"What kind of accent is that?"
The sentence was out of her mouth before she had time to think. The words sounded almost like an accusation, instead of an invitation for the woman sitting next to her to say something more elaborate than a drink order. Not really her most stellar moment.
And Chloe wasn't picky about the conversation topic—the woman could say anything, really. She just wanted to hear her talk some more. She'd wanted to talk to this impressive, stoic woman the moment she'd set foot in the pub, and now that she was seated next to her, she couldn't resist the urge to flirt—even just a little.
Chloe winced at her less-than-polite tone (way to start off on the wrong foot, idiot), but Wonder Woman—indeed, she'd never seen anybody in better shape—didn't seem to care. In fact, Chloe's candidness grabbed her attention.
"South African," the woman responded, looking amused. There was a small smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth, and Chloe let her gaze slip down to the woman's lips, just long enough for her to notice.
"And is that British or Australian I hear? I can never remember." Wonder Woman a took a sip of her drink—Amarula on the rocks, Chloe remembered her ordering. I bet she tastes like caramel.
"The sexier one," she replied, putting on her best grin. It was the other woman's turn to be distracted by a smile, and Chloe relaxed in her seat. "Brits are a bit dry for my taste. They make good whiskey, though." She took a sip of her own drink and cast a look around the pub, partly to look casual and partly to see if her employer had shown up yet. She should be keeping to herself while she waited for her client to arrive, but Wonder Woman really was something else.
Besides, she could still make rent this month and probably the next, so work wasn't a pressing issue at the moment.
Wonder Woman smiled at her comment, and turned to face Chloe on the bar stool. Her profile had been impressive enough, but now Chloe got a full view of her; compact muscle twining up her arms, not the least bit concealed under her thin grey sweater; an enviously flat stomach cutting smooth lines down her shirt; and hard, toned legs pulling at the material of her dark jeans. She exuded a confidence that assured everyone that the muscle wasn't earned from lifting weights in a gym, and the freckles dusting her cheekbones and her curly dark hair only made her hardness all the more striking as opposed to detracting from it.
"What's your name, China?" the woman asked, running her finger up the glass of her drink to catch a droplet of condensation.
The word choice was odd, but the endearment was clear enough, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't fond of it. It took her a moment, but Chloe made eye contact again. Wonder Woman seemed fully aware of how unabashedly she was being checked out, and looked highly amused. And interested. Chloe made a show of crossing her legs and ran a slow finger under her mouth in retaliation. The movement never failed to draw attention, and even this woman who looked like she could kill Chloe with her big toe wasn't immune.
Then she realised the woman had said something to her and grinned, leaning back on the wood of the bar and playing with her glass. "Depends on who's asking."
"Someone who likes your accent," the woman said. She reached over to grab her drink, and her knee brushed Chloe's. With how tight and deliberate her movements were, she doubted it was accidental.
"Chloe Frazer," she supplied after a small pause. Wonder Woman's eyes looked like they flashed with recognition, but it quickly dissolved into controlled humour again, and Chloe was too absorbed in sealing in the last final touches on their conversation to devote much thought to it.
"Chloe," Wonder Woman repeated, and she suppressed a shiver at how the vowels sounded rolling out of the woman's mouth—how the L in her name slowly dragged off the woman's tongue, how the E seemed to fall away at the end in a whisper.
Stuff her client—work could wait.
"And what's yours, love?" Chloe buried her nose in her drink for a moment while she waited, smearing some of her lipstick on the rim of the glass, something that also didn't go unnoticed by her conversational partner. Wonder Woman looked interested—oh, she was definitely interested, sitting with one foot resting on Chloe's bar stool and brushing her curly hair back with a slow palm.
She'd just message the client in the morning, say she got caught up. She just hoped Wonder Woman's hotel room had good cell service.
Then the woman leaned in towards her, her sharp features so close to Chloe's face that they went a bit blurry. "Pay my tab and I'll let you say it as much as you want, China," the woman whispered, her mouth brushing Chloe's cheek.
Oh god, she did smell like caramel. Wonder Woman leaned back and slipped off the bar stool in one graceful motion. She grabbed her drink and drained what was left, and god even her drinking looked sexy and deliberate. "Come on, Chloe," she said, grinning. "I'd like to hear it in that pretty accent of yours."