Hey everyone, this is one of the new stories that I've been working on lately. I hope you all enjoy it; let me know what you think!

Carlos stood behind the bar, leaning on the wall behind him with his arms folded and gazing around the room. It was quite a quiet night, only a few regulars in, and Carlos was thankful for that. It was a Monday night anyway, so he didn't expect it to be that busy.

There were a couple of men sitting up at the bar, nursing their beers and chatting about their days working at the office. Carlos listened to them for a short while but soon got bored. Instead, he busied himself by cleaning the counter.

His attention was drawn to someone else walking up to the bar. He glanced over and his eyes widened slightly when he spotted a young woman perching on a barstool. Carlos quickly cleared his throat and made his way over, putting on his most charming smile.

"Evening, pretty lady, what can I get you?"

The slender brunette laughed lightly, "Jack and Coke, please?"

"Coming right up."

Carlos grinned and got to work on the drink, smirking as he felt the girl's eyes on him. He handed the drink to her and flashed another grin at her before taking the money and putting it in the register.

Carlos was always told to be friendly with the customers to encourage them to buy more drinks and come back again; this was always easier when Carlos found the customer attractive.

"Is it just you tonight?" the girl spoke, watching him curiously.

Carlos nodded and leant against the bar, smiling at her, "Yeah! It's actually my first time on my own. I think the boss finally trusts me enough."

Carlos loved hearing her laugh. She bowed her head as she blushed under his gaze and swirled the liquid around in her glass, gently tossing her long brown hair back over her shoulder.

"So, why are you here alone? Meeting someone?" Carlos asked, hoping that he was wrong.

The girl shrugged, "I just fancied a drink and I didn't want to go anywhere too loud."

"You came to the right place then. We only really get busy here towards the end of the week, which sort of sucks because I get bored just standing around."

"Yeah, that must suck."

The conversation went silent for a moment and Carlos couldn't help letting his eyes wander over the girl's body. She wore a short and simple black dress with a white cardigan that matched the ribbon in her hair. She was better dressed than almost all of the girls that Carlos saw come in the bar; Carlos liked a girl who didn't flaunt off her body all the time.

"I'm Carlos, by the way."

"I'm L-Lola," the girl replied nervously, a blush creeping up to her cheeks.

"That's a pretty name," Carlos grinned.

"Thank you."

Carlos groaned when a customer came up to the bar, wanting to be served. He excused himself and then went to get the man his drinks, quickly returning to Lola and handing her another Jack and Coke. She raised an eyebrow at him and Carlos just smiled back, rocking on the balls of his feet.

"It's on me."

"That's sweet. Thank you," she smiled, flattered. "I-I'll have to pay you back sometime."

Carlos quickly shook his head, "No, you don't! It's free, you don't have to pay. I'm giving it to you."

Lola laughed lightly at his confusion, "No, I meant. I should buy you a drink sometime..."

"Oh," Carlos was surprised. "Wow. Yeah, that'd be awesome."

"Are you free this week?"

Carlos quickly nodded, "Yes! Well, I'm working tomorrow, Friday and Saturday...but I'm totally free any other day."

"Thursday then?"

"Definitely...I'd love that."

Lola blushed again, not used to the attention, "I'll give you my number..."

She grabbed a napkin and pulled a pen out of her purse, quickly jotting down her phone number and handing it to Carlos. The Latino man stared at it in shock for a couple of seconds and then carefully put it in his back pocket.

Lola had finished her drink and she checked the time on her phone with a sigh, "I better get going."

"Oh, do you have to?"

"I'm afraid so. But decide somewhere we can go on Thursday, you know the bars better than I do, and give me a text or a ring, whatever."

Carlos nodded excitedly, "Wait! Will you come back tomorrow? I mean, I'm all alone again and I like talking to you."

Lola smiled shyly, "I-I'll see if I can make it."

"Okay, I'll be waiting."

"Goodbye, Carlos."

