New Beginnings (Closed for Poppinbubbles)

[herman24]

After a long Friday commute home from the office, Mark Henderson turned off his ignition and dragged himself out of his 2010 Ford Fusion. He was looking forward to a quiet Friday night alone, one of the few things he had liked since his recent divorce. No pressure to go out; no pressure to impress anyone, he thought as he ran a hand through his short brown hair.

Grabbing his phone from his pocket, he saw 8 texts and 2 voice mails with his tired green eyes. Once he saw the names attached to the texts, however, he knew it may not be the quiet night he hoped for. After turning the key to his new downtown apartment, he glanced through the texts from his friends Jake and Tim.

"Dude Mark, tonight we're going to Pure, that hot new club that just opened up. You gotta come. -Jake"

"Mark, we're going to Pure tonight, you gotta get out and be single with us again. It's been forever. -T"

Following those were the various texts to call them back and that they wouldn't let him get out of this one. He listened to the voice mails, his tired expression realizing he probably didn't have a choice tonight. They were headed his way and were due in less than a half hour. He kicked up his feet and turned on Sportscenter to relax and stretch his 6'2 frame before they arrived.

30 minutes later to the second, there was a knock on his door. "It's open..." he yelled out, before having Jake and Tim barge in with pizzas for dinner and some beers for the evening. He gladly took a beer before the pestering began. After 3 hours of pestering, he was finally convinced to come, much to his regret. The boys had promised him that there would be plenty of attractive females to distract him from his rough past 6 months of divorce, or as they called it, his 6 year marriage mistake.

After showering, Mark put on a dark blue button shirt and some jeans. He slipped on his casual leather shoes before finishing his beer and locking the door behind him. The boys weren't planning on crashing based on the success of the night, but he had his definite doubts. After the 5 block walk, he saw the line outside of the place, and again, wanted to abort the plan and just catch some sports for the night. Jake and Tim had nothing of it, and they were standing in the half hour wait line immediately.

*****

45 minutes later, they finally got in the door, and much to his surprise, Pure was packed for the night, and not with his usual crowd of beer guts at the local sports bar. Jake and Tim took off somewhere, and he was left alone. Not knowing where to go, he strolled to the bar, which overlooked the large dancefloor. He hadn't seen this many attractive girls in a while, and he couldn't decide where to focus his attention until the bartender interrupted him.

"Hey man, what do you want to drink?" the voice said, annoyed at Mark's lack of focus. Mark focused on the voice, and noticed even more girls around the bar before ordering his beer.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

“Dont mind Joe, he’s just mad that I’m five minutes late for our shift change.” said a friendly feminine voice from behind the bar. The 5’4” black haired woman handed Mark his beer “Tab?” she asked her keen icy blue eyes took in the man before her with a slight smirk. He didn't look like any of the regulars, or a guy that really frequented a lot of clubs at all, though that wasn't a bad thing.

“Whatever” the buff guy grumbled as he made his way down the bar, passing two of the other tender
s on his way out for the evening. Another customer came up and gave her two hasty drink orders and looked back out into the crowd, he was obviously trying to get lucky and his mind was preoccupied with his prize to want to chit chat.

“Really he’s just upset that his boyfriend forgot his birthday, oh and the fact that he even had a birthday.” she chuckled, carrying on with Mark as if they’d never been interrupted as she mixed the drinks for the other man.

“You’re new here” she said in kert observation as she handed the guy his drinks and wiped up the splash that he made as he hurried away with them. “What brings a nice guy like you to Pure? Oh and I’m Alex by the way, your friendly barkeep for the night.” She smiled, her red lips parting just enough to catch a glimpse of pearly white teeth turned somewhat violate in the light of the club.

Fair skinned and dark haired, looking like a modern day rocker version of Snow White Alex seeded almost out of place in the sea of fake tans, breasts and blonds that made up the majority of the female populace of the club at this time.

 

[herman24]

After being slightly taken aback by the bartender's demeanor, Mark heard a female voice that was quite a bit more friendly. Initially, he looked on around him, unsure of what or who had talked to him. He turned back toward the bar to get some space and take a pull on his beer. Once he took that long swig, he saw the new female bartender behind the bar. She was certainly a little more friendly on the eyes. Turning back to the bar, he finally opened his mouth to her, "Nah, I'm good..." as he flipped some cash onto the bar. With the look of his eye, he motioned that she could take all of it, and not bother bringing back change or anything. He had no clue how much his beer was either.

A girl in a tight black dress exited from the seat next to him, and he decided to casually slide into it with no intent of going to the dance floor until he got a couple of extra beers in him. Striking up a conversation with the female behind the bar, he answered her questions a little hesitantly, "Just a night out with a couple of buddies. I guess you could I'm new here." He let out a smile. "Nice to meet you Alex....I'm Mark."

