HOW TO BE SINGLE | SIDEMEN

FOURTEEN

f o u r t e e n
" rum and coke "
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Chris did not take Cora's advice.

He was reassured in his ways when he finally scored a date with a girl, who fit all the things he was looking for, and they were to meet for drinks.

He'd chosen Cora's bar, mainly because it was so close to his home, and because he wanted to prove that he could get dates without having to go out.

He stood outside the bar, avoiding awkward eye contact with strangers entering the bar, as he waited for his date.

Louella was everything he looked for in a girl. She was sporty, but smart and could have an intelligent conversation with you. In fact, they'd texted back and forth all day leading up to the date.

Chris stood up straighter when he saw, who he assumed was, her sliding out of her taxi. She flipped her curled blonde hair over her shoulders and grabbed her back off the seat. He could see her flash the driver a smile as she handed him her money and he was decent enough to look away as she leant in to do so as her skirt rose up.

She smiled the entire walk over to him, fluffing her hair before stopping in front of him. "It's good to finally meet you, Chris," She said as they embraced. She smelt like the kind of flowers you get your mum for mother's day.

"Yeah, I'm glad you could come. I know it was a little last minute," Chris replied, turning to open the door for her. She gave him a nod of thanks as she entered, him coming after her.

"It was no trouble. I live near here anyway so grabbing a taxi wasn't that expensive." Her eyes scanned the room for a moment before she turned to Chris. "I just need to nip to the loo, I'll be back in a second ok?"

"Ok, I'll get some seats."

She nodded before dipping through the crowd. The bar wasn't largely busy yet, but it seemed to be filling fast. He took a seat at the bar, putting his jacket on the other for Louella.

Cora glanced up at him as she cleaned a glass. "If you need me to get you out of that date, just order a rum and coke." She winked and he rolled his eyes, looking away from her.

"That won't be necessary," He muttered. If there was anytime he didn't want Cora to be such an attentive bar tender, tonight was the night. He didn't want her to ruin what could be amazing and lead to the relationship he was looking for. Louella was beautiful, kind and smart. He didn't want that to be tossed away because of Cora's sharp tongue.

Cora looked up again to see the blonde girl weaving back over to him. "Just remember," She said with a wink, "Rum and coke."

He watched her sashay over to the other side of the bar, leaning over it as she spoke with the same lad she'd left with the last time he'd been here. The guy didn't look too happy with her, but she still fluttered her eyelashes at him all the same. Chris would have continued watching the interaction if he didn't feel a cold hand on his arm as Louella slid onto the stool beside him.

"So, did you order anything?" She asked, her glossy lips curling into yet another smile.

"No, I was waiting for you," He told her, already wishing he had ordered drinks early. Maybe that would loosen him up a bit.

Louella tilted her head to the side as she rested it on her palm. "So, you like to travel?"

"Yeah, I travelled for a bit but I decided to take a break and find something steady, y'know?" Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Cora leaning over the bar to smack a kiss on the guy's cheek. He cleared his throat and sat up straighter, turning his attention completely to Louella. "What about you?"

"I'd love to travel. There's so many places I want to go. Like, India to see the River Ganges and all the colour of their culture or to Spain just to get some sunshine and cocktails in me." She sighed whimsically. She was quite the dreamer. Her eyes narrowed on him, cutting right into him. This was new. Those eyes had been sweet for so long. "You must have money if you like to travel."

Chris frowned slightly, readjusting himself in the stool as he opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by a bored sounding voice.

"Speaking of money," Cora began, looking all but welcoming. "Are either one of you going to buy a drink any time soon? Those are prime seats you're sitting in right now."

"Cora-"

"Chris, order or a drink or take the lucky lady somewhere else," She insisted, holding out her hand.

Chris sighed and pulled his wallet out. "What do you want?" He asked Louella, digging through his wallet for notes, shoving one into Cora's extended hand. She gave him a large, fake smile as she listened to their orders, saying a sickly sweet thank you as she turned to make them.

Chris and Louella were mid conversation when she turned back around and slammed the drinks down unnecessarily hard.

"There you go," She said. "Enjoy." Her dark eyes flickered between them for a moment before she turned away to serve someone else, the rude look gone.

"Don't mind her," Chris told Louella. "She's always like this."

"Unnecessarily rude and ignorant?"

"Pretty much."

"I see," Louella took a sip of her drink, leaving rosy lipstick on the straw. "And do you come here often then?"

Chris almost laughed at his reason for coming here and knowing the barmaid so well. "I come here to use the free wifi, actually. Now that I think about it, that's not a good reason."

Louella's face dropped slightly, her smile faltering as she lowered the glass. Her fingers fiddled with the straw. "So, you don't have your own wifi?"

"I do, but it's shit."

"Can you just not afford it?" She dug deeper.

"Um, it's just that everything is so expensive in London and when you can get something for free, why pay?" He offered her a small, uncomfortable smile as he took a sip of his own drink.

Louella didn't smile back.

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shorter update but this was just an attempt to show Chris getting into the dating scene. he's gonna go on quite a few dates tbh...