"Bye."

Carlos sighed as he watched the girl walk out of the bar, smiling at the sound of her heels on the wooden floor. The door had only just shut behind her and Carlos was already pulling out his phone, saving her number in it and then he phoned his best friend. He wasn't supposed to use his phone while he was at work, but this couldn't wait.

"James!" he beamed. "You'll never guess what!"

"No, I probably won't, knowing you. What is it?"

"I have a date!"

"You do?" James replied in surprise.

"Yep! And she's super pretty!"

"Wow, that's awesome man."

"Cheers buddy. B-But I'm nervous, I don't know what to do. I haven't been on a date in ages. What do I wear?"

James laughed, "Don't worry, I'll help you out. We can talk about it when you get home, okay?"

"Okay, sure. Thanks James."

"No problem. Now get back to work, you know you shouldn't be on the phone..."

Carlos rolled his eyes, "Fine. But this was important."

"Sure it was," James replied in amusement. "I'll see you later."

"Later James."

Carlos closed up at half one and was back to his apartment by 1:50. He smiled when he saw James sitting on the sofa watching the TV.

"Hey buddy."

"'Sup, Carlitos. How was work?"

Carlos shrugged, "Quiet, like usual."

James nodded, knowing how quiet Monday nights usually are, since he also worked at the bar, but today he'd had the day off.

"So," James smirked. "Tell me about her."

Carlos' face lit up straight away and he collapsed next to James with a sigh, "Oh, she's perfect."

"Perfect, really? How much do you know about her?"

Carlos shrugged, grinning from ear to ear, "I know her name's Lola and I know she wants to go for drinks on Thursday."

James laughed and shook his head in amusement, "What were you doing, anyway? You were supposed to be working."

"I was! She was sitting at the bar on her own, so I was talking to her...You always flirt with the girls that come in!"

"Actually, they flirt with me," James smirked.

Carlos rolled his eyes, "Sure. Whatever. But she likes me...can you believe that?"

"No, I can't. There must be something wrong with her," James joked.

"Hey!"

"So where are you going with her? What time?"

Carlos shrugged, "I don't know yet. She said I can decide."

"Did you get her number then?"

Carlos nodded proudly and fished the napkin out of his back pocket, waving it in James' face.

"You sure it's real?"

Carlos' face fell, "What? Why wouldn't it be?"

"Dunno...She could be one of those bitches who like to mess with guys."

"No, she wouldn't do that. Would she? Crap. How do I know if it's fake?"

"Duh, you ring it!"

Carlos nodded quickly and searched through his contacts, hitting dial and then he waited. It took a few rings, but eventually someone answered.

"Hello?"

"L-Lola? Is that you? It's Carlos...f-from the bar."

"What? Oh!" Carlos heard her clear her throat. "H-Hey. Yeah, it's me. Why are you ringing at this time?"

"Shit! I'm sorry! Were you asleep? It's just-just, James made me panic. He said it could be a fake number and that you tricked me and I wanted to check and it's late, I'm sorry. I'm so stupid."

"Carlos, calm down," came her light laughter. "I would never give you a fake number."

"Yeah, good. I-I knew it wouldn't be fake," Carlos grinned, giving James a pointed look.

The pretty boy laughed and got up, whispering to Carlos that he was going to bed because he had to open the bar tomorrow. Carlos waved him off with a flick of his hand.

"So, are you gonna stop by tomorrow?"

"I-I'll try to. But I can't make any promises."

"Well, I hope you can."

"Me too. I gotta get some sleep though, Carlos. I have work in the morning."

"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry for waking you."

"It's fine. I'll see you. Bye."

"Good night."

Carlos sighed happily as he hung up the phone. He went to sleep with a smile on his face, dreaming of his brown-eyed beauty.

Carlos was distracted the whole time he was at work the next day, hoping that Lola would show her face. But it was getting later and later and he was beginning to think that she wasn't coming. Tonight was only slightly busier than last night, but it still meant a lot of standing around.

