Say When: The Bar (Free Sample)

Say When: The Bar (Free Sample) · by Joy Sha The lounge is dim, low, and quiet enough that you can hear the ice settle in your glass. Your friend texted ten minutes ago, running late, order me something dangerous, and so you are alone at a small mahogany table in the good dress, enjoying the rare luxury of being nobody’s anything for twenty minutes. You notice him before he notices you notice. A man at the far end of the bar, jacket off, sleeves turned back over strong forearms, nursing the last of a scotch. He looks up. Holds your gaze a beat longer than strangers are supposed to. Then he finishes the drink, sets the glass down with a soft click, and starts walking straight toward you. Before you can decide what your face is doing, he slides into the leather booth beside you. Close. Close enough that you feel the warmth coming off him, his clean cologne cutting through the amber and liquor in the air. He leans down, his mouth right by your ear, and murmurs, “I’ve been watching you sit over here by yourself, wishing I had the nerve to come ruin your night.” The breath stops somewhere under your ribs. His voice is a low, unhurried gravel, and it does not sound like a man who has ever lacked nerve in his life. How do you answer him? <div class="choices"> [[Arch an eyebrow and ask if he’s sure he can->Bar-Cheeky]] [[Tell him to go ahead and ruin it->Bar-Direct]] [[Turn it around on him->Bar-Playful]] </div>

You tilt your head back to meet his gaze and give him a slow, calculated smile. “Ruin it? Or make it a lot more interesting?” He laughs, low and appreciative, and leans his weight back against the booth as though he needs the support. One corner of his mouth lifts into something wicked. “Bold words. Prove it.” He doesn’t crowd you. He simply waits, one arm resting along the back of the booth behind you, close enough to touch and not touching. Letting you set the terms. Somehow that is the most seductive thing he could have done. What do you do? <div class="choices"> [[Slide closer->Bar-Cheeky-Close]] [[Make him buy you a drink first->Bar-Cheeky-Drink]] [[Call it a sweet, early night and head home->Bar-WholesomeHome]] </div>

You don’t hesitate for a single second. You shift closer, closing the gap entirely, and let your hand slide across the leather to rest against his knee. His muscles lock under your palm. “Then ruin it,” you murmur, just loud enough to be heard over the ambient hush of the room. He catches your wrist in a firm, warm grip, his thumb tracing a slow circle over your pulse. You know he can feel it racing. “Careful,” he says, his voice rougher now, all the amusement burned off it. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.” He isn’t pulling your hand away, though. He’s holding it right where it is. <div class="choices"> [[Whisper a challenge->Bar-Direct-Challenge]] [[Take his hand and leave->Bar-Leave-Early]] [[Say goodnight politely and head home->Bar-WholesomeHome]] </div>

You don’t hesitate. You shift closer, closing the gap, and meet his gaze with a steady, playful confidence that matches his own. A quiet laugh slips out of you, soft and a little dangerous. “You came over here to ruin my night? That’s a lot of confidence for a man holding an empty glass.” For half a second he looks surprised. Then something in his face opens up, delighted, and he turns his body toward yours, giving you his full attention. Clearly he’s used to being the one in control of a room. Clearly he’s enjoying finding out that he isn’t the only one. “Fair point,” he says. “What would you like me to do about it?” <div class="choices"> [[Whisper a challenge->Bar-Direct-Challenge]] [[Take his hand and leave->Bar-Leave-Early]] [[Keep it light and finish your night with a smile->Bar-WholesomeHome]] </div>

You don’t break eye contact. Slowly, deliberately, you slide an inch closer, until your shoulder rests against his chest. Through his shirt you can feel the steady, heavy thrum of his heartbeat, and it is not as steady as he’d like you to believe. The teasing grin on his face softens into something far more intense. His dark eyes drop to your mouth, and stay there. “You have no idea,” he says quietly, “how badly I want to kiss you.” The booth feels very small, and the room very far away. <div class="choices"> [[Take his hand and lead him toward the quiet hallway->Ending-B-Hallway]] [[Stay right here and make him wait->Ending-A-Booth]] </div>