In the back of his mind, Mark couldn't help but think, am I that recognizable as a nice guy? Or did he look that out of place at a club like this? He wasn't sure what was the case as he continued to take pulls off of his drink. He noticed that she was staying close, but maybe that was the best place to make drinks. He finished his beer, holding it up and waiting to get her attention for another. He reached into his wallet, which got her attention finally. He finally asked, "You worked here long? Is it always this crazy?" as he felt more people get poured into the club.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

There were three bartenders responsible for the long bar on the ground level of the club, there were two much smaller bars one on the upper level and one on basement level with waitresses that ran the drinks that could only be mixed down at the big bar. Alex was assigned to the little corner where Mark happened to find himself and since she liked to work and talk and he didn't seem to mind her talking she continued.

“Yeah, normal size of a Friday night crowd” taking a quick glance down at her watch she looked back up and added “at least for this time of the night, you should see it on a Saturday though.” shaking her head she made the universal kill sign, letting him know it was murder on nights like that “But cant say you’re ever bored, which is why I’ve managed to stick around almost a year, and the pay’s not too crummy either” she grinned.

“Sure you dont wanna start a Tab till you’re brave enough to take off your floaties and swim with some big fishies?” she asked as she brought him another beer.

 

[herman24]

Watching Alex move with grace and quickness throughout her section of the bar was a rare treat for Mark. He simply hadn't been in this environment in a while, and based on her comments, he apparently didn't look like he belonged in it much. He took some time to look around for his buddies, with limited success. On one hand, Jake was immediately spotted at the other end of the bar surrounded by a couple of ladies. That was a bit surprising, but he blew it off to good luck. Tim, on the other hand, was a mystery. He let it go before hearing her ask about a tab again. He wasn't particularly sure with his tab, and he brought a hand to his face to ponder the decision. In reality, maybe she was just being friendly and looking out for him. He finally decided to trust her, throwing a card on the bar, saying, "Just keep 'em coming if you like."

Once he heard her swimming comment, a grin appeared on his face. He wasn't sure where the night was going to go, but he certainly didn't think it would involve him with another girl. But then again, as Tim said, who knows. He starred back at Alex, following her every move. She was a little different than most of the girls around here, appearance wise at least.

The next time she appeared in front of him, he looked around to see what kind of crowd was nearby. He didn't want to be overheard by anyone he knew, or interrupt her. He leaned, before asking, "Do I look that out of place?" He gave her a pause, seeing if she snapped an answer, before saying, "Where do you usually go to hang out and blow off some steam?"

 

[Poppinbubbles]

After she’d set up his tab and during a small lull in the demand for hydration on her end of the bar, Mark chose to speak to her again. Looking up she couldn't help but smile at his question, as she shook her head. Was he self conscious or just curious, perhaps a little of both? Either way she couldn't help but find it somewhat cute. With a flash of pearly whites she paused her clean up and leaned on the inside counter of the bar.

“Nice guys” making a point to look at him to emphasise the fact that she’d mentally marked him as a nice guy “order beer, at least in a place like this” then making an all encompassing gesture with her hand “Typically the jerks order anything to show off how much money they make and whatever will get them hammered fastest. But a beer, says I’m a nice guy” shrugging she wiped at a ring of condensation from a glass now long gone.

“‘s not a bad thing though” she added as she took his empty bottle and replaced it with another cool one before answering his second question.

“My bed, you should join me some time.” she held her face straight and her tone of voice very flat and matter of fact before as she tried to await his reaction but almost as soon as the words were out she couldn't seem to hold back the laughter at her ridiculous little joke and shook her head.

“No, really I’m a boring homebody. I mean after being here almost all night I’m not too much of a go anywhere but home to hang out kinda girl. Sad to disappoint. This and my little studio are as exciting as I get.”

 

[herman24]

As Mark heard her response to his question, he couldn’t help but smile. Her answer seemed genuine, and was a bit more than what he had expected at a club tonight. He also didn’t think it would be this awkward and hard for him to look around and figure out what to do with his evening. In the past, he may have been worried about being labeled as the nice guy, but in his position, he was certainly okay with the stigma. He had always been more of a beer than a liquor guy anyways.

Taking a pull from his new beer, he flashed another smile, thanking him for the cool drink. All too often you wouldn’t get the cold beer, and warm beer just didn’t taste good, in his opinion. To have a cool one was appreciated. “Well, I’ll take the nice, good guy label from someone who sees the whole crowd as a compliment.” Her next response immediately threw him off. Was she coming onto him? Or how the heck was he supposed to handle that?