It was about half eleven when Carlos spotted the girl he'd been waiting for sitting at the bottom of the bar, in the same seat she was in the previous night. He grinned and hurried over to her.

"Hey! I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

Lola smiled at him, biting down on her lipgloss-covered bottom lip, "Sorry, it's been a busy day."

"You could do with a drink then." Carlos made her up a Jack and Coke and handed to her with a smile. "Free of charge."

"Won't you get in trouble if you keep handing out free drinks?"

Carlos shrugged, "Um...no, it'll be fine."

Lola smile shyly and thanked him for the drink. They got talking again and Carlos was frustrated anytime a customer would want serving. Lola just laughed affectionately at him and waited patiently.

Closing time came around and Carlos was kicking people out. Lola came up to him and laid a gentle hand on his arm.

"I better go find a cab."

Carlos' face dropped, "I-If you wait around for a little bit longer then I can give you a ride home?"

"You'd do that?"

"Of course."

"Thank you," Lola sighed. "Why are you so sweet to me?"

"Because I think you're beautiful," Carlos admitted with a blush.

Lola blushed in return and bowed her head, her long hair falling over her face. Carlos smiled and started to stack the chairs on the tables, he was surprised when Lola started to help him.

"Hey, you don't have to do that."

"I want to."

Once everything was clean and in order, they both left the bar and made their way to Carlos' car. Carlos immediately started singing along to the radio and Lola watched on in amusement.

Carlos followed her directions and it didn't take long for them to reach Lola's apartment block. They sat in the car for a moment in silence and then turned to each other with shy smiles.

"Thank you, Carlos."

"That's okay...Are you still up for Thursday night?"

"Yes, definitely!"

Carlos grinned, "I could pick you up at half seven? There's a club on 3rd that's pretty cool..."

"That sounds great. I'll see you then."

Carlos nodded excitedly, "Okay! Good night, Lola."

Logan leant over and lightly pressed her lips to the Latino's cheek. "Good night, Carlos," she replied quietly with a smile and then she climbed out of the car, leaving Carlos sitting there in shock, his hand touching his cheek.

Carlos sighed happily as he watched her walk away. He hadn't been this happy in a while; he hadn't had much luck romantically. He couldn't believe that someone like Lola would consider a guy like him.

Carlos was giddy all the way home.

On Thursday night, Carlos dressed in a light blue dress shirt, black jeans and his leather jacket and then drove over to Lola's house. He found that he was a little early – due to excitement mainly – and he waited in the car for a bit longer before he sent her a text to say he was outside.

About ten minutes later, Lola appeared out of the door and Carlos quickly got out of the car. He stared at her for a moment, admiring the deep purple dress he was wearing - that, once again, matched the headband she was wearing – and black cardigan with matching black heels.

"You look amazing," Carlos admitted with a shy smile.

Lola blushed and tried to fight back a grin, "Thank you. You look great as well...Do you maybe want to get a cab to the bar? That way you don't have to leave your car there..."

"What, I just leave it here?"

Lola nodded, "You can come and get it in the morning."

"Do you just want an excuse to see me again tomorrow?" Carlos smirked.

Lola giggled and blushed harder, "Uh, maybe?"

Carlos laughed softly, "Okay then. Let's call a cab."

"Oh, I've already done that. It should be here in a couple of minutes."

Carlos laughed again and shook his head in amusement.

The ride to the bar was quiet, but it was comfortable. Carlos couldn't keep his eyes off Lola; his gaze admired her long soft hair, her cute little dimples, the classy cut of her dress, and how great her legs looked in the dark tights.

Lola caught his gaze a couple of times and flashed him a beautiful, crooked smile that made Carlos' heart flutter each time.

Carlos helped Lola out of the cab and kept a hold of her hand as they walked up to the bar. Carlos couldn't stop grinning but he tried to hide some of his excitement because he was afraid he'd frighten her away – a lot of the girls he'd dated couldn't handle his colourful and energetic personality.

