When we started this, there were 4 Seth fanfiction writers around on Tumblr. We were all given the same prompt, title and a deadline. The prompts were "orange" and "salsa dancing". This is my version of Two Margaritas Later. I kinda rushed the ending, because I was pushing the deadline. I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think of it.
It's a little over 3 pm on his day off when the doorbell rings. He frowns, wondering whom it can be – everyone close to him is aware of the fact he doesn't enjoy being interrupted on these rare days of total relaxation. The mischievous thought of not answering the door crosses his mind for a split second, but he figures it may be urgent. He lays down the book he's currently reading, laying it beside him on the couch, and slowly approaches the door. The veracious wrath of the sun immediately greets him when he opens, blinding him momentarily.
Before he can adjust his eyes to the sharp, intense blaring of the sun and see who decided to disturb his precious me-time, a female voice speaks up, "You know how I always tell you to get out more?".
Seth smirks as he instantly recognizes that voice, "Yes. And hello to you, too". He squints his eyes, raising a hand to look at who's leaning oh so sassy against the doorframe with her hand on her hip.
"You know how I told you yesterday to do something fun today?"
"Yes"
"Does this, being trapped inside your house, not going outside to meet other human beings, look like you're doing something fun?"
He folds his arms before his chest, "As a matter of fact, I am doing something fun".
"Oh yes? And what might that be?", a single eyebrow is lifted.
"I'm…", he looks around behind him, hoping to find something that may assist him in convincing his sister, "I'm actually about to cook. All by myself"
"Oh, so you're taking up cooking, are you?"
He bites down onto his lip, resisting the urge to burst out in laughter. Him? Cooking? Oh hell no. This might be the worst lie he ever told anyone. He's an absolute nightmare. No one should ever allow him in the kitchen. His sister, sadly, knows this all too well. And he can tell, as to how she says something, that she's not an idiot nor easily convinced.
"Yes, I am", he says matter-of-factly, hoping to sound sincere.
"Right", she says, rolling her eyes before pushing herself off of the frame, "Here's what you're going to do…"
"For the love of God, I'm going to stop you right there, Rachael; no. I hate it when you do these things for me. Everything's perfectly fine the way it is right now", he says as his sister passes him and enters his home. She continues to make her way inside, actually letting herself in, whether or not Seth likes it, and he quickly follows her footsteps, hoping she doesn't see the open book lying on the couch. However, when she reaches the living room, she redirects herself to him. She shots him a look, as though to say, "Really?", but she never questions him – not out loud, at least.
"I was taking a little break-", he begins, but she cuts him off. She eyes him suspiciously, not buying his lies, "Right. You're going to go out and have some fun today. Get dressed"
"What's wrong with this?", he says, gesturing to his current wear – which consists of horribly decorated Christmas socks, loosely hanging sweats, a tight grey t-shirt, a pair of glasses, and messy bed hair; spikes are directed in every direction. It's his typical stay-in outfit.
"Everything", she says and Seth is about to protest when she puts him to an abrupt halt by lifting her hand up, "You need to properly dress yourself for this. It's a date"
"A date?", he sounds mildly shocked, "Have I met her before?"
"Nope. It's a blind date", she says, beaming proudly of what she has pieced together.
He lets out a loud sigh, "Oh, what are you doing to me? You'll be the death of me, Rach". She giggles. The enthusiasm bug has bitten her fiercer than it has him, but she knows exactly that this is what he needs. He's been stuck in a rut for such a long time. He has been single for too long, really. And when he does, especially after such a hard, difficult break-up, he tends to look himself up, far away from anyone, and deep inside the comfort of his own home. He needs to get out. He needs to have some fun, meet some new, exciting people. This is just that. It's perfect for him!
A worrying hand runs quickly through his hair. Rachael places her hands on his back and starts to push him towards the staircase, and even pushes him to the first floor, "Get dressed!".
A fast train of questions are immediately on their way, "What should I wear? What kind of date is it? What does she look like?".
"Don't worry. I'll prepare your clothes. You just take a shower, put on some nice cologne, shave that stubble, put your contacts in, do your hair for once and blow her away with your charms".
"Is she single?", he asks as they reach the master bedroom. He rushes towards the aligned bathroom, and closes the door quickly.