You tap the condensation on his empty glass and tilt your chin. “If you want to see how this goes, you can start by buying me a drink.” He grins, a real one this time, and signals the bartender with a flick of two fingers. Then, instead of retreating to give you space, he leans in over the sticky wood while you wait, his shoulder pressed to yours the entire time. Neither of you mentions it. Neither of you moves. When the drinks arrive, he slides yours across the table with one finger, holding your gaze, as though handing you something much more breakable than a glass. <div class="choices"> [[Let the tension build->Ending-A-Booth]] </div>

You don’t let him pull you into the shadows just yet. You hold your ground right there in the open booth and let the lingering, public tension do its work over a second round of drinks. His knee finds yours under the table. You don’t move away. His fingertips trace idle patterns on the stem of his glass, and you find yourself watching them, thinking about those hands somewhere other than a glass. When you glance up, he’s watching you watch. He says nothing. His smile says everything. Conversation turns into something else. He tells you something he probably doesn’t tell strangers. You tell him something you didn’t plan to. Every time you laugh he leans a little closer, and every time you lean back, he follows. At some point his hand comes to rest on your thigh, warm and unhurried, just above the knee, and he looks at you with a question in his eyes. Not a demand. A question. You cover his hand with yours and keep it there. His exhale is slow and unsteady. “I’m staying at a hotel two blocks from here,” he murmurs against your ear. “Or I can put you in a cab and call you tomorrow like a gentleman. Your choice. Truly.” Your pulse is a drumbeat in your throat. <div class="choices"> [[Tell him you’ll take the walk->Bar-A-Yes]] [[Leave him with a delicious “what if”->Bar-GoHomeAlone]] </div>

You rise onto your toes and bring your lips dangerously close to his ear. Then you whisper a breathless challenge, exactly as direct as you mean it to be, and let your mouth brush his jaw as you finish. He stops breathing for a full second. His grip tightens at your waist. Then his hand slides firmly to the small of your back and draws you flush against him, and the whole room narrows to the heat of his body and the sound of his voice, ragged at the edges. “Where have you been hiding?” You smile against his skin. You have no intention of answering. <div class="choices"> [[Lead him toward the quiet hallway->Ending-B-Hallway]] </div>

You don’t wait for your friend to text back, and you certainly don’t finish your drink. You send her a quick message, found something better, details tomorrow, take his hand, drop cash on the table, and let him lead you out into the cool midnight air. The walk is a blur of long strides and shared breath. At the corner he pulls you into a doorway out of the light and kisses you hard enough that you forget what street you’re standing on. By the time you reach the hotel, you are both laughing, both flushed, both entirely out of patience. Now the two of you are outside his room door. He leans in, his hands bracketing your waist against the wood, his forehead nearly touching yours. He is not pushing. He is waiting, key card in one hand, for you to make the final move. <div class="choices"> [[Pull him inside->Ending-C-HotelRoom]] [[Slip back into the elevator, smiling->Bar-GoHomeAlone]] </div>

You slide out from under his hands at the last second, rise on your toes to leave one slow, lingering kiss at the corner of his mouth, and step back toward the elevator with a wicked smile. “Tell me your name,” he says, hoarse, laughing. “Please.” “Find out,” you say, and the doors slide shut on the sight of him leaning against the doorframe, shaking his head, utterly undone. You ride down with your pulse still singing, the taste of him still on your lips. Out on the street, the cool air feels like champagne. You pull out your phone and text your friend: You will not believe the night I almost had. Some nights are better as a delicious what if. You can always decide whether to come back for the answer. Your apartment is quiet when you get home. Your whole body is not. <div class="choices"> [[Fall into bed with a smile on your face->Bar-Alone-Sleep]] [[Take the night into your own hands->Bar-Alone-Solo]] </div>