"Would you like a drink?" Carlos offered as they stepped up to the bar.

Lola smiled and shook her head, "I said I'd be paying tonight. Since you keep giving me free drinks..."

"You don't have to—"

"What would you like?" she asked with a smile, grabbing her purse out of her bag.

"So how long have you been working at the bar?" Lola asked, sucking on her straw as they sat in a booth at the side of the room.

"About six months. I started, like, two months after my twenty-first? James got me the job," Carlos grinned. "They were reluctant at first, but they gave in."

Lola chuckled softly, "Why were they reluctant?"

Carlos blushed, "I'm a bit clumsy...I'd come in and see James at work and apparently I'd always break or spill something while I was there." Carlos rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, "It's not my fault that people put them in my way!"

"And they gave you the job even though you broke a bunch of stuff?"

Carlos grinned, "Yep. It's because I'm so loveable."

"Well, you're right about that."

Carlos face lit up at the compliment and he glanced over at the dance floor, "Do you want to go dance with me?"

"Oh, I've definitely not had enough to drink to dance in public..." she laughed.

Carlos smirked and got out of his seat, "I'll go get us some more drinks then."

He was gone before Lola could even protest about him buying the drinks, so she sat back and waited patiently for him to return. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that there was a small crowd gathered at the bar, so she had time to pull out her compact mirror and check that her hair looked okay and that her lip-gloss was still on.

Carlos returned and Lola quickly shut her mirror and shoved it in her bag, smiling as Carlos set down her drink and slid in next to her in the booth again.

"So, where do you work? I don't think you've said."

"I'm a teaching assistant in an elementary school."

"Oh wow! I love children!" Carlos beamed. "They're so cute!"

"Yes," Lola laughed. "They're also very tiring. I'm always rushing around after them, trying to keep them out of trouble."

"Aww, I bet you're great with them."

"I do love them though; they're so sweet. I love my job."

"We never had any hot teachers when I was at school," Carlos complained. "They were all old."

Lola let out a surprised laugh and blushed, focusing on her drink. Carlos just smiled affectionately at her as he took another drink from his glass.

It wasn't long before Carlos got up and grabbed Lola's hand, "Please dance with me?"

Lola glanced at the dance floor, there were a lot of people on it so no one would really pay attention to two more. She then looked back at Carlos and he looked so adorable that she couldn't find it in her heart to say no.

It amused Lola how energetic Carlos was on the dance floor and she giggled when Carlos suddenly span her and pulled her close. She gazed into his eyes with a small gasp and then pulled away with a blush.

"What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing."

Another upbeat song came on and Carlos tried to pull his date close again, but he was surprised when she turned around so that her back was leant up against his chest; he wasn't complaining though. He gripped her hips as they swayed and bit his lip as her ass brushed against his crotch. Lola could feel Carlos' hands slip from her hips and grabbed them to prevent him from going any lower, and then she gasped when she felt his lips against her neck. She loved the feeling but felt uncomfortable doing all this in public.

"We should go back to mine," she suggested.

Carlos' eyes went wide and he opened his mouth but was cut off when Lola laughed lightly.

"That came out wrong...I meant for coffee or something. It's more private than here...but my roommate will be there."

Carlos smiled at the thought of spending some more time with Lola and he nodded, "Sure! Your roommate, will she mind me coming in?"

Lola smiled in amusement as they walked off the dance floor and made their way to the door, "My roommate's a guy. But no, he won't mind."

Carlos frowned, "You live with a guy? Should I be jealous?"

"No! Of course not!" Lola chuckled while she rolled her eyes. "He's been my best friend since we were really little. He's very protective though, you have to be careful."

Carlos suddenly looked nervous which amused Lola but she gave him a calming smile and grabbed his hand while they went to find a cab.

So, what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Have any suggestions? I'd love to hear your opinions!