hair, and make my way down to the ground floor. I wander to my car, a beat up old Chevy pickup I've had since I was 16, so it's been in my possession for about 9 years now. I fire it up and hope to avoid the heavy traffic that usually fills up the streets by this time in the morning. After about 10 minutes, I finally arrive. I park the truck out front and walk into the little cafe that's more of a home to me than my own apartment.

"Good morning, Beth. How are you on this fine Wednesday?" Madeline, my best friend who just so happens to be my roommate, calls from behind the counter. She's been working here for about a year, and lucky for her, she works from 5:00 in the morning to noon. Whereas I work from 9:30 to 5:00 at the record store. But I can't complain too much. It does pay the rent.

"Not bad, Madeline. Not bad." I reply.

"Usual?"

"Yeah that'd be great."

She makes quick work, filling up a cup of coffee so dark it looks black as night, then passes me a jar of sugar. She knows me so well. The place is buzzing with quite a few people today. I don't know why but I've noticed Wednesdays tend to be the busiest. I sip my coffee while I read the paper I had tucked in my bag from when I left the apartment. I hear the familiar chime of the door as someone comes in. I don't think much of it, a lot of people come and go, especially during the hour I usually spend here in the mornings. Surprisingly though, whoever it is sits on the tall bar stool next to me. I glance up, and before me is a gorgeous man. I almost choke on my coffee when I see him. Long, wavy light brown hair cascades down past his shoulders to his mid back. Slim figure, dressed in a silk shirt as blue as the sky itself and quite the pair of leather jeans. A pair of aviator sunglasses rests atop his head. My mind immediately jumps to one conclusion. He's gotta be a rock musician. But it's peculiar to me. I've never seen him before. And considering I work in a record store, I would think his name or at least his band would have come to me by now, but nothing emerges.

"Hi there, what might I get for ya?" Madeline asks him.

"Just straight black coffee is fine. Thank you." His smooth voice flows like silk through the air.

Madeline pours a cup and places it in front of him.

"Thanks." he mutters.

Madeline grins at me and winks. Obviously noticing how ridiculously long I've not been paying attention to my own coffee let alone the paper I have gripped tight between my fingertips.

Finally the man turns his face in my direction and it feels almost as if my heart stops. Warm hazel eyes meet my gaze, and he smiles so bright I feel like I might just fall right off of this rickety old chair.

"Hi." I mutter, not knowing what else to say, as much as my brain wants to say 'your eyes are gorgeous' I know I can't say that to a man I just met. Especially when I don't even know his name yet.

"Hi," he grins back, "Anything decent in the paper today?" He says, obviously trying to lighten the mood and make conversation.

"Oh, y'know. Just the usual yammer about politics." I chuckle.

"That's what I figured. But hey it doesn't hurt to ask, right?"

"Definitely. I-I don't think I caught your name." I reply.

"It's Miljenko. But some people call me Mili, others Mike. Really depends on who you ask. What's yours?"

He's definitely European. Definitely European.

"It's Beth."

"Beth," he purrs my name, "such a pretty name."

"Thanks," I smile, "so Miljenko. Quite the name, is it European?"

"Yeah. I was born in Croatia. Actually spent the first 6 and a half years of my life living there."

"Oh that sounds interesting. Really neat name by the way, I like it."

"Well thanks, Beth." He grins, taking a quick sip of his coffee.

"Of course. So, what do you do for a living, Miljenko?"

"I'm a singer. In a band called Steelheart. Let me guess, the hair and the clothes spoke for themselves, huh?"

"Yeah I saw your hair first and figured you had to be in some sort of a band."

"Yeah we're actually working on our first album."

"Oh really? That's great! And no wonder I couldn't put a finger on what band you might have been from. You see, I work in a record store a few doors down, so I tend to know a lot about all the popular bands out these days."

"Is that so? Sounds like fun. If I wasn't singin' I'd want to definitely be in that job."

"Yeah it's pretty nice, a little tedious sometimes but it's worth the time."

"I would imagine so." He finishes off what's left of his coffee and slides the cup towards the inner edge of the counter. Madeline swiftly takes it from him and walks away.

"So you sing?"

"Yeah, ever since I was young. Guess it's my gift, you could say."

"Yeah, maybe I'll have to listen sometime." I smile softly.

"You know, I'd love for you to hear. Why don't you call me tonight," he pulls a pen from his pocket and scribbles out his number on a napkin next to him, "and I'll let you know when we could arrange something like that."

"Sounds great!" Holy shit. This man, this gorgeous man who just so happens to be in a band gave me his phone number. As much as I try to hide my blush, he grins at the redness flushing my cheeks.

