Bo was currently wiping down the bar and smiling at the gorgeous blonde professor that always came in here. It was just her and a few other regulars in the entire pub right now. Bo knew from experience that once the blonde finished whatever work she was doing, the woman would order dinner, eat, and head home. Bo had noticed her when she first started coming about a year ago, but the woman never registered her presence or her constant appreciation. She had spent many dead hours over the past year fantasizing about the woman, but she was mature and professional and never looking for any action, so Bo never made a move.

The other night, she noticed her group had stayed longer, and she was surprised to see Dyson of all people join them, though she wasn't surprised since he was with Ciara, who seemed to know the two blondes at the table. The professor was always chummy with the other blonde, and Bo felt a familiar ping of jealousy despite the fact she had no right to be jealous of someone she didn't even know. They were obviously really close friends, from what Bo had gathered, but they'd only ever had flirtatious and teasing looks more than actual romantic ones. At least there was that, so she didn't have to be too jealous. The bar got slammed not long after the group gathered, so she didn't really get to question Dyson about the mysterious woman when he walked over to say hi and order a new round. Bo was almost afraid to find out anything anyways because she liked living in her fantasy bubble.

Bo panicked and instantly floundered, dropping the towel she was using to wipe the already over-wiped bartop, when the woman made eye contact with her. It was the first time it had actually happened for any length of time, and it was obvious she was caught staring. Bo didn't mean to stay crouched behind the bar after she picked up the towel, but she felt her entire body flush from the eye contact and slight smile the woman sent her.

Trick came behind the bar and almost tripped over her, cursing when he almost dropped the box of glass bottles in his arms.

"Bo, what are you doing on the floor?" He looked her up and down and rolled his eyes in amusement before he looked out at the bar crowd. A knowing expression covered his face, as he couldn't hide his smirk and obvious amusement at her silliness. "The blonde again?"

"I was caught staring." Bo took a deep breath and laughed at herself. She was a strong, confident woman who had no trouble picking up people, anyone she wanted really, but she acted like a school girl with a major crush instead of the adult woman she actually was. Trick must have noticed her blush because it rarely surfaced, and he had seen it a few times when she was in one of her fantasy moments. At least he didn't tease her about like Kenzi did.

"She's a loyal customer, Bo. I like those types of people." Trick had warned her and encouraged her several times to just go for it, much like Kenzi, but Bo never wanted to go there. Not really; again, her fantasy bubble was better. It was safer.

"Hey, Trick; where's Bobolicious today? I thought she was on shift all night." Kenzi's voice could be heard, and Bo scolded herself for still being on the floor. She stood and moved to help Trick put away the bottles to prepare for tonight's crowd. There was a university basketball away game tonight showing on the TV, so they would be slammed again soon.

"My granddaughter here was caught staring at our resident blonde professor again." Trick nodded his head over to where the woman was sitting, and Bo noticed she had gone back to her work as though nothing had happened. As though Bo hadn't just made an ass of herself.

"Dr. Hotpants again, huh?" Kenzi and Trick had matching smirks, which caused Bo to pout a little that they were making fun of her. "Bo's all super succubus in the sack but can't even get the balls to admit she's got a major thing for someone. I'm half tempted to go over there and just do it for her, but I'm not sure the usual wingman moves would work on this chick."

"She's a professional, Kenzi. She doesn't want to be disturbed." Bo knew the waitresses liked the woman because she tipped well and was easy to serve. They never minded when she took up a table in their section for several hours because she was gone before the crowd and always made it worth their time. Plus, she was loyal. No wonder Trick liked her; she was good for business. If Bo was ever going to learn the ropes like Trick had been hinting at the past few years, then she would need to start seeing people as customers and not potential lays. The professor was a good place to start.

"Sure, sure." Kenzi grabbed a bag of pretzels and dumped them on the bartop, not even bothering with grabbing a cocktail napkin despite them being right next to her. They used to serve peanuts until Kenzi came along with her massive allergy, and Bo was actually glad for the change because she loved pretzels. She went to grab one from the pile before turning her attention back over to the blonde.

"And might I add how yummy she looks when being all professional." Bo bit into her pretzel, not seemingly swayed anymore by the previous eye contact and her ridiculous response. When the woman looked up and smiled at her again, Bo started choking on her pretzel. Apparently, she had somehow managed to get on the woman's radar overnight. Was it all the staring she did? Was she being polite and smiling because she finally noticed Bo was being a creeper?