“Uhh…” he audibly groaned, in a way. “That sounds great…” he responded, thankful that she was laughing by the time he got a response out. Her straight face had scared the shit out of him for a brief moment. It had been so long since he had even considered being in bed with another girl, but now the thought didn’t torture him.

Across the bar, he saw Jake and Tim trying to fight their way up to the bar. Rather than watch the struggle, he decided to do a favor, and leaned over to Alex. “Can you throw a couple more on my tab for my buddies?” He waited to see an opening to take them over to the guys, but before he found it he leaned back to the bar, saying, “I’ll be back,” before flashing a genuine smile over to her.

Making his way over to the other side of the bar, he handed his bars to the guys. A quick five minute update revealed that Tim hadn’t gotten much action, and Jake had struck out after a girl’s boyfriend showed up. That was life, but they were enjoying themselves and happy to be in town. They were not very happy to hear Mark had hung around the bar and chatted with the bartender. He assured them that it was best for him to take it slow and ease back into this scene.

They were approached by a group of three blondes, who presented themselves as the dependent type who were looking for drinks. Unfortunately for Mark, his buddies fell for it, and he was stuck buying a couple of drinks. He also wasn’t nearly as aggressive, and got stuck with the least attractive of the bunch. She was nice enough, but not really his type as they made their way out to the dance floor. After a couple of hours of dancing, miscellaneous discussion, and the like, they had been paired off. Jake and Tim seemed to be in good shape with their respective girls in the private booth they secured, but once Mark’s girl went to the bathroom, he quickly retreated to the bar and sought out Alex.

It was a little more difficult to get to her portion of the bar, but he made it after a couple of minutes. After pulling up near his original spot, he waited for her attention. He had both hands up above the level of the bar, knowing he needed another drink. He glanced at his wrist to check his watch, seeing it was only a few minutes before close. He finally called out, when he noticed her eyes in his relative direction, “Got time for another one?” In reality, he was hoping for more conversation and to just stay away from the random blonde he had been stuck with.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

Alex had been more than busy once Mark left with his friends, though she’d noted in passing that he’d been coupled up with some fake blond with a fake tan and way too much make up. by the time he somehow managed to shake her and weave his way back to the bar she was fending off a problem of her own.

“Nope. You’ve had enough” she was still wearing her smile as she shook her head at the young man hanging over the bar wagging his empty glass in her face, but it was starting to wear thin.

“Oh come on Alex, baby. You can’t do that to me sweetheart.”

Baby, she hated being called baby by random bar patrons “Go home Joe, snuggle up to your wife and quit bothering me.”

“Hey! keep it down, will you!” the dark haired man slurred, and looked around worried someone might have heard her. “Just for that I dont love you anymore.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m so heartbroken, now scram, or I call your buddy Tony.” That gave him something to think about and he backed up enough for her to take his glass and put it away with some other’s to be cleaned. Skulking off to find his party elsewhere he bumped into Mark just as he was coming up to the Bar.

“As long as you intend to keep your hands to yourself” her smile brightening a few notches for him even as she opened another cool one for him and handed him the bottle. “So any luck fishing or are there too many piranhas in the pool today?”

 

[herman24]

As he forced his way up to the bar, he noticed some of the crowd around the bar hadn’t changed. One guy in particular bumped into him rather hard, and reeked of whiskey. Apparently those were the types of guys that Alex must have been talking about earlier. That had to be an absolute headache to deal with on a nightly basis, he suspected.

Grabbing his beer from her, he was glad they could talk again. Their five or ten minute conversation had stuck with him throughout the night, and compared to the blonde bimbo he had to talk to for a couple of hours to help his buddies, it was keeping him sane. He laughed at her first comment, but since he had a couple of more drinks in him, he had a quicker response. He almost immediately blurted out, “I’ll do my best, but remember, you were the one to invite me back to your place.”

He grinned, thinking he was particularly witty. When she asked about the scene for the night, he knew she must have been paying attention. Most bartenders could see what was going on, and being the only sober ones in the place, they had to stay entertained somehow. He shook his head at her next comment, not wanting to discuss it. He knew that wouldn’t fly, so he explained, “Sometimes you have to fall on the sword for a couple of friends.” He glanced toward the exit, as he saw both of his buddies exit with the blondes they had been making out with previously. He was officially on his own tonight.

Taking a big swig of his beer, he decided to just jump in for it. Worst case he was going to be walking home by himself anyways. “You got plans for once you get off? Wanna grab a drink of our own or something?” He paused, waiting for a response, but then decided to be a smart ass. “I’ll even try to keep my hands to myself…” he smirked.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

“Touche my friend” she smirked and raise a glass of water in silent toast to his clever retort before taking a drink. She was glad to see he’d loosened up a bit and felt comfortable joking around with her.

