Chapter 1: Shaken, Not Stirred
The first time Julian Cross met Eli Reyes, they were behind a crowded bar, drowning in orders and cheap whiskey fumes.
Julian had been working at Neon Mirage for three years—a high-end cocktail lounge known for its neon lights, moody jazz, and even moodier clientele. He was calm, focused, always in control.
Then Eli walked in, and Julian’s perfectly ordered world turned upside down.
Eli was reckless, loud, and far too charming for his own good. He had a talent for making perfect drinks but an even greater talent for drinking them himself.
“You’re late,” Julian muttered the first night they worked together.
Eli smirked, running a hand through his tousled black hair. “You’re uptight.”
Julian rolled his eyes. “I take my job seriously.”
Eli leaned against the bar, watching Julian mix a drink with precise movements. “And I take my fun seriously. Guess we balance each other out.”
Julian didn’t respond.
But somehow, he already knew—this man was going to be trouble.
Chapter 2: The Man Who Lived on the Edge
Eli was impossible to ignore.
He made customers laugh, poured drinks with effortless charm, and threw back too many shots when he thought no one was watching.
But Julian was always watching.
“You need to slow down,” Julian warned one night after Eli downed his third drink.
Eli grinned, leaning in close. “You worried about me, Jules?”
Julian stiffened. No one called him that. No one.
Eli chuckled, tapping Julian’s chest lightly. “Relax. I can handle myself.”
Julian wasn’t so sure.
Because behind that easy smile, he saw something no one else did—a man on the edge of self-destruction.
Chapter 3: The Fall
It wasn’t long before Julian realized the truth.
Eli wasn’t just drinking for fun. He was drinking to forget.
One night, after closing, Julian found him in the storage room, slumped against a crate, a half-empty bottle of bourbon in his hand.
“What the hell are you doing?” Julian snapped, grabbing the bottle.
Eli didn’t fight him. He just laughed—a hollow, empty sound.
“Trying to disappear,” Eli murmured.
Julian’s heart clenched. “You don’t have to do this.”
Eli looked up, and for the first time, Julian saw the pain in his eyes.
“You don’t get it, Jules,” he whispered. “I was already gone before I met you.”
Julian wanted to save him.
But some people didn’t want to be saved.
Chapter 4: The Last Goodbye
A month later, Eli quit the bar.
“I got a new gig,” he told Julian one night, tossing a pack of cigarettes on the counter. “Some fancy club in L.A.”
Julian frowned. “You sure that’s a good idea?”
Eli smirked. “Don’t start worrying now, Jules.”
Julian clenched his jaw. He didn’t want Eli to leave.
But he didn’t stop him either.
And maybe that was his biggest mistake.
Chapter 5: The News That Broke Him
Julian was wiping down the counter when he saw the headline.
“Commercial Plane from New York to Los Angeles—One Found Dead Onboard.”
His stomach twisted.
The article mentioned an overdose. A man in his late twenties.
Julian didn’t need to read the name.
He already knew.
Eli was gone.
And just like that, the man who had once been the brightest light in the room had burned out forever.
Epilogue: The Last Call
Neon Mirage felt different without Eli.
Julian still mixed drinks, still ran the bar. But some nights, he swore he could hear Eli’s laughter in the background.
And every night, before closing, Julian poured one last drink—a shot of bourbon, untouched, left at the end of the bar.
A silent toast.
A final goodbye.
Because some love stories don’t get a happy ending.
And some people leave before they realize they were loved at all.
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