"Shit, Bo. Chew." Kenzi moved forward and slapped her back. Trick just chuckled, obviously seeing what happened and why, before shaking his head in amusement and walking back to the storage room for more supplies. "Her name's Lauren, by the way, or Dr. Lewis. I guess it's time you knew that."

"Wait; how do you know that?" Bo looked at her friend, as she took a deep breath to calm herself. Dr. Lauren Lewis. So, she had a name. Bo was glad she didn't have her phone on her right now because she would probably already be Googling the woman.

"I was street for years, Bo. It's my job to know things." Kenzi smiled and held her stare before chuckling. "Also, Dyson told me when he was in yesterday, and Nate's barely passing her class right now."

"Nate's in her class? What does she teach?" Now that she was getting snippets, Bo found herself extremely curious. She wanted to know more, and she wanted to know fast. Having knowledge was power when hunting, and this Lauren never would've fallen for Bo's regular tricks. She had to up her game if she was going to snag this one. Yet, why did it feel like it was more than just a hunt? Sure, the thrill was there, but Bo never cared about names or occupations or favorite hair products before. The woman had ridiculously great hair, and Bo found herself imagining running her fingers through those obviously silky locks.

"Biochemistry is the class he's in with her; something for his gen. ed. requirements. I keep telling him to actually read the book and study, but dude's more interested in his guitar and moi." Kenzi didn't sound like she was too broke up about her boyfriend failing a class. It kind of made Bo chuckle a little. "What's with the actual interest all of a sudden?"

"I'm allowed to ask questions; there's no harm in that." Bo took a breath before wiping down the salted bartop where Kenzi had just dropped the pretzels. She would get the spray and sanitizing wipe when her friend left, knowing she would both be a while and would make a bigger mess before she departed. "That doesn't mean I'm suddenly available or want to date her."

"You already know more about her than you do anybody else you 'date.'" Kenzi used air quotes as she chuckled through her smirk. Trick showed back up with another box, huffing a little. He was starting to get older but was too stubborn to admit it. Bo took the box from him again and noticed him hold his back. He was 63 and really needed to stop doing all this lifting. "You know more about her than you did about Dyson when you first started doing the horizontal cha-cha."

"We still talking about the blonde?" Trick came to stand up on the bar back so he could be at the same height as where Kenzi was sitting.

"It's okay, Trick. I told Bo her name finally." Kenzi shared a look with Trick, who nodded his acceptance of this. Did everybody know this woman but her? "Should we tell her the other thing?"

"Tell me what?" Bo walked closer, leaving the bottles to put themselves away. Trick eyed her because there was still a lot of preparation for tonight, but she didn't care right now. She could get it done if he'd just let her go get the boxes from the cellar instead of being stubborn. It was easy to see where she got that particular trait. "Am I missing something here?"

"Oh, Bo. You've been clueless for quite some time now." Kenzi leaned forward on the bar and dropped her voice. "It's something we've all known for awhile and were waiting for you to figure out yourself, but you're definitely consistent in your arguments. Hell, even Vex knows it before you do, and that's saying something because dude is as bad as you with the sexploits. Though, FYI, thank you for not wearing an assless cop uniform and showing us pictures. I can't unsee that."

"Vex knows?" Now Bo was really confused. Vex was always the last to know stuff because he was always holed up in the kitchen and rarely came out to socialize. Plus, he never gave a shit about anything but himself. What could possibly be the big secret? Since they were talking about Dr. Lewis, Lauren, it must have something to do with her, but what? Was she crazy? Was she only into guys? That didn't make sense, though, because she smiled more at the girls whenever she rejected them. "What, guys? Just tell me."

"You're into this one, kiddo." Trick passed a comforting hand over her back as he moved behind her to put away the forgotten bottles. Bo just shook her head. Sure, she liked to fantasize about the woman, but she didn't have any real feelings for her. She didn't even know who she actually was until today.

"Sure, I mean, she's hot. Why wouldn't I want to go there?" Bo knew, even if she wasn't ready to admit it, that she would have already gone there if she wanted something casual. She could've easily walked up and scoped her out; she could've gotten a read on whether it was possible to go there. Was it because the woman always rejected her numerous suitors? That had never stopped Bo in the past, though; it just presented a bigger challenge, and she had always delivered her A game and succeeded. What was so different about Dr. Lauren Lewis?