“Ah, yes. You see thats why I try to steer clear of making friends, but I just can't seem to shake you.” the grin that still lingered on her lips, and lit her eyes should let him know that she was just joking around. She didn't think she could survive in this world without her sense of humor. But his next words were actually a surprise for her, well not so much the fact that he was asking her out after work, plenty of guys did that. No, the surprise to her was the fact that she was actually contemplating accepting his invitation.

Her blue eyes regarded him for a long moment before she leaned in closer to him, her hands on the inside counter of the bar as she tried to make up her mind. “I may consider it if said drinks come with the promise of food. And not one of those caesar salads hold the croutons, cheese and a half a teaspoon dressing on the sides kind of food either. So if you can suggest a place like that at this hour, I’m game.”

With a smile she pushed off the bar to put back a few bottles before pausing and leaning back in closer to him “Oh and I won't make any promises as to where my hands may or may not wander.” giving him a wink she smiled and put away the bottles.

 

[herman24]

The more they interacted; the more they seemed to joke around with each other, which was very comfortable for Mark. If you couldn’t be laughing with people and at yourself, you weren’t having enough fun in his opinion. Add in a couple of drinks, at least on his end, and the jokes would hopefully continue and make the night even more enjoyable, regardless of where they ended up. While he didn’t like having to play wingman for the night, it wasn’t the end of the world. Obviously, she was kidding, but he retorted back, “Sometimes the best of friends are the ones you can’t get rid of….”

He took a pull on his beer, hearing her request for food. While he was relatively new to downtown, his office had been down in the area for the past couple of years. As young law professionals, they were always looking to find good food that was on the cheap, rather than the expensive meals that the partners seemed to want to push them toward most afternoons. Actually, the reason he had found the loft he did was because one of his favorite dives was located on the ground floor of his building.

He watched her put some bottles away, and noticed the crowd around him thinning out. People were leaving to hook up, or leaving to find some cheap grub. When she paused in front of him again, he offered his suggestion, “You ever been to Menna’s Joint? They don’t have the promised drink, but the food is to die for and my place is right around the corner…”

Menna’s Joint was a traditional American fast food type of eatery. They made dubs, which were a version of wraps that featured unique items inside the wrap. It was one of his favorite places to go, especially if it was for a late night meal to soak up some alcohol. He had found one of the originals back in college on campus, and was thankful when they expanded into their new downtown location around his graduation from law school. It wasn’t a big place, and it offered little seating, but seeing as he lived right upstairs, that would be just as easy.

Hearing her last remark, he just laughed. He noticed her wink, but made no mention of it for now. He figured that would be resolved later on tonight anyways. Worst case, it would be good company for an evening, which was more than he could ask for lately. He let her continue to work, wondering how late she would be stuck cleaning up or how long it would be until he was approached to get out. Either way, he figured he was safe to stay by the bar. He finished his last swallow of his beer, remembering his tab and wondering if he should ask for another or not.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

“Alright. Sounds like a plan.” Alex nodded figuring there was no harm in hanging out with him, Mark seemed like a really cool down to earth kind of guy. She liked the impression he’d made on her so far, and wouldn’t mind seeing where this might lead “Last one’s on the house” she grinned seeing his empty bottle and exchanging it for a fresh one. “got about a half hour before I can officially skedaddle”

The half hour went by quickly, with Alex busily cleaning up her end of the bar making sure to write up what was needed for the next day and counting her till “I just gotta drop this off and grab my bag, you can wait for me out front if you like” she said as she came around the bar, holding a plastic deposit bag.

And fifteen minutes later she was walking out of the backroom with a black leather jacket folded over her arm and a big red purse slung over her shoulder “So, take me to this Menna’s or whatever the heck place and may you be cursed with three months of bad sex if the food isn’t up to par.” she joked as she let him take the lead. The day had been warm and the night air was refreshingly cool but not cold, especially after being cooped up in the club most of the night.

“So tell me a little bit about yourself Mark, what do you do aside from picking up random bartenders with the whole nice guy act?”

 

[herman24]

Once she confirmed that she would come out with him later, he was all smiles. He also made a point of settling onto a bar stool, which he hadn’t bothered to do so far in the evening. When she brought over another beer, he grinned, “Well aren’t you sweet…” he joked. It was really getting to the point where he was the only one left around the bar. No one had come over to force him out, so he assumed she had said something to cover him for sticking around to enjoy the rest of his beer. He made a point of getting his tab from another bartender, so Alex wouldn’t have to worry about it and could get out of here faster. He left a rather sizable tip, hoping that she would get most of it as his main bartender. In reality, she had kept him here longer.