"Yes", she pauses, searching through several cabinets to piece his outfit together, "Why else would I arrange this?"
"Have you done a full background check on her? You know what happened before. I don't want the same thing all over again.."
"She's fairly sane, believe it or not. Just stop worrying already and get yourself ready"
"But-"
"No buts, just do it!"
After a good twenty minutes of the water of the shower running down and then complete silence following after, Seth reappears in the entrance of the door. He's wearing a soft bathrobe with little ducklings sewn onto it; one he has had for ages but never wore before. It was a gift given to him in good humor by his late mother. After all these years, he never threw it away, even though he had no use for it - until now.
Rachael bursts out in laughter, "Oh God, I need to take a picture of this for dad!". Straightaway, she searches vigorously through her pockets.
"You prefer to see me naked then?"
She shots him a look.
"Fine. Hurry up".
After having found her phone, she snaps a picture of Seth posing with his lips pursed upwards, much like a duck face, in that ridiculously cheerful and childish robe.
"Okay," Rachael breathes, winking away a tear, "Your clothes are on the bed. When you're ready, meet me in the living room and I'll give you further instruction".
"Instruction?", he raises an eyebrow at her and her usage of words.
"Yesssss, you'll see", she mysteriously answers before leaving him alone in the room so that he can change to his preselected outfit.
Seth walks down the stairs, fixing his tie. Rachael places her hands on her hips, glancing him over as if she has yet to approve of him. She starts from head to toe, and - she actually have to give it to him; his hair is well done in a stylish yet neat fauxhawk. The stubble is no more. He's wearing a slim-fitting suit, with both the jacket and khaki's café noir colored but with a touch of brown, or red even, matching perfectly with his fire brick tie, which has a few white stripes, along with some darker red ones. Underneath the jacket, he's wearing a simple white button-up. The black dress socks and patent leather shoes really do make the whole outfit an assemble.
"How do I look?", Seth asks, half-jokingly twirling around so that his sister can fully inspect the change.
"You look -", she cuts herself off, "Wait. Does this mean you're genuinely excited for this?"
He simply nods, "I might be, yes. You were right. Now, how do I look?"
"Fantastic. I'm sure she can't resist you"
Her remark earns her a warm smile, moments before the two share an embrace. She pats him affectionately on the back, "Thanks Rach, for everything".
"It's my pleasure", she says sincere, and the two let go off of each other.
"Now, your next instruction is to drive to this address", she hands him a piece of paper with an address hastily scribbled on it, "She'll be there".
"Is this still in LA? It doesn't seem familiar"
"It is, though", she nods, grinning from ear to ear as she's thrilled that her big brother has finally caved in. He's curious, he seems excited even, and above all, he's actually allowing her to do this! This is a big deal. He must be feeling some butterfly nerves now as well.
"How do I recognize her?"
"You don't"
"Then how do we..?", his voice trails off as he looks up from the card, realization dawning upon him, "She's going to recognize me, isn't she?"
She pats him on the back, "Yup. You'll be drinking margaritas".
"Really?", Rachael bites down onto her lower lip, stifling a laugh as his tone of voice just went up half a note, "What if some total stranger 'recognizes' me?"
"Don't talk to anyone and certainly don't go home with them," she pauses to tease him, sticking her tongue out just a little, causing Seth to shoot her a far less than amused look, "unless her name is Isabella".
His eyebrows immediately shoot up, "Isabella is her name?".
"Yup. Now hurry along or you'll be late!"
Astoundingly, Seth complies immediately. He gives his sister a peck on the cheek as he whispers "Thank you" in her ear, and hurryingly makes his way towards the car.
It amazes him how fast he arrives at the location given by Rachael. He's there within a heartbeat, it seems, but with the distance between his destiny and him decreasing, his pulse start to rise, sweat start to form on his forehead and he's starting to get nervous, real nervous. He pulls up at the parking lot, parks his car and looks at himself for a few seconds in the rear mirror. What is he doing? Is he mad? He's about to meet a woman he's never seen before. His heart seems to be beating frantically; it even seems caught in his throat. He swallows hard, and finds a way to encourage himself. After all – there will be alcohol involved, and that's always a good thing.
Right?
