Words & Whiskey

EDITED VERSION: Chapter Three

"Alrighty," I singsonged, walking into the dimly lit pub.

I looked up, staring at the faded green sign that simply said, Ed's. I walked briskly to the bar, trying to avoid any possible conversation with the men in the bar, and sat on a green leather stool. Looking at the bartender, whose back was turned to me I said, "I'll have whatever you have on tap, please."

"Coming right up," the man responded, though, I was surprised he could hear my request over the folk music that played over the speakers and the loud conversations people were having. He grabbed a glass, filled it and sat down in front of me, atop a little white napkin. When he saw who he was serving he looked me up and down and smirked. "Anything else, I can do for you?"

I stared at the bartender and shook my head. He was wearing a solid black T-shirt and dark jeans, his hair was a light, sandy-coloured brown, and his eyes were a warm hazel. I will admit, he was attractive, but being hit on at a bar wasn't something I particularly liked — especially because I have Kieran. Even if we were fighting, I wouldn't betray him by flirting with some bartender.

I sat there for a few minutes, waiting for Darian to finish up his phone call. I sincerely hope everything was going okay, but I didn't want to go out and intrude. Taking a large sip of my beer, I continued to wait, contemplating if I should pull the book I had brought in case of an emergency, out of my purse.

That's when the bartender caught my eye again. He was leaning against the counter that had all the drinks displayed, arms crossed, staring directly at me, his muscles especially prominent as he did so.

"Can I help you?" I snapped, arching a brow. I really was not in the mood to be stared at like some zoo animal. Between my falling asleep in class, fighting with Kieran, and this perverted bartender, I was certainly not having the best day of my life.

The man in front of me gave me a lopsided smirk, "Feisty. I like that."

I rolled my eyes and then narrowed them at the bartender, "Shouldn't you be doing your job?"

"There are other things I could be doing," he responded with a wink. He started pouring another drink for a different customer. When he was finished, he slid it down the countertop to the customer and turned back to me. "Got a name?"

"Audrey."

The man gave me a wicked grin and something told me he was up to no good. "I'm Nathan."

"Lovely," I replied dryly, hoping my lack of enthusiasm would get him to stop talking to me.
The door to the pub opened, and thankfully, Darian walked in. However, he looked fairly distraught.

"Is everything okay?" I asked my roommate, concern etched onto my face.

He nodded his head slowly, "Uh, yeah. I think so."

"Think so?" I questioned, pushing my drink over to him so he can have a sip.

Darian quickly grabbed it and chugged the remaining contents. He took a moment and then loosed a breath. "Sorry," he said looking at the now empty beer bottle, "Anyway, Justin called and he was very emotional."

"About?"

"Us," Darian responded. "He wants to get back together. He believes we made a mistake breaking up so abruptly."

I pushed my hair behind my ear and leaned closer to my roommate. "What did you say?"

"I said I'd think about it but I don't want to be rash, so we agreed to meet up for lunch sometime next week," he sighed. After a few deep breaths, he looks up, staring to the right of me.