She stopped by and told him she was hurrying up. He finished up his beer, sliding his empty bottle across the bar to the edge to make it easier for whoever picked it up. He slid out of the bar and went out the front exit. There was still quite a bit of people mulling outside the front of the club. It looked like there were a couple of groups trying to force some girls to go home with guys, and some girls trying to keep their friends from a one night stand. He ignored it, and smiled seeing his “date” walk out the side door. He noticed that everything with her, except the purse, was black, which he was a little intrigued by.

“Three months of bad sex is better than the past three months of no sex…” he joked, somewhat in jest. Obviously, while his ex-wife had been getting some action from every guy in the city, he hadn’t been getting the same treatment at home. Now, was he ready for that? It would be time to find out soon enough. “But the food is great, you definitely won’t find a good salad, but that’s not what you asked for…” he reminded her.

As they walked along the street toward his place, he heard what she had to say. He didn’t know whether to be funny or real, and if he chose real, how far did he want to tell her? He chose to start with funny, retorting, “To be fair, you were the cute one, not the random one.” A compliment always seemed like a nice place to start, but most importantly, it was true. She was cute, even if she didn’t like being referred to that way. “Other than that though, I’m a newly single lawyer. I love sports and to be outdoors, but most importantly always enjoy a good beer.” That shouldn’t have been much of a surprise to her. “I’m also new to living downtown, and I just moved into my place a couple weeks ago.” If she made it upstairs, she would clearly tell that it lacked the decorating too.

As he finished talking, they arrived at Menna’s. He opened the door, looking back to her. “Ladies first,” he said, holding the door open before walking in. He knew exactly what he would be getting. And most likely, the people working would know exactly what it was too. He just hoped it was up to her standards.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

"Oh, wow. Why'd you have to tell me that, now I'll have a bad conscience if I don't sleep with you" she teased right back with a sigh as if this was some great burden to bare.

"Ouch! Cute....” She winced “I must be getting old or something if that's the best I can do" the mischievous twinkle back in her eye as she followed him and listened quietly to his short and to the point bio of himself.

“Alright, know that I have comments to all of what you said but lets save them till after we’ve ordered...” stepping through the door he held open for her she made sure to thank him and walked to the counter with him looking up to see what was on the menu.

“Humm...” Her blue eyes scanned the different menu items and she found herself slightly overwhelmed with too many choices and sadly her taste buds weren't offering any useful suggestions as to what she should be trying. “So, Mark, what do you suggest?” she finally asked after a seeing the girl behind the counter was finishing up with the one customer ahead of them “I’ll try anything once, twice if I like it” she added giving him a slight playful nudge in the arm.

 

[herman24]

Hearing her initial comment, he laughed along with her. He made sure to not disagreee, instead choosing to just mid along in agreement. His comment was the type back in college that would have made him a loser, but his whole nice guy act helped him out here at this point, or so he thought. He let her continue through the doorway, genuinely being the nice guy he had previously portrayed. "I'm going to hold you to those comments...." he chuckled, in reference to whatever she had to say about him. Would it be pretty?

Moving toward the counter, he could see her hesitate a little bit. Mennas was a little bit different in the fact that it sold dubs, which were like normal sandwiches with some interesting ingredients. He approached the counter with a smile, and was welcomed by one of the female staffers that he recognized. He gave her a nod, not wanting to give too much attention to her whole he was here with Alex. "I'll take the club dub with no tomato please." How anyone could chock those down was beyond him. He turned to her, half expecting her to be ready to spit out an order. When she wasn't, he glanced behind to see they were the only ones here.

He looked back at her, before starting his glorified speech. He cleared his throat casually, then began, "It's basically like any sandwich shop kinda. They are known for their master and loaded dubs. The master is like a chicken and cheese, with sour cream. When in doubt, add sour cream is one thing they do here. Another one I get is the loaded dub, which is like a bacon cheese and potato bite of heaven. You can't go wrong, but my first pick for everyone is the master dub." That was his go to, and he had plenty of friends who never moved off of that.

He moved out of the way to let he order, but made sure to leave his card on the edge of the register. He also made the comment, to no surprise of anyone who worked there, "Make it to go upstairs please." He move to the end of the counter with even more conviction before he turned back to her. Looking into her yes, he really wanted to get her back upstairs, but instead he didn't rush things. He simply said, "Now back to those comments you wanted to make....." He looked her in the eye, realizing he had been out the whole night without even touching the girl. He was loving it, and on the edge of his brain with what could happen.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

“Potato in a wrap...” She mused, looking up at the menu and scanning it once more thoughtfully “that definitely sounds like a late night drunken snack. I’ll have to keep that in mind next time I’m near wasted” after she said that she moved over to give the young lady her order noting the way the young brunett was looking at Mark along her nametag. Tess.