"We've been trying to drop hints at you for months, but it's always the same thing over and over. 'I'm not emotionally available' or 'I only do casual.' It's my fault for not really noticing it earlier. Nate brought it to my attention about how you look at her like a lot of the students in his class do, and I made the comment to Trick one night who mentioned he noticed it a long time ago. Hell, even Dyson asked a few times what your deal was when he caught you staring. This is about more than feeding the inner succubus." Kenzi had the biggest smile on her face, like having this inside knowledge somehow meant Bo would forget who she was and drop all of her insecurities and walk over right now to ask the woman out. As her best friend, Kenzi knew better than that. All three of them standing right here knew better than that. At least Trick did his usual uncomfortable "must go wipe glasses" escape clause whenever things turned to talking about Bo's sex life. She did have to admit it was still a little uncomfortable talking sex around Trick, since her grandfather had not exactly raised her to troll the bar when she got older. No, she could attribute this trait directly to her mother.

"Why tell me this? You know it'll make me back away more than go after her." Bo watched Trick walk to the cellar again before lowering her voice and leaning in to whisper to her friend. "What does telling me I have feelings for this woman actually accomplish?"

"The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem." Kenzi chose that moment to lean over and grab the well whiskey before pouring it into her coke and returning it before Trick noticed. "Bo, you can't keep running from what you actually want. I know it's scary, but you'll never know unless you take a chance."

"Just drop it, Kenz." Bo huffed, steeling her jaw as she went to the cellar to help Trick with the boxes. She needed to move right now, and she needed to think of something other than the blonde, Lauren. They were strangers, and it was easier and safer to keep it that way. She wouldn't hurt Lauren when she panicked and ran away, and Lauren couldn't ever hurt her when she got tired of her and decided to leave.


Lauren actually found herself coming to the Dal more often and staying longer. Tamsin noticed, too, and started to tag along more to see if she could catch Dyson there again. She really liked having that in with the detective, and they had actually become friends over the past few weeks. Ciara wasn't worried, though, and Lauren confirmed she shouldn't be. Tamsin did like guys, but she was more interested in the buddy cop thing than anything romantic with Dyson. Those two would go and play billiards, and Lauren would sit and do her work when Ciara wasn't there to keep her company, every once in a while stealing glances at the beautiful, goofy bartender.

She was funny to watch, and when they would make eye contact, Lauren would smile at her and she would become goofier. It was kind of cute because it was the last thing she ever would have expected when looking at the woman. Tamsin would make her notice her, too. Her friend was good at making Lauren notice things around her that she normally wouldn't, including beautiful, goofy bartenders.

Normally, she just came after her office hours for dinner, but Lauren found herself staying longer because it was taking her more time to grade her students' work and prepare her lecture notes. She would sometimes even forget to eat the food in front of her; all because she would cast more glances at the bartender than pay attention to what she was doing. It wasn't like her at all, and she would shake her mind to clear it before going back to her work.

Her parents definitely wouldn't be too proud of her being friends with a bartender; they already didn't like Tamsin, who had been nothing but loyal and protective of Lauren since they officially met. Her parents were a bit snobbish, though. They probably wouldn't even like Ciara if they didn't already know her family. Sometimes, it sucked being the daughter of a legacy and old money because it made it hard to ever meet people who didn't see her as just that or who her parents didn't constantly scold her for knowing when they weren't directly in their inner circle. It was hard to date someone because of that, so Lauren had sort of given up on the prospect; she was always more interested in her studies anyways. The few times she did have relationships were a disaster, and she was aware a lot of it was because she was too detached. Still, Lauren wasn't the type to defy her parents; they were loving, nice people who had raised her to love and respect everyone. She just didn't read the fine print of "that we approve of" until she brought Tamsin home with her the first time back in high school. It was probably why she didn't talk to them much except when necessary.

Tonight, she was solo until Tamsin arrived after her shift. They made plans to stick around for drinks, and Lauren had since found herself with work finished for the weekend and her dinner as gone as it was going to be. She was glad the chef and owner were great to her because she never ordered the same thing and hardly ever ordered off the menu, usually opting for the specials but in smaller portions, and they didn't seem to mind since she still paid full price for the meal. After about her third month here, the owner, Trick, had introduced himself to her, and she had actually had a few conversations with him since then on days when it was just the two of them in the establishment or when very few patrons were there. That hadn't happened in some time, though.

