Prologue
Two attractive strangers in his bar. How often had Phil watched this scene play out? The hunter finding his prey, this time in the form of regular Tommy Quincy ex-boybander extraordinaire and the hunted, a slight redhead with the clearest blue eyes he had ever seen. He had never seen this particular creature before and was a bit surprised she had come in here alone. His place wasn't so trendy that he had too many attractive young single women frequenting it. He did notice however that she was troubled, simply by the way she ordered drink after drink. Phil turned his head away to pour another round for the table at the corner.
She had been having violent mood swings all night, anger, hurt, disbelief, sadness, and they had finally taken their toll on her exhausted psyche. Now she was simply numb and welcomed the reprieve. Someone sat down beside her in the periphery of her vision, but she did not bother to look. Even if she had come here searching for something to distract her from her life, she found she was closing down in solitude instead. Then a man's raspy voice intruded on her painful thoughts and her head turned to the most mesmerizing eyes she had ever seen. And for a moment she felt like she was freefalling. She closed her eyes and caught her breath. What the hell was that? She opened them again and studied the rest of him, the face, almost pretty he was so drop dead gorgeous, his hair styled a little too much for her taste, but still dark and thick making her fingers itch to run themselves through the luxurious strands.
"Uh...hi..." Her voice sounded reedy and unsure, so unlike her it caused her to pause for a moment. He spoke again in response and this time she could appreciate his voice and it sounded sexy? to her ears.
During a lull Phil watched the predictable: The conversation. Phil snickered, he had heard plenty of pick up lines over the years, Tommy's included and the man was definitely smoother than most. Tommy making her feel like she was the only one in the room, the blush on her cheeks that he had a feeling was real and not feigned. He saw the fingers brushing against her slender arm rested on the counter. Her head ducking in a moment of shyness, but then she looking up again. The locked gaze did not falter this time. He saw the smaller hand taken by the larger and she pulled onto her feet to join him. Tommy threw a few bills down next to his still half full glass. And Phil watched them go Tommy's hand resting on the small of her back, over the silky material of her miniscule top, guiding her to the exit. Phil shook his head and reached for the bills, noticing for the first time that there was a hundred mixed among the two fives. Guess Tommy wasn't as in control as he let on.
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