ELECTRIC FEEL ↝ Schmidt

CHAPTER FIVE

SLIGHTLY HUMMING, SCHMIDT was looking around the bar and searching for a man who seemed at least somewhat acceptable to introduce to the great Elise Stevens. Meanwhile, the woman herself was finishing her tea and tapping her finger against the counter, along the AC/DC song playing from the old jukebox resting against the wall behind them. Yes, she had agreed to his plan despite the amount of crazy it came with, but instead of participating in the hunt for the perfect man, Elise let Schmidt do the work while she quietly murmured the lyrics, and occasionally drowned them in the orange flavored tea so she wouldn't be heard. Schmidt did hear, though, and it took every inch of power and control in him to not smile and applaud right there and then — perhaps fetch all the awards in the world just for her.

"What about that guy?", Schmidt broke the silence between them, pointing towards a relatively handsome, young man, though one he considered to be fairly average, and not too difficult to beat. Schmidt did want Elise to be happy and have fun, but he wanted her to have that with him, but he had already been too selfish, and desired to cover up his feelings anyway, so finding someone else for Elise seemed like the right path to go down on. Which it wasn't, obviously, as it came with many risks, but still he nodded towards the guy he had spotted, and Elise smiled shyly at the attractive sight.

Elise shrugged, and glanced at Schmidt with a hint of pink covering her cheeks. "I mean, it's not Chris Evans, but...", she commented and Schmidt clapped his hands together in victory, even if in a way, it was a defeat. To cover up his actual feelings — the sadness, the faint jealousy rising in his chest and the frustration towards himself for even suggesting this — Schmidt smiled and repeated the word brilliant too many times, until it was weird and shady, but before Elise had time to question his well being, the man had already moved on to the next step.

"Let's see what we have here. From his clothes you can tell he's your typical overdue frat boy. Only parties, wears his cap backwards, thinks he's still young and not having a job is awesome. Also eats cereal for each meal of the day. Not boyfriend or husband material, but just perfect for a night of good fun!", Schmidt grinned and patted Elise's shoulder encouragingly. The woman took her first steps towards the man, who by now had noticed her and was smiling flirtatiously, causing her to blush while Schmidt was slowly growing more and more jealous, but before she could awkwardly stumble over to him, Schmidt stopped her.

Elise gave Schmidt a confused look as the man held her wrist to stop her from leaving, though she had no time to question his intentions when he had already spoken. "Silly Elise, obviously I have to teach you a few tips on how to flirt. First of all, don't get too attached. You're not looking for anything long-term tonight, right?", Schmidt explained, offering advice, which Elise wanted to reject, and wished to insist that she was fine without his help, but that wasn't the truth so she remained by his side. With a nod, Elise confirmed that Schmidt held her attention in a grip equal to the one he had on her wrist, a gesture that sent her heart out of this world, but she attempted to stay cool and calm.

Schmidt listed things she should keep in mind, and most of them were something she had known beforehand. Still, even if she was a nice person, she didn't feel too confident or certain about going over to such a good-looking man. But the man did seem a bit interested in her too, and in a moment of weakness, Elise reminded herself that on the opening night of her store, she had gone to Schmidt and Nick despite the constant worrying and anxiety, and that removed a fraction of her strong insecurity. She could do this — that was what Schmidt repeated, giving her hand a slight squeeze, which melted her insides into a mess and in the need to escape the situation before it could escalate any further, she nodded and let go.

"I can do this", Elise confirmed, and gave Schmidt a grateful smile, before gulping down the last drops of her tea. Once she had inhaled deeply and gathered the shreds of her bravery from within, Elise strided over to the man by the jukebox, the one with the charming smile and deep eyes, which alone was enough to earn an adoring sigh from Elise. However, she could not stop herself from thinking back to Schmidt, and comparing the new guy to him, but once she remembered that her chances with Schmidt were rather slim, she offered her hand shyly to the man before her. "Hi, I'm Elise", she smiled faintly, and instantly, the man took her slender fingers and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.