Why don’t you take it over and at least talk to him? He’s a really nice guy, Taryn.”

“Marie, I’m not interested, okay?”

“Well, since you seem to have sworn off men…” she muttered, “here, I’ve got something for you. It’s not porn, but it’s close enough.” She laughed while rummaging in her huge purse.

She held out another gossip magazine with a big, glossy picture of Ryan Christensen on the cover. The caption under his picture read:

The truth about Ryan:

His Ex-girlfriend tells ALL!

I pursed my lips and turned away, slightly disgusted that anyone’s ex-girlfriend would have the audacity to “tell all.” He was probably better off without her.

“Hey, let me see that!” Traci yelled, reaching for the magazine.

“What’s your problem, Taryn?” Marie grumbled and stamped her foot. “Don’t you think he’s hot? I mean, look at him!”

“It doesn’t matter,” I dismissed. “He is just another guy who is all full of himself. Besides, I have better things to think about - like why George and Ted look mad because I’m not bringing their drinks fast enough.”

“Yeah, like those two old farts are in a hurry. The only place they’re going to is their next alcohol-induced coma,” she declared.

I gave her my most dramatic, horrified look. “Who are you all going to gossip about once the celebrities leave town? You’ll need to find someone else to talk about.” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“We’ll just talk about you, Tar. We’ll sit around and reminisce about how much fun you used to be while using the cobwebs growing between your legs to knit hats for the poor!” Marie nudged me.

“You’re such a bitch!” I snickered at her.

“Yep!” She grinned, pretending like she was going to spray me with the soda wand. “But you’ll never fire me because I’m your best friend and you love me!”

Damn her for being right.

The next day I woke to the sun beaming brightly through my window. I yawned while my fingers carelessly fumbled to shut off the alarm clock. I contemplated going back to sleep but it was already nine o’clock and there were things I wanted to get done today.

With a groan, I tossed the covers off and landed my bare feet on the cold wooden floor of my bedroom. “Brr,” I muttered out loud. The frigid oak planks sent a shiver through my body.

Outside my window, truck brakes screeched very loudly, causing me to flinch and duck reflexively. Curiosity made me tiptoe across the floor to find the source of the noise.

Ah, Maggie is getting a delivery, I noticed, peering out the window at the back alleyway behind my building.

I lingered in the hot shower next, primping for a few extra minutes, while my mind was mentally distracted creating my agenda. The longer I thought about it the longer my to-do list got.

I picked my favorite jeans out of the clean laundry basket and slipped a white T-shirt over my head, tussling my fingers through my long blond hair to separate the waves.

After adding the final touches of makeup and mascara, I skipped down my stairs and through the door that led directly into the pub.

“Good afternoon, my lovely bar,” I said out loud to no one. “Time to wake up and greet a new day.”

I opened each of the window blinds, watching the microscopic dust motes float in the sunlight. I thought about cleaning the windows again - they were looking a bit dirty. I’d have to remember to ask my friend Pete if I could borrow his extension ladder.

That would have to wait. It was Wednesday already and I still hadn’t updated my entertainment sign for the weekend. First things first.

I dropped the piece of chalk back into the box and carried the updated slate board sign out to the sidewalk.

I had to squint; the sun was bright – even more so since I just emerged from a darkened pub. Wow! It’s beautiful out here!

I leaned back on my open door, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes for a moment to feel the warm sunlight on my cheeks. Even the air smelled better today.

Perhaps if I open late today I could enjoy this nice weather up on the rooftop with a good book in hand? Oh, that thought was very tempting.

Reasons to goof off were starting to outnumber my to-do list, but the responsible part of my conscious quickly snuffed that. No, I have a lot to do inside. Better get at it… in a minute… the sun feels so nice… My reluctant eyes instantly popped open when I heard the frantic sounds of women screaming. My vision was blurred by the bright sun and it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the pandemonium headed straight for me.

That’s when I caught sight of him - what appeared to be Ryan Christensen - running full speed down the sidewalk. His body was on a direct collision course with mine.

“Back door?” he asked in a panic as he almost knocked me to the ground. I stumbled backwards awkwardly into the open doorway, grabbing the frame to keep myself from falling down.

“Door,” I quickly answered, my shaky hand pointed to the direction, but he was already running through the pub.

Instead of escaping through the kitchen door around the corner, he flew through the first door he saw.

“No, not that door!” I breathed out, tripping over my own feet as I followed him inside. It was too late; he disappeared through the door that led up to my apartment.

“Damn it!” I cussed out loud.

A split second after he vanished from view, the front door flew open and smacked loudly into the wall. A small group of women barged in; behind them were men with cameras, but oddly they stayed outside.

“Whoa, hold on there! Wait! Oh no, no!” The words were just spilling out of my mouth as I ran towards the door. Instinct told me I had to stop them before they got too far into the bar. It was obvious that they were what he was running from.

“We saw him come in here,” one of the crazed looking women barked as she tried to press past me.

“No, he’s not in here - he ran out the back door,” I shrilled, blocking her advance with my arms. “If you run down the street you might catch him.” I hoped my lie sounded convincing.

“You all have to get out of here. NOW! Don’t make me call the police!” I yelled as I herded them back to the door.

The instant they were out, I locked the door behind them and hit the light switch. Shit, what do I do? I started to panic. There was a large crowd of photographers and people starting to pile up on the sidewalk. Many of them were already mashing their faces to the glass, trying to look in my windows.