"You know, Beth. You're pretty cute. I might just have to ask you out sometime," he flips his watch around his wrist to face him, "but unfortunately I've gotta get going. But I'll talk to you tonight."

"O-Okay." I try my best not to smile too much.

"See ya." He smiles widely, leaving the $3 for the coffee on the bar as he walks out of the shop. I can't help myself but I watch him stride away, his long brown hair tousling gracefully behind him in the wind.

Madeline's voice behind me snaps me out of my daze, "Beth?"

I swivel the chair back towards her, "Uh, yeah?"

"Wh-what just happened with that guy?" She gives me a puzzled yet hopeful look.

"Well. He's a musician, and he, ah, sorta gave me his phone number so I could come hear him sing. And then he told me I was cute and he might have to ask me out sometime." I giggle.

"You've gotta be shitting me. Are you serious? That man, that gorgeous man is interested in you, Beth of Jackson's Records, who barely makes enough money to pay the rent?"

"Well yeah, I guess you could say that." I grin sarcastically at her.

"I swear, things in this town get harder and harder to believe with every day that I wake up to."

"No kidding. And hey, you're not the only shocked one here. I'm pretty shocked too. I don't know why Miljenko's interested in me of all people. And unless it's some awfully cruel joke, I guess I've gotta accept the fact that it is true. I mean after all that is what I'm hoping. For it to be as true as it seems."

"Uh-huh. Wait what'd you say his name was?" She raises her eyebrows.

"Miljenko."

"What?"

"You heard me." I smirk at her.

"Damn. Is he European or something?"

"Croatian to be exact." I stir the spoon in my coffee, dissolving a little more sugar into what's left of it.

"Damn, Beth. I think you've found yourself a keeper."

"I think I have." I sigh.

"What time do you have to be at work?" She looks at her watch.

"9:30, why?"

"Darling it's almost 9:15."

"Shit! And I was going to try to be early today so Mark would let me go a little earlier tonight!"

"Well, I guess you better get going then, huh?"

"Yeah. Jesus if it hadn't been for you I probably would've been impossibly late. Thanks for that. I gotta go!" I reply as I frantically shove all of my stuff into my bag and head out the door, leaving the last bit of my coffee on the counter with a couple crumpled bills. Even though the record store is only a couple doors down, I can't be late, not a single second late. Especially not today. I grab the door handle and swing it open to the familiar sound of classic rock over the speakers and the familiar sight of shelves upon shelves loaded with records. Home sweet home.

For once in my life, the hours fly by like minutes. Before I know it, I hear Mark calling me from the office behind my cashier's desk.

"Beth?"

"Yeah, Mark, what's up?"

"It's about 4:50. I thought that since you got here a couple minutes early this morning since you literally ran here, I'd let you go a few minutes early. Have a good night, kiddo."

Mark is more of a father figure to me than my real father ever was. He's old enough to be my father too, nicer and more responsible than either of my parents. Thank God for that. "Thanks, Mark. Unbelievable that I was early considering the rush I was in, but thanks. I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning."

"Alright, drive safe."

"Thanks." I wave to him as I clock out, walking down the block to where I parked my truck this morning. I pop the keys in the door, hassling the old rusty lock until it finally springs open. I hop up into the driver's seat and fire up the engine, speeding away down the busy street to the apartment. I shuffle in the door, and for once I don't head straight to the couch. I head straight for the phone hung up on the wall. This time for a purpose other than listening to my mother yammer on about how much of a dick my father is, which is true, and how much she wishes I would do something more with my life than work some 'kid job' as she puts it. No, not this time. This time I pull out the napkin I tucked in my pocket with Miljenko's phone number scribed on it's surface. I dial the number, pressing the receiver to my ear, listening to the echoing dial tone until someone picks up.

"Hello?" the smooth voice I remember from this morning answers.

"Hey, Miljenko, it's Beth."

"Oh hi, Beth," I can hear his smile in his voice, "so I talked to the guys and we were wondering if Friday works for you to come out here to hear us play, sound good?"

"Yeah, absolutely, I'll be there. I'm off tomorrow anyways." I grin from behind the receiver.

"Good. And, ah, if you're up for it, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to go out tonight. I won't keep you out too late, I promise."

"I'd love to."

"Great! I'll pick you up at 6:30, okay?"

"Alright. I live at that big tall apartment building off 6th. Apartment number 7B."

"Alright I'll see you soon then."

"See ya." I hang up the phone, silently smiling to myself.

"Hey Madeline?"