Interesting she thought, he seemed oblivious though to her looks and body language, and it made her wonder how long the poor girl had been crushing on him since he seemed to be a regular here.

Wrapped up in her musings she hadn't noticed that his card was still on the register and so it came as a surprise to be told by the young cashier that her order had been taken care of just as she’d manage to dig her wallet from her bag “Well how’s about that then, thanks...” she chuckled, moving over to where Mark was at the end of the counter to await their orders. “Oh, comments right...”

Pausing, her gaze fell down a moment as she gathered her thoughts before her eyes snapped back up to his “No way you’re a lawyer. I know lawyers, they’re jerks. Literally they have jerk and assbag stamped to their forehead and you’re forehead” raising her gaze to that area of his head a moment “while moderately, attractive is blank” she said with a flourish of her hand. Leaning casually back against the counter she folded her arms across her chest and awaited his response with a subtle smirk playing her lips.

 

[herman24]

Leaning up against the counter, Mark was a bit surprised by how few people were in there tonight. Maybe they had missed the big crowd or something, but it didn't make sense to him. He eyed Alex's movements back at the register and followed her walk over to him. He couldn't hold back laughter from her lawyer comments. Some people were caught up in stereotypes, but he didn't hold it against her. There were a lot of asshole lawyers.

"Well, I guess I could turn into a bit of an asshole if you would prefer." He paused for dramatic effect more than anything. Then he continued, "but seriously, I'm more of a research behind the scenes guy than in the courtroom. You can say I work with some jerks though." He saw movement by the girl who took their order and saw their food appear, ready to go. "Shall we go?" he asked before pushing off he counter toward the door.

To get upstairs, it was a short walk outside before heading in toward the elevator. He was on the 5th floor, overlooking Main Street. He unlocked his door, and flipped on a light. It revealed a rather empty living room suitable for a bachelor pad with everything centered around the large tv on the wall. An open floor plan showed the kitchen and balcony through the room. A den and bedroom with restrooms were on the sides. He moved in toward the kitchen, placing his dub on the counter."So how about that drink?" he offered, before opening the fridge. Combined with what was out on the counter, he had quite the collection of alcohol.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

His playfulness made her grin, it was nice that he seemed to feel comfortable around her enough to joke around “Ahhh” she nodded as he told her what he did “So there is truth to the whole, there’s a nice lawyer out there somewhere thing. What firm do you work for?” her question coming out before she could stop herself.

It seemed conversation with Mark came easy but was that what a guy like him -newly single, she guessed a pretty long term relationship- needed right now? He probably wanted just a one night stand, why else would he have gone to Pure... And what about herself? She wasn't really looking for a relationship either... You’re overthinking this Alex, she chided herself as they walked to take their food and head out.

Lucky for her a flood of kids came in, loud and boisterous in their good mood as they sought late night nourishment, because he’d said something and she hadn't heard it, thanks to being lost in her thoughts “Sorry...” she shook her head as they cleared the crowd and followed him around the back “I didn't catch what you said, you’d think I’d be immune to noise like that but...” trailing off she smiled and shrugged.

He certainly had found a great location, he was close to everything and the layout of his sparsely decorated flat was really nice. “Wow, you weren't kidding when you said recently single” her eyes took in their surroundings as she followed suit in walking the meal over to the counter with his.

“Yeah, I’ll have what you’re having” figuring that he was going to pull out a beer and she figured that would be the beverage to best complement their meal.

 

[herman24]

As they exited the dive bar, he saw the big group of everyone that he expected. They were all quite a bit younger than him, but they didn't seem to have any bad blood or anything. They only really saw each other here, and a couple of them lived upstairs as well. He was about to open his mouth to answer her question, but no words really came out. When she questioned him again about it on the way up, he replied, "I didn't say anything. But to answer your question, I work at Johnson and Widman. I'm an associate there."


Once they were upstairs, he felt a twinge of embarrassment about how much his place lacked decorations. He was a guy after all, he thought. "Yeah, you could say I'm not much of a interior designer, but I have a comfy couch, a tv, and beer, so what more could a guy want?" He thought that response would explain things enough, but then he added one more detail. "I've only been here about 2 weeks too."

Hearing her response to a drink request, he popped his head into the fridge for a couple of Bud Lights. While some guys were picky about what they drank. I'm his opinion, he drank a bit more for volume than taste. "Here you are...." he placed her beer in front of her before pulling into the bar stool next to her. He waited to see her eat and hoped for a good response. Maybe these days the best way to get a girl was through her stomach.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

Hun, its fine. At least now I know two things for a fact, A -you’re not gay, and B -you’re not hung up on your ex and won't fall into a fit of tears when you look at the lamp over there cause it reminds you of a romantic getaway from your six month anniversary or some other sentimental bull like that. Which would be a slight turn off by the way.” she added with a chuckle.

