Chapter 3
As she suspected she instantly regretted agreeing to the dinner. Killian's "vast culinary expertise" was awash in the modern kitchen, and they ended up making something she had plenty of on hand, hamburger helper, something he needed help with.
Yet still in true Swan fashion, she tried to make the best of the situation and tried to not hurt the guy's feelings, it wasn't exactly his fault.
After dinner, she drove them down to the Rabbit Hole and set her claim on the nearest table. She played the guy who currently had possession of it and easily won. Playing pool was something she did all the time back in Boston, and she suspected she would need to go easy on her leather-clad friend that evening.
"Why exactly did you have to play that gentleman before we could play?" he asked curiously.
"He owned the table," she explained. "I had to beat him to own it."
"He wasn't playing though," he watched as she racked up the balls swapping around the colored ceramic orbs with speed and accuracy of years playing this game.
"He still owned the table Hook, it's just how it is done," she said with a chuckle.
She ran the table a few games and consumed slightly more beer than what she normally would have. She laid down for a shot, lining up the six ball to bank it in the left corner pocket. When she called out the shot, Killian backed into her and bent down to eye down her stick. "What are you doing?" She froze as his hand went over her hip. "Getting lessons from the master love, you are quite the player," he whispered into her ear. She smiled at him and spoke through gritted teeth. "Killian, I'm only going to tell you this once. Get your hand off my ass, or you'll be known as Captain Pair-a-Hooks."
His attention is drawn to the front room before he removed himself from her and stood. "My apologies Swan, it appears as though I may have consumed a bit too much of the local ale."
Emma looked over his shoulder and thought she saw the Mayor storming out of the bar. "Regina?" she said aloud curiously.
Something must be wrong if the Mayor was here, that woman wouldn't be caught dead at a pub.
Was she wearing skinny jeans?
"Regina!" she called as the little brunette pushed her way through the front door. Emma trotted through the main room where the jukebox was blaring Journey, and a single drunken couple swayed to the rhythm of the music.
Emma pushed through the screen door and looked around but didn't see the Benz, or the brunette, anywhere.
Maybe I didn't really see her, and if I did clearly the woman wasn't there to see me. Wishful thinking Swan.
Emma turned around to see Killian ordering another round at the bar. She walked up to him and told the tender to cancel the second of whatever it was he ordered.
"Bad form Swan."
"Yeah well, I'm tired anyway. I don't come here to get drunk. Do you want a ride back to the Inn?"
"So we won't be going back to yours then?"
She laughed, "Yeah no."
"Then I believe I shall stay and partake in the local color," he said as he waved his good hand flamboyantly. He had come to win a game, and he believed he had. If there was nothing more the blonde would have of him that evening, no sense killing the buzz he had going.
"As you wish Captain. I'll see you Monday when I relieve your night shift," she said as she turned to leave. She can hear him immediately hitting on a little blonde at the bar, and she rolled her eyes.
Regina magicked herself from the front of the Rabbit Hole directly to her bedroom. Her eyes were stinging with angry tears, blurring her vision. She kicked off her knee-high boots and pulled off her skinny jeans, kicking them over into the corner. She pulled off the Nirvana shirt Henry had bought for her and balled it up and aggressively threw it at the pile of clothes that had accumulated on the other side of the room.
She stood in the center of her bedroom looking at herself in the full-length mirror, standing in her bra and panty set. She squeezed her eyes closed as she recounted her disastrous evening.
She paced out front of the bar for several minutes gathering up the courage to go in. Emma's yellow bug was parked a few spaces down from where Regina materialized. She knew the blonde was in there.
All she had to do was go in.
As Henry had put it, "It's chill mom, no pressure, just hanging out." But Regina felt pressure, a ton of it.
She was anxious about putting herself in a situation where she could be rejected, but Henry had assured her, Emma had said… things… They had been spending more time with one another, outside of the Mayor/Sheriff capacity. Granted it was more of a co-parent capacity, but they had become much more friendly, and ever since Henry mentioned it, the brunette could admit noticing the lingering glances his birth mother would send her way. The number of times she would look down at her lips while Regina was talking to her, the way she would laugh when Regina was being her sassy, witty self.
And… He said… Emma said.. she liked me…
She rolled her eyes at the feeling of feeling like a lovesick teen, but steeled herself anyway and entered the establishment.
She looked around the loud bar that smelled of stale beer and moderate desperation and saw the yellow flash of Emma Swan's blonde mane leaning over a pool table.
She pulled her shirt straight and gathered her confidence and walked back towards the game room. Just as she was about to cross the threshold of the back room, the pirate came into view and pressed himself up against the Savior who flashed a large white smile as his free hand, well, his good hand, slipped around her hip cupping her buttock.
Regina's entire world crashed down at that moment, her face flushed beet red as she realized she was about to crash a date.
A date with that impossible disgusting pirate of all people!
Her heart was thundering in her chest and tears brimmed her lashes. Tears of embarrassment and anger for allowing herself to get caught up in the fairy tale of her happy ending! She turned on her heel immediately and quickly walked from the heart-wrenching scene she had just encountered.
Of course, the Savior would never have feelings for her; she'd be with that traitorous pirate before she'd ever be with the Evil Queen! How foolish can one get?
Regina covered her face and turned away from the mirror and let the anguish of her self loathing wash over her. She crawled into bed without removing what little makeup she had on or getting into proper pajamas. She just pulled her comforter up over herself and cried into her pillow.