"Yeah?" I hear her call from her room.

"Miljenko's going to pick me up at 6:30. And I'm going to hear him sing and his band play on Friday."

"Ooh, I see you two are making quick work getting to know each other." She emerges from the doorway of her room, crossing her arms and grinning devilishly at me.

"Shut up," I chuckle, "are you doing anything with Jack tonight?"

"No we didn't plan anything but since you'll be gone maybe I'll call him."

"Okay. I better get ready."

"Pimp away, girl." She giggles and disappears back into her room. As I scurry to my room, the master bedroom, I hear her talking to Jack on the phone. From the sounds of it, the two of them are not going to want me present tonight. Which will be fine. Until it comes to me needing to get some sleep.
I sigh and roll my eyes at the cheesy comments Madeline says that are clearly audible through the paper thin walls. I try to ignore it, popping on some headphones and cranking the volume up to maximum. I pop my Megadeth Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? CD into the player, drowning myself in the music. I work around the annoying cord as I put on some makeup. I try to keep it minimal, despite how much I'm into wearing very bold makeup. I finish it up, staring at my reflection to make sure it all looks even. My stark blue eyes stare back at me in the smooth glass. I turn, wandering out of the bathroom and into my closet. I pass my fingers over the rows of all different colors. I stop on a short kelly green dress. I grab the hook of the hanger, a grating sound emitting from the metal moving off of the iron rod. I change into the dress, and slip my feet into some black tights, finishing off my look with a pair of shiny black heels. I throw my keys, wallet, and an extra lipstick into a small black purse, throwing the strap over my shoulder.

Just about then, I hear the doorbell. I pace out of the room, unlock the front door, and grip my hand around the ice cold brass. I twist the handle and open the door to a familiar face. Miljenko. He smiles at me, making my heart melt like butter.

"For you." He hands me a bouquet of white daisies.

"Aww this is so thoughtful! I love them," I smile at him, sniffing the flowers, "let me get a vase for these before we go." I scurry the few feet into the kitchen, filling a wide red vase with water, gently arranging the flowers to fit into it.

"You look nice." He looks me up and down.

"Thanks, you look pretty well yourself." I chuckle, he's wearing the same outfit I saw him in earlier this morning. But that's just fine with me.

"Ready?"

"Yeah," I reply, then turn my head towards the direction of Madeline's room, and I shout, "Madeline! I'm going now, I'll see you later!"

"Okay!" I hear her shrill yell travel down the hallway.

Miljenko and I step over the threshold of the door, and I lock it. He leads me to his car, a beautiful black El Comino.

"Nice ride."

"Thanks. It sure is a keeper." He grins as he opens to passenger side door for me.

I step in, "Thank you."

"No problem." He smiles as he closes the door and walks around to the driver's side. He fires up the engine and we drive down the twilight lit street. He pops on the radio and a Cinderella song, The Last Mile, plays through the speakers.

"I love this song." I smile.

"Me too. They're an awesome band. One of my favorites." He replies as he changes lanes on the road.

"No way! They're my favorite."

"Really? That's awesome."

"Yeah I love them to death."

He smiles, then pulls off the highway and down a busy side street to one of the local bars. He pops the keys out of the ignition and tucks them into his pocket.

"Hope this is okay." He grimaces a little.

"It's great." I give him a reassuring smile and my heart flutters when I feel his hand reach for mine, grasping it with just the slightest bit of force. Enough to assure me he is only for me and none of the other girls that may be whoring around the bar.

As we enter, I'm shocked to see that it's fairly empty, except for a few people. When we walk in, I see the back of someone, with super long, curly bleach-blonde hair sitting up at the bar. Miljenko gently pulls me in the direction of the individual, and when we get close, he swivels around in hair chair, beer in hand.

"John, what're you doing here, man?" Miljenko asks him.

"Well, uh, I had nothing better to do." He chuckles, then sees me and winks.

"Oh, sorry, Beth. This is John, the drummer in my band."

"John, John Fowler. Nice to meet you." He sticks his hand out and I shake it firmly with my free hand, as Miljenko still is grasping to my other.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Beth, Beth Thaler." He looks me up and down, then turns his eyes to Miljenko.

"You two wanna join me?"

"Sure. That okay with you, Beth?"

"Absolutely."

Miljenko takes the bar stool directly next to John while I sit on his other side. I see John lean over to him, in an attempt to say something to him privately, but he's just barely loud enough to be audible to me.

"Damn, dude. She's gorgeous. That long black hair is slowly killing me. Where in God's name did you find her?"

