"You look like you could use a beer." Sofia commented as she held out her hand holding the beer to Nolan, a kind smile appearing on her face. Nerves rumbled behind her calm exterior. Here was her father and she was talking to him. Finally. A mix of both anger and excitement swept over Sofia, she just couldn't help feeling either.

Nolan seemed to be taken aback by Sofia's comment and offering. Wasn't he used to people being kind? Was it because Sofia was a stranger? She couldn't decide why he looked at her like he did but finally he took the beer before taking a long swig from it. "Thanks." Was all he said with an exhausted tone to the word.

Sofia took this as a chance for her to sit on the spare seat opposite him, where she virtually slammed her nearly empty beer bottle onto the table, giving off a dull thump, she very nearly broke the glass. "Is it okay if I sit here? I'm Sofia Janson by the way." She smiled again as she spoke, making sure she came across as sweet, kind and ever so slightly shy, the last part being that little bit easier than normal. Sofia was trying her best to introduce herself slow and steady and never seeming too eager, it came across most of the time as flirting and that would be just weird if Nolan thought that.

"It's fine. I'm Nolan. Nolan Ross." He looked up from his slightly hunched over posture, shifting himself back into the seat, his gaze fixed on his 'oh so beautiful' daughter. "Have we met before? Do we know each other?" Nolan questioned, his tone not too heavy but he seemed to be guarding himself against Sofia, there was a hint of it in his voice.

Sofia carried on with her 'light and friendly' approach, smiling lightly and shaking her head at his questions. "No, we haven't met. I'm actually new to this area...visiting you see and so far I only know one other person and that's the owner to this place, Jack is it? Do you know him?" She tried to play it cool and again very friendly with a hint of mostly fake nerves. "Well two people actually if you count yourself."

Nolan nodded, listening to what she had to say before answering her question. "Yes, Jack Porter, I know him. Great guy." He smiled for the first time she thought since they started to talk. Nolan still seemed guarded towards Sofia but there was something which had softened, Sofia guessed towards her. She was quite a charismatic person, people got on with her and fell in love with her, both platonic and sexual. She then downed the rest of her beer.

"I'll get both of us another beer." Sofia said that before Nolan could disagree. She quickly got herself up from the seat and headed back over to the bar. It took her a few minutes to get back as it was incredibly busy up there but when she did, she again slammed both bottles down onto the table before sitting herself back down. They both took decent swigs of their beers, Nolan now finished his first and Sofia starting on her second. She wouldn't take another sip until Nolan was that bit more tipsy, bordering on drunk.

A few moments past before either of them spoke. Nolan was the first to break their silence. "Can I ask you a question?" he asked, his body leaning closer to Sofia as he drank more of his beer. The alcohol was working on him and on Sofia if it came it, but neither were drunk, just different levels of 'borderline tipsy', Nolan being that little bit worse.

Sofia nodded, intrigued by what he was going to ask her, her body now leaning towards him, her gaze fixed to him as he gazed back at her. "Sure." She downed the rest of her beer.

Nolan took a brief pause, taking a small inhale of breath before speaking. "Have you got family?" he asked, his question sounding deadly serious and ever so slightly slurred. The beer he was drinking was the strongest they had here.

Sofia was surprised at his choice of question for her, they had only just met and he was asking about her family. It took her what felt like minutes to think up how to reply but in reality it was only a few seconds. She didn't want him to have an inkling as to who she actually was, so she tried to think of the vaguest answer she could come up with without, of course making him think she was purposefully being vague. It's a skill to do, it really is! "I have a mom. She lives a long way away so I don't really see her much." That was a half lie, she sees her a lot but he didn't need to know that. "How about you? You got any family?" she asked trying to appear interested. She was to an extent if he did have any family but with what Sofia's mother told her before coming here, he didn't have a family, well he never mentioned one when they were dating. Thinking about it, Sofia's mother didn't know much personal stuff about him, he was a stranger to her too. It was a chance right here to get to know him a bit better. Hopefully anyway.

