She's a regular, but not in the predictable sort of way. She comes in a couple times a week, sometimes with friends and sometimes alone, but she rarely orders the same thing.
He's made it into a sort of game; when he sees the door swing open and the distinctive click of her heels across the weathered floorboards heralds her arrival, he starts to run through the options. Is it a gin and tonic sort of day? Dry martini with a twist? Whiskey smash, heavy on the lime?
Nine times out of ten he's wrong, but that's what keeps it interesting. The illusion that he knows her, when he really knows nothing at all.
Tonight she's alone. Her black leather jacket is speckled with rain, hair curling lightly at the ends from the moisture outside. The air is thick with it, oppressive and muggy, but you'd never be able to tell looking at her. She is all cool confidence, kohl rimmed eyes and heavy lashes, pulling lightly at the soft cotton of her long-sleeve shirt as she peels off her jacket, trying to cover the silvery scars she thinks he's never noticed.
"What will it be tonight Milady?" he greets, eager to hear her answer as she slides onto a bar stool and grins up at him. It's definitely a tequila night, he can almost feel it in his bones.
"Surprise me."
Well, that was unexpected.
"You're really something, you know?" he chuckles, biting his lip as he grabs a shaker and fills it with ice.
Her face turns, lips tipping down and eyes narrowing as she leans further on the bar. "What do you mean?" she challenges.
"Nothing. I didn't mean any offense; it was a compliment actually. You always keep me on my toes."
"Well someone should, you're entirely too relaxed. You look like you could use a good rattling every now and then." She raises one perfectly sculpted eyebrow, her tongue darting out to wet her bottom lip before she pulls it between her teeth, tossing a bitten grin back at him.
Oh, she is in a mood today. They're toeing a line, a fine balance of flirtation and banter she only treats him to on days she comes in alone. It makes him wonder, not for the first time, what she goes home to when she leaves here. Who she goes home to, if anyone at all.
"Was that an offer?" He quips, uncorking a bottle of Patron and sloshing a generous pour into the shaker. Practiced hands re-cork the bottle and reach for the dry vermouth, adding a splash to the mixture then topping it all with a dash or orange bitters, before capping and giving the mixture a vigorous shake.
"We'll have to see how you do with this," she nods to the martini glass he pulls from the hanging rack, watches as he wets the rim with a bit of lime then twirls it in a bit of salt. "Interesting choice."
"Maybe someone needs to keep you on your toes as well." He opens the strainer, pouring the chilled liquid into the glass before sliding it into her waiting hand.
"What? No garnish?" she cheeks, lifting the glass delicately by the stem.
"Why bother? We both know you'd just fish it out and leave it on a napkin on the bar."
"You have been paying attention," she answers, tilting her head slightly, impressed.
"I always pay attention to my regulars." He casts his eyes across the bar quickly, just to be sure no one else needs his attention, then slides his gaze back to hers when he finds no one waiting.
"And here I was thinking I was special." She pouts, lips poking out slightly before she takes a tentative sip of her drink.
He holds his breath, watching her eyes slip closed, buzzing an exquisite hmm as she swallows and looks back at him through hooded lashes.
"Delicious. Just what I needed." She takes another sip, then gives him a full, genuine smile. It warms something in him, a swell of pride and satisfaction for being the one to put that expression on her face, even if for only a moment.
He's about to say something, but before he gets the chance another customer comes up to the bar and orders a pint of the draft lager and it pops the moment like a soap bubble. Her smile evaporates as she takes another sip of her drink, her usual mask firmly in place when the glass leaves her lips. And just like that they're back to where they started, he's just a barman and she's just his unpredictable regular, at least until he can pour her another round and pretend to know her a little bit more.