He locks his car and makes his way inside, his heart sinking in his chest. He enters a small, but intimate bar. The room is dim-lit, yet decorated so that the whole place feels like home. It's warm and cozy. He takes a seat at one of the stools at the bar. Should something bad happen, it'll be in the sight of others.
"Can I get you something, Sir?", the bartender asks when he has approached him.
"Yes", he swallows, "I'd like a margarita"
"What kind?"
"The strongest you have to offer"
"All right. Comin' right up", the bartender replies before heading off to make the devilish-tasting drink. He comes back a few minutes later and places the green concoction with a lime wedge on the edge of the glass in front of Seth's nose.
"It's a "Pitcher Perfect", our strongest with 2 cups of tequila"
No shit, one can smell the liquor from afar.
"Thank you", he says and he raises the glass to his lips, sipping the beverage. The bartender nods, leaving him alone to tend to other customers.
Seth waits, and waits, and waits, but no one seems to show up yet. Not counting the various of women sitting abruptly beside him to oh so casually flirt with him as they hope to retrieve his phone number with their vicious ways, lies, and false promises. He has waved them all off, as he's still waiting for his Isabella.
After slowly finishing his drink, it's obvious: Seth has been stood up. As he wallows in self-pity, he orders himself another Pitcher Perfect. Those damn snot-colored drinks are much stronger than what he's used to. He might just get old fashionably drunk. He might even take one of those girls seriously and take them up on their offer. Who knows what will unfold this evening? He's not going to feel bad about this. He refuses to feel bad about this.
He takes a chug of his second drink, given all hope up, until a woman enters the bar. She catches his eyes – at least, her lovely orange knee length dress does. It makes for quite an entrance. It's why he directs himself at her, taking her fully in. She's breathtakingly stunning all right, wearing a dress that puts emphasis on just the right curves: it's hugging her hips delightfully. Her hair is brown, flowing and curly. Her skin is olive-toned. And when she takes a seat right beside Seth, he inwardly cheers as loud as he can. She looks at his drink before making eye contact with him. She smiles warmly. It's then when he realizes she has the most amazing and most beautiful hazel eyes he'd ever seen.
"Hi", he breathes, smitten already by her.
"Hi", she eyes the drink for a few seconds, "I'm Isabella".
His heart immediately starts to pound in his chest, his mouth drops open.
"Um, hi Isabella, I'm.. I'm Seth", he stammers, tripping over his words and stuttering. He can't believe it, she actually showed up and she's fucking gorgeous!
"Hi Seth", she smiles again, "I'm so sorry I'm late".
"That's all right", he smirks back, all forgotten about his earlier self-pity. He even feels awfully flustered in fact, so he tries to divide the attention, and hopes to sooth his nerves by taking a sip of his drink.
"How many did you have so far?", she curiously asks, gesturing towards the Pitcher Perfect.
"It's my second, so I may or may not be responsible for any future actions", he says, giving her a playful wink, causing her to giggle shyly. He really does adore her already.
"How did you actually get involved in this?", Seth asks.
"This?"
"This blind date, I mean"
"You should be asking that yourself, to be honest"
He frowns, "I don't think I quite follow".
"I see Rachael on a frequent level. She's been budging me to have some fun and start dating again"
"Ah", he says, realizing his little sister has been quite the meddler.
"Same thing happened to you?"
"Yes. She enjoys to interrupt my life and give me her opinion on certain issues like these"
Isabella laughs, "She's a sweetheart, though. She told me that she knew someone perfect for me, that you were still single and quite the catch, so, I figured – why the heck not? Let's do it. And you know what? I'm glad I did"
"Oh, stop it. You're making me blush", he says jokingly.
"And that would be, what? The third time within ten minutes?"
He chuckles, cheeks firing up once more.
"Make that four".
"You're very observant"
"I am: I also saw you checking me thoroughly out when I came in just now"
"Wow, I, eh, I…", he raises his hands up in defense, "I have no excuse for that. I'm a pig".
"You are, but a very cute one at that"
"My, my, dear Isabella, are you flirting with me?"
"I just might"
The two share an intimate moment of gazing into each other's eyes, not one of them utters a single word. There is only silence. Just as Seth's about to lean in, she sits back a little and retrieves something from her purse. Clearly, she's fending him off, and to be frank, he can't blame her. They just met. Though, on his behalf, she's so damn captivating.
