He leaned up against the bar nonchalantly, in no hurry for the bartender to notice him. His eyes scanned the smoky pub and his lips quirked as he located his friends in the back laughing. He planned to join them in a moment, after he had gotten his drink. When he heard a throat being cleared behind him, he turned and smiled at the girl behind the counter.
"What can I get for you?" she asked, leaning forward on her elbows to catch his words in the crowded room.
He gave his order, watching as she nodded and expertly mixed the drink. His eyes followed her every move but she didn't falter in her moves, earning some respect from him.
"You new here, love?" he asked genuinely interested as she placed his order in front of her.
She laughed and leaned against the bar, not seeing anyone else waiting for a drink and not eager to stand idle. "No, I started here last year. I didn't work here this summer though."
He nodded and smiled at her, drawing her into further conversation. "That explains it. I wasn't around last year."
She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by his friend approaching, calling his name rather loudly, influenced by the alcohol that he had already consumed.
"Finn, man, it's great to see you!" He patted Finn on the back, as if he hadn't seen him in years. "C'mon man, everybody's back there." Finn smiled at the bartender, lifting his drink in salute and followed his friend to the back of the pub to a table full of drunk college students.
It was too bad really, that bartender was pretty cute.
-
He slid into the barstool, putting his head in his hands and rubbing his eyes tiredly. His hair was tousled by him constantly running his hands through it and the top buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. He came alone this time, no friends waiting in the back for him, and he seemed worn out, in dire need of a drink.
In no time the bartender was there to do her job.
"What can I get for you?" she asked, putting away the rag that she had been using to wipe down the counters during a slow period.
He mumbled his poison of choice and it was only by her years of having to strain to hear people's orders that she could make out what he wanted. The minute she set the drink down in front of him, his head was up and he had taken two big gulps.
The bartender frowned. He was obviously a big drinker; too bad because he was pretty cute.
"Rough day?" she asked sympathetically as she picked up her rag again and began cleaning the rest of the counters.
"Rough week," he replied as he finished off his drink. He shook his head when she offered him a refill, asking for water instead. She smiled, filling up a glass and bringing it to him.
Someone appeared at the bar and she left to go deal with him, taking the time to joke with him as she fixed his order. The man sitting with his glass of water looked on, curious about her.
"Do you like working here?" he asked as she came back, returning once more to the monotonous chore of cleaning the bar top.
She smiled. "It's not bad. I've met a lot of interesting people."
He nodded and grinned, enjoying her smile. "Am I one of those interesting people, love?"
The bartender laughed. "We'll have to see."
There was silence for a moment as he took a sip of his water before asking, "Do you go to Yale?"
She nodded, pausing in her cleaning.
"I haven't seen you around?" He posed it as a question as he wracked his brain for any memory of seeing her around campus. He came up with nothing, sure that he would remember her face.
She looked embarrassed. "I spend most of my time when I'm not here either studying or visiting my mom."
He smiled, glad that he hadn't forgotten her. "You're close to your mom, love?" he asked, not knowing that many people who were close to their parents.
She nodded. "She calls me every night when I get home from work to make sure that I got home safely."
He laughed, draining his glass and looked at his watch, realizing that he was late to meet his friends. "It's always good to have someone worried about you." He threw down a twenty and began to walk away, not waiting for change.
"It was nice to meet you," he called over his shoulder as he walked out of the pub.
You too, she wanted to reply but he was already gone.
He was half way to his dorm, still smiling from their conversation when he realized that he had failed to get her name. Resisting the urge to go back, he comforted himself with the knowledge that he knew where she worked and could therefore see her again.
-
The next two visits to the pub, she wasn't there. He didn't dwell on it; instead he concentrated on his friends, although he spent considerably less time at the bar than his previous visits. The third time he frequented the pub however, she was there, smiling as she fixed someone's drink. He headed straight for the bar.