You decide to keep the night sweet and uncomplicated. A part of you is surprised by how good that feels. “I think I’d like to enjoy this just as it is,” you tell him, and instead of sulking or pushing, he nods, and the look on his face is something warmer than disappointment. “I can do that,” he says. “Let me at least see you safely home.” Outside the bar, the night air is cool and crisp against your skin. He walks you all the way to your ride, staying close at your side, his hand hovering near your back but never presuming. You trade the small details that people trade when they might want a second date: what you do, where you grew up, the worst concert you’ve ever been to. You laugh more than you have in weeks. When the car pulls up, he turns to you with a warm, genuine smile. Instead of a heavy goodbye, he pulls you into a soft, comforting hug, then kisses your cheek and opens the door for you. “Text me when you’re home,” he says. “I’d like to know you got there. And I’d like to take you to dinner. A real one. Soon.” As you ride home, watching the city lights slip past the window, a cozy, happy warmth settles in your chest. It’s the best kind of anticipation: the kind you get to decide what to do with. THE END That was a free sample of Say When. The full collection has four stories, dozens of choices and many more endings, from slow and sweet to steamy. Find it wherever you found this sample. <div class="choices"> [[Go back and choose differently->Bar-Intro]] </div>

You kick off your heels at the door, drop your coat on the chair, and let the dress slide to the floor on your way to the bedroom, because nobody is watching and you can. You stand under the hot shower longer than usual, letting the water wash away the noise and the cologne and the lingering warmth of a stranger’s hand at the small of your back. You pull on the old soft t-shirt, brush your teeth, and climb into a bed that is cool and clean and entirely yours. The ceiling is dark. You replay it once, the booth, the voice at your ear, the way he said come ruin my night, and you smile into the pillow like a woman who has a very good secret. You don’t need to do anything with it tonight. It’s enough to know you can still stop a room, and a man, in his tracks. Your phone buzzes on the nightstand. Your friend: Tell me EVERYTHING. You put it face down. Tomorrow, over coffee, you will. You fall asleep warm, and a little proud, and dreaming. THE END That was a free sample of Say When. The full collection has four stories, dozens of choices and many more endings, from slow and sweet to steamy. Find it wherever you found this sample. <div class="choices"> [[Go back and choose differently->Bar-Intro]] </div>

“Two blocks,” you say, sliding out of the booth and offering him your hand. “Show me.” He laughs under his breath as if you’ve handed him something he didn’t dare ask for, and leaves enough cash on the table to apologize to the bartender for the rush. The walk is short and very, very long. His hand finds the small of your back on the first corner and stays there. At the second, he stops you under a streetlight, turns you gently to face him, and kisses you. Properly. Slowly. One hand in your hair, the other spread across your back, pulling you close enough that you can feel his heart racing against yours. When he lifts his head, you’re both smiling, both a little dazed. “Still sure?” he asks. The free sample ends here. To find out what happens next, and to explore more endings and three more stories, read the full Say When collection. <div class="choices"> [[Go back and choose differently->Bar-Intro]] </div>

You slip out of the booth, take his hand, and lead him toward the narrow hallway at the back of the lounge. The music fades into a soft thud through the wall. The light is a single amber sconce, and the air is warmer here, thicker. You barely make it past the coat rack before he stops, your hand still wrapped in his, and looks at you the way a man looks at something he has decided not to rush. “Tell me to stop,” he says quietly, “and I will. Right now, no hard feelings.” You answer by pulling him in by the collar. The free sample ends here. To find out what happens next, and to explore more endings and three more stories, read the full Say When collection. <div class="choices"> [[Go back and choose differently->Bar-Intro]] </div>

You take the key card out of his fingers. You swipe it yourself. The lock clicks green. “Say it,” he murmurs. Not a demand, a request: he wants to hear you want this. “Yes,” you say. “Absolutely yes.” The free sample ends here. To find out what happens next, and to explore more endings and three more stories, read the full Say When collection. <div class="choices"> [[Go back and choose differently->Bar-Intro]] </div>

You lock the door, set your phone face down, and turn off every light except the lamp beside the bed. The apartment is quiet. Your pulse is not. You take your time undressing, because you can, because there’s no one to hurry for. The zipper. The cool air on your shoulders. The dress pooling at your feet like an afterthought. You stretch across the sheets and let your eyes close, and he is right there where you left him: the low voice, the heat of his chest against your shoulder, his hand resting on your thigh in the booth, the question in his eyes. The free sample ends here. To find out what happens next, and to explore more endings and three more stories, read the full Say When collection. <div class="choices"> [[Go back and choose differently->Bar-Intro]] </div>