"Wow, is it that obvious?" Shannon laughed, rolling her eyes.
"Only regulars come to this bar," the man explained. "I haven't seen a new face in the Moon & Castle in years."
"Well, I'm not really a new face..." Shannon replied, flipping her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. "I mean, I am new here, but I don't think I'll be staying."
"Why not?"
"Well, I'm just passing through actually," she trailed off. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
"Oh, how rude of me," he stood back up and put out his hand. "My name is Eric, and you are?"
Shannon smiled brightly and placed her hand inside of Eric's. "I'm Shannon Austen, pleased to meet you!" She continued on with what she was saying before. "I live in Toronto and I'm just taking a trip down to Hollywood for my summer vacation."
"And Santa Carla is just a pit stop on the way?"
"I suppose so," Shannon replied nervously. "It seems very nice here, though, I might be tempted to spend a few more days here... If the right thing persuaded me, of course..."
"Hollywood is very flashy. Nice, but still," Eric told her. "This town has some things that you would never see in the City of Angels."
"Oh really?" Shannon's eyes glimmered in the dark pub. "Like what?"
"Let's just say, the magic in Hollywood is man-made, controlled for a camera, and here. Well, here it's a little more natural, more real. More chaotic."
Shannon burst out laughing. "Are you trying to tell me you've got magicians and witches and stuff here? Because that is just too funny!"
"Quiet," Eric snapped. "Magicians and witches are for carnivals and films, what I'm talking about..." his voice fell from a mumble to a complete stop as he watched another man walk into the bar. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter right now, okay?"
Suddenly, the other man appeared between Eric and Shannon, staring directly into Eric's eyes.
"I see you've made a new friend, Eric," the man's voice escaped his mouth with an unmistakable anger. "And just what have you been talking about this evening?"
Shannon, oblivious, smiled and answered, "Oh, he was just telling me that this was a really interesting place to stop on my way to L.A."
"I see," the man said, almost growling.
"I think I have to go now, actually," Eric cried. "Pleasure meeting you, Shannon," he said quickly before leaving the bar. The man sat down and immediately introduced himself.
"My name is Ben Abbey," took a swig from Eric's beer. "I apologize for my friend; he acts unusual around new people, especially when they're so beautiful."
Shannon blushed. "Oh my, you are too kind!"
"No, I haven't seen such a pretty face in years," he replied as he took her hand in his and kissed it softly.
"It's funny you say that," Shannon said, still flustered from the unexpected compliments. "Your friend Eric said that he hadn't seen a new person in this bar in years, too!"
"This is true," Ben replied. "However, I like to travel so I do have the opportunity to meet new people much more than he does."
"I'm travelling right now!" Shannon exclaimed. "Well, right now I'm not. But I'm on vacation! I live in Toronto, and I thought it might be nice to go see Hollywood for the summer, and..."
"You're travelling alone?" Ben interrupted.
"Well, yes," Shannon answered. "It's just because everyone else is finished school and starting their jobs, and I took a couple years off and I'm starting school next month, so I have all this time off and -"
"Could I show you around Santa Carla?" Ben asked.
"Of course!" Shannon agreed, finishing off the last of her Long Island Iced Tea. "You know, I told your friend that I would stay a couple of days if something convinced me well enough!"
"I think I could handle that," Ben winked at her. He motioned to the bartender to put her drinks on his tab.
"So where are we going, Ben Abbey?" Shannon giggled as she allowed him to escort her out of the bar.
"Oh, don't you worry," Ben smiled, with a subtle deviance in his eyes. "You'll never forget this night."