"Hey!" he called to her, leaning up on the bar. She smiled in recognition, holding up a finger to signal that she would be there in a second. He smiled back, moving to look out at the patrons of the pub, although he didn't see anyone that he recognized.
"Hi." He turned when he heard the voice behind him. "It's been a while, what can I get for you?"
He smiled; pleased that she had remembered him from the previous two times that he had been there while she was working. "You weren't here the last time I was here, love." He pouted. "My bar experience was incomplete."
She smiled, leaning up against the bar. "That's too bad. Can I get you a drink?"
He frowned at her abrupt attitude before realizing that there was more than one person waiting for a drink. He gave her his order and she replied with a brisk nod, before quickly making his drink, and then leaving to fill other people's orders.
It was almost a half hour later that there was a lull in costumers and she was able to relax and lean against the bar. He smiled at her, still nursing the same drink that she had given him half an hour previous.
"Busy night," he commented idly.
She nodded in agreement. "Thursday nights usually are."
He nodded as if he had always known that, while in reality he had always thought that Thursdays were rather slow. "You know, I never got your name," he commented smiling as he finished his drink.
She smiled back. "I never got yours either."
"I'm Finn." He stuck out a hand, his smile widening as she took it.
"I'm Rory."
"It's nice to meet you Rory," he said and he meant it.
-
He found himself frequenting the pub more often after that, mostly on nights that he knew would be slow and so he would have the opportunity to talk to her for more than just a snippet of conversation. He quickly came to know her schedule; she didn't work on Fridays or weekends and therefore, he didn't come on those days unless his friends convinced him to. His friends didn't know about his infatuation, thinking that he was just going for a drink, as usual. In reality, his alcohol consumption had decreased ever since he had met the bartender.
It was a Wednesday night and, as usual, he was at the bar, nursing his first drink of the evening and talking to Rory.
"You mean that you hit a deer?" he asked purposely misunderstanding her, wanting to rile her up a bit. And he wasn't disappointed.
She shook her head, aggravated. "I didn't hit it, it hit me! It just came out of nowhere and 'Bam'!" She hit the bar lightly for emphasis.
He laughed, amused by her display. "Whatever you say, love."
She shook her head at him and laughed too.
He smiled, liking the sound of her laugh and leaned closer. "So I was thinking…"
"Finn!"
He cursed Logan and Colin under his breath as they both approached the bar, swaggering slightly. He turned and grinned falsely at them.
"Hey guys." He didn't sound enthusiastic to see them and he was sure that they would pick up on it, but he wanted to talk to Rory more and he hated them for interrupting.
"Hey man, where have you been?" Colin asked, plopping into the barstool next to Finn. Logan followed suit on his other side.
Finn shrugged. "Here, mostly."
Logan looked at him through narrowed eyes. "All day?"
He shook his head. "I went to my classes and then I came here." He drained the last of his drink and placed it back on the counter.
Rory smiled, as she approached the group. "Can I get anything for you, gentlemen?" she asked Colin and Logan as she picked up Finn's empty glass.
They both refused and turned back to Finn. "There's supposed to be a kick-ass party tonight," Logan said. "I can't remember where but we should definitely go."
Finn nodded absentmindedly, as he smiled at Rory who set down a glass of water in front of him. They had a routine now; Finn would have one drink and then he would order a glass of water, and they would talk while he drank them. Rory smiled back and moved to the opposite end of the bar to give them privacy. He sighed.
Colin looked at the glass of water in front of Finn. "Did you order that?" he asked.
Finn shrugged, not wanting to admit to their routine.
"So she just brought you water? What if you had wanted something else?" Colin persisted.
"It's fine, Colin. I wanted the water," Finn said, exasperated.
"She shouldn't just assume, though," Colin continued. "It isn't what she's paid for."
"Colin," Finn warned, knowing that Rory could hear them. She wasn't that far away and the pub was only partly full that night, meaning that the noise level was significantly lower than usual.
