Damien smiled from the bar, waving her over to the seat he saved for her. "I thought you didn't like beer." She teased as she took a seat beside him. "So recommend me one." He retorted slyly. She caught the attention of the bartender and ordered a couple of craft beers that he'd never heard of. "So...how was work?" He asked, unsure of how to break the ice. She shrugged as she grabbed the bottle that was passed to her. "Same old same old. Not to be awkward, but I have seen you on tv. How come you've been around here?" This time it was his turn to shrug. "They haven't really had a storyline for me recently. I guess they've hit a creative slump with me." "That really sucks. You're pretty good at what you do." "Thanks." He replied, hesitantly lifting the beer to his lips.
"Okay, this one is tolerable." He teased. He still wasn't to keen on the taste, but it wasn't horrible. "The more beer you drink, the less you care about the taste so I'm told." She chuckled, glancing at him. "That's usually how I am with wine." "Maybe sometime I'll take you to a tasting and you can try a few different ones. You have to kinda find out what your tastes are and which ones would suit that." "I always kinda felt like it was a lot of work, choosing a wine." She commented. "With beer I usually pick a new one based on the packaging." He laughed, studying the label on the beer he was drinking currently. He chose to keep taking big gulps, trying to get the beer down before it got warm and even more unimpressive. "Are cocktails more your speed?" She asked, eyeballing a menu. "I don't know. I haven't tried much of this sort of thing." She ordered another beer and slid him the menu. After much debate, and encouragement from her, he ordered a mudslide. "If you tell anyone I ordered a dessert drink, I will get you!" "You may wanna go easy on those, tiger." She said later as Damien worked on his second mudslide. "Nah, it's cool. It's just a dessert with a bit of alcohol."
After moving to the back deck of the bar, they sat under the stars in the quiet, laughing and talking. They conversed like old friends, as if they'd had inside jokes forever. Damien was beside himself, giddy from the alcohol and happy to be spending time with her. She drank slowly but smiled big at him as he told her stories from the road. The alcohol took away the pang of fear he felt when he talked about work these days. He woke up every morning praying today wasn't the day he'd get a call. That dreaded 'We wish you the best in your future endeavors' call. She glanced down at her watch and made a face, suddenly realizing the time. "I'm sorry Damien, I've really gotta get home!" "I'll call you a cab!" He volunteered, fumbling in his pockets for his phone. "I'll call you a cab, actually." She replied. "You've had a few too many mudslides, my friend." "Pish posh!" He replied, holding up his keys. And promptly accidentally dropping them. "Actually, come on. I'll drop you off."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean this!" "Yeah I know, you're a lightweight, pretty boy." She teased as he sat in the passenger seat of her fan, his face smushed against the window. "I told you those mudslides would take you out!" She chuckled before he turned to her, a suddenly serious look on his face. "But seriously Charlie, I really enjoyed tonight." "I did too." She replied as she pulled into his driveway. "Can I see you again?" He asked, trying his hardest not to slur his words. "How about I call you?" She replied. "Alright." He replied as he stepped from her van and wobbled up to his porch. There he waited until she pulled away to vomit in the bushes. Yeah, drinking was most definitely a bad idea.