“So Johnson and Widman associate, lets see if you get good or bad sex the next 3 months” she grinned as she settled down on the stool and unwrapped her dub, inhaling the warm cheesy aroma “Smell test certainly proves promising...”

After another deep inhale of her wrap she brought it to her lips and took a bite, keeping her expression pretty neutral as she slowly and carefully chewed then swallowed. This she followed with a swig of beer from the bottle before leaning back and looking at him in silence. After about three seconds a slow smirk began to tug at her lips “You can sleep easy babe, I won't curse you”

 

[herman24]

The one thing that was starting to stand out to Mark was Alex’s use of pet names. He hadn’t noticed it until they were around his place, but now he was picking up on every hun and babe in the book. He chuckled at her joke for why it was okay that his place was not decorated. “Well, you never know….I could have just something sentimental with the tv. I’ve watched some pretty amazing sporting events on it.” He mocked her previous joke, but then asked her, “Maybe a stupid question, but do you like sports at all?” He had a gut answer in his head, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

When she started into trying her wrap, he didn’t have much doubt that she would enjoy it. He quickly got the top of his unwrapped and took a big bite, chewing while he waited for her response. He watched her chew slowly, before moving from the other side of the bar to the bar stool next to her. He angled his body toward hers, leaving his body language open and inviting to hers. He gazed into her eyes, and a smile came over his face as she finished up her bite. “See, I told you you’d like it….” He grinned. He continued to take some bites of his own, eating quickly and enjoying the rest of his beer.

As he finished his dub, a bit before her, he got up and took the empty beer bottle with him. He held up another one in her direction, but didn’t wait for an answer before simply bringing a couple more. He came behind her, noting that it was disappearing quickly as well. “Looks like you really don’t like it to me,” as she was finishing another bite. He twisted off the cap on his beer, holding it below the level of the bar. He brought his hand that was holding the beer bottle down below the counter level. Casually he placed the cold beer bottle in the small of her back. He wasn’t sure how to proceed and see where the night could go, but that was something he had always done to girls. They never seemed to enjoy it, but it was never a big issue. More of a flirty start to an evening if anything. He grinned, pulling it away slowly, before asking, “Is there anything else I can get you? Or I can show you out onto the balcony?”

 

[Poppinbubbles]

Alex did have a terrible habit of giving people pet names, and it didn't matter who the person was or how well she knew them. And while they were a casual... endearment if you will right now, they could also be used as snide insults depending on her tone. The curse of a southern girl she would say.

“That depends on what you define as sports” she said in response to his question after she took another bite, chewed and swallowed. “Because if you’re referring to golf, the answer would be no. The answer would also be no to bullfighting, Rhythmic gymnastics, toe wrestling, midget jello wrestling, and if you even think about mentioning extreme ironing you’re about to have a very lonely night with your right hand man... Though I do think Chess boxing is pretty awesome.” chuckling she took another bite, and let all that sink in.

“But all jokes aside, I used to play soccer in high school. So, yeah,I like some sports.” Continuing to eat she couldn't help but notice how much flirtier he was getting with his body language. Leaning more and more into her space, turning towards her, making sure to make eye contact whenever he got the chance. She couldn't help but find it charming.

But then he went to fetch another beer... Just as she was taking the last bite of her dub he brought it over and pressed it against her lower back, which was only covered in the thin fabric of her tank, that had thanks to how she was sitting, risen an inch to reveal a sliver of creamy porcelain skin. the sudden chilling contact made her jump and yelp in surprise, but she couldn't say that she was angry. It was a warm night, and she was in a fun mood.

“Oh, you are an ass!” her words came out as she turned to face him, a smile curling her lips even as they parted in surprise. “What kind of joo-joo was in that thing that made the nice lawyer disappear?” her hand reaching for the bottle even as the words came tumbling from her lips and she took a step closer to him.

It was clear to see he hadn't offended or annoyed her in the least

 

[herman24]

He listened intently to her long winded answer about sports. Where the hell was she getting the ideas of these sports out of thin air from? He waited her out, taking multiple pulls from his drink while trying to hold in laughter from her answer. Once she was finished up, he opened his mouth to start. But mid-thought, he changed his response. “Well, you didn’t list out my favorite sport of dwarf tossing, so I’ll consider that fair game.” He was surprised and excited to hear that she played soccer back in the day. “I would have never guessed soccer, but I was a goalie throughout soccer myself.” He didn’t play much anymore, and was more involved in the company sports now a day. “Then again, now I specialize in playing shortstop for the company softball team.” Those were his getaway nights lately, and hitting the ball as hard as he could certainly helped.

