I was dragged along to the pub by my friends after work for a few drinks. I knew that between the choice of going home alone to my apartment or going out socialising, there was little contest. As much as I liked my own company, I knew that going home by myself before 7pm on a Friday night was not the 'cool' thing to do.
A warm envelope of air engulfed me as we entered the busy pub and the stickiness of the floor grabbed my attention. It wouldn't have been my first choice of places to go for a drink but I knew my friends loved it at O'Neills. My friend Beth encouraged me to go find a table for all of us whilst she pushed her way to the front of the bar to get the first round of drinks in. As I pushed my way through the busy crowd of office workers I could feel eyes watching me as I struggled to find somewhere to sit. I looked up and locked eyes with a man across the room who was in mid conversation with his friend and who seemed to stop; his words floating away and seemingly forgotten. I couldn't explain why but a nervous feeling brewed in my stomach and I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from the stranger watching me. I noticed he shifted my way when my friend came up behind me, laughing, and saying that they had found a table already. I snapped my attention back to my friends and turned and followed them to the table they had found.
I spent the rest of the night laughing and joking with my friends, the thought of the stranger I had locked eyes with earlier pushed firmly to the back of my mind despite the thought of those dark eyes giving me something to think about. After several shots and several gin and lemonades, the temperature inside the bar got too much for me. I excused myself and made my way to the smoking area out the back of the bar to try and cool myself down. I stood outside, enjoying the cool breeze sweep across me when a voice next to me startled me. A confident, low, New York accent greeted me and caught me off guard.
I looked up to the man whose voice had addressed me and took in every detail of him. Those dark dangerous eyes stared into mine, his lips were slightly curved up into a slight smirk and I could smell the scent of his aftershave which made me want to pull him closer to take in his smell. His dark hair was flecked with grey but added to the overall charm of his look. He looked confident but didn't look like he was cocky. I swallowed before answering:
"I don't normally come round here but I felt like breaking my usual rules tonight" I mumbled.
He laughed at my response and followed it up with "and what rules might those be?".
"I'm normally in bed with a good book by now but I thought it was time I switched things up a bit" I replied, the alcohol flowing through my veins and giving me a new found confidence.
I looked him up and down, I noticed the black t shirt he was wearing, how it clung to his biceps and picked out the tattoos that were imprinted on his skin. As I looked for every detail about the man in front of me, I noticed his caramel eyes sweep across me, taking me in with a hungry look and a look that made my stomach clench.
"My name's Brian.. or Q as everyone calls me" he says, offering me his hand.
I took his hand and replied "My name's Georgia, nice to meet you".
He held my hands in his for slightly longer than I expected before releasing it. I could still feel his skin on mine, liking the feel of his strong hand on mine.
"Well that's a pretty name, I don't meet many Georgia's round these parts. That accent isn't from round here either..?" He said, his question probed for more information.
"I'm not from round here, I moved here from the UK not that long ago" I explained, not daring to break eye contact from this man in front of me.
He looked intrigued by this but didn't say any more. Instead he stared back into my eyes, making me feel exposed and nervous.
"Can I buy you a drink?" He asked, catching me off guard.
"I guess.. do you often buy girls that you've just met a drink?" I asked jokingly, trying to ease some of the tension I felt.
"Only the pretty ones" he laughed, winking at me and making my stomach clench again.
We made our way back inside to the bar, the heat of inside immediately making me feel hot and sweaty, my shirt clung to me in protest at the change in temperatures. I watched as he pushed his way forward to front of the bar with authority and order us drinks. As I waited, I turned around and caught sight of one of my friends. She made to come over to me when she saw Q join me and laughed before turning back to the rest of our group and left me to it; probably knowing how much I needed to let me hair down for once.
Q handed me my drink and smiled at me. It had hit 9pm and music started to blare out as more and more people hit the dance floor. He started talking to me but I shrugged in response and indicated that I couldn't hear a word he said. He smiled and leant in, whispering into my ear instead. The hairs on my arms stood up in response of having him so close to my body and I didn't take in what he said again.
In a drunken panic I grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the dance floor in order to distract my thoughts of how much I wanted that voice whispering a lot more into my ear. He happily obliged and let me lead him. A club classic came on over the speakers and he grabbed my waist, pulling me closer to him and grinding against my waist. Our bodies swayed to the rhythm of the music like we were in complete sync. I felt the warmth of his body behind me and felt his hand firmly on my waist. I swivelled round and put my hands around his waist and looked up to his face. He looked down at me, those eyes staring deep into mine like I was the best thing he had ever seen. Those damn eyes...
"How about we get out of here.." he whispered into my ear.