Nolan thought about it, his expression turning slightly sad and his gaze shifted to the door of The Stowaway. He seemed to be thinking something but after a short while his expression changed and he seemed mildly indifferent, now looking back at Sofia with a light smile. "My parents are dead, I'm a sort of orphan. I have an aunt, Carole, but I haven't seen her in a long while." he replied with a hint of that sadness from a few moments before.

Sofia simply nodded, smiling lightly at him, nodding as he spoke. She was surprised once more that he was being so open with her as he seemed to be guarded when she first walked over to him. She also hated to admit this fact, she couldn't believe this thought actually came to her mind but after such a long hatred for this man and wanting revenge on Nolan, she had to admit that they were getting on. Well she was finding it easy to talk to him behind the shy facade. They didn't even know each other that well. How could this be happening? It was all wrong. She was simply being sucked into his charismatic ways, another trait she's inherited from her father. No. She won't let herself be swayed by him. She came here on a personal mission and that mission hasn't gone away. It would be a slow process but eventually she will get there and succeed.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sofia commented sadly as she placed her hand on top of his. She was going to carry on with pretending to want to be his friend. It will work.

For anyone looking over at the two of them, it would seem that they were a; on a date what with the hand touching and the closeness, b; close, touchy feely family members which seemed the most likely by their similar features anyway or c; just simply good friends. None of which were true of course, apart from being the related, though secretly.

Nolan looked down at Sofia's hand on his but he seemed to be down tonight so he didn't seem to mind. In fact he seemed to take relief that someone was there as he turned his palm around and actually held onto her hand. Why he was feeling sad was something Sofia didn't know and wouldn't know at least tonight, she wasn't planning on asking. "No. It's okay, it's not like I haven't got anyone. I've got a very good friend; Emily. I actually live with her, temporarily down in one of the houses on the edge of the beach." he smiled after telling Sofia that fact, a fact she already knew but didn't let on she knew. She didn't even let on she knew Emily, well met her at least however briefly. Emily mustn't have told Nolan that he had a stranger knocking on the door asking for him. Nolan's 'good friend' hid things from him. Sofia may have been wrong, but she was very rarely.

"It's so beautiful down here but I haven't really had time to have a look around this place. I'm thinking maybe tomorrow I'll have a beach day." Sofia laughed softly as she pulled her hand away slowly from Nolan's grasp. He seemed to notice her hand moving but he simply tucked both his hands towards his body.

"Do you want me to show you around if you wanted? Seeing as you don't know many people here." he asked which caused Sofia to smile.

"I would like that. Thanks." She had hoped he would ask her, it would give her time to get to know him more and find his weaknesses to kick him where it hurts.

Nolan's expression slowly turned that little bit more serious as he asked Sofia another question, this one was difficult for Sofia to answer. "If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to The Hamptons?" His question seemed innocent enough to him but it certainly was difficult for Sofia to answer.

Finally she decided to at least be honest to him, without giving too many details. It was hard but she managed. "I've actually come to find someone, they apparently live here."

Nolan nodded, listening before speaking. "Would I know them?" he asked, Sofia's heart beating fast for a brief moment before calming down.

She shook her head. "No, I don't think you would."

That was pretty much how their first conversation was left, no big ending to it, just a pleasant goodbye from both sides before leaving the bar and going on their separate ways, but not before agreeing where and when to meet for the next day. "Noon down by the pier on the beach." Sofia finalized before he left to go to Emily's most likely and Sofia went back to the motel. She needed her beauty sleep to be fresh for the next day.

She headed to her room before getting undressed and then finally snuggling under the slightly scratchy covers of the bed but was soon asleep, dreaming of nothing as she sank into the mattress like it was an oversized 'mallow.

I hope their first meeting isn't too much of an anti-climax and that you enjoyed it. Also, I'm not sure if I've already said thank you, but anyway, thank you for all the faves/follows and reviews and I hope they keep on coming!