"Rachael told me to give you the next instruction". She cocks an eyebrow up, giving him a smug look.
"Oh, God. I really hate that word", he playful says, sighing as he rolls his eyes with a smirk.
He quickly finishes his drink and directs himself at the beauty beside him again, though - he can feel the dizziness rising to his head. The tequila has been hitting him hard and relentlessly, "All right. Give me the instruction"
"You think you can handle it?"
"Is that dress of yours extremely tight fitting?"
"Oh, are you going to play it like that, huh? Isn't that suit a little too tight on you as well then?", she smirks deviously as a finger crosses her rose-colored lips. It catches his attention as he bursts out in laughter.
"I guess we're both in tight situations-"
"We should do something about it"
He eyes her suspiciously as his cheeks heat up. He remains silent, and just stares intensely at her. She's really asking for it. Really, really asking for it, and because he's awfully tipsy, he's unsure if he can behave himself. Alcohol always had a way of loosening him up, including his tongue.
Seth coughs, not wanting to spoil their fun, little interaction by doing something he might regret later on, "How about that instruction?"
Isabella holds up a single paper, "You. Me. Salsa dancing".
"I'd hate to crush any kind of unrealistic ideals you have of me, but I'm not much of a dancer"
"Rachael already said you might say something like that", she says, and she stares into his eyes.
"She did, didn't she?", he chews onto his cheek, just barely managing to fight her adorable, attractive features.
"There'll be a private teacher. You'll get to spend more time with me, and you'll get to touch my body," she seductively says, wiggling her eyebrows at him, "Come on".
"Okay", he exhales deeply, "I really like that touching bit. You've convinced me. I'll go salsa dancing with you. Where will we go?"
"Don't you know? There are a couple dance rooms in the back. I booked one for the evening".
She rises to her feet, grabs her purse and offers Seth her hand. He takes it gladly, and notices she's wearing matching orange stilettos. He smirks at this. Naughty images, as to what he can do with her in those, pop in his head, and lets her guide him to the dance studio.
"Do I need to wear one of those gay shirts?"
"No", she laughs, "That won't be necessary"
"So, where's our teacher?"
"You're looking at her", she says, beaming proudly, smirking from ear to ear.
"You've got to be kidding me. You?"
"It's either me or someone else. Do you want someone else? I think I can arrange dirty Bob for you"
"Oh, you're more than fine", he says, his eyes quickly scanning her body again.
"It's nice to know you're not objectifying me"
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to intentionally. It's just that…", he shakes his head, "I'm sorry".
"It's all right. It's not as though you're the only one to blame here," she pauses, giving him a reassuring wink, "I'm going to teach you some basics, okay?"
"Okay", he nods.
"Okay, it's important you get the basic moves down, which is why I'm going to show you first how to do them, so pay attention"
She starts the music, showing him the very basics of salsa dancing for any beginner – she taps her left foot on the first beat, steps forward with the same one before she rocks back onto her right foot. She finishes the movement by stepping back with her left one. Isabella then starts with her right foot. She steps back, rocks forwards with her left foot and steps forward with her right leg again.
"It's fairly easy. Come", she gestures him to stand beside her. He complies and together, they perform the basic steps.
"This is actually not that difficult", Seth exclaims, sounding surprised himself. He might be able to pull it off. Isabella nods, "You did great".
She holds her right hand up and Seth immediately takes hers in his left. He then places his right hand on her waist, a faint smile appears on his face, eyes glistering deviously. She smirks along, placing her left hand on his shoulder.
"It's important that we make constant eye contact. Salsa is a very sensual, sassy dance, you see"
"Speaking of sensual, sassy dances, I do know how to do the salsa dip. Do you want me to demonstrate?"
"Show it to me, big boy"
His tongue cheekily scratches his palate, fighting back the urge to make a nasty, perverted remark. He holds his tongue, however, and takes a hold of her properly. The music starts.
They start with a half cross body lead, he then spins her around, places her hand on his back, as well as his own on hers. His other hand supports her head as he lowers her body. Her hand inches upward towards his arm as her right leg is bend, but her left one is straightened.
"I'm impressed", she softly says, their proximity affecting her.
"Let me impress you some more", he whispers against her lips, silencing her.