So, as she waited for Tamsin, Lauren ordered a beer, barely nursing it as she just sat back in her booth and observed the crowd. She wasn't surprised when her eyes found the bartender animatedly talking to the young girl behind the bar with her, though she was surprised that one of her more problem students was talking to them. He had just failed another quiz, and Lauren was half tempted to go over there and shake some sense into him. He should be home studying, not leaning over the bar and stealing kisses from the other bartender girl. Lauren chuckled a bit as she sipped her glass again, though her eyes went back to observing the other bartender. Her beautiful, goofy bartender. She was watching the other two kiss with a sort of sadness that Lauren understood all too well. When they made eye contact, it was the first time the other woman didn't choke or trip or fall. It was the first time she actually smiled back, and Lauren found she liked seeing the woman's bright smile directed at her.

Tamsin showed up just in time to interrupt the smiling/staring contest before it become uncomfortable or awkward. She immediately took up their space and caused other patrons to look at her. Her friend really was naturally beautiful, and most people were intimidated by her. Those that weren't usually impressed Tamsin enough that she had no trouble taking advantage of their confident admiration. Lauren had heard many a sexual tale, and she remembered herself what Tamsin was like in bed. She had no complaints for a reason. It's why it surprised her that Tamsin didn't make the move on the bartender, seemingly "saving" her for Lauren, as if that would really be a thing.

"Alright, Double L. Time to get this party started and cranked to eleven." Tamsin didn't wait for the waitress to come take her order; instead, she rushed to the bar and ordered some drinks, making sure her body language was open so that Lauren could see her every move as she talked to the bartender. She kept nodding her head back to Lauren and looking over at her as though she were checking her out, which would prompt the bartender to do the same thing.

It felt way too hot in this building, and Lauren was too uncomfortable being so openly ogled. It happened sometimes, but it still made her uncomfortable, even moreso at this moment. She eyed Tamsin, hoping she would get the hint to stop whatever she was doing. The bartender smiled over at Lauren again as she poured their beers from the taps, and Lauren smiled back despite her discomfort.

Tamsin came over with the beers after that, and Lauren leaned in to scold her, not liking the amused look she got in return.

"What?" Tamsin just sipped her beer, nodding at someone over by the billiards table who probably asked if she was up for a game, which meant Lauren was going to be sitting here alone again.

"You know what." Lauren still hadn't finished her first beer, but she pushed it aside for the fresh one. Tamsin just kept looking at her with those bright blue eyes and cocky grin. "We talked about this. You have to stop wingmanning me; I don't like it."

"Chill, Doc. I did no such thing. I just told her I was here with my friend; all of that ogling was all her own doing. She wants you bad; I told you." Tamsin leaned forward, too, relaxed and cool about it even as Lauren stiffened further. "Would you relax? You really do need to get laid. How long's it been, babe?"

"Not that long."

"Ohmygod! Still? Lauren, I thought we talked about this." Tamsin had been more like telling her constantly she needed to get laid rather than talking about it. It was true; there were only about two girls after Tamsin when she had moved back into the city, and the last one had been about three years ago. Sex wasn't really something Lauren needed as much, unlike her friend who had no trouble getting it and enjoying it as often as she wanted. Lauren had offers, quite generous offers, but she was just never into it. She was always into her work more, and if the urge hit her, she knew how to take care of things by herself and didn't have to worry about another person or time spent snuggling after. "You know I'd do the job myself because I remember how awesome you are at it, but we both know that's not a good idea."

"You do know when I do 'get laid' again, I'm not telling you, right?" Lauren leaned back, finally relaxing.

"Oh, please. I'll be on your speed dial just as soon as you're done." Tamsin chugged half of her beer, which made Lauren roll her eyes. She was preparing to go over and play billiards and leave her there. Lauren didn't mind, really, but it was a bit tiring at times. She loved Tamsin; she was good to her, but she sometimes went wherever the wind took her. She wasn't high maintenance at all, and Lauren liked that about her, too. "I could probably get you laid tonight, if you'd just let me. You know I'm a kickass wingman."

"I'm fine, Tam. Go have fun; I'll be here when you're finished." Lauren started nursing her beer, enjoying the hoppiness of it as she started people watching again. It was no surprise when her eyes kept going back to the beautiful, goofy bartender.