He kept a straight face throughout his little stunt, and wasn’t surprised by her reaction. The jump and scream were usual for girls when he did this, almost like a little kid reaction at times. He smirked, hearing her response. “You know how it is; I keep my mean lawyer beers back at my place, while I have my nice lawyer beers out at the bars to woo you back here.” He laughed, not being able to keep much of a straight face. That was one of the reasons he was never in the courtroom. His poker face was severely lacking compared to most lawyers, but he made it up with other traits. “It’ll probably only take one more before there is the same effect on you. “

He leaned in closer to her, his elbows on the counter in front of them. He was only a few inches away from her face, and the big debate in his mind was to kiss her or not. It hadn’t been the usual type of evening out at the bar, where they had really connected for a long time. They had had a meal together, but again, it was just casual conversation more than anything to him. He leaned back out, deciding to continue the conversation and casually stroll out toward the balcony. The view at this time of night was great, and if they were up late enough, it would be a good look for the sunrise. “So where abouts does a bartender at Pure live these days?” Heck, he didn't know if she did anything else for a living for that matter. Had she mentioned anything else? Being a student? Anything? The question also helped him determine where the night could go. She certainly wasn't going to get all the way across town or anything crazy at this hour. A girl looking like she did tonight, that wouldn't be a good idea. He wondered about that, and pondered if he would be able to point out her place from his balcony, and he slid the door open, waiting for her to join him.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

“You want me to turn into a mean bartender?” She asked with raised brow before taking a sip of her beer “Somehow I doubt that.” a smile lingering on her lips as she looked at him. Noting the clarity of the green in his irises, especially from this small distance. How there were secrets behind those eyes, his thoughts passing through and for a second she thought he would unveil something and her breath almost caught. But then he pulled away and the almost moment passed.

She wondered if it was her? Had she done or said something, or rather not done or said something? But because she hadn't decided to follow him out the bar this night with any sort of goal it mind, it didn't really matter, so grabbing her bottle she followed him out onto the balcony.

Her eyes were instantly drawn up to the sky, she loved the stars, it was only too bad you couldn't see them too well being that he was so centralized in the city. But the urban lights created their own mix of warm colors along the cold darkness of the heavens.

“Do you know where the Bean is?” It was a pretty popular artsy coffee house on the corner of 5th and Cliffton. It wasn't the mainstream joint like a Starbucks or Caribou but he looked like the type that while probably not having ever gone to it had certainly heard of it. “I live just above it. Crappy studio loft thats cold in the winter and hot in the summer, but I love it. Its huge and the light is perfect, and rent is a steal, besides I get coffee delivered.”

 

[herman24]

The moment after he pulled away, Mark was wondering if he had made the right decision. Should he have pulled away or pushed in for a deeper moment and see where the night would go? In reality, the worst case is that she would leave and that was that. That wouldn’t be the end of the world, especially compared to what he had been through in the last year or so. Once out on the balcony, he tried to force himself to get it out of his mind and be natural. That proved to be easier thought than done. He continued to check her out, and decide to make his move.

He let the idle conversation continue out on the patio, looking out over the buildings. He had spent many happy hours and early evenings out here figuring out the landmarks he could point out to others. When she mentioned the coffee joint, he wasn’t certain where exactly that was. He had sworn off coffee, and gotten much better sleep. It was a personal choice that no one could seem to figure out except for himself, but it worked for him. “I’m not a big coffee guy myself, but I’ve heard of it before.” There were always the young interns who seemed to prefer the hole in the wall places rather than the big chains. “Is that the place on Clifton? Sounds like you have some good perks at your place then.” He wasn’t positive where that was, but he knew a couple of buildings near it. He pointed off to the right, “I know a couple of buildings on Clifton are off in that direction, so somewhere over there.”

He turned back against the railing and looked over at her. Her black outfit really showed off her body and contrasted against her skin nicely. He found himself drawing closer to her. Every time he would take a drink, he would readjust and end up closer to her. It was completely intentional, and he was not ashamed by it at all. Soon enough, he got the courage up to make his move. He didn’t want it to be corny, but he made a final move next to her. Looking out at the city lights with a bright moon for the night, he commented, “Beautiful nights like this in the city make me glad I’ve moved here.”

Before he gave her a chance to respond, he brought his free hand onto the small of her back. He let his beer bottle rest on the wooden patio railing and tucked his head down to hers. With her heels on, she wasn’t much shorter than he, which made it easier. He decided to just go for it. He let his head lean into hers, before slowly closing his eyes. He let natural instincts take over; letting his lips lead before finally pressing his lips against hers. He held the polite kiss for a while, waiting to feel her response and see if he would be hit or embraced. In the same moment, he realized this was the first girl whom he had kissed in almost eight years who wasn’t his ex-wife. Maybe this was what he needed.