The absolute last thing you wanted to do tonight was go out to the bar with your super hot best friend and her model-esque friends from work, but it was Katie's birthday and she wanted you to come out and celebrate. How could you say no?
You were having a really bad day, just feeling down about yourself and hating your face, hating your hair, hating your flabby stomach and your untoned arms. You must have put on ten different shirts, critiquing each one harshly before chucking it to the bottom of your closet. That one was too tight, this one made your arms look huge, this one's ok from the front, but look at your back. Nothing was fitting or making you feel good so you settled on a plain black fitted Old Navy tee and a pair of jeans. You threw on a bit of eye shadow and lip-gloss purely because you knew Katie would say something if you didn't, and pulled your hair up into a ponytail. You stared at your reflection and sighed. "I guess this is the best we can do." you said and headed out to meet your friend.
It's not like you were actively trying to have a bad time, but it was happening anyway.
The gaggle of girls you were with had claimed the corner of the bar and around the bend so you grabbed the stool at the very end putting your back against the wall. It seemed like the best place to hide. Katie tried to pull you up and into conversation but quickly gave up, leaving you to sulk and drink your beer in silence. You watched her having a fun time, laughing with her work friends and hardcore flirting with several of the guys around the place. She was so good at it and the guys went to her like a moth to a flame. She was beautiful: perfect long blonde hair, cute tiny little nose, and giant perky breasts that everyone was jealous of. You looked down at yourself and shook your head. There was no way in hell you could ever compete with Katie. You knew it wasn't true, but at times like this you felt like she only kept you around to be the ugly friend. Sure you could get up and hang out with them and have fun, but what was the point? You'd pretend to have fun, forcing yourself to get involved in their conversation, and then watch as they each got picked up by some random dude and you'd head home alone, again. No, much better to sit back against the wall and mind your business. The people watching was better over here anyway.
As you watched your friends you suddenly became aware of someone watching you. You quickly looked around and saw a man sitting at the opposite end of the bar, sipping a beer and openly staring at you. He was absolutely gorgeous, short dirty blonde hair and amazing eyes. You looked down and away, he was probably just lost in thought and happened to be looking in your direction. No way he was actually looking at you. You tapped your foot and tried to think about something else but your eyes went right back to him. He hadn't moved or looked away. He was staring right at you. Your stomach flipped a little, sending butterflies through you as he wrapped his full lips around the beer bottle and took a sip, never taking his eyes off of you. You watched his neck muscles as he swallowed slowly and you got a little dizzy; you had forgotten to breathe for a second. The man's lips curled into a sexy half smile and he lowered his eyes, finally breaking contact and looking away from you.
You took a deep breath and went back to staring at your beer. Holy hell, was he really looking at you? That wasn't possible. You picked at the label on the bottle, trying not to look back up at the man. You didn't want to look up to find him talking to someone else though you fully expected too. Why would he be looking at you when there were a hundred prettier women flirting their perfect butts off around you? Your eyes floated back up and you gave a little sad laugh: he was gone. Oh well, you probably imagined him anyway.
Katie was laughing at something hysterical that a short frat-boy looking dude had whispered to her. You watched as she threw her head back and tossed her long hair over her shoulder. She was a pro. You could never flirt like that, so free and confident. You sighed and spun around on the stool so you were facing the bar and not your friends. You lifted the beer to your lips and took a big sip as a dark shadow appeared next to you.
"Excuse me…" said the shadow. You looked out of the corner of your eye and almost choked, swallowing quickly and turning to face the man from the other end of the bar. Your eyes drifted up from his red plaid shirt to his emerald eyes. You knew your mouth was hanging open but you couldn't help it or move to close it, so you bit down hard on your bottom lip and smiled awkwardly.
"Hi." you managed to say.
"Hey. Can I get you another beer?" He asked with a smile.
"Um…I… beer?" You cringed as you heard yourself stumble over simple words. You cleared your throat. "Yeah, thanks."
He laughed and waved at the bartender. "I'm Dean." He held his hand out and you took it. His hands were big and rough and warm. "Hi Dean. I'm Y/N." He smiled again and you almost fell off your seat. He smiled with his whole face, eyes crinkling around the edges, subtle dimples appearing in his cheeks.
The bartender put down two new bottles and swept the old ones away. Dean turned to you and held his beer out "Cheers." He said with a wink. You couldn't make your mouth do anything; you just stared at him in disbelief. He laughed again and you thought you'd die. "Are you…OK?" he asked.
You took a deep breath and laughed. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm kind of out of it today. Sorry…cheers." You clinked the neck of your beer against his and took a deep drink.
Katie came over and stood between you and Dean. She crossed her arms in front of her, pressing her cleavage together. "Hey Y/N. You OK?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." You rolled your eyes and turned away, knowing you were about to lose Dean's interest. Katie flashed her clear blue eyes at him, "Hey there." She smiled and placed her hand on his knee. A tiny flame came to life in your stomach and you took a deep breath, trying to push the hurt away.
Dean looked down at her hand and moved his knee away from it. He nodded at her looked back at you. "So Y/N…"
You shook your head as a smile crept over your face. Katie huffed and turned away going back to her work friends.
"Does your friend always do that?" Dean asked.
"Do what?"
"…Interrupt you?"
You nodded and took a drink. "Yeah…all the time."
You and Dean talked forever about nothing. You had almost nothing in common other than a love of cheeseburgers; you didn't talk about work or your friends or anything substantial but it was still a great conversation. He listened to every word you said, really listened and responded; his sparkling eyes were locked into yours the entire time. It was like there was no one else in the bar but the two of you.
Katie and her friends slowly drifted out of the place, some with new companions. Katie made sure for the hundredth time that you were fine to be left alone with Dean before she sneered at him again and went home.
The bar was just about empty but for your two and a few stragglers down at the other end. It was getting late, but you didn't want to leave. You were quiet for a moment, debating whether you should make a move or not. Thankfully Dean spoke first, "You seemed nervous when I first came over here."
"I was a little." You confessed.
"So what, did you think I was gonna come over here and hit on your or something?" He asked, his teeth scraped across his bottom lip.
"I had that thought, yes." You said coyly.
"So can I?"
You tilted your head, "Can you what?"
"Hit on you?" You opened your mouth to say 'yes' but his lips were on yours before you could get anything to come out. You closed your eyes and kissed him back, his tongue slipped between your lips, searching your mouth. You swooned and pulled back. You climbed down off the barstool and moved closer to him, standing between his legs, and kissed him again. His hands came up to cradle your face; your fingers went to his chest, feeling the hard muscles beneath his flannel shirt. You breathed into him, letting out a gentle whimper when he pulled back.
"What would you say if I asked you to leave with me right now?" He asked, his eyes traveling over your face, lingering on your mouth.
"I'd say this turned out to be an awesome night." You said, licking your lips for him.
Dean stood up and threw some bills onto the bar. He grabbed your hand and pulled you along with him towards the door. "Oh sweetheart, tonight's about to get a whole lot more awesome."