Better Than Before

Chapter Thirteen

Amber liquid splashed down onto the wooden tabletop before the sound of the glasses thudded down. Sean looked up from where he was sat in corner of the noisy pub. Kelsey smiled down at him, her hands dramatically signalling to the beverages in front of them.

"Tadaa!" She sang before shuffling around the tiny table to perch on the stool next to Sean. Bodies past by the front of their table and voices rang out into the constant buzz that filled the small pub. Sean grabbed one of the glasses pulling it along the table leaving a wet trail of spilled beer behind it. The buzz from his surroundings was drilling deep beneath his skull, at least that's what it felt like or it was the five beers he had already consumed putting a hazy filter on everything.

"To your victory." Kelsey's voice cut through the chatter of alien voices, Sean raised his glass to hers the glasses clinking loudly.

"You've said that with every pint so far." Sean said a smirk plastered on his face.

"Just really want to celebrate your extraordinary win." Kelsey said sarcastically rolling her eyes, taking a large gulp she placed her glass back on the table and turned in her seat to face Sean. Her knees brushed up against the side of his thighs, Sean's grip tightened around the pint glass. He took another long chug trying to ignore their proximity.

"No but really. I had a really fun time." Her voice was a half shout to be heard over the crowd but Sean knew that she could've whispered and he would've hung on to every word, hearing it with upmost clarity. He glanced over to Kelsey, her nose scrunched up as she continued to smile, the alcohol also appeared to have a loose grip on her too. His eyes tracked the freckles that ran across her cheekbones, decorating them in miniature constellations. A loose strand of hair fell in a wave in front of her eyes, instinctively Sean reached out delicately, his fingers lightly tracing her skin as he tucked it behind her ear.

"So you think we're on for a second date?" He asked, captivating her gaze with his own.

"I think that's the true prize of the evening." Kelsey answered playing with the lip of her glass.

"So is that a yes?"
"Potentially." Kelsey teased pulling the glass to her lips, the alcohol giving her a confident buzz throughout her entire body. "I wouldn't say the first date is over yet." Keeping her eyes locked on Sean's she took another sip of her beverage.

Sean shook his head his disbelief his laughter ringing out through the bar floor. He grabbed his pint tipping it in Kelsey's direction.
"Touché." Their glasses clinked once more.

"So is this how your first dates usually go then?" Sean leant back, careful not to tumble back into the bookshelf behind him. Kelsey scoffed into her glass, shaking her head. "Oh, how so?"

Swallowing and putting her nearly empty glass back onto the table Kelsey sat upright and placed her hands in front of her face as if she was about to divulge a deep secret.
"I don't date."

Seans eyebrows raised, silently asking her to indulge him with for information.
"This part." Kelsey gestured around her and the empty glasses that were stacked at the end of the table. "This part I know very well. But the part that comes after- Oh Henderson I'm a god damn professional at that part."

The way she whispered his name sent a shiver down his spine, goosebumps raised across the back of his neck. Her devilish smile igniting a flame deep within his chest. A smile all his own full of fiendish contempt spreading across his face.

"So what you're telling me is that I've consulted someone who doesn't date on advice for dating?"
"Unfortunately so."
"Do you know what that mean's for our second date?"
"You seem very confident in this second date id-"
"Oh there's going to be a second date Owens." Sean leant back towards Kelsey as he cut her off, his fingers gently resting on her lips. "And we're going to do it my way."