I hear Miljenko laugh a little then whisper his reply back, "Coffee shop off Federal."

"Next time you're there, bring me with you."

They lean back in their chairs, assuming a more natural and open position compared to the hunched over whispering they had just participated in.

"So, Beth, what do you do for a living?" John inquires.

"I work at a record store. If you ask my boss, I'm practically a walking encyclopedia when it comes to music and what bands are all the rage." I chuckle.

"Sweet," he takes a swig from the bottle in his hand, "so Miljenko said you're swinging by on Friday afternoon. Any tunes you're set on playing for her, Mili?"

"I've got a few. But I'm not spoiling anything just yet." He gives me a devilish smile.

"Can I get you anything?" I'm snapped out of my daze from the voice of someone unfamiliar. I look up and see a woman, about mid-40s, obviously the bar tender.

"Um... You know I'd love a Cosmopolitan."

"I'll get that for you right away, for you?" She asks Miljenko.

"Whatever he's having, I'll take one." He gestures to John.

"Vodka drinker, eh?" He says to me.

"Yeah, it's kinda my weakness when it comes to alcohol. But don't get me wrong, strong scotch is a good way to go for me too."

"Huh, that's interesting. But hey, any girl that can hold her strong liquor is a girl for me." he winks.

The woman comes back with our drinks, and we take them, I start by slowly sipping mine, but end up finishing it faster than I would have wanted to. After a couple I start to feel a little dizzy, the room starts to spin, and the minutes blur together into what becomes hours. By the time we realize it, John has left over an hour ago and the two of us are sitting at the bar still drinking away. The bar tender finally kicks us out at probably what's 2:00 AM, but I'm still so abuzz I don't have a clue.

I stumble out into the parking lot, and Miljenko has a firm grip around my back so that I don't fall. I'm not the typical girl when I'm drunk. I don't act all weird per say, but I do feel dizzy and disoriented, but with enough buzz to intoxicate my senses in a more in-tune way I guess. Somehow, Miljenko doesn't seem as drunk as me, as he is able to open the door to the car with no trouble, and leads me in. He climbs into the drivers seat and gives me a wry smile.

"I shouldn't have let you drink all that."

"It's okay, I'm fine really." I slur.

"Beth, honey. No you're not. You had to have drank at least 8 of those. Come on, I'll take you home."

"Aww no," I grimace, "please don't."

"Why, what's wrong?" His brow knits in concern.

"No it's my room mate, Madeline. She called her boyfriend over. So going home would be a bad idea. Would you want to listen to that from the adjacent room all night long if you were me?"

"Well, no. Of course not," he chuckles, "so what do you want me to do? You can't go home then. I'd offer for you to stay with me but I don't want you getting the wrong idea."

"It's okay, if you have a couch I'll just crash there." I rub my eyes as he slowly turns the car on.

"That's definitely okay."

He puts his hand to my cheek, then slowly, ever so slowly pulls me closer to him. I reach up to his face, gently stroking a strand of hair back behind his ear, but in my drunken state, I miss a couple times. He laughs a little, then pulls me in, kissing me sweetly.

"Come on, I'll take you back to my place. You get some sleep, and I'll take you to work in the morning, alright?"

"Okay."

He pulls out of the barren parking lot into the even more ominous road, and we speed away into the black night, taking the long route back to his apartment. I watch the shadows pass over the window, drifting in and out of drunken sleep, every time I drift off, my cheek pressing against the ice-cold window. Before long, we make it to his building, and I stumble out of the car, scraping my hands and knees on the gravely asphalt.

"Jesus, Beth." Miljenko runs around the car, picking me up, and he carries me away to his apartment. He fumbles for the keys, swearing under his breath when he can't get the lock to cooperate. He finally gets it to work and kicks the door open, walking over to a small sofa, and places me down on the soft cushions. I close my eyes, and I hear him jingle the keys back out of the door and drop them on the counter.

"Goodnight." He whispers as he passes me to go to his own room.

"Wait," he stops in his tracks, "come here for a second." I slur.

He complies, and shuffles around to the side of the sofa, and he kneels down next to me.

"Goodnight." I whisper, kissing his cheek. Even in the dark, I can see those hazel-brown eyes glint with a smile. He brushes my hair back behind my ear, then loosely throws a blanket over me.

"Goodnight, princess." I hear him shuffle away, and I close my eyes again, the steady rhythm of the fan above me lulling me to sleep. Before I know it, my tired, drunken body has succumbed to sleep atop this cozy velvet couch. How much I long for him even in my dreamless sleep, to be here next to me. But I know that day will come soon enough.