For several nights after that day at her apartment, Ash was waiting for her after work every night. They would head back to her apartment and talk the whole night. Ash would share stories of his life and Tessa would just listen. Sometimes she would fall asleep listening to the cadence of his voice. In the early morning hours of dawn, just before the sun crested the horizon, Ash would take his leave. He never stayed the night, Tessa never pried, but she always felt a bit heartbroken when he left. They were growing closer, and the attachment was getting stronger. "Hey hon, do you mind getting some more beers from the cellar? We're running low." Tessa looked up at Nancy as she was placing some glasses into the wash. The bar was busy, apparently there was a convention going on at the university. Some important speaker was going to be there, she wasn't sure what kind of convention, but she was glad for business. The tips she had been getting so far couldn't be complained about, her feet on the other hand had a lot to say. "Sure. Coming right up boss." She tossed the dish towel on the counter and headed towards the side hall near the bathroom. She managed to get the door wedged open a little so customers going to the bathroom wouldn't crash into an open door. She located the beer and dragged two full crates to the bottom of the stairs. On her way up she missed a step and went flying out the door, beer crate and all. She braced for impact, she pictured the whole thing in her head, but the impact never came. Instead, she felt strong arms wrap around her and break her fall, she slowly peeked out of her eyes and noticed that a man had saved her. He placed her back on her feet and smiled at her. "Are you okay ma'am? Hope you didn't hurt herself?" He looked her up and down searching for any visible injuries. "Thank you for helping me, that would've been a nasty spill. Stop by the bar, your next drink is on me." She smiled at him and carried the beers back behind the bar, she turned to look at him one more time and hurried back. "Does the offer still stand?" She turned to find the man from earlier. She smiled at him and gestured to have a seat. He was an attractive man; his rugged look suited him well. He wore a leather jacket that could tell stories from how worn it looked. His shirt was open at the top, exposing a bit of his chest and throat. He had a natural stance to him, like he could fit in anywhere he went. His hair was held back by a leather tie, sort of like an aristocratic. He was tall, with a muscular build to him, not overbearing, but definitely noticeable. She poured him a pint and placed it in front of him. "Thank you for saving me earlier. My name's Tessa." He smiled at her and extended his hand, "Wyatt, at your service." During a slow moment at the bar, she walked over to stand near Wyatt. "Sorry. It's a busy night, some sort of convention going on at the university." She pulled down the caddy which held all the precut fruit that was added for garnishment to the drinks and started adding more. "A convention about the supernatural, that's what's going on at the university. " She stopped what she was doing and stared at him, a thousand questions were running through her mind. "Supernatural? Like ghosts and witches type stuff?" Her mind was thinking about Ash, if she was to guess, Wyatt might be a hunter. Who else would go to these types of conventions. "Vampires, werewolves, and so much more." He was smiling at her and she noticed the small dimple on his cheek. "Seriously? People believe in that stuff?" She placed the caddy back and started wiping the bar top. She was starting to feel a bit anxious, she didn't know where this conversation was leading. But she needed to make sure that Ash didn't come to the bar tonight, not if half the men there tonight were hunters. "Of course. There's a big underground world of supernatural's and hunters. The convention has brought hunters both near and far to learn new techniques and see updated hunting tools. And some of us are just here to listen to the super star hunter speak at the convention." Before Tessa could say anything, the chime of the bell announced a new person coming in. She looked up and noticed Jax was walking over to her. She hadn't seen him in almost 2 weeks, he looked the same except for the small beard he was growing. "What is it? You look worried. Is everything okay?" Tessa came around from the bar and stood in front of Jax. She noticed the circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, his clothes were wrinkled and he looked troubled. He reached out to grab her arm but stopped himself, he looked around the room as if searching for someone. "We have to talk"