"I always thought that this bar had quality staff, I suppose I was wrong," Colin said. Finn groaned, knowing that his friend wouldn't shut up about this for a while. He could only hope that Rory wasn't paying attention to their conversation.
Evidently luck was not on his side that night as Rory soon headed over. "Is there a problem here?" she asked, although she knew that there was one.
"My friend didn't order this," Logan cut in smoothly, smiling charmingly at her which made Finn's blood boil.
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry." She looked to Finn. "I can take it away if you want."
He shook his head and smiled at her. "It's fine, love."
She nodded, and returned to the other side of the bar to take someone else's order. Finn watched her walk away and took a sip of his water.
Colin raised an eyebrow at him and laughed in disbelief. "You want to get with the bartender," he said with a laugh, shaking his head.
Finn winced as he could see Rory tense while she was making a drink and he knew that she could hear them. "She's a nice person to talk to," he said quietly.
"You could do better, man. C'mon, they'll be plenty of girls who are actually worthy of your time at the party tonight."
Finn could feel his face flush with anger and he knew that he couldn't stay here without losing his temper. He threw down a bill and turned to smile reassuringly at Rory but she was looking determinedly away from him. He sighed and stalked out of the bar, knowing that his friends would follow. He also knew that his relationship with Rory would never be the same.
-
He didn't return to the bar for the two weeks following the incident. He took the time to collect his thoughts as he realized that his friends wouldn't approve if he pursued a relationship with a bartender. He wondered if it was worth it, if he was really going to risk giving up two of his best friends for a girl that he had just met. It wouldn't matter to them that she was undeniably unique and great to talk to.
And suddenly he needed to see her.
He arrived at the pub with less than five minutes until closing but when he went in Rory was no longer at the bar. He asked a passing waitress where she had went and, after finding out that she was in the back, he made his way over there despite the signs proclaiming 'Employees Only.'
He found her, wearing a pretty sundress instead of her work required black pants and white blouse.
"Hey Rory," he said quietly, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Finn," she gasped, whirling around in shock. "What are you doing here?"
He sighed, looking at his feet. "I wanted to apologize for my friends and how they treated you."
Rory laughed, almost bitterly. "What they said didn't hurt me," she said quietly. "When you avoided me for the past couple of weeks, that's what hurt me Finn."
"I'm sorry, love."
She nodded. "I know."
There was an awkward silence for a moment as neither of them knew what to say. Their easy-going relationship was no more.
"You look beautiful," Finn commented, looking her up and down.
"Thanks." She smiled demurely.
"Big date?" he asked, trying to squelch the jealousy that was rising in his chest.
She shook her head, laughing softly. "No, my grandparents are throwing a party."
"Good," he stated and then he wanted to hit himself for it.
"Good?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.
There was silence for a moment before Finn decided that since he had already started it, he might as well finish it.
"Yeah, it's good."
Rory smiled and took a step closer to him. "And why's it good Finn?"
He smiled back. "Because I don't want you to go out with other guys, I want you to go out with me."
Her smile widened. "You want to go out with me?"
Finn nodded, taking her hand in his. "That's what I was trying to ask you a couple weeks ago before my friends interrupted."
She took another step closer. "And what's stopping you now?"
He grinned, pulling her even closer to him. "Nothing, love, absolutely nothing."
They took the final step towards one another together, until there was barely an inch between them. Finn smiled softly, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ears before gently touching his lips to hers.
They pulled apart a minute later, his forehead leaning against hers. And when she grinned, he grinned back.
And it was then that he knew that it was all worth it, that if his friends couldn't handle their relationship, then maybe they weren't the people that he had thought they were. He leaned down to kiss her again, relishing the feel of her hands against his skin and her hair brushing against his cheeks.
And he knew that this was what he had been wanting all along.
Okay, I feel stupid but I was thinking that the drinking age would be 19 like it is where I live, not 21. I got about half way through writing this fic and then realized that Rory would have been too young to be a bartender in the timeline that I had set so it's kind of off.
Hope you enjoyed it despite that!